Newbie Lift/Tire & General Questions.

Good Morning from Vegas!

I have some questions that mainly deal with Lift & Tires but may have more general questions as the discussion progresses.

Before I ask my questions, a little about myself and truck. I am in the USAF, work on Helicopters. I have a 2017 SR5 TRD that I purchased in Georgia before I changed bases and got moved to Vegas. My truck hit 34k miles exactly as I pulled into work today.

Right after I purchased the truck I installed a step bar and leather bed cover that I installed myself. Then I went to a local shop and had them install a leveling kit with 1'' block lift in the rear. I had the shop do a alignment that same day but they either didn't do it or did a poor job as within a month I noticed the front tires were wearing unevenly. I went back and showed them and they re-did the alignment at no cost but I think the damage was done. With that said I got another 30k miles out of the tires but now they are getting to the point where they will need to be replaced within 6mo - 1yr.

Since I have started to look what new tires I want to get I keep getting bigger and bigger which leads to a possible lift and since im looking at a lift I started looking at other accessories/mods to add. Shopping for truck parts is like eating potato chips, just cant stop at one!

Anyways back to the actual point. Here is what I think I want to do. I want to get 35'' Nitto Ridge grappers, black fender flares & a bull bar with led light built in. I am going for a look that will turn heads without sacrificing the reliability & performance of the truck (im aware there is always some trade off).

My questions:

1. Im pretty sure I will need a lift to fit these tires. What lift size & type should I look into. Im assuming I would need either a 4'' or 6''. But I do not know anything about lift types. Ive heard terms like coil over and also people mentioning UCA (upper control arm?) when reading about fitting tires. Keep in mind I want quality and don't want to do anything that will lead to problems. But I also want to know what the risks are. Also don't want to severely change ride quality (im ok with minor changes). Also, don't really want to cut anything on the truck if I can help it, taking off mud flaps is fine.

2. I also want to get new 20'' wheels to go with the nitto ridge grapplers. Ive read people talking about offset and im not really familiar with this. Does offset come from the wheel? Tire? or something else? Also what offset should I be looking for?

Those are the two biggest questions that I have right now. I know they are probably dumb questions but I want to make sure that I fully understand what I want before I go to the truck shop because (A.) I want to know what to ask for. (B) I don't want to be taken advantage of and want to be armed with info so I know if this shop is full of sh*t or not.

Thanks guys for helpin out a newbie!

Pics of my truck coming very shortly.

 

Welcome from CO.

First 2 threads:

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

 

You've got a bunch of DuckDuckGo'ing to do to understand the basics. Learn those first before making any decisions on what type of lift or you'll end out with something you don't like/want/need.

 

Everything depends on whether you're gonna offroad or not.

 

95% Daily driving on pavement/highways. No major offroading. Only time it will be offroad will be on rock/dirt roads to get to a open shooting area at the base of some mountains in vegas. Or when I eventually move back to Georgia it will be used on dirt roads in hunting camps. Nothing major.

 

You don't need a lift then. Just slap on some bigger tires and call it good.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/largest-tire-you-can-run-stock-for-all-generations.9762/

 

Ive gone through those threads. I created my own thread so that I could ask specific questions as they come up. Its also not really about need as much as it is want. A lifted truck with 35's looks great and has the added benefit of being able to handle more offroad if I ever find myself in that situation.

My main concerns are I want to achieve the 35's and lift without sacrificing reliability of the truck and drive quality if that even exists.

 

3” lift and cab mount chop.personally I’d go 0 offset perfect stance in my eyes. Lower the offset number on the wheel further it pokes out.

 

I'm running 35s with a 3" lift and zero issues with reliability and drive quality. I'm running +18 offset so trimming was needed.

 

Thanks for the replys CO & ty.

So, someone help me understand the different lifts better. From what I gather a suspension lift is what I would want but I am confused as to where coilovers come into play. Is Coilovers a type of suspension lift that come as a kit or are coilovers something you purchase extra. Which leads me to, Can you get a suspension lift and add coilovers at a later date without creating extra cost/work or is it best to get coilovers at the time of lift install.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/guide-different-types-of-lifts.546/

Truck already has coilovers. Just buying ones that are bigger are can be adjusted to be bigger.

