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Mods that stress the truck?

Discussion in '5 Lug' started by Early B., Jun 27, 2017.

  1. Jun 27, 2017 at 6:07 PM
    #1
    Early B.

    Early B. [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Brad
    metro Atlanta
    Vehicle:
    2014 2.7L, 5 lug Tacoma
    18" tires and rims, 2.75" Procomp lift, Fox shocks in rear.
    Do you place an undue stress on your truck with certain mods on a 5-lug?

    For instance, will a basic lift (3" or less) more likely cause suspension problems later in the truck's life? What about putting 31's on a stock vehicle? What are the long terms affects of swapping out a header, if any???? What about a supercharger?

    I'm asking because I want to get 300K-plus miles out of my truck. I have less than 60K now and drive 20K per year, so that's another 12 years.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2017
    ChadsPride likes this.
  2. Jun 28, 2017 at 9:00 AM
    #2
    HackD

    HackD Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum

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    William
    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, eh?
    Vehicle:
    2010 Base 4x2, 2.7L, 5 speed manual 5-lug Slug
    Gone over the Top for a 5-lug..
    All mods have potentially unintended consequences.

    I can only speak in general terms - our usual lift/level puts our suspension alignment out at the high range of adjustment. The suspension itself, is at maximal angle for A-arm ball-joint articulation. As such, i would expect to see potentially accelerated wear in these linkage points.

    I also note that the suspension is now notably harsh, in responding to sudden suspension disturbances like pot-holes. This, again, will have a premature wear-effect over time of ball joints, and increased potential for a shock-seal blowout. The potential for a tire blow-out is increased, if the suspension/spring rate is too stiff to respond adequately, forcing the wheel assembly to take the hit itself.

    Tires/wheel combination - the OEM axle stub/bearing assembly is optimized for the OEM 5-lug wheel assembly, in terms of weight, and dynamic balance. Start messing with up-sized/heavier wheel/tire combinations, getting aggressive with back-spacing/offset figures in wheel changes, use of spacers, etc all alter the load and stresses placed on the axle/stub assembly, and will prematurely wear it out.

    Get too extreme with gearing changes (larger tires) without correcting for them - you are putting additional stress on the clutch and pressure plate in the MT, and definitely working an AT more, to compensate.

    Performance wise - i can't really see how a header would significantly alter potential lifespan of the engine - in the present age of ICU's adjusting mixture according to sensor readings indicating altered conditions, the risk of causing physical damage to the top end of the engine through a header is low. Back in the day of making intake and exhaust changes to carbureted vehicles, you needed to make appropriate internal jetting changes - equal parts black magic and dark science, in order to correct for any induced lean or rich mixture. A header may have a reduced lifespan effect on downstream emissions components like the catalytic converter and miscellaneous sensors. It might also not be CARB compliant in California, and therefore not emissions testable..

    I can't speak for a supercharger in this truck - i have not had any experience with that to really comment - but, you are adding additional loading demands into an engine - in the bottom and top end, as well as introducing additional, high-velocity, relatively maintenance-critical components into the mix. If something goes wrong, chances are it's going to go catastrophically and expensively wrong.

    The more accessories you hang on the vehicle, the heavier it gets, the more aerodynamically 'dirty' it gets. The i4 is good for the single-cab - IMHO it's borderline for the access cab and crew cab 5-lugs. More load upon an engine, the more stress is placed on it over time, and potential for premature wear or failures. Messing with (uncorrected) gearing, heavy tires (ie load range E) etc etc.. anything that puts additional stress and load on the engine, will have an accelerated wear effect over time. The good news - our engines were designed as long-lasting, industrial-spec engines, not performance engines.. they are designed to last, as long as they receive routine, preventative maintenance.

    Anything involving bearings, linkages, ball joints etc will see increased wear rates, when you mess with surrounding components that add additional stress outside of engineered parameters.

    Our brakes aren't the same as those in the 6-lug version - ours are single-pot calipers on comparatively under-sized rotors. Expect pad wear to increase as weight, tire changes, and other braking stressors go up. I have seen a large increase in front pad wear, with the addition of the front ARB bumper, for example. I had to replace both pads and rotors on the front brakes at 96,000km, for example. The rotors should have been good for a few more km's.

    Want to watch a vehicle on the outer edge of changes affecting parts life-cycle, just watch mine.. IMHO, i have pushed the limits, for a normal use vehicle still filling the role for which it was designed. I am anticipating an increased maintenance cycle, and watch components accordingly, for indications of premature wear.

