Help with order of upgrades - noob question

[calrider]

I've had my '99 SR5 for about a year now and am in love with it. I'm looking to make upgrades to the following areas this winter but am not sure what order to do them in. I don't know all that much about cars/trucks in general, but this is the first highly-modifiable vehicle I've ever owned and I'm trying to learn, so I apologize if this is very basic stuff.

1. Suspension
2. Brakes
3. Tires

Do I need to make these upgrades in a specific order, purely from a mechanical point of view? If not, is there a suggested order anyway? Could potentially doing a lift and/or the 231mm brake upgrade affect the order?

I recently moved to Colorado and since it is heading towards winter, I would say the brakes and tires are a priority in terms of general safety. However, I spend a lot of time in the mountains so when I do these upgrades, I also want to make make trail-ready choices as well (all-season for now, cant afford two sets of tires).

Thanks!

 

[AZ4Running]

No doing one before the other will not make things easier or harder. Which upgrade you do first depends on u. If you need tires soon then do tires. If your brake upgrade will not clear your wheels then do wheels and tires first. If your brakes and tires are still good and you wheel then do the suspension first. Do what fits your needs.

 

[the great him]

well i say you do need to do things in a specific order... like lift then tires, heres why. if you lift and have stock size tires then they will look small and you probably will not like the look or be happy with them and want bigger tires. lift first and then buy tires to fit the lift. or if you dont have the money for both then id say go with a 285 tire, you can run that tire stock, and only rub at full flex and full turn to lock -this will only happen at very low speeds and not cause any damage to the tire. the 285 tire will look fine with a lift and you will not have to buy new tires once you lift. i ran 285s for a long time with no lift. dont let any one tell you they wont fit. the brakes can be done at any time. ideally you would do this all at once, as the lift will make room for the tires and you can chose what tires and what size works best for you, and doing brakes at that time will help you incase you have to buy new wheels or want to. running a larger tire means more weight and thus will put more stress on the braking system -ours is nothing to write home about hence why most of us use the tundra brakes.

 

[awpsome]

i agree lift and tires at once is usually a good way to start.
one without the other seems to leave you really wanting the other. haha

brakes are good to have especially before going to bigger tires, but your brakes will still be fine with bigger tires. just probably wrap way faster and have you changing them either way.

only down fall i see of doing brakes first, is it'll be the most "subtle" upgrade, not in the sense of performance, but in the sense of putting a few hundred into it and not really "seeing" the upgrade. haha

 

[hounddogman]

First, from a California born Coloradoan, Welcome ! Second, Safety first. If your stock brakes are in good shape you'll be fine with 32''-33'' tires. If their worn, upgrade rather then replace. If there are no safety or reliability issues then mod away. Whats your end goal ? Mild or wild ?

 

[gmv4k]

Here's the order I'm using

1. Safety
2. Maintenance
3. Upgrade


From your list I did

1. Brakes (Tundra 199)
2. Tires (Bigger, 265/75/16)
3. Lift.

But I did a boat load of stuff before the lift. Timing belt. Rust maintenance. Etc.