Tweet
Greetings !
I recently had leaking front stock shock absorbers and tires were starting to crack on my 2010 SWB 150 so I figured might as well upgrade them to get more clearance and traction in the desert since it is now the season and the cost would be only slightly more to replace all 4 and lift!
I did a lot of reading here and got some very helpful Prado Pointers so I hope this can help someone else in future.
Since I went through a lot to decide, its hard to keep it short. So if you dont have time to read, bottom line is this:
I used EFS Suspension
Front - TPR-104E with 38-5638 Hilux Strut
Back - TPR-105E using the 36-5586 shocks
My Optimal tire size without any major rubbing or requiring offset wheels or spacers was 275/70/17 Cooper AT3s
If you care to read how I got to this, please read on!
Suspension
I had 3 local options, Ironman, OME and EFS . Based on reviews here, I narrowed it down to OME and EFS. Prices were almost the same, but OME was a 1.5 hour drive away and the response wasn't as good as the dealer for EFS. So I went with EFS.
I was comfortable with the confident response from the EFS team so I didn't question their recommendation for below parts.
In the front they used TPR-104E with 38-5638 Hilux Strut
In the back it was TPR-105E using the 36-5586 shocks which are supposed to be about 20 mm shorter than the LWB recommended 36-5587, and would make the SWB a better ride
With all the excitement, concern and anticipation, I forgot to measure the height before taking her into the shop for surgery for a before and after. They had told me that officially its a 45 mm lift, but that they could go anywhere up to 60/70 mm. I took below picture next to a stock shorty I met on the street. I believe this is before I changed the tires. (my previous tires were 265/70 not stock 265/65)
Climbing into her required some new muscle activation in my knees and legs and suddenly I felt like I was sitting at level with fellow travelers of the highway.. who were riding the bus :-/
The first day driving was a bit strange as I felt like it was extremely stiff and like I was swallowing bumps and cracks in the road without even chewing. It was quite uncomfortable, however for some odd reason it made me laugh hysterically every time I went over a speed breaker. After a few days it either softened up a bit or I got used to it, but now its quite comfortable even though its still a bit on the firmer side.
Tires
I was advised by the EFS agent that I should be able to run 285/70/17 with the new suspension. I ran 265/70/17 Cooper ATRs for 2 years/ 65k kms so was happy to stick with them, and considering I'm on blacktop most of the time, I was happy with the ATR which is now the allegedly better AT3
I began hunting for best prices, and in the process, found the main distributor for Cooper Tires in Dubai, who was happy to give me a lot of information and wholesale prices since not many end users come to him.
He offered me the 285/70/17 s at 20% less then the market re-sellers offered me, but then he told me that he only had 10 ply tires and that the 4 ply will be coming after 5 days. I had never heard of 10 ply/4 ply and I was in no condition to be able to wait for an additional 5 days, but when he told me that they would cost me an additional 20% less in upfront cost and would weigh less, translating to less fuel consumption, noise, and chance of getting stuck in the sand, he had my full attention. He told me that most re-sellers here never give the option to customers and some will even sell the 4 ply at 10 ply prices. When I asked him how I can check for this myself, he said that its usually written LT if its 4 ply, which is Light Truck. And he said unless I'm towing anything heavy, there's no need for 10 ply especially with a shorty.
Was good info to have and even when I asked some re-sellers later, they didn't claim to know anything about it.
So I told him I'll come back in 5 days but my inner child could not wait, so I decided I'll try my luck at a few tire shops around town that evening. In doing this, I spoke to one mechanic who pointed out to me that my current 265/70/17 s were rubbing a little as shown in below pic. This is basically the the plastic that covers the fluid tank which I assume is for windshield wipers. Please note this might be on left side as here steering is on left.
Not a big deal at all, but he called my attention to the fact that this is with worn treading . If I put the same size new tires it will rub even more and if i try 285s, then it will for sure be a big deal! I was heartbroken as I did not want to put spacers or deal with offset wheels. I had already spent a lot and my brain was overloading with new data. Plus I had a camping trip that weekend. I wanted to fit the biggest without having to do any of these, and preferably without cutting or burning the plastic of concern here.
The next day I checked the left side to find that the issue was not there. And in the back there was plenty of clearance. On top of that, I found that if i pushed the plastic back, it gave significantly more room. This was reassuring, but still I was advised that 285 would not work as is. And I was surprised that the clearance was different on each side. One theory was that I may have cause some sort of damage in the desert, but it doesnt look like it.
After 2 days of searching, I found a shop who could arrange a trial fitting of 285, 275 and 265s and went for the ultimate test. 285 was rubbing a lot and it seemed to be rubbing the UCA as research had predicted. The mechanic brought out a spacer to try but I said no, on to 275, it fit snug. Turned fully right, barely cleared, but no problem, turned fully left, it rubbed the same plastic that was being rubbed earlier pictured above, but much more as expected. Mechanic said we can cut the plastic off since he felt there was no use for it, but I saw a roll of wire wrap so we made a small hole and tied the plastic back to the front tow hook of the car, and perfect! I intend to patent this genius engineering method, but in the meantime, I'll show you all how its done since I learned so much from you
Only thing now is that sometimes when I reverse with full lock, i get a loud noise and sudden hard vibrations, but this turned out to just be the mud flap. It has only happened a couple times so i'm not so concerned, but i might remove it later, or apply a similar method of green wire technology
In the end, I'm very very happy. Riding feels good and balanced. Initially with the old tires I felt a bit fragile on corners as though I might go on two wheels, but with new tires i'm fully gripping the road. And she looks very good. Not as sexy as a lot of cars I've seen here, but still enough that I've turned a few heads and am very happy staring at her
I think thats the longest post i've ever written
I hope it will be helpful!
