Newbie questions

Hello all,

Just purchased a 2017 SR5 last year, and I wasn't planning to modify it until I've fully paid off the car... but I ended up scratching one of my fenders pretty badly, so I decided to start my project much earlier than planned. Had the Bushwacker flares installed first to replace my messed up fender and I love how they turned out, but as you can see in the pic my truck has a little bit of that awkward teenager look where the body parts don't quite match. So next up will be a 3" lift and some mean looking wheels, again sooner than planned. So I had a few questions I'm hoping haven't been asked a million times already.

1) I understand increasing the wheel/tire size will throw off my speedometer, as well as make the car less fuel efficient. But will the dashboard readings also be inaccurate? I'm referring to the "Miles until empty", "Total miles traveled", "Average MPG", etc?

2) And if so, is there a way to calibrate the in-dash readings to whatever it is that calculates those numbers to the new wheels?

3) I've been recommended by my shop to look at the ICON lift kit Stage 2, which ranges from 0-2.75", but everywhere I read, people say 3" when referring to this kit. Are they just rounding up? Or is 2.75" just regarded as the same as 3"? Sorry is this is a dumb question.

4) I've read conflicting reports on the need for UCA's over a 2.5" lift. I guess the different answers probably reflect the different driving styles/uses. The ICON Stage 2 doesn't include UCA's, and when I asked the shop if I should buy the UCA's for a 3" (or 2.75") lift, I was told it wasn't really necessary since I only plan to do street driving. I figure they wouldn't have any motivation to turn down my money other than to be honest. So for those of you who only do street driving, have a 3" lift, and don't have upgraded UCA's, have you had any alignment issues?

Thanks for any input!

 

In my experience the jump in size made my MPH more accurate. However, with 265s I've noticed the fuel reading is now inaccurate. I've found that multiplying the dash read out by 1.17 gives me the accurate MPGs for the trip. I was told be the dealership that they cannot re-calibrate.

I don't believe you need the UCA's, but if you plan to offroad and you're modifying the suspension IMO you might as well replace the stock ones while you're in there. I don't know if you've taken a look at the stock ones, but they're basically just bent metal. I plan to replace mine when I modify the front suspension. If I'm gonna be in there its just two more bolts to remove at that point.

Most people recommend SPC light racing UCS's.

 

Best to get the UCAs. It keeps all of your alignment and power train geometry similar to stock. The Icon kit is adjustable so you can adjust your coils to anywhere between 0" and 3" of lift but forewarning, the more lift you have the greater the preload on your springs which will give a rougher ride.