jhcole's Build Thread - 2015 DCSB 4x4 TRD Off Road

I like the look of your suspension upgrade. A few questions - what's the ride difference with the AAL in the rear? What about the ride difference with the front suspension changes? Any vibrations after the fact? Any rubbing on front tires?

I'm supposing since you have a '15, that you have the 3+1 rear leafs, in my case I have the 2+1, so not sure what the AAL would do in my case; I would probably be better off with a progressive AAL...

Looks great, though. I like the tire size in relation to the lift. That would be my ultimate goal.

 

Did you put a 1/2" spacer on the driver side and a 1/4" on the other?
Looks exactly like my truck -minus the lift

 

I notice a little more stiffness in the rear suspension, going over rough roads you tend to notice the imperfections in the road more. But its not a deal-breaker, still very comfortable. I do have a little vibration on takeoff <20mph, I strapped a GoPro aimed at my carrier bearing and I can see it wobbling at those speeds. I have a 3/8" CB drop kit on the way and will let you know if that cures the vibes. No rubbing during street driving anywhere whatsover with the 265/75/16, haven't been wheeling it however.

Yes, my '15 came with the 3+1 leaf pack, I think ToyTec claims users get anywhere between 1.5"-2.0" of lift depending on leaf pack condition, I think you'd still fall in that range.

 

Nope same setup on both sides (ToyTec/Eibach 521600 2.5" coil, 0.5" top plate spacers, C477 Bilstein 5100 set to 0.0", ToyTec/Deaver 2.0" AAL in the rear), I definitely have a 6/10" lean in the rear of the truck. However, the front is perfectly even on both sides.

 

Your spreadsheet makes me happy

 

Nice looking truck. I also have a '15 DCSB 4X4 Sport that I'm getting ready to lift. I'm thinking about going a similar route to what you've done.

Front: Eibach 52160 coils and 5100 Bilsteins in the front, minus the top plate spacer, and LR UCAs.
Rear: 1.5" Progressive AAL and 5100 Bilstiens.

Since I'm only ever running 265/75/16 KO's on 16x8 Wheels (4.5" BS) I want to ensure the lift is proportionate to the tires. Your truck however has made me think about adding the top plates...

I was wondering if you've solved you driveline vibration? Also have you been happy with the ride of the front suspension?

I've been back and forth several times with my suspension choices and would honestly run an Icon Kit, if is wasn't for the snow and salt in Maryland. I just can't see dumping $2700 in suspension to what it rust away...
Also, having owned several lifted trucks in the past I'm trying to play it smart with this one. The Dodge 2500 with a Cummins and 35" Toyo MTs was super cool, but $150 fill ups and $1800 tire swaps get frigg'in old real quick. So I traded it in on this Yota. Sticking to the 265s and trying to land the lift height between 2" and 2.5", with out totally destroying the ride is my plan.

Your truck looks great and I'd appreciate any advise you have to offer.

 

Thanks for the compliments, I love the setup and how it came out. The top-plate spacers I think are a must on a double cab 4x4, I'm glad I put them on as I think it would've had a pretty visible rake if I'd have left them off.

Truck rides great, a little more firm than factory, but far from stiff. Still has good road manners. Even with me keeping stock UCA's, a good alignment tech was able to get me over 1.75deg caster, so freeway driving is no problem for me either.

I still have a slight take-off vibe, even after the OME CB drop. I've ordered ToyTec 3deg rear shims and plan to add those in the next couple of weeks, free time permitting. Maybe I've just gotten used to the vibes, but it's not bothering me so much any more.

 

The UPS man left a 8ft x 2ft 150lb box at the front door step last night, and of course I wasn't patient enough to wait until this weekend (much less daylight) to install them. The packaging was excellent, I am really impressed with Shrockworks, especially for all the bad rap they get on TW. The build quality on the sliders is excellent, gorgeous welds and immaculate powder coating. They bolted up great, I only put in the upper bolts last night to get them on the truck, my center punch and drill bits should be coming in today to finish off the remaining bolts...

Here's an install pic:



Here are several pictures on the truck:





A lot of users have asked how far they stick out from the cab with the door open, or will they function as a good stepping point. As you can see here you have about 80mm or a little over 3" to use as a step, should work fine for myself or my wife. They're definitely slick in the morning condensation though, so I'm considering putting some 3M grip tape on them, I just don't want it to peel and look ratty a year or two down the road.



However I do need some help from those who have these sliders:

I found the instructions a little unclear on which bolts/washers/weld-nut plates go where.

Can anyone shed some light on where the (4) weld-nut plates go? It seems (2) of them go on the upper front leg mounting holes, R&L sides, inside the frame, as it's difficult to reach the closed off portion where the front cross-member is welded to the frame rails.

I think I understood the instructions correctly by putting the (2) 1&1/2" longer bolts through the upper holes on the rear slider legs, as the frame is thicker in that area, is this where you use the thinner bigger washer on the inside of the frame?

Also the smooth carriage bolts go where? and the thin, bigger washers go where?

And what about the other (2) weld-nut plates?

 

Very subtle look without the kick outs.
I didn't realize Shrockworks get bad rap here.
Looks awesome man, keep it up!

 

I had seen a lot of complaints about the customer service experiences & fab lead times, etc. I got a relatively quick delivery of 4 weeks (order to ship).

I doubt anyone has any issue with their quality.

 

Any update on reducing the take off vibes?

 

Quoted from a vibe thread, going to pull the factory shims and try the 3deg shims this weekend. I also bought a digital angle gauge to get some accurate measurements of all the angles. Will update soon after.

 

Nice set up I'm getting my 15 on Thursday & the way your truck turned out looks like I'll be getting the same lift setup as you looks real good & gonna be nice not dropping 1400 on tires when the time comes. Just one question why didn't you put 5100 all the way around?

 

Just to save a little money initially. ToyTec claims the OEM Bilstein HD's are fine with the AAL, and it's treated me well so far. I may go ahead and throw 5100's on the rear when I get around to putting the rear axle shims on.

 

I talked to Shrockworks and I think I figured this out. I put all (4) of the weld-nut plates on the front legs, top and bottom holes. I used the (2) 1&1/2" bolts and (2) wider washers on the upper holes of rear legs. Finally, I put the (4) carriage bolts on the lower holes on the middle and rear legs. The lower holes on the front legs don't require a carriage type bolt as they are so close to a cross-member that hangs lower, they wouldn't encounter/snag on the trail. Hope this is helpful for anyone installing these sliders.

Drilling the holes was a miserable experience for me, even with the proper tools. Ended up breaking 3 Ti 1/8" bits, the step bit was a life saver though. Topped everything off with a trip to the eye Dr. to have a metal shaving removed from my eyeball (despite having eye protection on the entire install). Anyway, I was able to finish up everything this weekend.

 

So how are you liking the ride now & did you get those shims in yet? If so did it help?

 

I haven't had a chance to install the rear axle shims yet, however I think I'm just getting used to the ride the way it is.

The increased stiffness in the front coils and rear aal's amplify imperfections in our wonderful Alabama roads, so I think I'm calling a lot of things "vibes" that may just be inconsistent road surfaces.

 

Color matched grill:

(In my opinion these trucks shouldn't come any other way, love the way it looks)







New bike rack setup to make room for the Bestop:

Yakima Holdup 2

 

Do you have your sway bar on?

I ordered 521600 coils also. Will install Sunday. Changing rear 5100s to 5160s.