Honest opinion needed

Ohhh Snap @KevinK started drinking early - i guess being in OH is 3hrs earlier.
But yeah answer those questions because lots of people just buy whatever and realize it doesn't fit the bill with how they plan to use their truck. But again truck use can change as well. You will meet stupid people from the interwebs and next thing ya know your going Long Travel wanting to do chit you shouldn't be doing. Better go ride in a MT truck and LT truck before you spend any money. Otherwise you may do it twice or three times.

 

Alright let’s break it down here I go...

#1. I love the look of my truck lifted 5inches BUT after a couple trips on the dirt and hearing about aftermarket spindles not being as sturdy as oem and more things breaking on a bracket lift I want more performance.

#2. Off-roading man not that much but plan and hope to hit the dirt a little more with my SoCal peeps or even when I go shooting to BLM land it’s always dirt. So let’s say 1 or 2 times a month if that.

#3. For this one u got me but I want to be able to do a little of everything at any given time.
#4. I don’t wanna fly and do all sorts of jumps which would be bad ass but I don’t see myself ever going that fast or crazy. I mostly wanna be able to keep up with the pack and have some fun.

#5. I currently have 20x9 rims on 35 MT. Thinking once I’m ready might go back down to a 18 on 35 tire

#6. My truck is only equiped with a Bakflip MX4. So just what ever weight I would add is supplies needed for a day trip. Ice chest chairs canopy tent, tools and beer of course

#7. I only tow a utility trailer once in a blue moon when needed for house materials or small task.

#8. Color doesn’t really matter as I’m sure ur asking for the springs and coils.

#9. I kinda want to do this once as I already spent money on the lift I have now and I don’t really wanna do this ever again. That’s why I’m trying to get the most info as possible.

#10. The time I went out with the crazy’s( SoCal group) was fun nothing stoped me. I was able to accomplish the trail with every1. bUT the other meets i haven’t attended I see the have gone faster and faster and that worries me. Mostly just heard spindle bending is a big thing out there. @osidepunker put fear and me and even said he wouldnt help me out if I broke down so I have to make drastic changes lol. Obviously coilovers will be a much smother ride out on the dirt so that’s what I’m leaning towards. More speed, more fun

Wow seems like I wrote for ever lol hopefully I answered everything here.

 

talk to @M C M

or Kings/ Deaver/TC

 

very minimum honestly. I don't even pay attention.

 

Haha @osidepunker not help ya. Don't believe that for a sec. He is a good guy and we never leave anyone stranded --EVER! We always help everyone but come prepared. Don't show up without a tow strap, tools, full size spare and expect everyone else to have what you need. If ya get a flat expect to change it yourself with your own tools. Know your vehicle and it's limits.

 

You have the zone 5 kit? If so the weakest point to me looks like the stupid shock extensions. I cant believe more people don’t have problems with those.

What i would do is decide if you want to push your truck beyond what a bracket lifted truck can do. Like really. We all will have our limitations. Im 2wd, im gonna make it to the next offroad meetups and that will be my limitation. Nbd ill pusb it to what a 2wd can do and stop there.

There has been some great advice here. Reality is going fast and hard offroad will break stuff, scratch/dent paint, and require lots of progressive upgrades.

 

You may have made the most important point yet - go for rides in other trucks to find a setup you like. I rode in probably 8-10 trucks before we decided on our final setup (final for now )

I completely forgot that and am going to update my post.

Good job doing your homework on this and being realistic with yourself. All of this info is going to probably save you a lot of time and money and get you exactly what you want.

My comments below will not take into consideration an actual budget, but are presented in a Good/Better fashion. Good will basically meet your minimum requirements. Better will be better, duh. Basically speed and time is the differentiating factor between Good and Better. Better will let you hit trails for longer periods at high speeds with less shock fade and more comfort.

As far as shock brands, take your pick. For my money it’s Fox for progressive or Icon for digressive. Ultimately it’s up to you.

For control arms, also take your pick. For my money, a non-adjustable (while on the truck) would be Total Chaos. For adjustable on the truck would be Icon.

