200 Series Lift using Tundra front IFS and Icon shocks (2 Viewers)

[HDJdreams]

Has rcv released ifs shafts for our trucks now?

From an email on 5/8/18 regarding Tundra CVs:

We do not have a kit for your application yet, however we do have one currently in the research and development stage. These should be finished up in 4-6 months. If you'd like we can add you to a list to be contacted when they are ready. Please advise.

Best Regards,
Dillon

RCV Performance Customer Support

 

[bryson]

Has rcv released ifs shafts for our trucks now?

Just checked RCVs site, and no, it doesn't appear that they have Tundra shafts available yet (or Cruiser shafts for that matter).

I just knew they built quality parts, and used their name as an example.

 

[THE LIRA]

"I'm also accumulating parts for a Tundra swap. I still need shafts/CVs, and maybe a cleaner set of lower arms. But, as far as aftermarket parts are concerned, I'd stick with OEM unless you're upgrading i.e. Total Chaos, ICON, SPC, etc. control arms, or RCV shafts or something like that. I'd steer clear of "OEM replacement" style aftermarket parts. Just my $0.02.

Did your eBay CVs come from a dismantler/wrecking yard?"

bryson, the end links came off of a 2014 Tundra with 19k miles on it locally, the lower control arms off of eBay were from a 2013 Tundra, I will purchase the SPC uppers as they are now on amazon, I purchased OEM used CV axles and one that I received looked a little tired. I was able to send it back and I am either working to get another part or my money back on that one. After I sent it back my buddy that works at a dealership said that they are rebuildable. Would I benefit from getting another axle or rebuilding an older one would be sufficient? I am also looking for the 10mm coil spacers I found some on eBay for 80 bucks plus like 30 bucks for shipping from Australia. Does this sound correct? On the spring and shocks I was thinking OME tundra for the from and OME LC stuff for the rear. I have been looking on a site that someone mentioned earlier but have not been able to find any used ICON stuff.

 

[TexAZ]

being in the desert, there are more options that pop up from guys going long travel on the Tundras.

CAMBURG TOYOTA TUNDRA 2WD/4WD 07-18 BILSTEIN 5100 ENTRY LEVEL KIT

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/pts/d/2015-tundra-part-out-57l-4x4/6573453150.html

there was an ad for Kings last week. must have been a good deal, they are gone now.

no affiliation with ads. just stuff I ran across locally.

 

[Willy beamin]

From an email on 5/8/18 regarding Tundra CVs:

We do not have a kit for your application yet, however we do have one currently in the research and development stage. These should be finished up in 4-6 months. If you'd like we can add you to a list to be contacted when they are ready. Please advise.

Best Regards,
Dillon

RCV Performance Customer Support

thanks, I got the same reply last fall when inquiring about the 200 series. Seems as though MUCH is in the werxs - ha

 

[bryson]

bryson, the end links came off of a 2014 Tundra with 19k miles on it locally, the lower control arms off of eBay were from a 2013 Tundra, I will purchase the SPC uppers as they are now on amazon, I purchased OEM used CV axles and one that I received looked a little tired. I was able to send it back and I am either working to get another part or my money back on that one. After I sent it back my buddy that works at a dealership said that they are rebuildable. Would I benefit from getting another axle or rebuilding an older one would be sufficient? I am also looking for the 10mm coil spacers I found some on eBay for 80 bucks plus like 30 bucks for shipping from Australia. Does this sound correct? On the spring and shocks I was thinking OME tundra for the from and OME LC stuff for the rear. I have been looking on a site that someone mentioned earlier but have not been able to find any used ICON stuff.

I would not hesitate to rebuild a Toyota CV, but it totally depends what the issue is with it now. It's possible there could be damaged parts that are beyond the scope of a rebuild. It would be far easier (and cheaper) of course if they just sent you a good working one.

On the coil spacers, are you talking about the factory Toyota spacer that works on the front? If so, those should be easily obtained at your local dealer parts department (part number 43136-60020). No need to order from overseas. But, if you're buying lift parts already, you may not need/want these.

My understanding of what will/won't work with the Tundra front suspension is that yes, you would need Tundra shocks and springs up front. Make sure you order the Tundra upper arms too. Also remember that parts advertised to lift the front of a Tundra X inches will lift your Cruiser X+2(? @bjowett ?) inches. Your rear suspension should all be Land Cruiser specific parts. Brand and such is up to you.

 

[TexAZ]

Coil spacers can be added to any coilover.

The advertised lift amount remains the same. A 10 mm spacer will net 20 mm lift at stock height, and 17mm on a 2" lifted application. The ratio of spacer to lift changes as you move down in the arc of suspension travel.

 

[bryson]

Coil spacers can be added to any coilover.

