Author Topic: BigMike's Big Journey: A 2016 Tacoma Build Thread  (Read 561521 times)

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BigMike

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

First time back on the ground!



A very small storage price to pay to have a rear suspension that can hopefully keep up with RCLT! RST makes neat covers to go over the towers and prevent mud/water from spraying up into the bed which I plan to install







I went with a 3-link kit in order to keep my factory fuel tank and avoid any smog law and ECU emission issues.

« Last Edit: May 19, 2019, 03:05:10 PM by BigMike »
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
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Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
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BigMike [OP]

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

My suspension setup has finally grown up!



Took this pic to compare with a Dana 60 SAS 4Runner they had at the shop. The amount of ground clearance advantage RCLT has over a SAS setup is absolutely mind boggling.



Took it for a quick spin!!

I drove up and over this landscaping embankment which dropped me off a taller-than-normal curb and WOWWW this truck is SILKY SMOOTH! Feels like I've got like 10 psi air pressure; FINALLY no more rock hard rear leaf springs!!

As you can see the rear end sits too high and this was my fault. RST recommended I run a dual spring rate setup of 14" x 300 lb lower and 12" x 250 lb upper, but because I don't hardly carry any weight I went with a 12" x 200 lb upper and asked them to raise the lower shock mounts higher than normal. It turned out this was a bad idea because their usual shock mount location would have been just right but now this is as low as the rear goes...

I told them not to worry about it, that I still have a ton of tuning to do on the front end, and that I'll take care of it back at home :) I think it needs to come down about 2 inches, so I'll either switch to a shorter 10" x 200 lb upper or I'll have to modify and drop the lower mounts. I know an unloaded rake angle is good, but I also want to lower the front about a 1/2" too. More to come on this later-









Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

Subjective Ride Comparison 2 of 3:
It has now gone from the RCLT HD front of being 8 times smoother riding than the rear, to now the rear being 2 times smoother than the front!!

It will take some tuning to get everything dialed in just right. A LOT has changed with @SlowestTacoma and I'm gonna need to relearn how to wheel it. For the rear to ride this soft without any gear, it is too soft. Either that or the front spring rate is too high..? The quick solution is shorter 10" but higher 250 lb rate rear upper coils ... but I still don't know how far RCLT HD will compress when flexed out so this can't be determined yet. I've got a lot of work remaining until she's trail worthy again; Installing new 80" Marlin Crawler Rock Sliders being the least of my concerns at this point.

Again, my fault on the ride height, and obviously the rear panhard isn't meant to have such a poor angle. Hopefully lowering it 2-inches will help a lot. If not no big deal, I'll just raise the axle mount and level it out.



Driving the truck around without a muffler was quite interesting. Here I am working from yet another cafe while I waited for my muffler appointment



Finally at the muffler shop!



While waiting they had some rad cars show up including a super clean 3rd gen Supra with a huge single turbo and a couple 1950s and 60s low riders



Finally on the lift!

« Last Edit: May 19, 2019, 03:08:08 PM by BigMike »
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
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Rockcrawlintoy

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looks good! I assume no trailing arms to keep the shocks out of the bed?
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Thank you Max!
You, always with the good observations ;) Yes, the mount is higher, however, I am hoping that for those already running 7" to 8" coilovers will be able to reuse them based on the following:
1) If you're interested in RCLT then it's because you're looking to run 35" or taller tires, and
2) If you're running 35" or taller tires with LT already then your coils are likely cranked down a bit to gain sufficient lift for 35" or taller tires, and finally
3) Hopefully your same LT coilovers can be reused by adjusting their upper coil perch up most of the way.

For example, the upper perches of my old 7.75" Fox coilovers were cranked down 2.2" from the top which means I could have reused them without any issues by raising each perch. In fact, in CAD I actually used the specs for my Fox coilovers (P/N 880-02-953) when designing RCLT. This was fine and dandy but I cannot tell in CAD how much actual lift this is unless I had the entire truck drawn up.

So when I had Radflo make my coilovers, I gave them RCLT's minimum compressed length and requested to make as long of a shock stroke as possible with that minimum shock length. A major added benefit of RCLT's lower shock mount placement is that the distance under the coil can be very short without interfering with the axle shaft -- because the axle shaft at times is actually below the lower shock mount!! -- something that is not possible without an angled LCA. So RCLT allows for a very short lower eyelet mount under the coil which conserves space to have a longer stroke shock.

