Advice on tires, shocks and brakes.

Hello, new member first post. I've had my 2015 for about three years it’s been a great truck but recently has been riding rough. My plan is to do tires, brakes, rotors and shocks. I kinda want to lift it or at least level it but it’s not a must. I’m currently running 295/55r20’s and didn’t really want to throw a heavier tire on making my gas mileage worse. So I was thinking of going with Milestar Patagonia XT’s, a power stop brake kit and Bilstein 4600’s. My budget is around $2500. I mainly use it to commute to work, occasional off-road for camping and hunting. What route eould you go? Should I replace anything else while I’m in there?

 

Tire thread - https://www.tundras.com/forums/wheels-tires.18/

Suspension thread -
https://www.tundras.com/forums/suspension.19/

Good posts in there to browse. Lots of great info stickied up top to read through. Also you best spot to do a search on the specific brand your looking to buy to see real world world feedback.

My .02 regarding your post - leveling your truck will make your current wheel size seem small. New shocks alone will be 2,500? 5 Tires are also 1250? So your gonna have to work out the math. I'd start with shocks and buy oem replacement pads since your budget is 2,500. Then save for new tires.

 

I probably should’ve done a little more looking around on here before posting but thanks for the info. I am seeing online I can get the bilsteins for about $400. The brake kit is $470 and the tires I’m looking at are $1250.

 

Are you installing them yourself and reusing the stock springs? I see Bilstein 5100s are not as expensive as I thought they were. 1250 for 5 mounted tires seems like a good deal.

Quick search for power stop led me to this thread - https://www.tundras.com/threads/has...power-stop-front-rear-brake-pads-rotors.7274/

 

Bilstein 5100's would be a great choice. 6112 fronts and 5100 rears would take the game up a little and keep it around $1000 for suspension.

Patagonia XT's are HEAVY tires. If you are looking to lighten things up a little bit, I'd look for something else. The Firestone XT's are much lighter and sound like they'd fit the bill if they offer a size you are looking for. I'm running Nokian Outpost NAT's and have zero complaints. They are a more aggressive AT tire and have performed way beyond what I expected out of any AT tire I've run so far. Mud, snow, rain, towing, asphalt... it's all exceeded my expectations. They are limited in tire sizes but coming out with more sizes often.

What brakes are you planning on going with? OE brakes can be had for ~$600 for rotors and pads. They have served me well for 200k miles. I'm upgrading to a big brake kit, but the stocks have done admirable by me with lots of towing and hauling - weekly.

 

Riding rough, so you want to lift it? Put stock-sized Michelins on and the ride will be as good as it can get and save yourself $$$.

OR, lift and do tires and wheels. BTW: Any tire you buy that is larger than stock will have e rated side walls…means they are stiffer (shittier ride) and heavy (eat gas and increase stopping distance). Watch the weight on new rims compared to OEM…most are heavier and these new combos can be have same effect as strapping on 20lb ankle weights and running a marathon. Adding unsprung weight matters…try and minimize this as much as you can.

I did all this…Bilsteins up front and rear 6112/5100s…raised the front just a skosh, added a leveling spacer and put on Toyo AT IIIs. Truck looks great, rides cock stiff, the AT IIIs are shit on the street and snow. AT IIIs dont have much grip unless in dirt. Gas mileage took a hit which wasn’t great anyway, braking/acceleration took a hit as well. Like I said it looks cool but that is about it.

I dont daily my truck and I surely do not want to have to use it on a daily basis given how it rides and handles now.

There are trades…figure out what you can live with / go into this with your eyes wide open.

 

If it were me, I'd drop the 20s and go with a set of stock 18s. More tire between the wheel and the pavement will help the ride out quite a bit. Tires in general can make or break a ride, especially on a stock truck.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have been looking at all my options. The truck is riding rough so I thought of going with Bilstein 4600’s they’re not as stiff as the 5100’s and I don’t do any hardcore off-roading in my tundra. Although it looks way cool, I’d probably not lift this truck. I’ve built many jeeps in the past the right way and it’s not cheap so I’d rather not go that route with this truck. I do like the look of the stock 20” wheels but I have considered and do know the advantages of having smaller diameter wheel with more rubber on the ground. I would be doing all the work myself except for mount, balance and alignment when I’m done. I think I’m going ahead as planned. I did look into the Firestone XT’s and they are nice tires but they’re similar weight to the milestars and about 150 more per tire. I’ve had BFgoodrich, nitto, toyo on various vehicles and I’m just looking for a quieter smoother looking tire in the current size I have on there. Michelins are great tires I love some meaty Michelins and a smooth ride but they’re not made for my size of wheel unfortunately. 295/55r20. It’s weird because I have no lift, and according to the lift tire size guide these shouldn’t fit. But they do and they don’t rub in my application. Of course I’m not out on trails flexing every where. I’ll beat up a jeep but not my truck. But again I thank you for the replies. I kinda wanted to see if anyone had installed the 4600’s, did you get new springs or reuse your old ones and what the ride quality was like.