Correct, but why would you need them if you're using adjustable coilovers? You could run them if you top out your adjustment and still want more height I suppose. Or, if you are running non-adjustable coilovers then a spacer could be used to fine-tune the height. I guess there are possible differences in available travel if you use a spacer vs. coil adjuster to adjust the height, but I'd imagine those differences are negligible.

The advertised lift amount remains the same. A 10 mm spacer will net 20 mm lift at stock height, and 17mm on a 2" lifted application. The ratio of spacer to lift changes as you move down in the arc of suspension travel.

Sounds right to me. I was referring to the Tundra arm and coilover swap though, not the spacer. If I'm not mistaken, stock Tundra parts will net you roughly 2" on a 200. Therefore if you get coilovers that are advertised to lift the front of a Tundra 1.5", then you'd get 3.5" (from stock) if you run those with Tundra arms on your 200. Please correct me if this is wrong.

 

[bryson]

CAMBURG TOYOTA TUNDRA 2WD/4WD 07-18 BILSTEIN 5100 ENTRY LEVEL KIT

The front coilovers they advertise in this kit are the same 5100s I have in my garage ready to go on my 200... Is it possible to get away with stock Tundra uppers as long as I keep the total lift height on the lower side of available adjustment? I also found a set of used Tundra ICON 2.5s for what I think could be a decent deal (after a rebuild). What's your opinon on your ICONs at this point? Could the ICONs work with stock Tundra uppers? I already own the 5100s with Tundra coils, but have not yet decided if I'm buying the ICONs. I dislike the maintenance aspect of the ICONs for sure...

What does the MUD collective think? Specifically those of you already running Tundra arms.

 

[Willy beamin]

The front coilovers they advertise in this kit are the same 5100s I have in my garage ready to go on my 200... Is it possible to get away with stock Tundra uppers as long as I keep the total lift height on the lower side of available adjustment? I also found a set of used Tundra ICON 2.5s for what I think could be a decent deal (after a rebuild). What's your opinon on your ICONs at this point? Could the ICONs work with stock Tundra uppers? I already own the 5100s with Tundra coils, but have not yet decided if I'm buying the ICONs. I dislike the maintenance aspect of the ICONs for sure...

What does the MUD collective think? Specifically those of you already running Tundra arms.

@bryson - if you go the icon route and rebuild them, which is great, look into the stiffer front springs depending on your build / weight. Front bumper and winch will drag on those stock icon coils believe it or not. @Atwalz and I Both switched upto the Eibach #700 coils and the truck seem to respond much better. Look into that if you're going to put the effort into this deal. if you're not adding all the weight up front then ignore my comments.

 

[TexAZ]

Sounds right to me. I was referring to the Tundra arm and coilover swap though, not the spacer. If I'm not mistaken, stock Tundra parts will net you roughly 2" on a 200. Therefore if you get coilovers that are advertised to lift the front of a Tundra 1.5", then you'd get 3.5" (from stock) if you run those with Tundra arms on your 200. Please correct me if this is wrong.

swapping the tundra arms will not net you any lift over the cruiser, if any it is negligible.

You can run any shock with the tundra arms.
I had my Icons rebuild at 60K miles. while they were off the truck I ran stock landcruiser coilovers. They fit fine.
the second time I had work done on the coilovers, i ran the LC stock shocks with 2.5" spacer. Still "worked", fitment was good, it just was not optimal handling. it worked for the week the shocks were getting serviced.

Little changes make noticeable differences. This is my daily driver. I frequently have two kids in the back in carseats. I try to keep the suspension a little softer to keep their ride smoother.

I have tried 10mm, 15mm, and 27mm spacers to dial in the combination of lift height and ride quality. I typically run 3.5-3.75" of lift.
To get that, spacers are needed. I'm still running the Tundra front coils, because I don't have a big bumper or winch.
The 10mm spacer was perfect for the height with 17" rims and 34" tires. The tire sidewall absorbed much of the little bumps in the road and handling was firm, but plush.
when I went to 20" wheels and 35" tires, I lost some of the absorbtion from the tires.
I experimented with 27mm spacers. the spring collar was very high on the shock body. Very little preload on the spring. the front end was very soft and had excessive nose dive under breaking.

As a compromise, I now run a 15mm spacer with the spring back at the 2.5" setting. There is still a little more nose dive than I want, but I also want to get the rear taller before raising the front any more.


For the upper arms, if you stay below 2.5" lift, you should be able to get good alignment numbers with stock arms. Tundras have been doing it for a decade.

 

[HDJdreams]

From an email on 5/8/18 regarding Tundra CVs:

We do not have a kit for your application yet, however we do have one currently in the research and development stage. These should be finished up in 4-6 months. If you'd like we can add you to a list to be contacted when they are ready. Please advise.

