I bought this 2010 LX 570 to be my wife's daily driver/family vehicle, with the intention that it would eventually end up being the replacement for my lifted 2004 Sequoia. We purchased a GX 460 this spring, freeing up the LX for me to start playing with.
I made the decision to go with a BDS lift after a lot of consideration, discussion, research and heartburn. In addition to the straight up BDS lift I considered and researched 2 other options:
1. Icon Stage 6 Kit for LC 200. Would have done the Tundra swap with this as well along with 315/70/17 tires, which I run on my Sequoia with 5" of lift. My main concern is that this type of lift changes the angles of the UCAs, LCAs, steering arms and CV axles. This adds stress and wear to those components and others, among other potential issues. I've been running a more extreme version of this lift on my Sequoia and have seen what steep angles can do to otherwise reliable CV axles. A full-time 4WD vehicle like the LX 570 is going to be much harder on CV axles than a part-time 4WD system as well. I almost pulled the trigger on this lift...twice actually...but I kept coming back to the decision that I wanted to try something else. Been there, done that when it comes to standard coil-over lifts.
2. Keeping the AHC and pairing it with the BDS kit up front and a custom fab solution for the rear end. I'm sure you've all seen the 2011 LX 570 in Colorado that is set up this way. I think the concept is awesome...I just don't have the tools or skills to fab a solution for the rear end on my own, but I do have a couple friends that could. After discussion with these friends I decided it just wasn't worth the effort. It would have been super rad to have 4.5" of lift AND the option to go up another 2" with the flip of a switch. Cool...just not worth the amount of work to do it properly, especially so when you can't do much of the work yourself.
I've lifted several trucks over the years but this will be my first drop bracket lift. I've looked at drop bracket lifts from other manufacturers in the past and it was obvious that they wouldn't hold up to my use. Cheap strut spacers and scary weak adapters to connect the steering knuckles to the UCA's. That's a deal breaker. But the BDS kit includes new machined steering knuckles that are twice the size of the factory part...paired with custom Fox Factory Series coilovers to fit the 4.5" drop bracket. That solves 2 of my biggest reasons to avoid a drop bracket lift. I plan on welding the drop bracket into place to prevent any movement and associated issues.
Here is an overview of what I have purchased for the project:
Front:
I also removed the third-row seats during this step. The drivers-side third-row seat has to be removed at least temporarily in order to access and disconnect the AHC controller, but I removed both as I have a set of Dobinsons drawers on the way.
I then installed the Slee Sliders...mostly to get them out of the way since I am doing this work in an "oversize" single car garage.
And I then started the process of removing the front suspension & differential.
I made the decision to go with a BDS lift after a lot of consideration, discussion, research and heartburn. In addition to the straight up BDS lift I considered and researched 2 other options:
1. Icon Stage 6 Kit for LC 200. Would have done the Tundra swap with this as well along with 315/70/17 tires, which I run on my Sequoia with 5" of lift. My main concern is that this type of lift changes the angles of the UCAs, LCAs, steering arms and CV axles. This adds stress and wear to those components and others, among other potential issues. I've been running a more extreme version of this lift on my Sequoia and have seen what steep angles can do to otherwise reliable CV axles. A full-time 4WD vehicle like the LX 570 is going to be much harder on CV axles than a part-time 4WD system as well. I almost pulled the trigger on this lift...twice actually...but I kept coming back to the decision that I wanted to try something else. Been there, done that when it comes to standard coil-over lifts.
2. Keeping the AHC and pairing it with the BDS kit up front and a custom fab solution for the rear end. I'm sure you've all seen the 2011 LX 570 in Colorado that is set up this way. I think the concept is awesome...I just don't have the tools or skills to fab a solution for the rear end on my own, but I do have a couple friends that could. After discussion with these friends I decided it just wasn't worth the effort. It would have been super rad to have 4.5" of lift AND the option to go up another 2" with the flip of a switch. Cool...just not worth the amount of work to do it properly, especially so when you can't do much of the work yourself.
I've lifted several trucks over the years but this will be my first drop bracket lift. I've looked at drop bracket lifts from other manufacturers in the past and it was obvious that they wouldn't hold up to my use. Cheap strut spacers and scary weak adapters to connect the steering knuckles to the UCA's. That's a deal breaker. But the BDS kit includes new machined steering knuckles that are twice the size of the factory part...paired with custom Fox Factory Series coilovers to fit the 4.5" drop bracket. That solves 2 of my biggest reasons to avoid a drop bracket lift. I plan on welding the drop bracket into place to prevent any movement and associated issues.
Here is an overview of what I have purchased for the project:
Front:
- BDS 4.5" Kit w/ Fox DSC Coilovers
- SPC UCA's, Tundra 2007+
- OEM Tundra LCA's
- OEM Tundra CV Axles
- Nitro 4.88 Ring & Pinion
- ARB Locker
- Fox 2.0 Shocks (came with the BDS kit)
- ARB Old Man Emu Coil Springs, 2423
- Icon Billet Rear Lower Links
- Ironman Adjustable Rear Upper Links
- Dobinsons Adjustable Rear Panhard
- Nitro 4.88 Ring & Pinion
- ARB Air Locker
- Slee Sliders w/ LED Kit
- RLC Rear Bumper and Tire Carrier
- Dobinsons Dual Rear Drawers
- Slee Secondary Battery Tray
- Sherpa Air Compressor
- Rhino Hide Body Armor
I also removed the third-row seats during this step. The drivers-side third-row seat has to be removed at least temporarily in order to access and disconnect the AHC controller, but I removed both as I have a set of Dobinsons drawers on the way.
I then installed the Slee Sliders...mostly to get them out of the way since I am doing this work in an "oversize" single car garage.
And I then started the process of removing the front suspension & differential.
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