Toyota vs Nissan?

[Forrest51]

I've been using the Cooper Discoverer ST because it's one of the few tires in that size that are not a full mud terrain. It's more of an agressive AT.

1st set went 50,000 with 6/32nds of tread left.
2nd set has 40,000 and I'm at about 6/32nds now, so it's shopping time.

Ok, good to know! Im not sure about running mud terrains, I'll have to check out those ST's. 40-50k sounds decent to me. The only tires I've ever ran from new are my current 285/75, at 60k and would have probably been god fo another 5k plus but some recent wheeling in some loos sharp Arizona stuff kinda tore them up. They suffered less than my front diff though...

Keep the Tundra if it's paid for! If you do get something different just test drive both and buy what you like. You can't go wrong with any of your choices. I will say that the 2nd gen frontier front diff problem is a little over exaggerated by people who don't own one. Most of the failures have been caused by careless driving. Then again me and my good friend drive carelessly in ours all the time and haven't had an issue. I can confirm that the 4.0 V6 is pretty quick and will outrun 1st gen Tundras, and a some other V8's. There is plenty of torque down low for crawling obstacles:sombrero:

I'm kinda surprised at the love for a Tundra, I didn't think they were so popular in the expo community... Or maybe I'm slightly misreading things and it's the 'bought and paid for' aspect that is so supported. If I do get a Frontier I'll wheel it till it breaks or I come across an amazing deal on a Titian diff. I must say though, all support for the Tundra is making me REALLY put some thought into it. I think I made a habit of buying and selling vehicles, I've had six vehicles in 5 years, and I've had my tundra for 3 of those years....

 

[jim65wagon]

I'm kinda surprised at the love for a Tundra, I didn't think they were so popular in the expo community... Or maybe I'm slightly misreading things and it's the 'bought and paid for' aspect that is so supported. If I do get a Frontier I'll wheel it till it breaks or I come across an amazing deal on a Titian diff. I must say though, all support for the Tundra is making me REALLY put some thought into it. I think I made a habit of buying and selling vehicles, I've had six vehicles in 5 years, and I've had my tundra for 3 of those years....

There are a few of us that dig Tundras, I think the main reason they are not as popular as Tacomas, GWagens and Disco's is because Mr. Brady has never officially endorsed them as a viable off-road rig. If he'd had a Tundra instead of his phenomenal Tacoma when he started this site, things would be different.

Since I owned the Tundra before this site started, I couldn't financially jump on the Tacoma bandwagon. It's the one vehicle I can recommend to people since I've put 160,000 trouble free miles on it since new, and it's done everything I've asked of it, from daily stuff, hauling excessive weights, forest roads, beaches, and two-tracks.

You already own a Tundra. You know it's a fine vehicle. You know it's recent history and service record. You know it's weakness (front diff). That's all advantages. You just have to learn to drive it with the front diff in mind. No wild front wheels in the air spinning and having them grip suddenly. No foot to the floor in reverse 4lo to get unstuck. Use common sense and Land Rovers "Slow as Possible, Fast as Necessary" mentality and that truck will last you for many, many, many miles of enjoyment on and off road.

 

[alexrex20]

I'm kinda surprised at the love for a Tundra, I didn't think they were so popular in the expo community... Or maybe I'm slightly misreading things and it's the 'bought and paid for' aspect that is so supported. If I do get a Frontier I'll wheel it till it breaks or I come across an amazing deal on a Titian diff. I must say though, all support for the Tundra is making me REALLY put some thought into it. I think I made a habit of buying and selling vehicles, I've had six vehicles in 5 years, and I've had my tundra for 3 of those years....

The fact that your Tundra is paid for is only a bonus. The most important part for me is that it's, well... a 1st-gen Tundra! You get the V8 power but in a slightly larger truck than a Tacoma, and much smaller and more manageable than a new Tundra. I've always had a soft spot for the 1st-gen Tundras.