Side note: I was originally planning to reuse my same Fox coilovers and switch to shorter lower eyelets, but when we became a Radflo distributor it was a no brainer to work direct with a manufacture and get everything updated in one shot.

For reference, my old Fox shocks are advertised to have a stroke of 7.715-inch, yet my new Radflos are about an inch shorter overall yet have a longer stroke at 7.87-inch. win-win :beerchug:

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I thought something like that might be the case.


May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

Wow... We never had to worry about this with the older Hilux trucks. C-channel frames are a joke.

We don't have that problem with Hilux's  :smokin:  Full boxed chassis, always have been.

Speaking of which,   your Rock Crawling Suspension design is getting a bit of interest this side of the pond, on various Toyota 4x4 FB Groups.   As you know we have our own issues with engineering and legalities of some aspects of your kit if we were to run that here,  BUT....there are aspects and components of the kit I think could work, and would be legal should this be something you find may be of interest at some stage in the future.

1. Standard track width versions of the Upper and Lower RC arms - with the ability combined together to move hub position a good inch forward.
2. Upgraded spindle/steering knuckle
3. RH drive version of the Mar-Rack with the upgraded tie rods.

Aim to run full sized 35's with out a mount chop would satisfy a large section of the Toyota IFS community here, with the added strength and reliability of the rest of the kit.

Keep up the good work, myself, along with many others enjoy the updates and technical write-ups. :beerchug: :thumbs:

Wainiha

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Slow moving build it seems  :gap:  you should see how slow I am :smack:

Very inspiring.

2000 3.4L xtra-cab Tacoma.
Icon C/Os
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FLOODED...GONE

2005 4.0L xtra-cab Tacoma
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FLOODED...GONE

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and Total Chaos UCAs

^ Who let Wainiha into the mainland?? :yikes: - Big Mike

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You can get more rear clearance with portal axles or  IRS  (to match the IFS)




 :yupyup:
Ed
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The h1 hummer portal/IRS system is actually pretty cool stuff. Make a Toyota version of that front and rear with 4wheel steering and those nifty long travel arms you've made and that thing would go most anywhere. 
83 long bed 2wd sas, 3rz, w56, duals with 4.7 rear, 4.88 elock front, spartan rear, 39.5 iroks
01 double cab hunting truck
06 tacoma street truck

BigMike [OP]

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

Let me start exhaust talk by saying that you SoCal guys in the north Orange County area have it made when it comes to an awesome exhaust shop. Wow!! I am blown away by this place!

I had my exhaust work done by The Muffler Man, which is conveniently located only 2 miles from RST's shop (lucky bums!). For the longest time I've really liked our local muffler guy (that Marlin has used for over 30 years), but this shop in Placentia blows our guy completely out of the water!!

http://ocmufflerman.com


Not only did they get the job done 1 hr sooner than estimated, but they did far more work than what my muffler guy did last Spring and still managed to finish in less time. On top of that, they even spray painted all welds to prevent rust.

The owner wheels a Jeep and is involved with a couple clubs, and even invited me to a couple SoCal wheeling trips. And when they put the truck up on the lift, before I could mention a ground clearance issue that our muffler guy caused, they offered to rotate a pipe that wasn't part of the RST/3-link install project to get it up & out of the rocks. MAN, what an AWESOME place!! I STRONGLY recommend this exhaust shop for anyone in the greater LA area. They are only about 5 miles north-east of Disneyland so you have no excuse lol (Disneyland is a 510 mile round trip journey for me)

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let me say that purely out of personal preference this was the worst part of the 3-link install. :slap: RST designs their 3-link kits to be compatible with factory fuel tanks, however, the location of the factory muffler was not brought up when we made plans for this more than a year ago. As such, when I designed and had my dual-entry MagnaFlow 12580 system installed back at Reply 743, I didn't give any consideration to 3-link compatibility. My aim with my system was to be nearly as quiet as factory but far better flowing which was perfectly executed and I was incredibly pleased with the system. In fact, around the 2,000 RPM mark on de-acceleration it would give an awesome faint popping sound which sounded amazing bouncing off of trees and rocks while out wheeling. This has been my most favorite exhaust system I've ever had on a vehicle...