Cheers!
I recently had leaking front stock shock absorbers and tires were starting to crack on my 2010 SWB 150 so I figured might as well upgrade them to get more clearance and traction in the desert since it is now the season and the cost would be only slightly more to replace all 4 and lift!
I did a lot of reading here and got some very helpful Prado Pointers so I hope this can help someone else in future.
Since I went through a lot to decide, its hard to keep it short. So if you dont have time to read, bottom line is this:
I used EFS Suspension
Front - TPR-104E with 38-5638 Hilux Strut
Back - TPR-105E using the 36-5586 shocks
My Optimal tire size without any major rubbing or requiring offset wheels or spacers was 275/70/17 Cooper AT3s
If you care to read how I got to this, please read on!
Suspension
I had 3 local options, Ironman, OME and EFS . Based on reviews here, I narrowed it down to OME and EFS. Prices were almost the same, but OME was a 1.5 hour drive away and the response wasn't as good as the dealer for EFS. So I went with EFS.
I was comfortable with the confident response from the EFS team so I didn't question their recommendation for below parts.
In the front they used TPR-104E with 38-5638 Hilux Strut
In the back it was TPR-105E using the 36-5586 shocks which are supposed to be about 20 mm shorter than the LWB recommended 36-5587, and would make the SWB a better ride
With all the excitement, concern and anticipation, I forgot to measure the height before taking her into the shop for surgery for a before and after. They had told me that officially its a 45 mm lift, but that they could go anywhere up to 60/70 mm. I took below picture next to a stock shorty I met on the street. I believe this is before I changed the tires. (my previous tires were 265/70 not stock 265/65)
Climbing into her required some new muscle activation in my knees and legs and suddenly I felt like I was sitting at level with fellow travelers of the highway.. who were riding the bus :-/
The first day driving was a bit strange as I felt like it was extremely stiff and like I was swallowing bumps and cracks in the road without even chewing. It was quite uncomfortable, however for some odd reason it made me laugh hysterically every time I went over a speed breaker. After a few days it either softened up a bit or I got used to it, but now its quite comfortable even though its still a bit on the firmer side.
Tires
I was advised by the EFS agent that I should be able to run 285/70/17 with the new suspension. I ran 265/70/17 Cooper ATRs for 2 years/ 65k kms so was happy to stick with them, and considering I'm on blacktop most of the time, I was happy with the ATR which is now the allegedly better AT3
I began hunting for best prices, and in the process, found the main distributor for Cooper Tires in Dubai, who was happy to give me a lot of information and wholesale prices since not many end users come to him.
He offered me the 285/70/17 s at 20% less then the market re-sellers offered me, but then he told me that he only had 10 ply tires and that the 4 ply will be coming after 5 days. I had never heard of 10 ply/4 ply and I was in no condition to be able to wait for an additional 5 days, but when he told me that they would cost me an additional 20% less in upfront cost and would weigh less, translating to less fuel consumption, noise, and chance of getting stuck in the sand, he had my full attention. He told me that most re-sellers here never give the option to customers and some will even sell the 4 ply at 10 ply prices. When I asked him how I can check for this myself, he said that its usually written LT if its 4 ply, which is Light Truck. And he said unless I'm towing anything heavy, there's no need for 10 ply especially with a shorty.
Was good info to have and even when I asked some re-sellers later, they didn't claim to know anything about it.
So I told him I'll come back in 5 days but my inner child could not wait, so I decided I'll try my luck at a few tire shops around town that evening. In doing this, I spoke to one mechanic who pointed out to me that my current 265/70/17 s were rubbing a little as shown in below pic. This is basically the the plastic that covers the fluid tank which I assume is for windshield wipers. Please note this might be on left side as here steering is on left.
Not a big deal at all, but he called my attention to the fact that this is with worn treading . If I put the same size new tires it will rub even more and if i try 285s, then it will for sure be a big deal! I was heartbroken as I did not want to put spacers or deal with offset wheels. I had already spent a lot and my brain was overloading with new data. Plus I had a camping trip that weekend. I wanted to fit the biggest without having to do any of these, and preferably without cutting or burning the plastic of concern here.
The next day I checked the left side to find that the issue was not there. And in the back there was plenty of clearance. On top of that, I found that if i pushed the plastic back, it gave significantly more room. This was reassuring, but still I was advised that 285 would not work as is. And I was surprised that the clearance was different on each side. One theory was that I may have cause some sort of damage in the desert, but it doesnt look like it.
After 2 days of searching, I found a shop who could arrange a trial fitting of 285, 275 and 265s and went for the ultimate test. 285 was rubbing a lot and it seemed to be rubbing the UCA as research had predicted. The mechanic brought out a spacer to try but I said no, on to 275, it fit snug. Turned fully right, barely cleared, but no problem, turned fully left, it rubbed the same plastic that was being rubbed earlier pictured above, but much more as expected. Mechanic said we can cut the plastic off since he felt there was no use for it, but I saw a roll of wire wrap so we made a small hole and tied the plastic back to the front tow hook of the car, and perfect! I intend to patent this genius engineering method, but in the meantime, I'll show you all how its done since I learned so much from you
Only thing now is that sometimes when I reverse with full lock, i get a loud noise and sudden hard vibrations, but this turned out to just be the mud flap. It has only happened a couple times so i'm not so concerned, but i might remove it later, or apply a similar method of green wire technology
In the end, I'm very very happy. Riding feels good and balanced. Initially with the old tires I felt a bit fragile on corners as though I might go on two wheels, but with new tires i'm fully gripping the road. And she looks very good. Not as sexy as a lot of cars I've seen here, but still enough that I've turned a few heads and am very happy staring at her
I think thats the longest post i've ever written
I hope it will be helpful! Cheers!
Comment