 

So I would be fine just buying a 4'' or 6'' suspension lift and my current coilovers will fit/perform adequately?

 

Nope. Usually over 3 you will need new UCAs, etc.

@Toytec Lifts get in here!

 

I apologize for all the dumb questions but really appreciate the answers. Im starting to get a better and better grasp of what goes into it all. In between reading replies here im doing a lot of googling.

This leads me to my next questions. Since I will probably need UCA's and new bigger Coilovers the price point may get out of reach. So what I may end up doing is breaking up the mods and do half now and half later.

What I am thinking is getting the bull bar, fender flares, new wheels and 1 new tire. My rear tires still have plenty of tread, so what I may do is buy 1 new tire and then swap the spare with the other front tire. This would still give me a serviceable spare tire for emergencies while cutting cost of 4 new tires. That would allow me to save up for the big upgrade of lift and 35's.

But this creates a new problem. If I get new 20'' wheels, is it possible to get new wheels that will fit the current size tire but also be able to fit the 35's I want to eventually get? or would I really need to get wheels & tires at the same time?

 

I think 35x12.5 is to wide with stock wheels probably run on the UCAS....need lower offset or wheel spacers most likely...but new wheels on stock tires will be fine

 

Yeah im wondering if I get new 20" wheels while keeping stock tires on them now and getting the 35's with whatever lift later is doable. In a nutshell, I don't want to get new rims now if they wont work well with the new bigger tires later.

 

Ya just pick the offset you want. Also depends how wide of wheel you get with the stock tires also as to be the same size wheel as you have no 20” wheels won’t won’t with tires that require 18” wheel.

 

If you get new 20” wheels, they won’t work with your current tires. The stock TRD wheels you have are 18”. If you want to be able to salvage your current tires, get new 18” wheels in the offset and width needed.

EDIT: 20” wheels are over rated anyways, and are no good off road.

good luck!

 

Makes sense. ill probably just end up waiting on the wheels then too. Thanks for the input

 

6 inch lift 295/65/20

 

Looks sweet! What offset do you have?

 

0 offset. Sticks out 1.5-2inchs

 

But try to stay away from spacer on the coils on the front if you can. I went with shocks on the front beside spacers.

 

Here is what I have priced out right now.

Lift: Rough Country 6in suspension lift with vertex adjustable coilovers for the font and vertex adjustable shocks in the back: Price: $2600
Wheels: Fuel Black Vandal wheels 20''X10'' (not sure if the x10'' is what I want/need) with -18 offset (im most fluid when it comes to picking wheels) Price: $1100
Tires: Nitto ridge grapplers, 35''x12.50R20 Price: $1550
Lund Bull bar with Led light bar: Price: $310
Lund Rivited fender flares: $300

Total: $5860 which doesn't include install / alignment which im guessing will run another grand or so.

Any issues with any one of these picks?

 

I think someone on here told me the wider you go on rim and more offset the tires will find grooves in the road. If I remember right.

 

There are almost 1000 things to say to your first post its impossible to go.over all of it 100%. As far as lift goes your on the right track in my book that new set up rough country just came out with is very nice. That a side wheels and tires. I love this forum bit at times alot of people including myself will tell you stuff of what we like and not maybe what you want. I highly recommend you check out customoffsets.com tundra photo gallery you can put in what size lift you may want and wheels and almost every time there will be at least 5 trucks in there with that exact set up. As for me I'm on a 6" RC lift and 18x9 wheels +1 offset and 35s but moving to a 22x12 -44 offset wheels and 35s by this summer. here is my truck now


Here is a truck with a -44 offset wheel on a 6" lift.

 

Is thos because of tire ? Or offset ? Just curious.

 

I will definatly be checking out customoffsets website. Do the pictures come with a list of whats exactly installed. So I can print it off and take it to my local shop and just point while I smile and nod?!?

 

I would guess wider the tire and heavier is bad on the steering system and what the pattern is of the tire. Then again it could be both. Lol I don’t know. Just guessing.