3rd Gen Suspension Lift - MEGA THREAD

In all seriousness…and unless I am wrong all you NEED for 35’s is a simple spacer up front to level the truck and not the whole pre-load collar/spacer combo from Westcott.

Many a member have used those with decent results and the least impact to ride quality.

It you want the whole truck lifted further then is where the less than stellar Wescott lift/tire combo starts to impact your ride…or you bite the bullet and go all out.

Folks have also put on portions of the Wescott’s kit (top front spacer and no collar or vice versa).

 

Yes I’m thinking about going all out.
I was looking at how others with my setup did it.

 

Not 100% sure what sort of experience you have with installing suspension on trucks. It’s not anymore difficult than previous generations. Elka actually has an instructional write up that I followed for torque specs.

They didn’t even have them on their site yet when I ordered my kit early February. Icon UCAs were 750$ and really didn’t need anything more than the cheapest option. I had the UCAs before any other components showed up. I wouldn’t do anything different I don’t think. It was between these and Total Chaos and I just went with the cheaper.

 

Right on man, might just end up moving down there all together, stay tuned.


@WrapCO thanks for the Elka link tip, Found it and it’ll make it a breeze.

Here the link for anybody that needs torque specs
https://elkasuspension.dozuki.com/Guide/TOYOTA+TUNDRA+2022+/196

 

Just installed these. .75 inches lift on the dot and slightly more comfortable due to the variable spring rate

 

from what I know (though I didn’t do it) disconnecting the Avs just makes it ‘non-functional… but it would be worth consulting a few others

 

Can't disconnect air ride (without perhaps a lot of work). It's the AVS shocks that can be disconnected with certain aftermarket upgrades. I disconnected the AVS shocks when I went to the TRD lift - no big deal since I never noticed much of a difference.

 

Good Morning, i got a silly question but i dont find reference, i have a 1794 and i am trying to get stability for normal drive and 1" more in the front, the TRD Pro suspension will add 1" in the front?

 

Morning.. To answer your question, The TRD Pro truck already has an upgraded suspension and is 1 incher higher than any of the factory truck. The Toyota TRD PRO suspension that's purchased separately will give you 3" of lift. If your looking just for 1" of lift, there are a few manufacturers out there to choose from.

 

This is great, awesome review of the dobinson kit. I also have a 6.5 bed with the westcott kit and I feel the same way, and for those of you that are on the fence about the westcott kit, its a great spacer kit and drives good for on road use or super mild off road when aligned to their specs. But my preferred style of driving off road is more dessert style with moderated speed. I've been holding off on moving forward on getting a true suspension and lift only because of what was available and to my liking. I'm sure as time goes on, the availability and ingenuity for these trucks will excel. In actuality, I really do hope that Total Chaos, Camburg, Muzulla or Dirt King come out with an extended or better yet a long travel kit for these trucks, I'm assuming it will be a couple years out. Don't know if I want to wait that long and this is why I appreciate your post. Do you have any side shots of your truck? And I'm not sure if you mentioned it already, did you go with a 1" or 2" taller rear spring?

 

Thanks! I just want 1" to level and trying to keep original equipment, honestly i dont know anything about suspension

 

BK is the only one that has a LT kit out right now I believe.
https://www.bajakits.com/i-31570344...ravel-prerunner-kit.html?ref=category:1459208

 

Hey all, I do not know too much about truck suspensions and I have learned quite about reading through this thread and many others on this forum since I have purchased my '23 TRD Sport last November. Without doing too much research and being sold by Westcott's great marketing, I had their 3/1 preload collar kit installed at the time of purchase. After 5,000 miles, I have very unhappy with the stiffness of the ride. I understand now the engineering behind it now and why the ride stiff ride.

Therefore, I am on the verge of purchasing either the Icon 2"-3.5" Stage 4 or 5 kit. The stage 4 is in stock now and the stage 5 comes with rear shocks with remote reservoirs is on a 4-8 week lead time. I am leaning toward the stage 4 due to its availability and I don't think I really need remote reservoirs for the rear. My question is if I install either kit, should I keep the stock rear springs with the Westcott 1" rear spacer or should I install a new spring that gives 1" lift in the rear?

Currently the rear bucks pretty hard when driving over any road bumps over 45 mph. I am hoping that the upgraded rear shocks in either of the Icon Stage 4 or 5 kits will alleviate this issue or is that rear spacer causing the issue. Anyone's thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

Do you haul heavy loads in your bed or do you tow? If yes to either get the rear adjusters and absolutely 100% ditch the stock springs and spacer- get dobinsons rear coils and some extended brake lines.

 

I don't tow or have heavy loads in the bed that often but when I do I wouldn't want the rear to sag. What do you recommend for rear adjusters and which dobinsons rear coils? I already have extended rear brake lines from Yotamafia installed.

