Suspension Questions

A few questions:

Can anyone tell me what lift or leveling was done on my tundra?

What would it require to put the truck back to stock height?

Would putting the truck back to stock height make the ride quality better and road/windsheild noise better aswell?

 

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a pic of the suspension would help

 

Looks stock to me

 

Yes. Take a picture of the upper part of the coil spring above the front tire. Take another shot from the front towards the coil over. Take another picture from the back of the rear end and leaf springs. We can’t just guess by looking at your truck from 20 feet away.

 

Good call. Lol. I got distracted and forgot to post.

 

Front and rear

 

Looks like Bilstein 5100s and a 1 inch block in the back. The Bilsteins can be set at three different positions. You should be able to just have them repositioned to the lowest setting and remove the rear block. The fronts will have to be removed and have the spring compressed to lower the clip down to the lowest setting and then reinstalled. That should soften up the ride a little bit in the front. Hopefully they aren’t already at the lowest setting as your truck doesn’t look too tall.

 

See this little groove in the shock body? That is the lowest setting. Unsure if you are at the middle or top setting. I can’t quite remember if it still gives a small amount of lift on that groove. Either way, the higher they are cranked up the stiffer the ride will be. That would be the cheapest solution.

 

Would it ride better and have less road noise if I put them on th factory height?

Besides alignment, is there anything else I would need to do ?

 

I don’t have these shocks but from what I’ve read it gets stiffer the more they are cranked up. Which makes sense because the spring is being compressed to give you more lift. I have seen a few guys that were able to compress the spring in place and lower the clip. But I don’t advise doing that if you like all your fingers. Just lower the position on the spring and remove the block. Do an alignment and you’re done. If you don’t like that I’m sorry but this is the cheapest route to start with. If you don’t care about the truck being lifted. What size are your tires? That would be the next obstacle. Whether they will fit.

 

Thanks for the insight. My tires are 275/60r20.

 

They should fit. That’s only an inch taller than the stock size and the same width. Those are 33 inch tires.

 

So I just measured my truck vs my buddies 1794. I am only 1” higher front and back. His is 23” stock from mid hub on the front and 24” on the back. Mine is 24” and 25”.

I drove his truck this morning and it def rides better. Does an inch really make that much difference? Or is the ride diff because of the block in the back?

I have 20” wheels, he has 18” but I can’t imagine that making much difference on LT tires.

 

Yes the shock setting and 20's are a big difference

 

Don’t forget about proper air pressure’s. That makes a big difference in how the truck rides as well.

 

One of the things I hate about my SR5, no tire pressure sensors. pressure is good but I am not a fan of the Faulken tires the dealer put on. I have put 8k miles on them and I think that are rough until they warm up, then normal. I can feel the feedback in the wheel but it always goes away within a mile or 2.

 

Looking for clarification here. I went to my normal shop and they couldn't adjust the shocks because they said their spring compressor wasn't strong enough to safely remove. They sent me to another garage and they told me that my shock are not adjustable and my best bet is to trade them out for softer ones.

Who is right here? Pics above.

 

You're gonna need a third shop. First one can't maintain their equipment, Second one doesn't know what they're talking about. Stay away, very far away from that second shop. @15whtrd is totally correct about there still being an adjustment to lower the ride height. I'm guessing your tires are your primary issue with your ride quality. You can try different air pressures to see if that makes a big difference. If it does, you know that's your problem.

 

I've got to figure out something fast or im going to trade it in after 5 months. I drive 30k a year and mostly freeway. My back kills me after long rides.

Im thinking Im going to just replace the shocks all together with some OEM spec'd ones and just sell the bilsteins. Maybe I will try to trade my 20s for a set of black 18's. IDK, Extremely frustrated.

 

18s will help a lot as will a stock tire like the Michelins. I've read that stock shocks are a bit softer than the 5100s.

 

for sure. My buddy has a stock 1794 it is rides so nice and smooth. it is night and day different from mine. I bought my truck because it had everything on it i always wanted when i was able to buy a tundra. little did i know i would hate the suspension and tires. costly move because I wouldnt have bought the truck if those things were not on it.