There are few ways to make a more striking style statement than to slam your pickup truck right to the ground. Trucks which have been lowered often have a menacing, predatory look that is at odds with the tall stance of most other pickups on the road. A dropped truck really stands out from the crowd.

Lowering your Tundra is a great way to improve handling and looks.

When looking to lower your Toyota Tundra, you have no doubt run into suspension kits that make use of drop spindles. Drop spindles are one of several different methods that can be used to safely lower the ride height of your vehicle. These components raise the pin on the body of the spindle, which lowers the spindle body and drops the front end of a pickup truck. Since these pieces are completely bolt-in, they are a very simple way to lower a vehicle’s front end, and it can usually be done in a few hours in your own garage.

A dropped front end not only looks cool, but it also helps improve handling by lowering your pickup’s center of gravity. You can also change your suspension geometry to your advantage with drop spindles in order to get a specific ride that you’re looking for.

There are a few drawbacks to using drop spindles. It is important to make sure that whatever wheel and tire combo you currently have on your truck won’t rub any other parts of your truck once the drop spindle has been installed. If you think that this will be a problem, check and see if there are spindles available which offset the wheel. Often, offsetting by as much as an inch will help any clearance issues.

Drop spindles are also not intended for dramatic drops – usually modest height changes of around 2 inches are all that are available without causing parts of your truck’s suspension to come into contact with the wheel itself. Drop spindles can also pose a problem if you decide to install after market brake components later down the road, due to the change in position of the suspension components affected by the spindles.

Drop spindles are an inexpensive and easy lowering solution for your pickup. If you are on a budget, and if you can handle some of the negative aspects associated with using drop spindles, then they are tough to beat. However, in order to get the benefits of full lowering, it’s necessary to take a look at the rear suspension as well. Axle flip kits and frame notching are some ways of dropping the rear end of your Tundra.

Note – We’ve also profiled Tundra Racing’s drop kit – check it out.

Finally, an alternative to drop spindles and a flip kit is to install a full air ride kit all around. While more expensive, air ride springs provide a fully controllable ride height that can be used to either get a dramatic look or improve your pickup’s ability to handle a heavy load. At this point in time, we’re not aware of anyone who makes an air suspension kit for the 2007+ Tundra, so you’ll have to customize. Of course, that also means you’ll be one of the only people to have an air suspension. Cool.

Have you read our Toyota Tundra towing guide?

Ya – that’s right. We’re reviewing a lowering kit for the 07-and-up Toyota Tundra that doesn’t use new springs to drop your Tundra. TundraRacing.com provided us with a rear leveling kit for a Tundra regular cab, along with the extra parts we needed to take the same Tundra down another 2″ (from level). That works out to about a 5″ drop in the rear, and about a 2″ drop in the front. The best part of this kit? The truck rides better dropped than it did stock!! Amazing!

The lowering kit from Tundra Racing rides better because it doesn’t really change the stock suspension. The kit simply moves the rear leaf springs below the axle (creating about 5″ of drop in the process) and adds a new spring perch to the front coil assembly that drops the front 2″. Since the stock springs and leafs aren’t modified, the stock ride is maintained, as are the stock payload and tow ratings. Even better, because the front springs aren’t pre-loaded when they’re installed, the front suspension is actually just a touch softer. Additionally, because the lowered truck is also level, the weight is more evenly distributed front and rear. That makes the rear end less “bouncy” and the front less stiff. Add it all up, and the truck rides better with the lowering kit than without it!

Handling with the lowering kit installed is MUCH better than stock. The truck’s center of gravity drops quite a bit when the lowering kit is installed, so there’s a lot less body roll and more lateral stability. It’s not a sports car, but it feels a lot better than a typical Tundra in the corners. Interestingly enough, this is the same kit Toyota installed on three Tundras that were raced around the country featuring TRD parts. Check out this Tundra racing video – the kits on the trucks being driven are the same as the kit we’re reviewing!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Tundras in this video were dropped using the TundraRacing kit we’re reviewing.

Onto the installation process. To lower the rear, you’ll need to move the leafs below the axle, attach the new shackle hardware, and install new shocks. This process is pretty straightforward and doesn’t require much in the way of special tools – an air wrench would be nice, but you can get it done with a set of english and metric wrenches and sockets, as well as a good torque wrench. Dropping the rear suspension is the same as installing the Tundra rear-end leveling kit we covered last week, except the mounting points on the new shackles are just a little higher (closer to the bottom of the bed). When you add the new shocks, make sure to attach the bushings provided.

