The Lead Sled Build (1 Viewer)

[skrypj]

I figured I would start a build thread since I recently bought my 2018 LX570 and am starting to accumulate parts. The truck is Nebula Grey Pearl which is where the name Lead Sled comes from, in addition to it being a very dense vehicle being >6000 lbs in only a 112" wheelbase. The LX had ~50k miles on it when I picked it up and got it for around $51000 not including the trade in of my F150.

This will serve two primary roles for me:

1. Tow rig for my Jayco JayFeather x213.
2. Offroad rig. I am in Utah and its about 4 hours to Moab and a bunch of other good spots. We also spend a lot of weekends in the National Forest right by our house and, while the trails are fairly mellow, they can be pretty tight.

My F150 was my primary tow vehicle, but being a Supercrew 6.5' bed it was just two big to take offroad without hitting everything in sight. I had a GX460 as well that did good offroad but could not tow all that well.

Day I picked it up the LX and traded in my F150.

First camping trip, less than 2 weeks after purchase:

 

[skrypj]

So the first major mod is wheels and tires. I picked up a set of Method MR705's in a 17" +35mm offset, they are still inbound.

I was thinking about peeling the 315/70R17 Goodyear Territory MT's off of my F150 wheels, but last night I was poking around and found that Amazon had the same tires for $184 a piece, plus an additional 5% cashback from my Amazon card, put me at $874 for a set of 5 brand new "35's".

I ran these tires on my F150 for probably 5k miles and I actually really liked them. The main reason I bought them is that they are not a true 315/70R17, but instead run more like a 35x11.5 or a 285/80R17. This is them sitting next to my 315/70 KO2's I had on the truck prior, and then tread to tread with 285/70R17 KO2's from my GX460:

They are very light at only 53 or 54 lbs, the total tire and wheel weight on my F150 was only around 77 lbs. Even with this mud and dirt caked on.

So those should be in next week and hopefully the wheels will be as well. Allegedly the wheels are 25.6 lbs so I am hoping I end up around 77 lbs again.

These are probably not the stoutest tire ever but I think they are a good compromise for a truck that serves multiple purposes. My F150 picked up a considerable amount of spunk and probably 1.5 MPG by switching from my 315/70R17 C range KO2's to these. I am hoping these do not penalize the LX too much and am thinking they may actually be lighter than the factory 21" wheel and tires. And since they are about the same width, hopefully dont add a ton of rolling resistance.

 

[skrypj]

I've also started gathering parts for a Tundra swap. I picked up these BNIB CV's for $150 and a set of very low mile UCA's for $80. I've got a lead on some other parts with only 1000 miles. So i think I can have a completely OEM, nearly new, Tundra swap for about $400 all in.

I also picked up a set of Tundra 18's with some relatively low mile Blizzaks for $400.

 

[skrypj]

MR705’s showed up yesterday and the one weighted in at 25.4 lbs. not bad. Not the best either but most 17” wheels seem to be in the high 20’s low 30’s.

 

[skrypj]

Tires came in this week. Weighed one and it was 53 lbs. so I figured mounted and balanced the tires and wheels should be right around 75 lbs.

 

[DrivenLyfe]

MR705’s showed up yesterday and the one weighted in at 25.4 lbs. not bad. Not the best either but most 17” wheels seem to be in the high 20’s low 30’s.
View attachment 3583301View attachment 3583377

I have the 17” 705s too, but didn’t weight them so this is good info!

 

[skrypj]

I picked up a decently clean set of some rock warriors i’m hoping that these will keep the tires inside the fenders with the tundra swap so that I don’t have to deal with any rubbing.

 

[TeCKis300]

315s

 

[TeCKis300]

I think you'll find you may need more offset? Wide tires are great, but when combined with 34"+ tall tires, clearance against UCA can be an issue. Particularly with full lock in compression. I think this is also true for tundra arms. Something to watch, and there maybe aftermarket UCAs that provide enough clearance.

 

[skrypj]

315s

I already ran 285/70’s on my GX so I figured I needed to go bigger on the LX. Plus these things(LX and GX’s both) need all the clearance they can gets.

 

[skrypj]

I think you'll find you may need more offset? Wide tires are great, but when combined with 34"+ tall tires, clearance against UCA can be an issue. Particularly with full lock in compression. I think this is also true for tundra arms. Something to watch, and there maybe aftermarket UCAs that provide enough clearance.

