06 Tundra 8ft bed No Traction Control/Fishtailing Fun

My Tundra doesn't have traction control confirmed by the VIN. The vehicle is very light in the back and has a hard time gripping the road when making wide left or right turns. A lot of body roll and fishtailing. Feels like you're sliding on a hockey rink making a 10 mph turn in the rain...I know this is a weight distribution issue because the 8 ft bed is so light in the back plus no TC..


I'm working on making this as safe as I can in the rain and in general.

1) I have gotten to-spec firestone tires. This helped a lot. Less wide, less body roll andabetter grip.

2) I bought 10 50+lb concrete square blocks and distributed the weight over the wheel wells and middle of truck.

3) Planning on buying a heavy 3x5 horsestall mat in the bed to cover the blocks.

4) My mechanic recommended new struts and shocks to help with stability, control, and body roll. I'm pricing them out on Amazon.

What else can I do to prevent the fish-tailing and gripping issues?

 

Why are you eliminating all the fun???

Fast and Furious 9: Austin Drift

 

You may check your swaybars. Excessive weight transfer can cause that. Maybe adding a rear bar would help? And a locker wouldn't hurt. And keep your foot out of it!

 

Install a Hellwig rear sway bar.

 

You sir. I like the way you think. Scratch what I said. Do this.

 

Is your Tundra 4WD or 2WD? Any offroad action? That would determine which shock/struts I put on it.

 

2WD. Oh helll no on off roading; I'm trying to make this a daily driver to start. This is as BASE MODEL as it gets.

Per my VIN I don't see anything about sway bars being installed.

• safety
  4 Wheel Anti-Lock Brake System Dr & Fr Pass Advanced Airbag System w/ Front Passenger Airbag Cutoff Switch 3 Point Driver & Fr Pass Seat Belts w/ Pretentioners & Force Limiters Tire Pressure Monitoring System Side Impact Door Beams Center High Mount Stop Lamp
  
  
• comfort & convenience
  Cloth Bench Seat w/Adjustable Headrests and Fold-Down Center Armrest Vinyl Flooring AM/FM/CD w/4 Speakers Windshield Wiper w/Mist Control Dual Cupholders Cigarette Lightr & Two 12v Pwr Outlets Speedometer,Gauges & Digital Clock 1 Driver & 2 Pass Assist Grips 4 Pin Trailer Wire Harness w/Converter
  

• mechanical & performance
  236 hp 4.0L DOHC V6 VVT-i Engine 5 Speed ECT-i Automatic Transmission Coil Spring Double Wishbone Independent Front Suspension w/Stabilizer Bar Power Assisted Rack & Pinion Steering Power Vented Fr Disc & Rr Drum Brakes 16" Steel Wheels with P245/70R16 Tires
  
  
• exterior
  Argent-Colored Bumpers & Grille Dual Outside Mirrors Double Wall Cargo Bed w/Tie Down Hooks Locking Tailgate w/Rail Cap
  

 

In that case I would go with the factory Belsteins that come on most Tundra's. They are good shocks and not very expensive. I got mine on Tirerack.com and they were around $130 for the pair. I would not pay a mechanic to do these though. Trust me, I'm far less mechanically inclined than most here and I was able to do my rear shocks. Same goes for the front struts. I went with Monroe quick struts but I regret it.

 

I was thinking about a locker too. What do you guys recommend?

 

I added a TRD/Kazuma LSD to mine, and Bilstein 4600 shocks.

 

Here are some ideas:

$561 Hellwig 7700 Hellwig Rear Sway Bar Kit - 7700

Hellwig 7700 Sway Bar and Billy 5100’s.

On a personal note, please replace your 500lbs of projectile blocks with some sand bags as a safer option. They’ll not slide around as much, too.

 

Yup. The last thing you want going through your mind in a crash is those concrete blocks.

What tire pressures are you running @tundraatx ? Overinflated tires would certainly contribute to this.

Adding a locker would only help you get more sideways in most cases.

 

That Hellwig, when installed last month, has almost eliminated the same problem (albeit on a 6 ft bed) the OP is having. I even have ‘limited slip differential’ and have been dealing with spinning tires on sharp turns from a stop on wet roads for years. The rear sway makes it grip better. Still some spinning, but not as much. Weight is the best thing for it, and as you suggest lower pressured tires.

 

Locker is a bad idea, that would make you more unstable in turns because your wheels can't spin at different speeds, your inside wheel will spin. LSD would be a better option but isn't cheap.

You should have a sway bar up front. Rear ones are aftermarket, never tried it. Put sand in the bed, a few bags of play sand would do well. I wouldn't expect a lot from new shocks for traction, it's a truck and is naturally at a disadvantage.

 

Ordered the hellwig front and rear sway bars with some Moog complete struts for front and kyg shocks for back. Everything should arrive by Jan 14 at latest. Saved a bunch buying on Amazon vs AutoZone etc. Can't wait to get the work done.

 

I also like rock auto. Just avoid the cheap shit.

 

The blocks were removed and put a couple of horse stall mats 3/4 inch 3x5 ft in the bed. They're pretty damn heavy maybe 100 lbs each. Much better control.

Don't like having the sandbags back there either since a sandbag can launch itself out at 60lbs a piece if the vehicle was hit.

 

I ordered the swaybars on 12/28. They were supposed to ship out 1/4. I called yesterday and Hellwig was supposed to ship them out yesterday and issue a tracking number. Guess what, still no tracking number. I've followed up a total of 3 times and tired of wasting my time.

Besides Hellwig is there another brand/model of front and rear sway bars you'd guys recommend?

Thanks!

 

Who did you order them from?

 

Remain calm and stay the course. It took a month to get my

$561 Hellwig 7700 Hellwig Rear Sway Bar Kit - 7700

Hellwig 7700 due to it being back ordered. Be patient and it will be well worth it.

 

SDTruckSprings.com.

 

Thanks for quick responses. I hope they are worth it. The intent is to make this my daily driver. The fiance can get rid of her Honda and drive my 12 Camry SE V6 with 52k miles and paid off. Fuck debt and car payments lol.

 

Sales tend to result in back-orders, be patient.

https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/hellwig-7700-rear-sway-bar-2000-2006-toyota-tundra?

 

Found a better deal than the SD link above. Mine was $319 on ebay a few months back when Amzon was $389. Right now the A takes it.

 

Got the Hellwig sway bars front and rear, Moog struts, and kyg shocks installed today. As noted it was a night and day difference with the turning, handling, and traction stability. Really happy.

The next test is the rain. Fingers crossed this will be the fix I'm looking for to be a safe daily driver in the dang rain.

The front is actually higher now than the rear but I don't care much.

 

Wider tires and maybe a tool box and heavier rear bumper couldnt hurt... I happen to have a bumper for sale too