Best Regards,
Dillon

RCV Performance Customer Support

I contacted RCV because I saw a 200 (with Tundra arms) blow the inner CV on Hell’s Revenge at Cruise Moab this year.

 

[TonyP]

Interested to know if they were OEM Toyota CVs or Napa/Autozone CVs.

 

[TexAZ]

I contacted RCV because I saw a 200 (with Tundra arms) blow the inner CV on Hell’s Revenge at Cruise Moab this year.

would be curious to find out who it was and how their truck is set up.

do you happen to know if it was driver's side or passenger?

 

[HDJdreams]

would be curious to find out who it was and how their truck is set up.

do you happen to know if it was driver's side or passenger?

Driver

 

[HDJdreams]

Interested to know if they were OEM Toyota CVs or Napa/Autozone CVs.

I believe it was OEM, not sure.

 

[bryson]

swapping the tundra arms will not net you any lift over the cruiser, if any it is negligible.

You can run any shock with the tundra arms.
I had my Icons rebuild at 60K miles. while they were off the truck I ran stock landcruiser coilovers. They fit fine.
the second time I had work done on the coilovers, i ran the LC stock shocks with 2.5" spacer. Still "worked", fitment was good, it just was not optimal handling. it worked for the week the shocks were getting serviced.

Little changes make noticeable differences. This is my daily driver. I frequently have two kids in the back in carseats. I try to keep the suspension a little softer to keep their ride smoother.

I have tried 10mm, 15mm, and 27mm spacers to dial in the combination of lift height and ride quality. I typically run 3.5-3.75" of lift.
To get that, spacers are needed. I'm still running the Tundra front coils, because I don't have a big bumper or winch.
The 10mm spacer was perfect for the height with 17" rims and 34" tires. The tire sidewall absorbed much of the little bumps in the road and handling was firm, but plush.
when I went to 20" wheels and 35" tires, I lost some of the absorbtion from the tires.
I experimented with 27mm spacers. the spring collar was very high on the shock body. Very little preload on the spring. the front end was very soft and had excessive nose dive under breaking.

As a compromise, I now run a 15mm spacer with the spring back at the 2.5" setting. There is still a little more nose dive than I want, but I also want to get the rear taller before raising the front any more.


For the upper arms, if you stay below 2.5" lift, you should be able to get good alignment numbers with stock arms. Tundras have been doing it for a decade.

I'm trying to learn here - certainly not intending to be argumentative, so please don't take it as such.

Cruiser shocks on Tundra arms would be pretty squishy (IIRC, you mentioned this) because of the longer lever effect of the Tundra control arm. The mounting points between Tundra and Cruiser arms are in the same place relative to the upper shock mount and frame, so the extra width from the Tundra arms is all outboard of the shock (hence the extra leverage), which is why the Cruiser shocks are too soft with Tundra arms. Yes they'll bolt on and work, but not ideal - as you noticed.

I'm curious why you are using the spacers to fine-tune your ride height rather than adjusting the coilover? Without a position-sensitive shock (bypass) I can't see any benefit at all to using a spacer in favor of the spring adjuster if your ride height remains the same or even close. Spring rate won't change. Preload on coilovers doesn't matter unless there are issues with the coil unseating at full extension. You could theoretically get more droop with a spacer assuming the shock is what limits downtravel though. But, on that same note, you could have less uptravel with a tall spacer if the shock compresses fully before the bump stops come into play.

So, to end up with 3.75" of lift, your ICONs are adjusted to the max height, and you still need to run spacers?

I don't know the exact numbers, but since the stock Cruiser and Tundra arms aren't flat/level when viewed from the front of the vehicle, geometry dictates that the wider arms will indeed net you lift without any other mods. I believe @bjowett (maybe it was @RS6tofj80 ) mentioned this too, but admittedly I cannot find where it was mentioned. After looking at my Cruiser, and other pics online though, I'll admit the angles aren't as steep as I'd first assumed, so the amount of lift given is probably less than ~2".

Thanks much for the confirmation on the stock Tundra uppers... I guess I'll find out when I settle on a ride height and head off to get it aligned. I'm aiming for 35s on Rock Warriors, but I want to keep it as low as possible.

 

[THE LIRA]

Okay so I am going to attempt to use OME Tundra spring/shock and LC OME gear in the back. This should work correct? I will have the Tundra upper control arms, lower control arm, axles as well. I will purchase the spacers from toyota thank you for the part number.

 

[TexAZ]

Any tundra shock should work.
Don't forget the tie rod ends.

Sounds like a solid plan.

 

[THE LIRA]

Alrighty thank you TexAz. I will get the tie rod ends locally. Here we go time to start ordering parts.... Wish me luck haha.