These particular tires run much narrower than a typical 315. They are more like a 285. Im hoping they will be ok, but I’ll guess we will see.

 

[TeCKis300]

I already ran 285/70’s on my GX so I figured I needed to go bigger on the LX. Plus these things(LX and GX’s both) need all the clearance they can gets.

Agreed! My buddy has 285/70s that I helped him fit on his GX. Using the same recipe from the LX for 35s.

Still got hung up on a huge rock last weekend. This is after some stacking to get his rear axle off said rock.

 

[prez1967]

following along!

New-ish to the LX-200 world of upgrades. Can I get a link to the "Tundra Swap" you're referring to?

 

[skrypj]

This is a pic I found of a 35x12.5 on a RockWarrior wheel on a Tundra. Its an aftermarket UCA but there is still a good amount of clearance there. So i think I should be ok with the narrower tire I am running.

 

[skrypj]

following along!

New-ish to the LX-200 world of upgrades. Can I get a link to the "Tundra Swap" you're referring to?

I dont know if there is a specific thread but its where you swap the tundra control arms, CV's and tie rod ends into the 200. The Tundra's arms are 1.5ish inches longer than the LX arms. It helps keep better angles on the suspension when running lifted and also would allow up to 12" of wheel travel if you ever decided to run extrended travel tundra coilovers instead of the AHC suspension.

 

[FJRanger]

following along!

New-ish to the LX-200 world of upgrades. Can I get a link to the "Tundra Swap" you're referring to?

This is probably the most comprehensive one on the forum. However, the others are worth read too.

200 Series Lift using Tundra front IFS and Icon shocks

I sold my 07' Tundra when I moved up to my new to me 08' Salsa Red Landcruiser. Pouring through the 200 series forums on mud, I came across the thread by Brian Jowett about building his truck with Tundra components. So, I stripped the lift off the Tundra before selling it and started...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[FJRanger]

This is a pic I found of a 35x12.5 on a RockWarrior wheel on a Tundra. Its an aftermarket UCA but there is still a good amount of clearance there. So i think I should be ok with the narrower tire I am running.

View attachment 3610460

I've the Camburg Kinetik Tundra UCA. They're billet and clear the ball joints fine. However, they're rubbing at full lock on the foward part of the arm. Total Chaos UCAs are in a box here at the house waiting to be installed.

 

[prez1967]

I dont know if there is a specific thread but its where you swap the tundra control arms, CV's and tie rod ends into the 200. The Tundra's arms are 1.5ish inches longer than the LX arms. It helps keep better angles on the suspension when running lifted and also would allow up to 12" of wheel travel if you ever decided to run extrended travel tundra coilovers instead of the AHC suspension.

I appreciate the info! Does the ride quality improve with the move to the wider track? or is the benefit only realized when dumping AHC?

 

[skrypj]

I appreciate the info! Does the ride quality improve with the move to the wider track? or is the benefit only realized when dumping AHC?

There is debate on whether it is worth doing with AHC. My thought was to run AHC shocks with a decent spacer on top and extend my bump stops if needed to allow maximum range of motion with the AHC shock. My understanding is the shocks in their stock configuration are not utilizing about 1” of their available travel.

My running a larger spacer over the shock you are now allowing the suspension to droop much farther. Running the longer tundra arms and CV’s will keep their angles at the more extreme droop happier.

Since this is a multipurpose rig for me, which tows and offroads and picks up groceries on occasion, I would prefer to keep AHC.

 

[TeCKis300]

I appreciate the info! Does the ride quality improve with the move to the wider track? or is the benefit only realized when dumping AHC?

Neither. Don't count on necessary a better ride quality than what is finely tuned from the factory. There are also those that have swapped to Tundra arms and kept AHC so that's not a limitation either

For general use and even into sporty adventure type use, I wouldn't consider a swap to Tundra arm. Most owners aren't using even the base travel the 200-series come with. Other than being longer, in some ways, it's not as beefy including some of the hardware that goes down in size as compared to the original 200-series stuff. Especially when you consider that along with the added leverage. It creates some packaging problems with the wider track and keeping larger tires under the fenders with good offsets.

I noodled on this for a long time. Even as my rig is pretty modded, with extended travel, and sporty use in fast baja type running (where IMO long arms can really benefit), I find it hard to justify the improvements especially in light of some of the compromises. There are many improvements that can be made before the current arms become a limitation.

If you're looking to build a more extreme rig fitting 37++ tires, and are willing cut up the fender, this might be your mod.