And so it begins...

[The Roadie]

87 degrees forecast for tomorrow. I'll get out the EZ-Up shade. East coast folks aren't putting in any lifts this weekend, that's for sure.

[NC_IslandRunner]

87 degrees forecast for tomorrow. I'll get out the EZ-Up shade. East coast folks aren't putting in any lifts this weekend, that's for sure.

I got to work during the hurricane, or at least be at work....

[janesy86]

87 degrees forecast for tomorrow. I'll get out the EZ-Up shade. East coast folks aren't putting in any lifts this weekend, that's for sure.

I got to work during the hurricane, or at least be at work....

I have to move this weekend! Hopefully I can get most of it done tomorrow. And I'm right on the coast too, and just moving north, right on the coast...

[The Roadie]

... just moving north, right on the coast...

Tailwind advantage, then. Watch out for overshoot.

[The Roadie]

I'll let Michael post his pics, but it's in! BDS spacers front and back, Z71 springs, new Bilsteins in front and hydraulic BDS in the back. Gained 3" ground clearance.

I'm getting too old for this stuff (or too out of shape - that's the ticket)!

[DirtyBacon04]

Well, as Bill said, the lift is installed now. And i love it. I waited way too long to actually do it. Can't wait to test it this weekend.

Jacked up, getting ready to get to work


OEM everything here (front/rear)



New front bilstiens and bds lift


New rear BDS hydraulic shocks, BDS lift, and Z71 springs


Completed work pic from the side


And another from the front (starring Bill, himself)


So according to my before and after measurements. center chassis to grond went from 9" up to 12" and rear tire to wheel well went from 6" up to 9.5" A very worth while mod. Cant wait to do more. G80, here i come.

[bartonmd]

Cool!

Mike

[Trail X]

Excellent quality first steps! Enjoy the ride.

[The Roadie]

I need to go back to work today to recover from helping you. I'm getting too old/fluffy for this stuff. Kae thought I was the dirtiest I'd ever come in from a project, and said "....you guys love getting filthy, don't you.....", but in a loving way.

Was really enjoyable getting somebody lifted who I *KNOW* will use it wisely.

Now let me go photoshop a smile on that picture of me.

[navigator]

looks good guys.
Bill, you are supposed to just stand there and pass him tools and take pictures and stuff.
You should have been clean!

[The Roadie]

You should have been clean!

Where's the fun in that?

Yah, I know. But sometimes these skinny-ass youngsters need an extra foot on the wrench.

Seriously, I wish I had invested in a wall-mounted spring compressor when I first started taking struts apart, but the new 1" air impact tool I got makes short work of the spring compressor part of the job. That used to be 20-25 minutes of tedious ratchet socket work, now it's 60 seconds of nervousness, alternating from side to side. Didn't have any issues with the most dangerous part of the job. I got extra dirty only from using gobs of grease on the spring compressor bolts.

[MrSmithsTB]

Nice start! Glad you found such a happy looking helper in Bill.

[BSalty]

Very nice! Welcome to the tall truck crowd! Have you decided on which tires to run yet?

So Bill, are you angry, tired, hungry, or lost in that photo?

[DirtyBacon04]

Very nice! Welcome to the tall truck crowd! Have you decided on which tires to run yet?

\

I've given some thought to the tires but its just gonna be a while till i can afford them cuz i wanna do rims and spacers at the same time. I keep doin the calculations as to the biggest tire i can get, but keep forgetting my results... perhaps writing it down would solve this issue

[BSalty]

Good thinking. Thats what I did, ran around with stockers for about 4-5 months until I could get the parts together.

[navigator]

A lot of it depends on what you need.
You can poke around the tire chart to see what might work.
The safest choice at that height is likely the 265/75/16. That is the size I am likely to go with as well. It should be almost 32 inches tall but wide enough for what I need as well.

I also know that size is real common and easier to pick up a replacement new/used if I get in a bind out of town.

If you want to push the extreme you might be able to do 285/75/16 or a 255/85/16. Both are about 33 inches tall and will likely require a decent amount of trimming.

Also keep in mind your gearing. I have the 3.42 and figure anything over 32 might be a little much.

Another thought is if you don't plan on going over 265 wide you can keep your stock rims if you want but you'll still need the spacers for the extra height.

[DirtyBacon04]

so if i get rims with a higher backspacing, do i still need them der spacers?

[navigator]

correct, if you get rims with the right backspacing you won't need spacers. The problem is the rims with the right pattern for our TB are hard to find and usually not on the cheaper end of the spectrum.

You can usually buy spacers to convert to the standard chevy truck pattern 6X5.5 and a set of Soft 8s(new) or a set of used tahoe/silverado/H3/ whatever you like as cheap as buying the new aftermarket rims.

You also have flexibility in swapping out and trying other rims more easily.

Sometimes I see a set of chevy rims with decent used 265/75/16 for good prices on CL. It keeps things flexible.

It all depends on what you want. If you know exactly what you want then go get it. If you aren't sure then it is best to keep things flexible.

I'm kind of leaning toward getting the 6X5.5 adapters and then getting a set of used Chevy rims or maybe some new Soft8's.

Also, 6 lug toyotas are also the same 6X5.5 pattern as well, it just gives you more options.

[v7guy]

how do you like those bilsteins?

[DirtyBacon04]

how do you like those bilsteins?

On road they are all the difference. I have yet to test them off road, though. I'll let you know this weekend.