Long Travel BS Thread

This shit is hot af. Thankfully 454 Motorsports exists 10 minutes down the road from me so my lack of fabrication skills doesn't damn me to the hell that is a non long traveled truck.

 

Nothing like cutting up a brand new OEM Rack and Pinion. JD Fab Steering Slide Rack is bussssssin.

 

Don’t forget to either chop off and replace those lca tabs with the jd subframe, or gusset them heavily. If you’re gonna push the truck hard enough to need the slide rack, you’re gonna need to do something about those mounting points or they’ll bend

 

I wasn’t that impressed with the JD fab subframe, atleast on the surface it doesn’t look like that big of an upgrade. 454 is cutting out the total chaos cam tab gussets, welding in some plates to get rid of the adjustment, and gusseting the hell out of the LCA mounts.

 

that was a significant miscalculation, the jd tabs are massive and allow you to move your lca forward as a bonus

 

I’m sorry, whaaa???

you’re literally replacing the known weak metal that currently exists with 1/4” tabs and triangulating the entire subframe. How can you improve on the design?

Sure, you may not get the best noticeable “performance” but there not even a closely compatible option as far as strength goes.

 

my the BTF kit moves the knuckle 2” forward, if the JD fab kit moves it forward another 1.5” that’s 3.5” total the knuckle moved forward. If I went with JD Fab’s LT kit I would’ve done their subframe too. Who’s to say the BTF kit is even compatible with the JD subframe. Wasn’t a risk I wanted to take consider you have to chop the oem one off to install this, and then possibly run into issues.


The gusseting 454 will do will be great, honestly might even be better. He’s doing the DK Frame plating kit with the crossover over the engine too.

I forgot to mention the deletion of the cam tabs and holes. Those themselves are a failure point.

 

no…it’s not better you are just reinforcing the really weak stock lca tabs. with the jd kit you dont have to move it forward it is completely adjustable from stock to 1 1/2” forward and it does fit everything / any kit

 

You could always do the marlin crawler LCA gussets
Those don’t move anything
Just add ontop

 

same problem though they leave the weak oe tabs in place that crack and fatigue

 

Yeah, I’m not going to continue this conversation beyond my original post. I hope it turns out great and you love the outcome!

 

I’m not going to have OE tabs at all. Besides, doesn’t that make you have crazy negative caster?

worst case if I break it I can always do it down the road if needed. I beat the living hell out of the truck when it was mid traveled. Can’t tell you how many hard hits I took in the truck. Hard enough to bend the frame in the rear, but still didn’t damage anything in the front. Not that that means that’s the end all be all, just my experience.

 

I do too, lol. Has anyone in here installed the JD subframe?

 

yes, I have. @Evenflow runs the kit too but he didn’t do the instal himself.

 

Wormsquirts has it installed too if I remember correctly.

 

Can you both share some pics? I haven’t seen this anywhere, besides JD’s website

 

What specifically are you looking for? I’m out of town at the moment but I’m sure I’ve got some pics in my phone.

 

here is a video of him installing it.
https://youtu.be/EZg1xKrt1sM

 

Look closer at your stock tabs. If you really beat the shit out if it you should have cracked welds. I flogged the livin shit out of my MT setup with with the TC cam tabs and duel shocks and the oem stuff was ready to fall off.
I was the first outside their shop to put on the JDFab LCA tab kit and it was one of the best mods made for tacomas. It is absolutely bullet proof. Not a single issue since I’ve put on all JD makes for the front of our trucks.