Hi All - I'm new to this overland world. I'll be updating my daily driver for some light trail driving....nothing crazy. I need to update the entire suspension. I'm running the original everything at 265k miles. It squeaks, it groans...its not happy. I want to maintain a comfortable ride and handling on the blacktop but I want to be able to ride some logging roads and forest service roads comfortably and safely. I would appreciate recommendations for the following:
tie rods
ball joints
upper control arms
front coils and shocks
rear leafs and shocks
front bumper (thinking about the ARB)
rock sliders
tires (thinking about BFG K02s...I've got the factory 6 spoke Enkei wheels which are 16" diameter and I think they are 8" wide...)
Would appreciate thoughts and suggestions.
Be well,
Shawn
Hey Shawn, I also am slowly building up a first gen Tundra. Mine is an ‘03. I don’t know everything but I have a few recommendations:
I put a 2.5” Old Man Emu suspension lift on mine. I love it! It’s firm on road but really forgiving Offroad. Also that size lift isn’t overkill and you can run mostly stock components otherwise. Here are some other recommends I have after a lot of research and discussion in the Tundra forums:
upper control arms: Camburg IMO all
Lower ball joint: consensus is anything other than genuine Toyota will fail prematurely. Easy to do yourself and roughly $180 or so for a pair genuine Toyota.
Rock sliders and front bumper: Brute Force Offroad. They are super nice and less bulky looking than the ARB in my opinion. Also both are customizable
Tires: I run the KO2s and love them. I have 285/70r17 and with the OME lift and below wheels there is practically no rubbing.
Wheels: you should up-size to 17” wheels if you’re going to get new ones. There’s a mod where you can upgrade your calipers to the GX470 calipers for better breaking but they need at least a 17” wheel to fit. I have Fuel Offroad Shok wheels. They’re 17”x9” with a -20 offset.
So that’s my input! I’m sure you’re looking around and would love to hear any cool stuff you come across.
Also a couple other things you might be interested in:
RA Motorsports: makes under body skid plates for fuel tank, transmission, transfer case and front skid plate
Coastal Offroad: makes a rear bumper with a dual swing out tire carrier and gas can carrier with side body protection.