 

[fangars]

Keep the Tundra, figure out your payments had you bought a new vehicle and stick that money in a special account at the bank, whenever you accumulate enough money to do an upgrade on your Tundra while at the same time leaving enough in to handle expensive emergency repairs, make your truck newer as time goes by, instead of buying a new truck and paying for it to get older as time goes by.

If you do go with a Frontier I know a guy who sells awesome stuff you can bolt right on to them
http://www.xoskel.com/Frontier.html

 

[Toyotero]

IMO, keep the Tundra. Sweet trucks.

Ditto. I enjoy my Taco greatly, but have often desired more bed space, especially when considering putting a cap on it to enclose a sleeping deck (the mrs and I actually can fit, but most cannot).

I've never been in one, but I'd bet that the access cab rear seat space in the Tundra is somewhat comparable to a 1st gen Taco rear seat. So I think you'd lose a lot of bed space for not much more cabin space or accessibility.

A Toyota all paid for is hard to beat... that's when that higher price starts to pay off. I vote that you go spend the money you would have to purchase another vehicle on some kit and equip for the Tundra. New gear/toys will make it fun again and maybe you'll keep it another 3 years.

 

[deadbeat son]

I own a 2009 Tacoma DC. I bought it new, and really wanted a new vehicle when it came time to purchase it. Had the 09 Tundra still been the 1st gen style, I may have bought it instead of the Tacoma. I'd rather have the larger bed size, and the 1st gen Tundra isn't much larger than the 2nd gen Tacoma overall either.

 

[TNxterra]

I have an '06 xterra and I love it. I have about 150,000 miles on it and still going strong on the r180 front dif. I know it's not the strongest, but I have wheeled it fairly hard and I have no problems. I would recomend using redline fluids. They are the best you could ever use.

 

[Forrest51]

Thank you all for your input. I have decided to keep the Tundra :smiley_drive: During the 3 years I've owned it I've done nothing but routine maintenance and tires, so its time to give the ol' girl some lovin'. at 170k+ miles the stock suspension (paired with a spacer up front) needs to go, the rear shocks/add a leave are newer but still have 100k on them. I'm looking at the Bilstien 5100 all around. I'm wondering about sticking with stock coils vs going with something like toytec coils for the front. Also, do you think I can get away with just replacing the rear shocks and keeping the leaf as it is? there's no noticeable sag, I've just noticed the tires don't like to stay on the ground over rough patches of road. I'm a little concerned with the low speed rating of the cooper st's, I do a fair bit of hwy travel... I'm also looking into replacing sway bar bushings, any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[jim65wagon]

How often do you drive your truck over 87 mph with the tires at full load (3000lbs each?), keep the right amount of air in them for whatever load you have and drive......not a 140, but highway speeds are fine....

The Bilstiens all round is a good idea. If the rear springs aren't sagging I'd keep them a while longer. The shocks will go a long way to keeping those tires on the ground where they're supposed to be. The front springs will be fine with the adjustable Bilsteins.

 

[alexrex20]

even a load range C tire is more than adequate for a Tundra and what you would realistically be towing/hauling. replace the shocks and see if it helps. new coils can also help with handling, especially when coupled with the new shocks

 

[4Rescue]

How often do you drive your truck over 87 mph with the tires at full load (3000lbs each?), keep the right amount of air in them for whatever load you have and drive......not a 140, but highway speeds are fine....

...

Exactly what I was thinking Jim.

Cheers

Dave

Edit: oh and I also agree with Alexrex, the C-range tires should be fine in the real-world application. Sure on paper you can convince yourself that you need E-range's and that you'll be carrying the MAX load 24/7... in reality, you probably WON'T be. AND, if you really were, you'd probably be better off with an HD Diresel P/U that neither Toyota nor Nissan make available to us poor N.Americans... Also, unless you ARE loaded down to max cap. all the time, the higher load-range tires will just make the ride suffer.

 

[Forrest51]

When you put it that way my fears seem pretty silly. My thought was that I often cruise at 80-85 and I felt like that wasn't a big enough buffer, but I didn't think about those ratings being for while at full load... Learning is occurring!

