35” rubbing (1 Viewer)

[BigDaveGMG]

Hey Guys,

I just put 35” KO2’s on my 2011, and am getting some noticeable rubbing, especially when turning right. I took it to my mechanic and he told me that I’m getting some serious rubbing on the sway bar bracket, especially on the driver’s side.

He suggested that maybe there is an aftermarket solution, but he didn’t know of any. Does anyone know of any existing product that could help?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[619TOY]

Hmm, rubbing after putting on 35's? I don't think anyone else has run into that. Maybe a bigger lift?

Actually Slee makes relocation brackets for the swaybar/KDSS mounts, but I don't think they cure the rubbing with 35's, just reduce it, but I'm sure you'll get more feedback.

 

[BigDaveGMG]

I thought maybe a bigger lift, but my mechanic said that wouldn’t do anything because the swaybar bracket wouldn’t move further away from the tire. I’ll reach out to Slee. Thanks!

 

[Willy beamin]

get the slee relocation bracket, add some spc upper control arms to finalize adjustments and Proper wheel offset as in rock warriors.
You'll want to trim the front fender wheel liners where contact is happening and the rear of the front wheel well around the rocker panel.
your rub is happening on the inside of your KDSS bar - look for where the rubber marks are and you'll understand. The kdss bracket slee sells moves the kdss bar forward about 1/2" and allows a clean sweep in that area when turning the wheel. good luck, stick with it and you'll figure it al out real quick. keep an eye on your front fender liner on to see if your tire ever contacts the top section - if so you'll want to run larger bumpstops up front as well.

 

[BigDaveGMG]

Thanks a lot, Willy. I actually have the SPC UCA's, which were put on when I added the ICON lift. I just emailed the guys at Slee to ask for a recommendation as to which brackets they would recommend. I appreciate the help!

 

[mcgaskins]

Lots of people here have run 35s and most either end up running 34s (me included) or wish they ran 34s. 35s are totally possible and if you’re dead set go right ahead. But the collective experience on this forum suggests a 34 or 33 to avoid hassle and headache.

 

[Markuson]

.75” Bora spacers got me off of my sway bars (also a WB suggestion). I’m on Rock Warriors which are 50 offset.

Don’t see what wheels/offset you’re running...so maybe different for you.

 

[TeCKis300]

37s have been done. So 35s can definitely work with some key adjustments.

To Mark's point above, offset is key. Or spacing wheels further outwards away from the suspension. Ideal is ~30mm offset. More offset (lower number) only create more problems than it fixes because of the additional swing of the tire.

Yes, I know many suggest upper control arms to move the wheel forward in the tirewell. But IMO, this just exacerbates clearance against the KDSS bar. And potentially causes binding/wear in the CV.

Better strategy, that has yet to be readily used, is to do a body mount chop. Not wholesale chop, but just a trim of the farthest corner of it where it'll interfere with the wheel. Tundra/4Runner/FJ/Tacoma's all use this strategy. That's a pretty big sign it can and should apply to the LC.

Another key may be utilizing a minor .5" body lift. At full stuff with 35s, the tires will contact the upper part of the wheel wells. One can likely create some clearance with hammer (pref air hammer to recontour the metal well). Sure, one can limit suspension travel, but suspension travel is king in my mind. Trading 35s for suspension travel is 1 step forward and 1 step back.

 

[TonyP]

The body mount isn't the issue. It's the kdss bar, a gang of plastic trim, and ultimately the rear, inner, wheel wells. The KDSS relocation will hose your end links and their bushings, but it's a solution.

 

[Markuson]

The body mount isn't the issue. It's the kdss bar, a gang of plastic trim, and ultimately the rear, inner, wheel wells. The KDSS relocation will hose your end links and their bushings, but it's a solution.

/\ This /\

Yep.
My rear inner wheel wells have been nicely de-lined in a couple spots from a few, full-stuff rubs. That kind of deep stuff only happens with massive, one-sided articulation though...which only happens at low speed. So no real “damage” done. I still hesitate to put big bump stops back there.

In front, touch spots are similarly limited to low speed stuff like at full lock in turns—so danger of catastrophic damage is basically nil.

 

[TeCKis300]

The body mount isn't the issue. It's the kdss bar, a gang of plastic trim, and ultimately the rear, inner, wheel wells. The KDSS relocation will hose your end links and their bushings, but it's a solution.

Don't disagree. But doesn't logic follow that if one is pulling the tire forward to avoid the body mount, that it will cause more interference with the KDSS bar?

 

[Markuson]

Don't disagree. But doesn't logic follow that if one is pulling the tire forward to avoid the body mount, that it will cause more interference with the KDSS bar?

Not necessarily. There is an indentation in the KDSS/sway bars that you are more likely to hit if you turn into it further back. By moving forward, you can clear the inward curvature and turn into the indent...so you avoid contact more easily. It’s not a straight shape you’re avoiding. It’s curved...and you need to clear the curve.

 

[Chocolate]

Useful information on the KDSS relocation here:

KDSS relocation bracket

 

[TonyP]

Don't disagree. But doesn't logic follow that if one is pulling the tire forward to avoid the body mount, that it will cause more interference with the KDSS bar?

Not necessarily. There is an indentation in the KDSS/sway bars that you are more likely to hit if you turn into it further back. By moving forward, you can clear the inward curvature and turn into the indent...so you avoid contact more easily. It’s not a straight shape you’re avoiding. It’s curved...and you need to clear the curve.

