what would be involved in dropping the stock prerunner 3"

ok, I thought that was a 3" spacer block used to lower the truck that I was seeing.


I guess the replacement shackle compensates for the added thickness of the spring perch block. it looks like they made the spring perch much higher then what was just needed for the drop flip so I guess that was necessary for maintaining its strength. I mean I expect it to have some metal there but it almost looks like an added 2" spacer built into it. I wonder it that's because yours is 2nd gen?

are there any issues of drivetrain alignment and resulting vibrations? or is it designed to correct for proper drivetrain alignment?

 

this is what I have now

 

2nd generation rear spring hanger mounts different from 1st gen I believe. Pic
Drive line angle built into block design so no drive line issues. In long run think it would be better to just pick up tundra racing kit. Just bolt on and no worries. With 3in drop in front with out drop spindals upper control arm comes real close to top of fenderwell. I'm satisfied with just 2 in in front. That exra inch drop in front (3in) will not be easy with out running into problems I Think.

 

im ok with just a 2" drop in front. the reason I keep saying 3" is because I like the stock rake look so it would be nice to retain that look. I was looking for something to get an even amount of drop front and rear but this kit seams to be designed as a leveling kit also by dropping front 2" and rear 3", so after I put in this kit, I can always add some "lift" shackles to add that 1" or so of rake back into the rear but I will have to see how I like the flat look first.

I just need to find the kit on sale at a great price or see if I can locate one of these kits someone is selling used

 

Can order 1in blocks from tundra racing also .Some one added aal and lifted to much so he picked up the 1in block .

Correction block will lower it more My bad....

 

They do.

 

Wonder if the MPGs will be better if lowered? Just a thought, seems like Keaker is getting slammed with "why?", but maybe "why..... not....?"

 

If you put these Prerunners on their balls and tuck the wheels into the wider 4x4 fenders they actually look good...to me anyway.

 

yes I had that same thought but I was thinking a lift shackle could shave off some of the drop, since as you noted, with the newly flipped axle, a block just lowers it even more.

I could be wrong but from the looks of the spring perches they should add at least another inch or more drop so I bet they create a 4" drop when used (3" axle thickness plus whatever the perch height is) and the new shackles in the kit are for correcting it to 3" but then that is just a guess

 

not sure if its enough to notice but the lower the truck, the less wind resistance so yes it will be better mpg but it may only be very minor if at all in this case, especially since im not dropping much at all.

my plan is to buy the tundra racing Tacoma lowering kit "if" I can find it at a great price or hopefully locate a used kit being sold by someone.

what helped me decide was the lowered springs will drop it 3" instead of the 2" drop with the tundra racing kit and I would still need to buy an axle flip kit for it so a complete matching all in one kit is the best way to go but all that depends on if the struts I have will work with the kit, if not then I will have to go with the shorter springs kit and buy an axle flip kit seperately.

probably be after Christmas so I can save up enough money thou

interesting reading, but since he went with a 6" drop, not sure how much the things he talked about would apply to my drop

 

if anyone cares, I just got an email reply from tundra racing about the kit.

this was my email:

and this was their reply:

so as I understand it, either he doesn't understand the difference between shocks and struts, or this kit does not work with stock oem or oem brand replacement struts.

because the ad clearly says: "This kit is designed to reuse the Original Equipment springs in order to retain the great Toyota ride quality."

but if the kit requires that only an exact specific shock to be used with it, you would think it would be included in the kit or specified as a required item needed for the kit to work?

so I guess it would appear that he is confused and is talking about rear shocks or something and not the struts that I asked about

I guess I will have to try talking to a live person on the phone to figure out what he is really talking about

 

ok, followup:

turns out the guy didn't know why the first guy said that.

here is the deal, stock oem spring plates can be tapped off and replaced but some aftermarket struts and oem replacement struts have tack welds holding the spring plates on and those you cant use with the kit.

so the kit requires oem, Kiko, or Bill Steen struts to fit. otherwise you can buy a shorter version strut spring to do the same thing of lowering the front end.

 

The second answer is the same as the first. ??? What clarification was needed? You reuse the spring and not the shock unless you have one of the stated brands. In the pics that were posted of this setup it shows this fact.

 

they wouldn't include them in the kit because it would be an additional $200+ for new front shocks

and the description says no new shocks required, but if you have 80k+ on them to consider it. meaning to use the factory shocks and just knock off the spring plate.

 

Did you ever get the kit? I would also like to lower my prerunner

 

Go on YouTube and look at "engineering explained" he does a great write up about lowering cars and the pros and cons of each type of drop. Bottom line, DO NOT CUT YOUR COILS