...and now I've discovered that only a smaller muffler could be used or we'd need a complete muffler relocation. I didn't want to go smaller because I have my Supercharged MR2 with an exhaust that is angry all the time and having a new vehicle with air conditioning/bluetooth/cameras/heated seats/etc, I want to keep the exhaust mild.

I am convinced that the secret to my previous setup was changing to a true dual exhaust entry into the 12580 muffler, which combines both cylinder banks into a chamber rather than Y-pipe, creating the neat low RPM sounds that I've come to really love. But now, because I am set on keeping such a large muffler, we decided to move the muffler behind the rear end which meant keeping the dual exhaust system would have nearly double the amount of piping/cost/weight/complications.... so screw all of that let's just ditch it and go to a boring & traditional Y-pipe with single entry muffler.

Of course the work these guys did was impressive, it's just that I've lost a nice feature I loved about the truck. I told RST, "Do I want to have a neat exhaust system, or do I want this truck to be able to keep up with SAS rigs on the trail?" haha the answer is painfully obvious :rofl:

Here is what used to be the true dual exhaust entry into my old muffler, now combined into a Y-pipe. These are the same 2.25" pipes entering the Y, and running the same 2.5" diameter pipe out the Y (the Y of my old setup was inside of the 12580 muffler, which was dual 2.25" entry & single 2.5" exit)



Here is the AMAZING work these guys did to fix a ground clearance issue my old muffler guy caused, and it only took ~ 3 mins to fix. Suddenly I hear, "Hey Mike, wanna take a look at this and see if you like it?", and I was like, "Wat? You already moved it up higher?! @_@" These guys work hecka fast!

The red arrow shows the height above the t/case, whereas before the piping was lower than the t/case!



Tag team'n the Tacoma

Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
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BigMike [OP]

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

And here are the results!! :D

Shot of the raised cross-over section before the new Y-pipe. You can see all the rock rash on that pipe and now it's up higher than my T/Case... finally!! Very nice



Detail up and over the track bar. They installed a clamp here so the exhaust can be removed if needed without having to take apart the suspension. Also, very nice!



Below is the new muffler location! Again, RST's 3-link does not require this; You can still mount your spare tire. I carry a high quality plug kit rather than a spare (where would I put a 40" spare?!) so placing the muffler here was an easy decision for me. The muffler is the same sized stainless steel MagnaFlow, only just a single entry & exist variant. Comparison details:

Old muffler:
MagnaFlow 12580 (https://www.magnaflow.com/products/12580-performance-muffler-5-x-11-oval-straight-through)
5" tall X 11" wide oval X 22" long
Dual 2.25" inlet
Single 2.5" outlet

New muffler:
MagnaFlow 12586 (https://www.magnaflow.com/products/12586-performance-muffler-5-x-11-oval-straight-through)
5" tall X 11" wide oval X 22" long (same as before)
Single 2.5" inlet
Single 2.5" outlet (same as before)



I had them place the muffler up high for my rear tube bumper plans, so the location/shape/style of the tip is not important but this is what they came up with which I thought came out REALLY nice!! They told me, "We like our exhaust systems to be heard & not seen" and yeah, they do some awesome work. I cannot recommend this shop enough for muffler work



Overall I am extremely pleased with the work they did and how this all came out. Once I got out on the road, yes, the neat low RPM tones are gone, which is a bummer, and also the system is more quiet than before which I wasn't expecting. Nevertheless, very happy with the work and can't wait to get this truck dialed in and back on a trail!!!
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

Random pics during my 250 mile drive back home!

No trip to LA or the Bay Area is complete without stopping at a Japanese grocery store!!! Oh how I wished we had a Mitsuwa/Nijiya/Marukai/Saiwa in Fresno :( :(

フレズノで日本のスーパーはないよ!



One less pair of leaf springs in a parking garage



Updated side view with the front axle now moved forward two inches, patent pending ;) I'll need to re-work my inner fender wall clearancing as well as shorten the sides of my front bumper to fit these crazy tires...

