Comments on: Toyota Tundra Leveling Kit and Front End Lift Information

By: Admin (Jason)

Admin (Jason) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:19:11 +0000

Tom – This is a lie perpetuated by Toyota dealership employees who enjoy telling you what you can and can’t do. Here’s the short version: There is federal legislation in place that makes it illegal for Toyota to void your warranty because you added an accessory. The ONLY possible repercussion would be that your accessory could cause an associated part to fail. In that instance, the associated part would not be covered.
###
Put another way – it only hurts your warranty on related parts. If you install a lift kit incorrectly and it slowly but surely causes your ball joints to wear out, that’s not going to be covered. However, your lift kit wouldn’t hurt your engine, your radio, your air conditioner, etc., so all of those parts still have their full warranty. Make sense?

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:39:09 +0000

I own a 2007 Double Cab long box Tundra and I have been very interested in having a leveling kit installed by Big O Tires. I was told by my Toyota Dealer in Kamloops, B.C. Canada that Toyota Canada may not honor my warranty can they do this is it legal

please help

Thanks

By: Admin (Jason)

Admin (Jason) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:05:22 +0000

Patrick – Those are almost 35″ tires. If you want to make sure they fit with no issues, I’d suggest a Pro-Comp Stage II 6″ lift kit. You’ll get plenty of ground clearance, upgraded suspension, and your truck will look awesome. The cost of the kit is $2500 + install. If that doesn’t work, a 3″ lift kit from ToyTec (or similar) will probably get them to fit, but you’ll need to do some cutting on the fenders, skid plate, and you’ll have trouble with tire rub at full stop.

By: Patrick Daggett

Patrick Daggett — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:37:10 +0000

I have an 07 tundra and I just purchased bf goodrich all terrain at’s Lt325/65 R18 with the limited chrome 18″ rims. What is the best option to go with to fit these on my truck without throwing off everything mechanical on the truck? I’m not worried about cost, I want it done right though. I don’t want to get rid of the tires, cause they are brand new and I got a steal for them at only $700. Any advice would be great! Thanks

By: Admin (Jason)

Admin (Jason) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:05:39 +0000

Stephen – Are you sure your stock rims are 20″? If they’re 18″ (more likely), the biggest tire you’ll fit without any rub is probably 33″ in height…and there WILL be rub at 33″ – just not much of it. Assuming you have an 18″ rim, a 285/65 R18 (32.6″) would be just a touch bigger (32.6″ instead of 32.1″) and likely wouldn’t rub at all. A Tundra owner we know is running 305/65’s, but cutting was involved.

By: Stephen Powers

Stephen Powers — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:40:46 +0000

HellO, I have an 07 Tundra limited, i put 3 inch coil spacers in the front and 1inch and a half blocks in the rear. Now it stands mean, but i am wondering how big of a tire i can fit on without rubbing. My Stocks are 275 65 20, Please help!

By: Admin (Jason)

Admin (Jason) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:11:30 +0000

Robert – You bet – I completely understand your points and they’re well taken.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:27:19 +0000

Thanks. I have nothing againts lifting a pickup truck, I (to an extent) that 2″-4″ can really be beneficial for a truck, along with larger tires.

But, I guess from a long term standpoint I can’t justify taking the risk. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I had lots of money to burn. I like to run my trucks into the ground ( i take great care of my pickups) but, I like to keep them as long as they can possibly last before they become a money pit. I’d hate for my truck to become a money pit even a few years earlier, do to somthing like a leveling kit.

But all in all, I guess a leveling kit can be useful for alot of things.

By: admin (Jason)

admin (Jason) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:06:43 +0000

Robert – Solid advice – at the end of the day, you are 100% technically correct. Any accessory that significantly changes the factory configuration runs the risk of increased wear and tear. Still, some spacer kits are better than others in terms of CV wear so I don’t think it’s fair to lump them all together. There’s also the fact that some truck owners are different than others when it comes to wear and tear. I think that a basic spacer leveling kit is just fine if the truck’s owner isn’t a hard core off-roader, and I’ve seen many of these trucks function for 100k miles+ without any CV wear or steering rack issues. The factory configuration is, by definition, “right,” but that doesn’t mean it’s the only reasonable way to adjust a suspension. If you’re good to your truck and you’re not looking for a “real” off-road setup, a modest leveling kit is a reasonable accessory. Lots of people have them with no problems.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:48:23 +0000

You guys are all nuts. Of course the upper control arm is going to contact the spring, you just made the strut 3″ longer without moving any other suspension component on the front end. Everytime you hear a bang, thats the control arm, and its ball joint limiting the uptravel of the suspension, instead of the strut or bump stop. That spells a short life for your UCA and its balljoint.

Has anyone blown through a power steering rack yet? Because a lot of you will. CVs will leak because they are not made to operate at there maximum angles like the kits create. The normal Static angle, or rested ride height, is the ONLY way the cvs and tie rods should operate. It only takes a few degrees of angle to greatly increase the wear of these components.

The Tunda is a beautiful truck, and its ground clearance is GOOD ENOUGH to get most jobs done. I urge most of you to reconsider purchasing a “leveling” kit. Even with a diff drop, it still does not correct a bunch of problems that it creates.

This is why dealers, buyers, and service shops mainly shy away from dealing with vehicles with modified suspensions.

Take it from someone thats done a few leveling kits and a lift kit, its just not worth the few extra inches. Squeeze the largest tire you can clear to get an extra inch of ground clearance and call it a day. Don’t spend $1000 on large tires, and then figure, “might as well get a leveling kit for $75 so the tires fit” When you make that decision you take a decision thats decent: getting larger tires, and turn it into a huge mistake: throw off all my geometry in case they rub.

Find other ways to clear them, or go down a tire size.

Best of luck to everyone!