I really like the idea of saving some money and staying with stock coils, on the other hand I can afford to replace the coils if it would be worth it in ride/handling improvement. Since I'm sure it will end up costing more in the long run to keep the stock coils now and replace them down the road I want to get it right the first time. Does anyone have experience with the Toytec coil overs? These two specifically

http://www.toyteclifts.com/index.ph...tegory_id=136&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=72

http://www.toyteclifts.com/index.ph...tegory_id=136&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=72

I'm not 100% sure of the difference between the two so I'll be calling Toytec later this afternoon. I would appreciate any real world knowledge on the subject. I haven't ruled out an OME setup if anyone feels the need to argue pro's/con's on that matter.

 

[4Rescue]

I will argue that OME should be at the top of your list... I personaly think that dollar for dollar they are the highest performing suspendsion on the market. Great load capacity, great ride and flex for the trail, keep in mind I have rear leaves, but I ran 70/75-series, 80's and 105's ALL on OME suspension in Australia and they were FLAWLESS. I think for your application that you'll be very happy. Personaly, I wouldn't even LOOK at places like Rough Country and what not as they're really sub-par in terms of performance and overall life in my exp (we got one of my XJ's on a rough-country suspension and we took it off a week later I hated the springs and shocks so much) Toytec I've never heard anything BAD about though, so they may very well be a good direction to go. I personaly swear by OME for a reason and that is: repeated abuse on several platforms in extreme conditions and zero failure. My 4Runner has OME under it and I couldn't be happier.


Sounds like you've got a great truck that fits your needs, now let's see her

Cheers

Dave

 

[jim65wagon]

I will argue that OME should be at the top of your list... I personaly think that dollar for dollar they are the highest performing suspendsion on the market. Great load capacity, great ride and flex for the trail, keep in mind I have rear leaves, but I ran 70/75-series, 80's and 105's ALL on OME suspension in Australia and they were FLAWLESS. I think for your application that you'll be very happy. Personaly, I wouldn't even LOOK at places like Rough Country and what not as they're really sub-par in terms of performance and overall life in my exp (we got one of my XJ's on a rough-country suspension and we took it off a week later I hated the springs and shocks so much) Toytec I've never heard anything BAD about though, so they may very well be a good direction to go. I personaly swear by OME for a reason and that is: repeated abuse on several platforms in extreme conditions and zero failure. My 4Runner has OME under it and I couldn't be happier.


Sounds like you've got a great truck that fits your needs, now let's see her

Cheers

Dave

The downside is I don't think OME has anything specifically for a Tundra, which means guesstimating which Tacoma springs would best suit your needs....not that you couldn't or shouldn't go with OME, just going to take a little more thought and calculation to get it right.

Right now I'm running a used set of rebuilt Donahoes that seem to be a great all around setup......new ones(ICONS) were a bit too pricey for my blood though.


I do know of a DC Tundra running the Bilstein 5100 adjustables, they were an easy peasy install and ride nice on and off road.....

....got nuthin' on the Toytecs you linked....

 

[Haggis]

I do know of a DC Tundra running the Bilstein 5100 adjustables, they were an easy peasy install and ride nice on and off road.....

I happen to drive said DC Tundra and while I have no experience with OME or Toytecs stuff, I can share my experiences about the Bilstiens.

It's been two years and 45,000 miles and the 5100s are still going strong just as good as the day Jim and I mounted them up. Installation was easy-peasy, the hardest part was just finding someone open on a Saturday afternoon in Virginia to compress the coils form the stock units and swap them onto the new Bilstiens. The ride is better than stock and the Bilstiens look like new. No leaks, sagging or anythin'. My truck see's heavier use daily as a work/construction rig than the majority of vehicles on the forum and sees light to medium duty wheeling when it's time to play. The only major change I made to the truck was to swap out the factory leaf springs with AALs for a custom set of Deavers as with all the towing I do the factory units just weren't up to the demands I was placing on the truck. They are a great option and are by far a great deal for the price.