While I don't have 37s, I am 95% sure RCLT HD can handle up to 37s without having to cut A-pillar cab mount frame brackets. (This remains to be verified.) Even with my 40s, my body mounts themselves are unmodified and in their original/factory location. :thumbs:

« Last Edit: May 20, 2019, 11:35:32 AM by BigMike »
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

Took a final stop before leaving the SoCal area to double-check bolts, brackets, wires, etc



Ohhhh!! I completely forgot to talk about the new RCV AXLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.rcvperformance.com



I am VERY happy to announce that I am now running the brand-new Gen.2 Ultimate Axle Sets!! I discussed the below details for the KOH 4Runner in the Official RCLT Thread (reply #26), and I'd like to share them here as well:

RCV Ultimate IFS Axles Generation 1 details (now discontinued):
  • Inner CV Joint: Dana 44-size, 30-spline, Porsche 930
  • Misalignment: 28-degrees! (stock: 25-degrees)

  • Outer CV Joint: Dana 60-size, 35-spline
  • Misalignment: 45-degrees

  • Center shaft material: 4340 Chromoly
  • CV Boots: Patented "Spherical" boot mount design, Grease Maintenance Required

RCV Ultimate IFS Axles Generation 2 details (now standard for all new orders):
  • Inner CV Joint: Dana 60-size, 35-spline, New Double Offset design <--- Improved former weakspot!
  • Misalignment: 30-degrees!! (stock: 25-degrees)
    • Because RCLT HD uses horizontal ball joints that have no downtravel limit, every degree only makes RCLT HD that much better. Thank you RCV!

  • Outer CV Joint: Dana 60-size, 35-spline
  • Misalignment: 45-degrees

  • Center shaft material: 300M proprietary Chromoly <--- Improved former weakspot!
  • CV Boots: Traditional boot mount design, Maintenance-free

What's really awesome about the new shafts is that they've reduced the outer diameter without reducing overall strength (since it was the internals that were failing, not the shell), which means I am able to add even more strength into the RCLT LCA (even more coming in prototype version 3.0) as well as keep the lower pivot as close as possible to the axle center line for improved geometry and reduced ground clearance loss. Thank you RCV so much for these new shafts...

...and so far now with 250 miles on the pair I'm MOST PLEASED to announce that apart from the initial break-in (grease that is spit out at the clamp), I have ZERO GREASE LEAKS thus far, which has already beat my previous RCV boot record of only 150 miles! LOL geeeeez what a pile of crap RCV boots have been, but now we're looking so much better with their updated Gen.2 design :beer:

#RCLT HD Passenger Side :D



#RCLT HD Driver Side :D

« Last Edit: May 20, 2019, 11:40:12 AM by BigMike »
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (concluded!!)

Last fill-up before the final stretch home!



Made it back home safe and sound!



I drove through a nasty thunderstorm with serious headwind. Big rigs were swerving and there was a lot of debris flying across the road.

Despite all that, the mighty 2GR-FKS that everyone loves to hate averaged 16.7 MPG through strong headwind with a lifted truck on 40" tires. Get out of here all you 3.5-liter haters, I don't want to see your faces anymore haha Love this truck

Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

Hilux_Max

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RCV Ultimate IFS Axles Generation 1 details (now discontinued):
  • Inner CV Joint: Dana 44-size, 30-spline, Porsche 930
  • Misalignment: 28-degrees! (stock: 25-degrees)

  • Outer CV Joint: Dana 60-size, 35-spline
  • Misalignment: 45-degrees

  • Center shaft material: 4340 Chromoly
  • CV Boots: Patented "Spherical" boot mount design, Grease Maintenance Required

RCV Ultimate IFS Axles Generation 2 details (now standard for all new orders):
  • Inner CV Joint: Dana 60-size, 35-spline, New Double Offset design <--- Improved former weakspot!
  • Misalignment: 30-degrees!! (stock: 25-degrees)
    • Because RCLT HD uses horizontal ball joints that have no downtravel limit, every degree only makes RCLT HD that much better. Thank you RCV!

  • Outer CV Joint: Dana 60-size, 35-spline
  • Misalignment: 45-degrees

  • Center shaft material: 300M proprietary Chromoly <--- Improved former weakspot!
  • CV Boots: Traditional boot mount design, Maintenance-free
#RCLT HD Driver Side :D




Mike.....am I missing something here?  Have you intentionally left something out?

Genuine CV shafts are 30 spline both inner and outer.

The fact your referencing a 35spline inner and outer RCV shaft makes me question what else have you done here?