 

Looks like icon has a diff drop out.
https://www.iconvehicledynamics.com/accessory/24402/icon-accessories-22-23-tundra-diff-drop-kit/

 

I have Icon stage 6 and kept my spacer in the rear from my westcott lift. Night and day difference in ride quality IMO between the 2. You can get 1" springs, but I'd just run the spacer and see if you need them later e.g. if you have constant weight in your bed or towing a lot.

 

Got my Dobinsons lift in, and before I drop $1200 on the install I’m wondering how hard it is to do myself? I did springs on my previous car (FK8), and that was a pain in the dick. Im assuming suspension is a little easier on a truck? What’s the hardest part, things to look out for, etc?

 

Did you opt to get the fronts fully assembled from Dobinsons? - If not, then that's a tough nut to crack without using a shop-style (wall mount) compressor.

Are you doing new UCAs up front? - UCAs on these trucks are bit of a PITA. Not super major PITA but more they're involved then other trucks I've worked on. On the DS, you have to dismount the ECU or at least get it unbolted to move it out of the way. You have to tackle the UCA from the top.

Extending your rear brake lines might be tough if you're not used to doing brake work. Outside of those things...it's pretty straight forward.

 

I ordered through Exit so no they aren’t fully assembled. Im assuming the coil needs to be compressed over the shock to be put into place right? Was thinking if I needed a spring compressor to rent one from Auto Zone or something.

Also keeping the stock UCA for now, and only got the 1” rear spring in which Dob said I shouldn’t need to extend the brake lines.

 

There's quite a few folks that have battled with the coils using rented or Amazon compressors. Just prepare for a bit of a fight. It can be done, but so can disarming a bomb. lol.

In all seriousness, the coils are truck coils. They're a lot beefier than coils on something like a Jeep or a Taco. If you've got a spare car and a friendly local shop, I'd just pay $50 - $100 to have them swapped over for you. Westcott has a video of them compressing the stock springs with an Amazon compressor and it looked a little more serious than the guy was letting on. But, it might just be me. I've seen first hand what it looks like when a cheap compressor lets go. Oof.

 

If you do end up installing this kit, I highly dont recommend the compressor tool from autozone or harbor freight. You're better off buying the set from Amazon, kinda like the one Westcott uses on there that also can be seen on there install videos. And Yes the coil needs to be compressed to get the top cap button down. And since you're not installing the upper arms, you probably want to contact dobinson to see where to set the preload collar at so you don't add to much lift to where you might bind the stock a-arm and possibly ruin it if you decide to off road or hit. This will assist on getting the best alignment for you r setup as well since caster is limited.
You should be OK without the extended brake lines if you're only going 1" over stock, if it were me, I'd do the rear extended lines, and call it a day and never mess with it again. With that said, Id also do the aftermarket upper a-arms as well so if you ever want to adjust the coilovers to 2.5-3" and gain the additional caster for alignment. Try calling around to get quotes for the front only with alignment, the rear is pretty straight forward.

 

Yeah, Im fully aware and its good looking kit. I've been trying to ask them for video footages of that lunar rock truck in action. They post still shots on there social media and what not. The only time I saw that truck moving was in a pack with other trucks at 5mph. Id like to see that kit boogie as it was intended before I drop 10-13K.

 

YUP!. I installed the Westcott kit myself with the Autozone compressor tool. It was a bitch forsure, Not only did I have compress the spring once but at least twice on one coilover and 3X one the second one. Oh Man was it super sketch. I had to compress the spring to a point where the compressors threaded shaft were bent and hot tp the touch. I was so surprised that it actually held in place. I did scuff the stock springs trying to remove the damn tool. I was almost to a point where I was in the middle of the install, asking myself "what did I get myself into" with a bunch of "Oh shi!t" moments..LOL... I snapped out of it and man-up to the task as safe as I could and got'er done.

 

Man I don’t deal with that stuff. Most compressor tools scare the crap out of me with their sketchiness. I just take stuff down to Les Schwab and pay them a few bucks to do it (which in the past was swapping springs or shocks on the struts).

 

I can confirm the AutoZone rental compressor will not work on Icon coilovers. So I’m pretty sure it wont work on dobinsons.

You need a compressor with slimmer hooks to grab the coils like this

BILITOOLS 2-Piece Coil Spring Compressor Tool Heavy Duty Macpherson Strut Spring Compressor Set with Safety Jaws and Holder, Max Load.2645LB

$57 BILITOOLS 2-Piece Coil Spring Compressor Tool Heavy Duty Macpherson Strut Spring Compressor Set with Safety Jaws and Holder, Max Load.2645LB

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PYR6NVF

 

2023 Tundra TRD Sport
Before and after.
Icon Stage 4
1" Rear spacer
Lift was 4" Front 2" Rear
OEM TRD Sport Wheels
Nitto Recon Grappler 295/65/20

Only rubbing is at full lock left or right on the sway bars.

 

How did you net 4" in the front and 2" in the rear with 1" spacer in the rear?

 

His truck is a TRD Sport. They yield a higher lift in the end than the TRD OR or other models.

 

Did ya install different axels?