Installing the new spring perch up front begins with pulling the stock coil assembly. You’ll need to remove the front wheels, skid plate (if equipped), then disconnect the sway bar end links and the shock mounting points. It’s up to you how much more of the front suspension you want to unbolt, but the more you take apart the less prying you’ll have to do to get the coil assembly out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

TundraRacing.com 2″-5″ Lowering Kit Installation Video. Special thanks to Ryan Prue and Tanner Tilton at Stevinson Toyota East in Aurora, Colorado for working with us on this installation.

Once you’ve got the coil assembly out of the truck, you’ll need to take the pre-load out of the springs using a spring compressor. NOTE: Don’t be a dummy. Pre-loaded springs are very dangerous. Take proper precautions and use the correct tools to remove the pre-load. You can always take the compressed assembly to your local shop or auto parts store where they will decompress the spring for you for a nominal fee. You only need the spring compressor to decompress the springs – they aren’t pre-loaded when they’re re-installed.

Take the shocks out of the springs, remove the dust cover (you may have to cut this piece off, but it’s really not necessary in the first place – most-after market shocks don’t use dust covers because the shock shaft is self-cleaning), and using a rubber mallet, knock the stock spring perch off the shock. Now take the new spring perch sleeve and rest and fit them onto the shock. Epoxy the sleeve to the shock, then epoxy the rest to the sleeve. The epoxy is needed to prevent the spring from rotating as it compresses. Now, when you reassemble the coil assembly, you’ll notice that the front springs are basically loose. There is little or no compression on the springs now, and the lack of pre-load will result in the front end of the truck dropping about 2″ below stock when it settles. Pop the coil assembly back into the truck (always easier said than done), reconnect everything and torque, and you’re all done. Just don’t forget to check and re-torque bolts if necessary after about 100 miles of driving.

The warranty on this kit is average – 90 days if you install it yourself, 1 year if an ASE certified mechanic installs the kit. As far as price, we think $699 is pretty fair. Compared to TRD’s lowering kit, which costs about $1500 and makes the ride significantly worse, Tundra Racing’s kit is a great deal. The Ground Force lowering kit, which we have no personal experience with, costs about $1000, but that includes new springs and leafs. We’re going to guess that the Tundra Racing kit is at least comparable to anything out their in terms of ride (if not much better), so $699 seems like a good deal if you’re concerned about the truck’s ride. If you get the TundraHeadquarters discount, even better (see below for details). As for handling, we’ll have to hold off on comparing this kit to others. Having said that, you really can’t go wrong with this kit. It’s hard to imagine any lowering kit feeling substantially better handling wise – at least not without significantly reducing ride quality.

Bottom Line: This is a very nice kit. Every part is high quality, the customer service is excellent, and the finished product looks good, rides, and handles great. Toyota has purchased numerous kits from Tundra Racing for use on their demonstration and show vehicles – including the trucks being raced in the first video above. If you’re in the market for a lowering kit that won’t ruin your truck’s ride (not to mention payload and towing ability) look no further than TundraRacing.com. If you want to order the kit, mention this review and TundraHeadquarters.com for a 10% discount and free shipping (for a limited time). We highly recommend this kit.

Check out the full instructions for this kit.

Have you read our Toyota Tundra towing guide?

As we all know, new Toyota Tundras have a pretty substantial forward rake:

This is a picture of a 2008 SR5 Regular Cab 4×2 with the 5.7 V8. If you look at the building behind the truck, you can see that the ground is roughly level. The truck, however is not. The rake (or forward tilt) of the truck is pretty severe. You can also take a look at the amount of space between the tire and the fender in the front and compare that to the rear. It’s pretty significant.

Before, we’ve discussed different options for raising the front end of the truck in order to level out your Tundra. Today, we’re going to blow your mind – what if, instead of raising the front end of the truck to make it level, you lowered the back end?!

