Concerns with My New RC 3.5” Lift

Just lifted my 2008 Tundra Limited 5.7 4WD with the help of a buddy of mine who’s got an impressive shop that did the work. My current tires are 275/60 with stock 20” wheels. The tires are almost bald and will be going bigger with aftermarket wheels. Running 38 psi on all and hasn’t changed since before lifting.

Chapter 1 | “The Lift”

Installed RC 3.5” lifted N3 struts & their UAC designed for these. I opted to not get the full RC kit which comes with 1” rear blocks but rather put in 2” ReadyLift rear kit with Old Man longer rear shocks because I wanted a little rake. I took several height measurements before and after including when the tank was close to empty and full, in a parking lot and in the driveway, etc. Based on the averages of said measurements I’m getting 2” lift in rear as expected however getting 4.5” lift in front NOT 3.5”! Good thing I didn’t go with they’re full “leveling kit” otherwise would have wound up with a strange looking truck. Called RC and was told to measure from center of wheel to top of fender and should be 25.5”. Told RC I’m getting 26” to which the response was a half inch is within tolerance and things should settle .25-.5” over time. Even at half an inch my truck would still be 4” higher in the front. I was suspicious they may have sent me the 4.5” strut so they had me read the numbers on the strut to which I asked “do you mean the numbers below the word CHINA?”… yes, read the numbers and was told they were the correct ones. So… does any of this seem odd to anyone out there or par for the course? I know the RC 3.5” leveling kit is common and can’t imagine people wouldn’t be complaining about their front end being an inch higher… something just doesn’t seem right here. Wondering if the control arms are in the danger zone?

Chapter 2 | “To Bump Stop or not Bump Stop”

Most lift kits in the 3” range I’ve found don’t include or mention getting bump stops. The RC 3.5” kits do. I ordered them separately and put them on but am questioning if it’s really needed or better yet is it even a good idea to do this?

Chapter 3 | “Dropping After Lifting”

Again, I didn’t order the kit but rather in pieces. We installed a differential drop but later realized the RC kit also comes with a sway bar drop. Later ordered from RC and installed which drops the sway bar 1-3/8”. Problem is now we can’t get the skid plate back on even with the skid plate drop spacers included in the differential drop. Talked to RC and they said there shouldn’t be a problem. No idea here but it’s physically impossible to put the skid plate back on now. Any ideas?

Chapter 4 | “The Alignment”

Eccentric bolts are maxed out to get the camber barely within spec. Camber is +0.6/+0.5, Caster +2.7/+2.6, Toe +0.13/+0.14 Left/Right respectively. Have been conversing with a real nice guy over at SPC (Tom) who says my camber will eventually go more positive. Considering taking the RC control arms out and putting in the SPC adjustable ones however given the amount of lift I’m getting (see chapter 1) this wouldn’t be a good idea as the SPC adjustable arms aren’t designed to handle that much lift. Tom had me take pictures of the eccentric bolts and measure from the ground to the center of the bolts as well as measure from the ground to the center of the wheels. After cross referencing his database he concluded my truck has been lifted 4” from stock. 4WheelParts has agreed to take a look at my truck and see if they can figure out what the heck is going on with this lift but in the meantime thought I’d see if anyone has thoughts on the matter. Really don’t want to get new tires and have them not last as long as they should. It would suck to have to take this stuff out and replace but probably worth it if required.

Thanks for reading.

 

Pixs?

 

Thanks, would be glad to post pics... what pics would be helpful?

 

Sideview of your truck.

 

Get some pics up. We have installed a few of these 3.5" kits here and haven't had any issues. The CV angles are a little aggressive, but we've seen worse.

 

Chapter1 thru 4 for start.. Thx

 

Hows the ride? I just see the bumpstop picture, holy angles batman

the bumpstop question is a matter of the compressed length of the shock. If the shock has a longer overall compressed length than stock, then the shock will bottom out before hitting the oe bumpstop. That means breakage. Call RC and ask what the measurements are of the shock

 

Per their website the collapsed length of these struts are 20.82"

Ride seems okay although don't really have anything to compare to. I had never changed the shocks and has 120k miles.

 

if they are suggesting such a big bumpstop spacer then it could also be the coil springs that are the limiting factor. It definitely is designed to be done compressing way before the suspension geometry is.

 

Just got back from 4WheelParts and they're mechanic did a thorough inspection. Most importantly said everything looks good and is safe. Said he's seen RC lifts not be close to what was advertised, +/- 1.5" in cases. He went on to say yes it's high and hopefully will settle some which would improve the camber situation among other things. Bottom line it's high and will wear out other parts faster than if I had just gone with a 3" Toytec for example. Also said there was no negative to putting on the bump stops. No one has an answer as to how to put the skid plate back on with that much drop in the sway bar.

May need to go find a place to do a little off roading and see if the front comes down.

 

Was the picture of the bumpstop taken on the ground or in the air?

 

on the ground

 

How much down travel do you have as you jack it up?

 

How much total lift did you get out of the front?

 

technically 4.5" in the front but .5" could be due to the old coils... according to rough country and SPC I've got 4" of lift based on measurements they both had me take. Really wish I would have gone with a made in USA product like the Eibach coil over sold by Toytec.

 

Its weird, because each lift varies about .25-.5 depending on the truck. Even comparing 2 different Tundras.. Some do the lean, some dont. I cant explain it, but it works out that way. 4" with new coils will settle out after a few days and a few miles.

 

I've had these on for a couple weeks now and hasn't settled yet. Probably only have driven less than a hundred miles however. Was told I might try hitting some good bumps on the road. The lead mechanic at 4WP said it is really high. All that said, yea RC said .5" +/- is within reason.

 

Being that you went with the lifted strut, instead of the spacer makes me wonder... What if RC made a 4" lifted strut for the 4.5"" bracket lift kit, and are selling that as an option for the 3.5" spacer kit... Idk exactly, but what if... I've never researched the difference, but why would they make a 3.5" lifted strut and a 4.5" lifted strut? Seems like a waste of time for tooling changes, just for 1". I'm not justifying this, just trying to understand it.

 

...

 

Maybe same strut, but different spring rates. We've done a few with the N3's, one is on our shop rig with the 6". Every time we have bought the bare strut without the coils, we swap the oem coil and tophats over. We've never had a whole inch of variation. The reason I mention this, is maybe the spring rates are different with their coils.

 

When i called RC one of the first things i asked was is it possible you sent me the 4.5 instead to which they asked me to read the numbers which are on the strut. So they are apparently making a longer strut for the 4.5. Still seems fishy to me however. Besides CV axles going out quicker due to this severe height what else is going to go out faster? Also, the 4WP guy said the angle on the UCA ball joint is good but despite this I'm concerned about safety.... any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

The UCA ballpoint angle looks good, dont forget to grease them. The fitting is under the RC cap. As for the CVs, I dont think they will prematurely fail. Our shop truck went 70,000 miles on a 3" front lift, before we eventually went wit the RC 6", still on original axles.

 

Having a similar issue on my sons 2007 tundra. Bought the 3.5" leveling kit for him for Christmas. He needed new shocks anyway, so this was a good opportunity to go ahead and raise it up just a little bit. We finally got around to installing it today.And when we lowered the jack, we were completely surprised on the front end. We measured from the ground to the Fender. Before starting and afterwards, the truck was 7" higher on the front. We haven't had time to do the back yet, as he had to go to work this evening. We are going to do that tomorrow morning. We double checked the kit and the N3 shocks, and they are the right ones for the 3.5" the camber is awful. Any suggestions?