Are you running different upgraded whel bearings/hubs that accommodate the 35spine shaft through your new steering knuckles/spindles?

That I can understand....what I cannot understand is how you get a 35spline inner shaft into a standard 30 splines front differential.......

LC200 and Tundra run a 34spline front diff as standard......have you upgraded your front diff or modified in some way to accommodate the 35 spline inner shaft?????

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May 2-9, 2019: Finally upgrading my rear suspension! (continued)

First time back on the ground!



A very small storage price to pay to have a rear suspension that can hopefully keep up with RCLT! RST makes neat covers to go over the towers and prevent mud/water from spraying up into the bed which I plan to install







I went with a 3-link kit in order to keep my factory fuel tank and avoid any smog law and ECU emission issues.



  Is the three link a new Marlin kit? I want one for my 83!
>Chuck Norris invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink.

BigMike [OP]

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Mike.....am I missing something here?  Have you intentionally left something out?
Sorry, I should have specified above, but the spline counts refer to the inner shaft connections to both joints. The outboard or stub-end of both inner and outer joints are the same/factory 120-platform Prado LC style (2003+ 4R/FJ C, 2005+ Tacoma)

Is the three link a new Marlin kit? I want one for my 83!
This is RST's rear 3-link kit :thumbs: They are located near Disneyland (Anaheim, SoCal). Give em a call at (714) 460-3491

rocksolidtoys.com
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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May 10, 2019: First flex shots!

May 10 was my first day back home so naturally I had to check out the new flex

Nothing has been dialed-in yet, still have a lot of work to go before @SlowestTacoma is ready for some wheel'n. At this time I had only just returned and still had not taken any measurements of RCLT HD itself; I will be adding info on this once I get some time to resume working on the truck







So the first thing to mention is about the incorrect lower rear shock mounts -- again, this was my fault. Here is where my old leaf spring setup would bottom out at. The 40s were able to nearly touch the fenders:



And here is the new coilover setup with close-up of the lower shock mount with shock bottomed out. The solution is painfully easy; I'll simply lower the rear mounts a few inches and install bump stops to limit flex right before the tires contact the bed

Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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May 10, 2019: First flex shots! (continued)

Now for the front, the problem isn't as direct and will take some trial and error to test out what works best.





We have up travel remaining at the body, and when we look at the shock we can see we have a lot of remaining up travel to go:



It is not clear what the issue is as the truck is unloaded and not on a trail (off-camber & loaded trail flex VS a forklift).
...Either the front spring rate is too stiff, or
......The rear spring rate is too soft, or
.........The truck simply needs more weight over the front axle, such as being faced downhill in a corner while trying to climb a rock.

It's difficult to compare to before because the rear expedition 12-leaf pack leafsprings were so incredibly stiff they were making the front suspension do all the work. RST recommended 250 lb upper rear coils, which is what they install to every customer rig, but I've gone with 200 lb rear upper coils which now means the rear is more likely to work more than the front. The tables have been turned!

So I know that the rear rides softer than the front, I am a fan of soft rather than firm suspension, so I am going to switch to a lighter front spring rate. They are currently 600lb Eibach (1800.300.0600S) and I'll try a set of 550lb to see how it does.

Here is a pic of my old setup using a factory knuckle with vertically-mounted ball joints. The limiting up-travel factor here was not the Fox shocks or the cab... BUT THE LOWER BALL JOINT MOUNT binding with itself! While my 40" tires were very close to the cab, I always had plenty of space above the Upper Control Arm that could never have been used...

..BUT WITH RCLT HD, this is NO LONGER a problem because we are using horizontally-mounted ball joints! I still had a good 3 or 4 inches of clearance between the UCA and cab, and this is WITH taller than stock RCLT HD Knuckles!

I know there have been some concerns about the angled LCA potentially sacrificing up-travel for the sake of ground clearance, and I've already know in CAD that this is not a problem; Much more pics and measurements for this coming soon!

Old up-travel limited by the factory lower ball joint design.

RCLT HD can achieve more up-travel than any setup using factory knuckles; It is not limited by the shocks.

Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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May 10, 2019: First flex shots! (continued)

We measured 33" of clearance under the tire in this image. This is without any adjustments being made. I am confident I'll get this number to over 40" once I get everything dialed in. :D



This pic gives another view of the front shock with plenty of up-travel potential remaining



So I've got the front being limited by either (a) not enough vehicle weight, (b) spring rate too high, or (c) rear spring rate too low, and the rear being limited by the passenger side bottoming out a good 2 or 3 inches too soon.

In person is looks pretty good actually, FAR better travel than I've ever had with this truck to date. Many of my employees were saying to leave it as-is and that the flex is impressive enough, but I'm looking forward to finding this truck's true potential while staying with IFS :beer:



Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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May 10, 2019: First flex shots! (concluded)

And that was it for it's first time being flexed out! Can't wait to get everything dialed-in and freak'n back on the trail!! It's gonna be an awesome new learning curve with this truck and I'm excited to test everything out :D

Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

gnob

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Does RST off the 3 link in a kit?
Truck looks great.
hold this. . .

Rockcrawlintoy

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May 10, 2019: First flex shots! (continued)

We measured 33" of clearance under the tire in this image. This is without any adjustments being made. I am confident I'll get this number to over 40" once I get everything dialed in. :D



This pic gives another view of the front shock with plenty of up-travel potential remaining



So I've got the front being limited by either (a) not enough vehicle weight, (b) spring rate too high, or (c) rear spring rate too low, and the rear being limited by the passenger side bottoming out a good 2 or 3 inches too soon.

In person is looks pretty good actually, FAR better travel than I've ever had with this truck to date. Many of my employees were saying to leave it as-is and that the flex is impressive enough, but I'm looking forward to finding this truck's true potential while staying with IFS :beer:





Hit up #shockjesus at Liberty mountain fab on tuning he knows his stuff
« Last Edit: May 27, 2019, 05:55:20 AM by Rockcrawlintoy »
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2007 JKU All Stock
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BigMike [OP]

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Does RST off the 3 link in a kit?
Truck looks great.
I assume they only do installs at their shop, but give them a call to double-check: (714) 460-3491

Hit up #shockjesus at Liberty mountain fab on tuning he knows his stuff
Ok, will give them a call, thanks for the tip!! :hattip:
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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This is a bit off-topic, but last weekend I did the largest haul of both the Tacoma and my life, and wanted to share :gap:

It all started earlier this spring where my wife and I decided to kill off our front lawn and resod the whole thing. So two weeks ago I rented a sod cutter for my first time and gave it a go



It wasn't too difficult to use. Set it to 2-inches and pilled all the soil in front of our home.



The dirt pile measured approximately 18' x 7'

Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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Then this past weekend we finished half the project by hauling away the old soil, and while I'm not particularly proud of this accomplishment, it was quite the experience! :ack:

I originally planned to hire someone from Craigslist to come haul off the load, but the cheapest quote I could find was $550... I knew this would be a lot of work but figured with help I could do it and it wouldn't be too bad since we have a compost dump only ~3 miles from my house. I called up my best friend who came over and we began shoveling.

Since the time we removed the soil, it had rained quite a lot so I had the pile covered with a large tarp. When we began shoveling it to our trailer, the dirt was damp and although it didn't seem like "a lot" of dirt, it took us three hours to transfer it all onto the trailer :suprised:

Check out the other 3rd gens in the background: Cement = neighbor's, White = my best friend's. Both of them purchased due to my recommendation of how cool the new Tacoma is :cool:



While loading our 18' car trailer we realized straightaway that this was a lot of weight...

I only had a 2 to 3 mile trip and so long as my rear bumper doesn't fall off I'll be okay (after bobbing [shortening] my bed 6-inches, my rear bumper is only held on my 6 bolts instead of the factory 10).

We spent extra time trying to avoid excessive tongue weight but there wasn't much we could do about it.



It rained again that night so I tarped the trailer and the next day headed off to the dump.

Holy smokes what a load!!



(story continues on the next page)
« Last Edit: Jun 04, 2019, 10:16:36 AM by BigMike »
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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I had one of my Marlin Crawler TacoBoxes shifted into Low Range (2.28:1) to enable 2WD Low Range, which made disengaging the clutch much easier. The front end was really unloaded which meant the RCV's all-new Gen.2 CV boot design was going to get a workout. At least having the ability of a Low Range + 2WD (Thank you TacoBox!) meant the front shafts wouldn't be loaded and perhaps the boots could be happier.

