Tundra 5100s, bump stops, etc
Holy shiat. I'll admit, I don't look at 75% of the new build threads popping up. It's hard to keep up with them all with the 3rd gen 4Runner's getting older and seeing more use as a "project" or "toy". Well I'm glad I finally opened this thread up and had a read. Awesome info. and thought patterns going on here. You seem to really research your stuff and documenting it is great for others to benefit from all the time you've put in.
I'll have to admit the same, there are a growing number of threads on here and every time I read someone else's thread the Mrs cringes with another one of my projects. I wanted to try running a setup that was... Unconventional, or at least well thought out. There are way too many people on here that run setups without thinking of their setups globally. I learned a lot here on the forum, so I hope if nothing else other people plan out their setups, too. Thanks for the kind words. You've got yourself an epic build. In fact, my brother decided to pick up a non-flared 4R after seeing your build thread.
I LOVE my Tundra TRD/Bilstein setup. It has served me well in all kinds of environments. I wheel my truck fairly often (slow and technical), it's seen a fair amount of logging road and washboard, as well as lots of highway miles. For the money, this setup rules. Sure Icon's would have more fade resistance if I were spending days upon days trying to go fast on bumpy roads, but I don't. I also like my rubber shock bushings, no-maintenance, and the reliability.
I'd imagine the front setup works great with weight, like a plate front bumper. But I wouldn't recommend it to someone with no weight up front unless you like a firm ride. Keep in mind i have the Double Cab fronts and 99% of people here are running access cab fronts. I haven't romped it SUPER hard at high speeds yet, but the dampening definitely opens up when you hit stuff. But the small bump compliance is crap since i have no weight up front, making the slow and technical stuff rough. Rubber bushings are definitely lower tech, but lower maintenance. I'm right there with you on the emphasis on reliability. Although Icon produces some AMAZINGLY nice stuff. The guys I spoke to at SEMA knew their stuff, and raced their own rigs. It was refreshing to see.
I disconnected the front sway bar and it takes offset bumps and corners better, but the straight on bumps are still harsh. I'd like to build a system that has firm enough springs to run without sways off road with confidence, yet low enough that I'm using all of my travel. For the total one of these setups are to build, they are very affordable. The rubber bump stops would be the best low cost option, but I'm very intrigued by hydraulic jounce shocks. With all of the work I'm going to have to do to get this setup where I want it, jounce shocks are the least of my worries. I need a fast, cheap solution, which will most likely be in the form of rubbers. Lol, sounds gross.
I'm particularly interested in your bump stop information. I have not properly bump'ed my truck yet.... I'm not too concerned with the fronts as I've stuffed them very hard and the front bump stops seem to be doing their duty before shock bottoming. It's the rear I'm worried about. Have you talked to Steve about his rear bumpstop "adapters"? I think the Daystar rear bumpstops he sells are a shorter in height than the factory bumpstops. I'm wondering how much his "adapters" space them out from the frame. I make contact with the underside of my rear wheel wells upon FULL articulation and I'm trying to find the right numbers to get the bumpstops to fully engage before the tire starts to eat fender. I guess I could get out and measure but I can't find a good ramp to flex on in my town for the life of me....
Looking forward to reading your thoughts.
Cheers and now fully subscribed!
Bump stops are coming up soon on my list. For the front, I can't imagine the two small hardened rubber nubs are good for much more than avoiding metal on metal contact. I need to install a front strut with no spring some time and articulate a corner to measure the distance at which e stop bump stops come in to play. Being that the front shocks have a longer compressed length than the stock setup by just under two inches, there is danger of metal to metal bottoming... I need to run the numbers to see how the geometry works out. At the very least, it would be good to mount a bump stop on the strut shaft itself in combination with some larger rubber bump stops. It's be great to get some smaller Timbren stops for the lower arm and pick a progressive rubber rate that would help dissipate energy with the strut bump stop. Sounds like you haven't had issues yet, which is a positive sign.
I've spoken to Steve about his rear stops. From my measurements and the data on Daystars, they are the same dimensionally as our stock stops, but the thread pitch is wrong so they won't just bolt in. I read one guy just popped his bolt out and used a nylon locking nut. With a lifted suspension and longer shock body that has a longer compressed length than stock, I think he offers the best off the shelf option available that I've seen. The only draw back is that it is a generic kit. He's designed it to ensure the rear shocks he specs in his kit won't bottom out. So if it works for a long ass Land Crusher shock it should work for just about anything. I'm of the opinion that a bump stop should be designed for the vehicle it is going on. If you're buying one of Steve's kits (which are some of the best thought out budget kits I've come across), the bump stops are almost no brainer. The way they are overbuilt means they won't bend. But I'd rather do the math myself and make sure I'm getting every last inch out of the suspension setup I'm getting.
To your question thought, an off the shelf bump stop is challenging to sell to everyone since some of the mad men on here are running 35s. Being that I'm only running 32s, I won't have to take into account the rub considerations they would. That's one of the reasons I chose to start with 32s. The thought of trying to figure out how to properly stuff a 33 was too much for my mind to handle, lol. Maybe the best thing to do to inspect what max stuff looks like is to pull one of the rear springs and then set the 4R down slowly on all fours, supporting the frame on the way down little by little so you don't drop the tire on a fender. I'd recommend an adjustable lateral rod, but it looks from your build that you welded in a drop mount. If everything is centered, I'd say your next step is pulling a coil or finding a local spot you could stuff it. You know what I would do.
Thanks for tuning in. It won't always be on topic, and I can't guarantee it will always make sense, but my build will definitely test the limits for characters allowed per post! : D