    Like you - i intend to have my truck for an extended period of time, over the average norm. I bought mine in March 2011. Changes started March 2015. Ideally, i would like to see a service life of 15 years out of mine - to that end, some of the changes i did, were to maximize the odds of that happening in the face of 'shit happens' .. I recognized from the get-go, that there is an additional maintenance cost involved in that.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2017
    ajb6948, conortacoma and ChadsPride like this.
  3. Jun 28, 2017 at 2:33 PM
    #3
    Early B.

    Early B. [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Brad
    metro Atlanta
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    2014 2.7L, 5 lug Tacoma
    18" tires and rims, 2.75" Procomp lift, Fox shocks in rear.
    Hack -- why didn't you tell me all of this stuff before I started modding my truck???
     
  4. Jun 28, 2017 at 3:03 PM
    #4
    HackD

    HackD Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum

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    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, eh?
    Vehicle:
    2010 Base 4x2, 2.7L, 5 speed manual 5-lug Slug
    Gone over the Top for a 5-lug..
    Sorry dude, welcome to the Modder's Paradox.

    I'm well used to the give and take aspect of owner-modded vehicles - but for motorcycles only. This is my first significant foray into screwing around with 4 wheels.. and the same principles are definitely applying. Just messing with one component, has the potential for screwing up others, or letting a weakness in the overall design be known, that may need more frequent attention. Nature of the modding beast.

    This is why i'm never rushed when it comes to modding things up, and do as much research as is humanly possible beforehand. Often, that research is persuasion enough, to leave things well enough alone.
     
    ajb6948 likes this.
  5. Jun 28, 2017 at 3:24 PM
    #5
    Early B.

    Early B. [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Brad
    metro Atlanta
    Vehicle:
    2014 2.7L, 5 lug Tacoma
    18" tires and rims, 2.75" Procomp lift, Fox shocks in rear.
    I was (and still am) a complete novice when it comes to modding trucks. The Tacoma is my first truck. I ordered the rims and tires before I bought the truck because there was no way I was gonna drive around town with the stock 5-lug tires. Of course, I had no idea what I was buying, nor did it even occur to me the potential negative effects of bigger wheels. Then I lifted it.

    With this newly acquired knowledge, would I do it all over again? Absolutely!!! But I've sort of reached the limit of mods. I'll get a header in a couple of months, then I'm done with major upgrades. The purpose of the header is to partially compensate for the reduced power from these mods.
     
  6. Jun 28, 2017 at 3:37 PM
    #6
    HackD

    HackD Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum

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    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, eh?
    Vehicle:
    2010 Base 4x2, 2.7L, 5 speed manual 5-lug Slug
    Gone over the Top for a 5-lug..
    It's a slippery slope, modding, innit?

    Header will give you a bit of your low end torque back - i did find it of benefit. I want to see how it really performs, with the gearing corrected closer to OEM with tire size changes figured in.

    I have no regrets either. I probably should have bought a Prerunner as base, but i was buying within a strict budget. I can afford to do things over time, as i have been doing, and have enjoyed the process of doing so. It's meeting my expectations, anyway. That's what counts. I tried to tie in major changes to as-needed maintenance cycles - "if it's going up on the hoist anyway, this might as well be done also" sort of deal.
     
  7. Jun 28, 2017 at 5:16 PM
    #7
    Early B.

    Early B. [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Brad
    metro Atlanta
    Vehicle:
    2014 2.7L, 5 lug Tacoma
    18" tires and rims, 2.75" Procomp lift, Fox shocks in rear.
    This is what my truck looks like now...

    20170624_112153.jpg
     
  8. Jun 28, 2017 at 5:30 PM
    #8
    Clearwater Bill

    Clearwater Bill Never answer an anonymous letter

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    A few OE parts from fancy trucks
    I love my 5 lug. I bought it specifically to meet my needs, and it does. I have done some minor mods for both function and looks.

    But the mod list you quiz about? IMHO a 5 lug isn't the right platform for most of them.
     
  9. Jun 28, 2017 at 7:46 PM
    #9
    Early B.

    Early B. [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Messages:
    398
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    Brad
    metro Atlanta
    Vehicle:
    2014 2.7L, 5 lug Tacoma
    18" tires and rims, 2.75" Procomp lift, Fox shocks in rear.
    Of course not. If it were within my budget, I would have purchased an FJ Cruiser or top-of-the-line Tacoma, but sometimes you gotta do the best with what you have.
     
    CarolinaGuy90 and HackD like this.

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