3rd Gen Suspension Lift - MEGA THREAD

How’s the ride quality? Looking for a full suspension later down the road but only doing mild trails mainly for camping and desert runs every now and then. Otherwise just daily city driving haha

 

No idea, but fox seems to leak less and hold a charge longer than most

 

It is a definite upgrade over stock in my opinion. That set up will work good for mild trail use. With the valving that icon uses and the soft factory springs it’s a nice combo. The handling overall of the truck is way better.

 

Ordered the TRD kit. 38% off from local dealer. 2600 after tax. I’ll report back with install and ride photos.

 

Super interested to hear how much the install is. My adventure motors kit took most of a full day from 9-5pm for them to knock out, but also working on some other projects. The TRD kit is way more labor intensive.

 

Especially if you have to have it done at Toyota. They're going to make a killing on these kits. A normal full suspension install is going to run anywhere from $1000-1500 from an offroad shop. This has wayyyy more parts included. And through a Toyota dealership I'd be surprised if labor is under $3000.

 

My Kings ship out today. Will try to install them asap and report back.

 

I did look for individual P/Ns from this kit and they're either 1) Not Loaded Yet, or 2) Not Open For Individual Sale in the Toyota system quite yet.

The 1 thing from the TRD kit that I would like to get my hands on are the extended front axles. P/Ns PT362-34310 (RH) & PT362-34320 (LH) not loaded in the system yet.

It would be a relatively easy install to install the new axles while the rest of my suspension is going in.

 

Someone educate me on this. Wouldn't longer axle shafts require a wider wheelbase to work properly? Hence why long travel systems are typically much wider than stock.

 

Tie rods need extended. Then tie rod ends, lower ball joints, brakelines, and UCAs all need swapped out to use those extended axles (from what I’m seeing. someone can call me out on this being wrong if they know something else)

 

That's what I figured. Seems like you can't used extended axles without widening everything else (UCA's, LCA's) effectively widening the wheelbase in the front, no?

 

That’s how I’m understanding it with my amateur brain.

 

I’m tracking a large chunk of that lift kit so I can extended my front axles so I’ll be posting up once/if all the pieces become available for individual purchase.

 

There's that video somewhere in this thread of a shop cycling 13" of front suspension travel and the axles have no bind, still turning easily by hand. I'm curious if the extended axle shafts are really that necessary.

 

It's tough to speculate because I don't think the 3rd Gen has been out long enough for anyone to become familiar with the tolerances of the stock axles. So, I'll speak from my experience with my 2nd Gen Taco:

I swapped out my axles with CVJ axles for Lifted Trucks. Because when CVJ rebuilds the Toyota OEM axles, they do so in a way to allow for a more aggressive angle without the axle damaging itself.

To baseline: There's really 2 types of CV axles for lifted trucks: High Angle and Long Travel. High Angle is the type mentioned above. Long travel actually extends the length of the axle shaft between the two CV joints.

I think with the TRD kit, Toyota is doing 1 of 2 things by including "Extended Length Front Drive Shafts" in the kit:

1. The tolerances with the suspension travel are so tight & limited that any lift above 1" would require an extended length drive shaft...OR....
2. They're saying "extended length" in their marketing, but they really mean a new drive shaft that is built to handle more aggressive angles. I.E. longer boots and more in/out travel of the CV joint.

I hope it's #2...but I'm worried it's #1. I would love to get my hands on these part #'s to measure them and see if they are indeed "extended."

 

You're right. My Icon kit is coming with new UCAs. The ball joint on the LCAs will be at more aggressive inner-facing angle, but I've never replaced LCAs on a mid-travel kit like this. I just replace the lower ball joints with something really high quality when the time comes.

As for tie-rod ends...I'll have to see how much adjustment the stock ones have. My previous setups had (as I recall) around 2"+ of play between the jam nuts to compensate for the longer travel of a 3" suspension lift. Granted...they were maxed out, but it was enough to last long enough that I never had to replace them before I sold the truck about 70k miles later.

 

Yeah I have CVJ axles on my 4runner too and they've been great. I would imagine they are referring to the high angle axle shafts but I guess we'll see. The first option seems like a lot more work.

 

Ok “available” doesn’t mean ready for shipping apparently. Icon stage 4 it is. Standby for review.

 

Waiting on my Stage 4 kit. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it installed before the weather cools here in the desert and I start some of my fall trips. Lead time when I ordered was anywhere between 12-16 weeks, according the Icon rep.

 

I also avoid speed bumps like the plague

 

I currently have the Westcott Designs kit and I’m looking to improve my ride quality a little bit. Not looking for a full suspension lift until a few years from now. I have the C4 front bumper on right now and am running 35s. Anybody have suggestions on most bang for your buck improvement in ride quality? (Without swapping to smaller tires lol)

 

Do you mind letting me know which local dealer?

I called a bunch around here from Everett on down to Bellevue/South Seattle and everyone seems to can’t get it because it’s not available at their distribution center as yet?

I was told the closest they could track a set on the west coast (after giving them the p/n) was heading towards LA.

 

Have you tried ordering it on parts.toyota.com? That's the main Toyota OEM parts site (though not every dealer participates on the site since the license is costly). That site is still running free shipping on all orders over $75 (Code: FREESHIP).

There's lots of west coast dealers on it. Since I'm west coast, I use it frequently to ship parts to me in Nevada. I ordered my upper mustache & new Toyota emblem from the site with free shipping.

I found the kit 36% off being sold through Gosch Toyota in Hemet, CA. Link to their page: https://parts.goschtoyota.com/p/TUN...yota.com&machineIDT1=j4y2lrz5lsylb2mbwopu1mge

Hope that helps!

 

Curious if you have found the ride to be firmer with the Icon shocks? I had Icon coilovers on my Tacoma and the ride was definitely firmer. Wondering if with this setup using the oem springs if the ride is firm, soft or somewhat the same as stock?

 

Only way it will improve cheaply is letting air out of your tires. You put a spacer/ pre load lift on a truck which stiffens the ride, added thick heavy tires and a big heavy bumper. Best bet is front coilovers and ditch the rear spacer for LC springs, then slowly upgrade the other parts- UCA's bump stops, rear shocks, etc

 

I called 2 of the dealers where parts.Toyota said they had the kits…they seemed perplexed but told me they don’t have it and can’t order it.
I also went down that road back in January when I needed a Tonneau cover also so I am not sure what the disconnect seems to be.

 

Very strange. I had the same experience with the upper mustache trim. I'd call with the part #, they'd act like I was crazy and tell me they couldn't order it. Finally, I just said the heck with it and placed the order online. 2 weeks later, I get a shipping notification that its on the way. lol.

I guess we'll see what shows up. haha

 

LOL…I should try that…maybe the website is ahead of the manual dealer process.

 

did you change your mind from the Icon kit and choose the TRD kit instead?

 

Oh no. I still have the Icon Stage 4 kit coming. I was referring to the part # for the upper mustache when I was trying to get a dealership to order it for me. I'm going to drop the chrome stache when I install my winch bumper.