Just going off of memory, I'd say it would cause more interference adding castor but I could be wrong. That said, adding castor isn't really going to solve anything. I see what you're saying though, take some castor out (move the wheel back to avoid the KDSS bar and just chop the body mount). That could work but, again going off of memory, the body mounts aren't nearly as intrusive as they are in the Tundra or Tacoma. I don't think there's much to chop off that'll give you extra clearance. But again, I could be wrong my memory is s*** lately.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

Body mount chop a 200 isn’t going to work the same level of improvement as Taco/FJ/4Runners.

Those other body mounts protruded much... much more into the fender area. I was probably one of the first to body mount chop a FJ in ‘07, it made sense. When I got my 200, one of the first things I’d noticed was that I wouldn’t need to do that at all.

The 200 body mount doesn’t have the ridiculous metal work that extends 6” past the body mounts inner lip. THAT’S why those truck get chopped. Our 200 doesn’t have that at all. If you chop it, your already into the lip.

 

[Romer]

Useful information on the KDSS relocation here:

KDSS relocation bracket

Great link to help understand. I originally thought it was to move a KDSS valve or something like that. This link and the below picture show it's like on an 80 series (for us former 80 guys). To lower the mounting point of the sway bar to the frame. Different than the 80, the mounting holes are slightly shifted as well. I havn't done this so please correct me if I am wrong

 

[TonyP]

It lowers and pushes the mounts towards the front of the vehicle. This puts the bend in the KDSS bar farther forward so it won't interfere with the tire while turning. You can see the bolt head of the original mount/location on the left side of the relocation mount.

 

[Willy beamin]

I relocated the bottom of the swaybar end links to the outside of the carrier / bracket that holds them in place. Then had a solid spacer cut, with a pass through for the bolt, to fill the end link bracket void. Doing so addressed the unnatural new position caused by the kdss relo bracket. this = no bent end links. Zero issues after more than a year of driving and several hundred miles on trails.

recap - KDSS relo bracket, plus relocating the sway bar end links and a .75 bora spacer - works well with a tire that is 12.52 in width. On the most recent HITR trip I did learn that when I stuffed my front tires during a hard turn there was contact with the rear body mounts in the front wheel wells at full articulation. I could hear it but there was no damage on the tire. I don't believe I'll be touching my body mounts anytime soon, for the current wheel tire combo.

As a side note - @TonyP ran Toyo 35's which are a large tire and measure 13"+ wide so his experience would have been more exaggerated. ***Tire width is key***

All of the above results in functioning 35's for everyday and trail cruising. A 34" tire is less drama and tinkering. If you want to run 35's then take note of what has been shared, as this is all been trial and error. Consider yourself fortunate to have all this info in a single thread - wish I had this when I was trying to figure it all out.

Lastly, find yourself a good alignment shop. I'm not talking about a regular tire shop that lets a computer tell them when the alignment is correct, you're beyond the normal spec. What you feel when driving is the end all and a shop with someone that understands that is key.

 

[TexAZ]

Lots of people here have run 35s and most either end up running 34s (me included) or wish they ran 34s. 35s are totally possible and if you’re dead set go right ahead. But the collective experience on this forum suggests a 34 or 33 to avoid hassle and headache.

Meh'
if you've read this far in this thread, you probably are pretty interested in running 35's. The simplest way to run larger tires is the Tundra swap. It pushes the wheels out away from the KDSS and allows the use of stock wheels or rock warriors.
add larger bumpstops in the front and rear to minimize any contact.

Doing the swap is more involved up front, but makes for a stable platform, no KDSS issues, and more readily available parts if things do go wrong. The few that have done the swap swear by it.

 

[mcgaskins]

Meh'
if you've read this far in this thread, you probably are pretty interested in running 35's. The simplest way to run larger tires is the Tundra swap. It pushes the wheels out away from the KDSS and allows the use of stock wheels or rock warriors.
add larger bumpstops in the front and rear to minimize any contact.

Doing the swap is more involved up front, but makes for a stable platform, no KDSS issues, and more readily available parts if things do go wrong. The few that have done the swap swear by it.

Hope that wasn't directed at me - been there, done that with 35s, not interested I am a proponent of 34s personally which was my stance stated above, and I'm not a fan of parts bin mixing/matching like the Tundra swap. It could have good results, but it adds complexity to an already complex platform, and getting support from 4x4 shops, indy mechanics, dealerships, etc. isn't going to be nearly as straightforward otherwise. For a DIY mechanic with the right skills and ability to deal with trial error, it might be an ok solution, but I think the 200 has enough support to use bolt on products.

Toyota was well aware when they designed the 200 it would used and abused around the world for decades to come and would be modified by many of the owners. I believe if they thought using Tundra components would make the 200 better, they would have done so from the beginning. It certainly would have saved Mr. T lots of money if the Tundra and 200 shared even more components, but they didn't do so and likely for a reason. I realize certain components have some crossover like the upgraded brakes on the 16+ (which are objectively better), but taking a truck well beyond the original design parameters isn't something I'd consider. It would be a lot different if these were cheap enough to chop up and turn into wheeling beaters, but that's not the case and likely won't be for several more years. I think 35s stretch enough beyond the design parameters that only those with the right level of experience and patience should consider it.