Tinkerer's Adventure GX550 vs GX460 vs LC200 (1 Viewer)

[NoClue]

Tundra swap is good for long distance overlanders and land cruiser owners

- helps sweep kdss bar on the driver side
- availability of parts. You're more likely to find a tundra cv / tie rod at a brick and mortar store than a 200 series one

*edit : haven't noticed a difference on the trails with the increased track width, and they are extremely tight here in the northeast

 

[skrypj]

Theres guys running wheels that increase the track width more than a tundra swap will. Even on +35mm wheels my narrow 315/70's rub on the fender lip when stuffed and turned. And +35mm are relatively mild as aftermarket wheels go.

 

[TeCKis300]

Theres guys running wheels that increase the track width more than a tundra swap will. Even on +35mm wheels my narrow 315/70's rub on the fender lip when stuffed and turned. And +35mm are relatively mild as aftermarket wheels go.

Yup.

Offset and scrub radius geometry also apply to the Tundra swap. So when pairing what is a mild +35 for something like 34s, and adding that to Tundra 1.5" wider arms, makes that 2.5" wider per side. Unless running super narrows, that's going to be hard to keep under the fender for clearance.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I'm torn on the Tundra swap and not sure it's a priority for a modded 200. There's enough differences and complexity besides just bolting up that it may not be worth the effort for majority of builds.

Performance wise, the 200-series already has class leading RTI. Unlike lesser platforms, articulation is not really a limitation in its off-road ability. Extended shocks can already expand on stock arms increasing travel to something like 12" F and 12" R. Those numbers are huge.

Some challenges is that it changes the motion ratio of the coilover so there's things to work through in terms of spring rate and damping to compensate. 1.5" wider per side creates packaging issues, putting the tire into the fender, perhaps requiring fender cutting, especially when considering necessary offset to keep geometry good, and pairing with likely larger tires. While wider track width is generally desirable, starting already as a full size SUV, larger track widths really start limiting where the vehicle can effectively travel. Then there's the need to space out the track width in the rear to keep tires inline for softer terrain like sand, and that compromises axle weight capacity and durability at the rear.

Of course there are those extreme enthusiast this absolutely makes sense for.

For myself, I'd rather focus on modding things that will make functional differences and there's enough other things to chew on before long arms. At least for my use and the desire to keep compromises at a minimum, long arms don't (currently) fit into my equation.

I’m of the same opinion here.

Ive been offroading most of my life. Done the Rubicon 4x, 100s of miles of tight stuff in New England, dozens of Moab trips, 1000s of miles in Baja and ive never ever been in a situation where an extra inch or so of wheel travel would have amounted to a hill of beans in the real world.

Could it help you look cool in a video? Maybe…

Since im replacing my entire front end, ive gone back and forth on the tundra swap idea since im replacing all those parts anyway.

End or the day, decided to stay wirh 200 parts for reasons @TeCKis300 explained better than i could. Also a factor is the unknown of the shock geometry and what exactly all the differences and dimensions are.

I’m not smarter than Toyota engineers and I’m past the stage of wheeling the Bajesus out of everything I own.

For each is own…

 

[skrypj]

I’m of the same opinion here.

Ive been offroading most of my life. Done the Rubicon 4x, 100s of miles of tight stuff in New England, dozens of Moab trips, 1000s of miles in Baja and ive never ever been in a situation where an extra inch or so of wheel travel would have amounted to a hill of beans in the real world.

Could it help you look cool in a video? Maybe…

Since im replacing my entire front end, ive gone back and forth on the tundra swap idea since im replacing all those parts anyway.

End or the day, decided to stay wirh 200 parts for reasons @TeCKis300 explained better than i could. Also a factor is the unknown of the shock geometry and what exactly all the differences and dimensions are.

I’m not smarter than Toyota engineers and I’m past the stage of wheeling the Bajesus out of everything I own.

For each is own…

If you have lockers then lifting tires isnt such a big deal. If you dont have lockers then keeping the tires on the ground can certainly help, although ATRAC is pretty great. Since you are talking about the rubicon, I assume you might have had lockers.

That said, I am really on the fence about doing even AHC long travel on my truck just cause I don't know that I want to lift it permanently and putting the spacers in will mess with the AHC pressures without also doing a sensor lift to match.

 

[TeCKis300]

That said, I am really on the fence about doing even AHC long travel on my truck just cause I don't know that I want to lift it permanently and putting the spacers in will mess with the AHC pressures without also doing a sensor lift to match.

Good questions. There's some cascading drivers for it that I think Tinkerers video helps put in context.

The two major functional reasons start with the desire for more ground clearance and compression travel. Ground clearance driven by the want to tackle larger obstacles. Compression travel to avoid g-outs when driving harder and faster. Normal AHC height keeps only 3.5" of travel in compression. Travel that quickly runs out when hitting stuff at speed.

Only the user can answer for if they honestly need more. The stock 200-series is already pretty capable for most adventure travel, especially LXs that can leverage AHC high.

Once you decide you're going to sensor lift for more, that's when AHC Long Travel becomes important. Sensor lifting AHC by 1.5" will leave AHC high with 2" droop travel F and R. Not bad, especially compared to the GX470 in the video. But AHC long travel creates more travel, allowing even a sensor lifted LX in high mode to keep a flexy 3.5" of droop travel.

LCs are pretty easy as most aftermarket suspensions will be longer travel, gleaning all this goodness. Just need to be sure not to statically lift too high or use too stiff of spring rates.

 

[nwfl4runner]

If you have lockers then lifting tires isnt such a big deal. If you dont have lockers then keeping the tires on the ground can certainly help, although ATRAC is pretty great. Since you are talking about the rubicon, I assume you might have had lockers.

That said, I am really on the fence about doing even AHC long travel on my truck just cause I don't know that I want to lift it permanently and putting the spacers in will mess with the AHC pressures without also doing a sensor lift to match.

Add travel, not lift! Then just let AHC do its thing when you need it.

I’m of the same opinion here.

Ive been offroading most of my life. Done the Rubicon 4x, 100s of miles of tight stuff in New England, dozens of Moab trips, 1000s of miles in Baja and ive never ever been in a situation where an extra inch or so of wheel travel would have amounted to a hill of beans in the real world.

Could it help you look cool in a video? Maybe…

Since im replacing my entire front end, ive gone back and forth on the tundra swap idea since im replacing all those parts anyway.

End or the day, decided to stay wirh 200 parts for reasons @TeCKis300 explained better than i could. Also a factor is the unknown of the shock geometry and what exactly all the differences and dimensions are.

I’m not smarter than Toyota engineers and I’m past the stage of wheeling the Bajesus out of everything I own.

For each is own…

One annoyance I have with tundra arms on LX suspension is that the top hat creaks like mad because of new mounting point on the LCA - the angle of the shock is more pronounced. Has me wondering if the shock tower on the tundra is tilted ever so slightly to correct for that.

 

[Boston Mangler]

One annoyance I have with tundra arms on LX suspension is that the top hat creaks like mad because of new mounting point on the LCA - the angle of the shock is more pronounced. Has me wondering if the shock tower on the tundra is tilted ever so slightly to correct for that.

This is literally EXACTLY my concern.

Good observation