Front Good:
2.5” adjustable height, smooth body coilover without resis or clickers
Upper control arm

Front Better:
2.5” adjustable height, remote resi with clickers coilover
Adjustable UCA

Rear Good:
2.5” smoothie
Shackle for a little lift to match the front

Rear Better:
2.5” remote resi with clickers
Shackle


The progressive vs digressive argument is for you to decide. We daily ours and hit high speed off road and prefer the digressive.

 

Kevin. I’ll start another piggyback question that relates to OP.

3.0 c/o vs 2.5 c/o. How hard extra do you need to push it to feel the difference?

What if you add a bypass to the 2.5 setup. Does that make it better than a 3.0 alone?

 

I’d say a 3.0 comes into play for small jumps and medium size whoops.

A bypass will give you greater adjustability than a 3.0 alone, so I do think a 2.5 CO plus a 2.5 bypass is better than a 3.0 alone.

But a 2.5 bypass and a 3.0 together is even better.

 

I don't feel that a single 2.5 is enough for the rear - upgrading to 3.0 and might as well upgrade the front while I am at it. #someday

 

I agree for the hard core off roader. A rear 3.0 would be much better especially if you carry any kind of weight. Even a little bit.

 

I was running a 2.5 coilover alone and for the stuff I was doing, it was not enough suspension. I did contemplate scraping the 2.5 CO, but ended up adding S2 2.5

It greatly improved rebound and compression over previous setup. I can hit the big stuff and feel that the front cycles plenty. To @KevinK point, I do think if you were to add a secondary 2.5 it would be great improvement over running standalone 3.0... So far I'm happy with the 2.5 bypass in the rear as well, good for medium to heavy stuff.

 

If @KevinK would get some RXT springs and RXT bypasses in the rear, he wouldn't be complaining about it

 

True, I love my RXT!

 

@fisherman951 let me know when you are ready to get rid of the bracket lift and ill do the work on the crossmember.

 

Yes sir I’m working on getting everything together. If you know any1 going LT that is going to get rid of their MT let me know please. I’m looking I got a couple leads already but the more the better.

 

well i think you have probably already talked to Warren yeah ?? @831Tun

 

Yes sir!

 

I chose Icon from reading @KevinK write ups. No complaints here.

 

Maybe @Icon_Adrian wants to donate a set to Tundras to Sedona and I can rig the raffle.

 

Sorry dude. I cant get caught-up in that mess and end up like Martha Stewart for insider trading.
Good luck though.

http://www.tundrastosedona.com/
Looks like a fun event!

 

wait. @KevinK is martha stewart?!? holy crap. that could explain a lot...

 

But doesn’t Martha hang with Snoop now? That’s the upside to prison time apparently.

Duh. Why do you think I’m so good at charcuterie?

 

haha what I said was that bracket lifts are prone to bending spindles because they have longer cast iron spindles that are very heavy and weak.

also, I'm done helping guys with spacer lifts. I'll give you the shirt off my back, but not if you run a spacer. I am so sick of seeing coilovers snap because of spacer lifts. Seriously though, I never leave anyone stranded. I suppose if you broke your coilovers on a spacer lift what I would actually do is drink beer and laugh at you. But I would probably make you take the strap

As for the great shock debate, Fox is made with better materials. They have the strongest shaft (stainless steel), most durable seals (viton), and their race oil is good for something like 450 degrees. I have 50k miles on my coilovers on the original seals; no leaks.

Also, the bypasses do not click and sound annoying like the others do.

 

Who do U use for your fox products?

 

vendor? I use Kartek

 

That’s an expensive picture. I’m jealous

 

One other question I forgot to ask. At what point do I need new leafs? I won’t be adding a RTT or much weight in the rear so not sure if I should worry about those or not?

 

lots of good info here. this is one reason i enjoy this site... guys with a lot more knowledge and others just starting out like me that ask the right questions.

as stated earlier- its a little pointless because i have nothing to compare to (haven't tried all brands) but i love the ride on and off road with my Icon setup. From the sound of it i am probably closer to your driving style (not a speed king like these guys). enough to keep up and get me where i need to. only thing holding me back (so far) is me. not my setup.

 

May I ask what set up are you running? You can pm me if you don’t want to post details here.