Toyota is one of the most common car manufacturing companies in Asia. It’s situated in Japan and has become widely famous for producing durable and cost-effective cars. There are hundreds of Toyota car types in the present market, and a renowned name among them is the Toyota Tundra.
Toyota Tundra was released in 1999 and had become a commonly used pickup truck ever since. The car can hold up a great deal of weight and has had 2 generations of upgrades, with another Gen upgrade coming up in 2022. So, it’s quite obvious that lifting such a large pickup truck can be quite expensive.
What Makes Toyota Tundra So Heavy
Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck that requires a massive amount of horsepower just to carry the heavy lifting on the back. These trucks can carry up to 1,560lbs. and their towing capacity is 9,800lbs. The trucks themselves weigh around 7,200lbs. which means it won’t be an easy task if you decide to lift them.
These trucks have a V8 engine that’s packed with FWD (Four wheel drive) for flexible movement. Again, the engine generates up to 381hp and has a torque of 401lb-ft. It’s worth mentioning that the truck comes from the manufacturers with a height of 10.6 inches which is called ground clearance or ride height.
Varied Costs for Lifting a Toyota Tundra
A common practice among pickup truck drivers is lifting the riding height of the vehicle so that it can be handled better and look stylish while doing so. Lifting generally doesn’t affect the payload, performance, or ground clearance of the vehicle and is regarded as a cosmetic upgrade.
Such an upgrade on the Toyota Tundra vehicle can be accomplished in two ways. One way is manually lifting your vehicle which will require some mechanical skills and the other way is taking your car to the car tuning shops where a professional will do the job. As you can guess, the manual way is cheaper and costs half of what a professional will charge.
The Manual Lifting Costs
If you have spent your fair share of time with mechanical terms and elbow grease, you can complete this task. Lifting the Toyota Tundra manually can cost from 400USD to 4000USD depending on your lifting kit and the kind of tools you’ll be using. Due to the variety of lifting types available for an FWD like Toyota Tundra, your desired lifting type will determine the costs.
Front Lift Kit Types
- Coil Type Lift Kits
Since a coil over kit contains the spring and shock together, it requires replacing the You stock pieces that help with the vehicle’s suspension. Changing the coil can improve the quality of your car but it’s recommended that you use the coil over kit since it positively affects the performance and off-road capabilities of your car. You can buy these kits for 1000USD and above from the Toytec online store.
- Leveling Type Lift Kits
This type of front lift kit is rather straightforward as you have to add a spacer between your truck’s suspension and the body. Such kinds of lifts are all about leveling the spacers and are mostly a cosmetic upgrade. There’s no need for spending extra money on suspension parts too but you’ll have a tough time off-roading with this lift kit. You can buy these kits from ReadyLIFT and Rough Country online stores for 300USD and below.
Rear Lift Kit Types
- AAL Type Lift Kit
AAL (Add-A-Leaf) is a mechanical terminology that means adding excessive springs to support the rear of a vehicle and lift it. This type of lift is cheaper and has benefits like more payload capabilities. In addition to that, the curve made by the springs increases the truck’s rear suspension lift. Such kits can be found in the Tuff Country online storewhich costs about 100USD but requires buying U-bolts too.
- Leaf Pack Type Lift Kit
Leaf pack type is the same as coil over types but for the rear of your truck which replace the existing stocks with leaf springs. These are the best but quite expensive kits because they affect the stability of your truck and increase off-road performance as well. Fortunately, Leaf pack type lift kits cost about 400USD only from the AutoAnything online store. The price will slightly vary depending on the length of lift you desire.
- Block Type Lift Kit
Much like the leveling type lift kit of the front side of the truck, the block type lift kit adds a block between your leaf springs and rear axles. This somewhat lifts the rear of your truck and does it in the most cost-effective way possible since these types of lifts are bad for off-roading. Such kinds of block lift kits can be found in ReadyLIFT and Rough Country for a low price of 200USD with the addition of U-bolts.
The Professional Lifting Costs
Don’t try to manually lift your truck unless you have experience with fixing your car parts from time to time. Taking your Toyota Tundra to the nearest auto-tuning store is a good option since they will add your desired types of suspension parts and lift kits without the risk of damaging any internal parts of the truck.
The price of a professional lifting procedure can cost from 800USD to 8000USD depending on the type of lifts you choose. In addition to that, Toyota Dealerships will add Tundra exclusive lifts to your Toyota Tundra for under 1500USD without installation costs. So it’s all up to you how you want to design your truck.
Side Effects of Lifting Vehicles
Lifting vehicles especially trucks can cause some problems to your vehicle and overall driving experience. Trucks like the Toyota Tundra are not made as heavy-duty trucks that can massive payloads and ride the road like it’s nobody’s business. These kinds of trucks lose grip and balance because of lifting them past their stock riding height.
After lifting your Toyota Tundra, you will face problems with off-roading and feel more bumps while driving. Since most lifting trucks are for cosmetic purposes, it’s recommended that you keep the side effects in account before taking the step to lift your truck. Controls will also loosen and you’ll have to balance your car before turning on most roads.
Since pickup trucks weigh more than normal vehicles, they are great for carrying payloads and some expensive lifting kits can increase that capacity. Other than that, you’ll have a tough time handling your Toyota Tundra and have to ride slower than usually to keep the truck stable.
Parting Words
Toyota Tundra has made such a high reputation for itself that the 3rd Gen of this 1999 released pickup truck is coming in 2022. There’s no doubt that such a desired vehicle will require a substantial amount of money for a proper lifting upgrade.
For your convenience, the price of both manual and professional lifting has been mentioned along with the various types of lifting you can do for your truck. Remember that although the expensive upgrades seem overrated, they go a long way to protect your Toyota Tundra on off-roading rather than only show-off. The choice is all yours!
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