Lowering the rear end will make loading and unloading your truck easier. It will improve handling by lowering the center of gravity and reducing body roll. Unlike leveling your truck with a front end lift, you won’t increase your truck’s aerodynamic cross-section with a rear drop kit. That means lowering the rear end of your Tundra won’t impact your fuel economy like raising the front end will. Simply put, there are a lot of advantages to lowering your Tundra’s rear end to make it level.

Tundra Racing, based out of Panama City, Florida, has come to this same conclusion. They began designing, manufacturing, and marketing a rear-end leveling kit specifically designed for the Tundra. They have a fleet of vehicles that they use to test and drive their designs, and they have come up with a rear-end leveling kit for the 07+ Tundra that doesn’t effect the ride OR the payload rating.

Tundra Racing’s rear end leveling kit doesn’t require new softer leaf springs, cutting leaf springs, or any modification that will fundamentally change the orientation of the factory suspension. You simply move the leaf springs from just above the rear axle to just below it. That results in about a 3 1/4″ drop of the rear end without sacrificing payload or ride quality. Genius.

NOTE: The leveling kit does not work as advertised on the Tundra CrewMax. Installing the rear leveling kit on the crew will result in the front end of the truck being about an inch higher than the rear. However, TundraRacing.com is now offering an air suspension kit (for an extra $350) that will fix this.

Anyways, on to the kit itself. All of the parts are excellent quality – as good as any kit we’ve reviewed. Every part is plated or powder coated, and the new shackles and axle components are CNC machined steel. Top notch.

Installation is pretty simple, but like a lot of kits we’ve reviewed, the instructions could definitely be better. Installing the kit is pretty basic really – you get the truck in the air, support the rear end with a couple of floor jacks, remove the leaf springs, attach some new hardware to the axle, then put everything back together. The instructions weren’t terribly clear when it came to putting the leafs under the axle, but the parts themselves provided the information we needed. Each piece of axle hardware was marked with a sticker that indicated orientation (the stickers said things like “Driver Side – Top Rear”) and there were notches in each piece that helped you make sure you were lined up right. Once we figured it out, install was easy enough.

You can see the leafs above the rear axle to the left (stock), and below the axle on the right (modified).

While install was easy for the most part, there were a couple of challenging tasks: removing and re-installing the leaf springs is a two person job, and you may need to modify the rear exhaust bracket to get the exhaust pipe to fit once the leaf springs have been moved below the rear axle (at least on the regular cab). Finally, install isn’t complete until you’ve re-torqued all the bolts after 100 miles (just in case anything settles).

Take a look at the building behind the truck and you’ll see it’s much better than before. The fender-tire gap is just about even now too.

The warranty on the kit is average – 90 days for defects if you install it yourself, 1 year if you have it installed by an ASE certified mechanic. One of the things we really like about this kit is that it would be fairly simple for a couple of people to do this install at home in the driveway, so we’re a little disappointed the warranty isn’t as good for this situation. But considering just how simple the parts are, it shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s unlikely anything will break if it’s put on right. As far as price, the kit is towards the higher end – $399 + $20 S/H. However, as part of this review, Tundra Racing agreed to discount the kit 10% and provide free shipping and handling – just mention “you read the review on TundraHeadquarters.com” to get the special discount. Even though price is a little higher than some front end spacer kits, the quality is excellent and this is something just about any home mechanic can handle (as long as you’ve got a torque wrench).

Driving the truck with the rear leaf springs moved below the axle doesn’t feel much different. It seems a little bit tighter during cornering, but overall it drives about the same. If anything, it doesn’t seem quite as bouncy as before it was leveled. Tundra Racing offers a more aggressive version of this kit that will level and then lower the truck 2″ – we’re putting that kit on this truck next, so we’ll let you know how much better the truck handles then.

Bottom Line: Lowering the rear end is a smart and simple way of leveling the new Tundra, and we think you should definitely consider it (unless you have a CrewMax – see note above). Installation doesn’t require any fancy tools (like a spring compressor), and you don’t need to attack your suspension with a prybar to get new spacers or coils to fit. While we suspect some people have no interest in lowering their truck’s overall height, we hope that you can see it’s a very practical method for achieving the leveled look. Visit TundraRacing.com for more information about the Tundra rear-end leveling kit.

Download instructions for the Tundra Racing leveling kit (links to 4.8mb pdf).

Have you read our Toyota Tundra towing guide?