The 3.5L had no power issues despite rolling on 40s (with Nitro 5.29:1 R&P). On larger roads I would shift 1st, 2nd, & 3rd before even crossing the intersection. Felt like I was a Big Rig with some huge load haha I only ran it up to 35 MPH in 6th gear and took my time in the slow lane. Brakes felt solid, however, I took advantage of downshifting/compression braking which was greatly amplified from being in low range. Of course I wouldn't have been able to stop in an emergency so I took my time and kept my distance.



My newly installed rear 3-link from Rock Solid Toys (RST) was nearly bottomed out!



Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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I make it safely to the nearby dump and pull up on their scale. I find out that they do not assist with off-loading, and that I'd have to manually shovel it off my trailer. This would take sooooo long and beings we have another dump that does offer tractor off-loading, I decided to leave.

The bummer is that this other dump is clear on the other end of the city which would be ~ 20 miles of surface driving + morning rush hour traffic...but I had no choice now, I was committed!!

Before leaving the first dump, of course I asked what my Truck + Trailer weighed... AND ARE YOU READY FOR THIS??

15,160 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!

GOOD LORD!!! That is 7.6-tons or 6,876 kg. INSANE.

So now I was off for nearly a 20-mile trek across town... I took a video only to send to my friend. In hindsight I should have done a better job and actually tried to take good video. :P But it's better than nothing so here goes. This is in 2WD Low Range:

Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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Made it safely to our alternative compost dump and got in-line with a bunch of contractors/gardeners



Finally, after 1 hour 36 minutes since leaving my house, I had this insane load ready to be off-loaded!!



Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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While waiting for assistance, I took a look at the new RCV boots, which, based on previous RCV boot experience, I thought for sure would have been ripped due to driving with the front end unloaded and the axles at such a steep angle...



...but I was extremely happy to see they both survived! This is big news for RCV customers! They may have finally fixed their freak'n boot issues as I now have close to 1,000 miles on them when previous RCV boots in my experience couldn't even manage 150 miles

Driver side RCV Gen.2 outer boot



Passenger side RCV Gen.2 outer boot



Man oh man was I sure glad to see this backhoe!!



Again, only took this video to share with my buddy, so nothing too special. I was extremely impressed with the operator: He did such a gentle job at not crushing the load and removed the entire load with this same small incremental motion so as to not pull too hard on the truck and trailer. I must have thanked him a dozen times for the help!

Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

BigMike [OP]

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WHEW. FINALLY!!



So next I return to the scale to weigh truck + empty trailer, which came out to....

6,640 lbs (3,012 kg)

Then I removed the trailer and weighed just the truck, which came out to...

4,840 lbs (2.195 kg)

WHICH MEANS, the total gross weight of the haul -- trailer plus soil -- came out to...

10,320 pounds of actual tow/haul weight for the Tacoma!!! That is 5.2 tons /4,681 kg!!

When the Tacoma was new it was only rated to tow 6,700 lb and I just towed 154% the rated ability yet while having Triple Marlin Crawler Transfer Cases and 40" tires on a truck built for Rock Crawling that has done the Rubicon trail 6 times plus many others. :driving:

As much as I want to be impressed by this, if you've done any hauling before you know this was FREAKING RETARDED and I am very fortunate that nothing happened and I didn't get a ticket. Had I known it would be this much weight and also that I'd have to drive this far to a second dump, then I would have just hired someone to properly haul the load away.

But man.... what a stupid yet impressive experience!! LOVE THIS TACOMA!! Also, anyone who thinks the Marlin Crawler cannot handle "heavier trucks" can freak'n shove it because I have not one but two Marlin Crawler Crawl Boxes with twice as many pieces and double the number of our Maximum Capacity Double Row bearings and it just pulled a 5-ton load without breaking a sweat. Yours truly on the other hand was definitely sweating!! :rofl:

Regards,
BigMike
Check out our new Rock Crawling Videos!
2016 56-speed 580:1 Tacoma Rock Crawler   
1981 36-speed 511:1 3RZ-FE Rock Crawler
1987 6-speed Supercharged 4A-GZE MR2
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma
Things are only impossible until they are not.
"The worst of both worlds, the best of neither." -abnormaltoy
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." -Nanaki

 
 
 
 
 

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