Tundras Newbie - Black to Cement

I really do like the Cement color. I have never modified a vehicle before the Tundra and never really understood why people did, until I did . I am looking forward to doing a few things to the new truck and making it "mine" too. It was hard letting the black one go.

 

From what you pictured it would have been hard for me also. I had a sweet 2013 gray DC with 60k on it and I really liked but mice got into the dash vents and really tired hard to remove the stench but could not completely get rid of it, so I decided to throw in some freshener and trade it in while the value was still there. I was told that the best way to get rid of the smell is to run your truck into a tree. Now I know why they say that. Have the electric pest deterrent installed under the hood now and periodically put peppermint oil concentrate on the cabin air filter.

 

Interesting you say that... I came back from the mountains once and my service department said something had been chewing on my cabin air filter. I read somewhere that there is an access point somewhere by the window cowl that you can put a screen on to avoid that problem.

 

Welcome from New Hampshire!

 

I'll be looking at that soon now that you say that. My cabin air filter had an actual mouse carcass on it. When I set the traps on the front floor boards after finding that, within two days both traps got mice two days in a row. My mechanic told me there are a fair number of entry points under the truck as well. I used to leave it parked and not driven for 5 to 10 days at a time and was also told that contributes to it. This new one will also be garaged often as the other one was not at all.

 

Well, it happened ...
Bilstein 5100’s 1.59”
SCS Ray10’s, 18x9, +25
Nitto Ridge Grapplers 285/70R18

Now I like even more than the black one...

 

Looks awesome.

What’s next?

 

Welcome from SE VA..

 

Thank you... Funny you ask . Just removed the SR5 badging, installed the door sill protectors, ordered a BedRug Classic and a Pace Edwards Full Metal Jackrabbit with explorer rails. Amp Research steps are probably next once the bank account recovers a little.

 

New pic...

 

Are you going to de-chrome at all or leave it?

I love that wheel And tire combo. I wish I would have gone just a hair bigger on mine, but it’s too late to change that

 

I am thinking that the red TRD decals need to go and also replace the Tundra/iForce with the black emblems.

 

I am leaning toward going black on the badging but I am not 100% sure on the grill surround and bumper tips. I do a lot of highway driving and it is a bit nicer to clean off the bugs on the chrome. Trying to be a little practical.

What size tire did you go with Mac10tuna?

 

Welcome from AB Canada. Love cement nice choice. I’d start by vinyl wrapping the chrome black but I’m a hater haha

 

I went 285/65/18
should’ve gone with a 70 series, but was way too concerned about gas mileage.

 

I’ve got my eyes on a new set of wheels soon.

Hopefully I’ll stop spending money on my truck at that point

 

Welcome from East Tennessee.It will be difficult not to build it like the other one.

 

Completely understand! I almost went with 275/70R18's for the same reason. I think I figured out 1mpg penalty was about $200 a year if I drove 12k miles. I don't think going from 275's to 285's would be that much of a mileage penalty so I figured I would enjoy the larger tires $200 a year more and pulled the trigger LOL!

 

That happened to me I installed 275 70 18 and didn't like the look so went with 295 70 18 Nitto Ridge grapplers......had the 275s for only 3 months

 

Truck looks great! Educate me a little, what made you opt for the Bilstein 5100s versus say the 6112s? Black Friday is "pull the trigger day" for me and I'm still undecided as to what setup I want!

 

I have 5100s and they are better than stock but when I get new shocks again I would do 6112s and 5160 next time........specially if you plan on taking it off road

 

I personally believe it comes down to how you plan on using your truck. 99% of my driving is on flat, semi-flat surfaces. I had the stock TRD Bilstein 4600's on my '14 for 75k miles with 3"x1.5" spacers, TRD Swaybar and 295/60R20's. If I was rock crawling or traversing rough terrain this setup wouldn't have worked, but it was great for the switchback driving I do. I never had any of the problems I have read about with spacers though I do believe there are legit mechanical reasons not to run spacers on top of the OEM coilover's.

On this truck I decided to go with a lower stance lift and higher profile tire so the front 5100's are set in the middle, 285/70R18's and TRD Swaybar seemed to be the most economical and sound setup. I have less than 300 miles on it but there is a difference in ride quality on this truck over the '14. I believe it is primarily due to the higher profile tires though. Imperfections in the blacktop such as railroad track and lane divider bumps are less detectable. If I was convinced this is due to the 5100's over the 4600's hundreds I would upgrade the rears too, but I am not so far. I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been able to compare the front only upgrade to having all four. This was actually what I intended on doing but the shop didn't have the rears in stock the day I was there. I am so happy with the ride I may opt out of the upgrade and use the $ for something else.

If your use is similar to mine I think you will be really happy saving the $ and going with the 5100's and possibly a swaybar for improved corner handling but if you are an avid off-road explorer it is a no-brainer to go with the 6112 setup and obviously no swaybar. Here is a link that I think does a better job explaining it than I do: https://www.shocksurplus.com/pages/bilstein-6112-or-5100-shocks-know-before-you-buy.

Bottom line, I would go for the setup that best fits your needs instead of the one with the highest specs and price tag.

 

Welcome from Texas

 

Great explanation, thanks!

 

truck is looking good, Cement FTW

 

Welcome from cali... nice looking rides

 

Welcome from Obx

 

Go Cement!! I love mine!