My CST LIFT

HVACman · 09-15-2004, 09:22 PM

My CST 7" lift was installed Monday and it looks great. The people at SoCal Supertrucks are were awesome! They did the complete install in about 7 hours.
This was their first 4wd install, so they took a picture to post on their web site, check it out at http://socalsupertrucks.com/.

For those of you who might be wondering about gas mileage. . . before and after the tire change, before - stock BFG 285/70-17 and after - ProComp Xterain 35x12.5-17's. On the trip South I was going 75-80mph with the a/c on and got 15.5mpg average.

On the return trip with the bigger tires I was going about 70-75mph with the a/c on and off intermittently and averaged 12mpg

I think the gas mileage is due to the fact that going south means going downhill and going north means going uphill, dosen't it?

Now for the pictures:

1. Just a side shot showing the additional space above the tires. The tires are 2" teller than oem. Note the absence of mud flaps. The rear flaps were ok but since the fronts had to go, I wanted both ends of the truck to match.

2. Shows the .25" clearence between the tire and the steering knuckle(?). This space is not necessarily typical of all installations; different wheel backspacing (mine are stock 5.14") and different brands and types of tires, i'm told, will slightly vary this gap. Arter 450 miles of driving, so far absolutly no rubbing. Also you can see the drop down bushing above the coil over. My DayStar kit is gone, and the front suspension feels a bit softer.

3. Shows the new skid plate and new drop components on the oem suspension.

4. View of Fox shocks and lift blocks between axle and leaf springs.

5. Not a very good picture of the upper A arm and rubber stop grommet.

6. Another view of the drop bracket for the steering.

7. A view of the Fox rear shock and its reservoir.

8. This pic shows how far out the 12.5" wide tire sticks out from the side of the truck. Stock backspacing of 5.14" on 8" wide rim.

vansd1 · 09-15-2004, 10:07 PM

nice fox piggyback resevoirs, i bet those set you back a pretty penny. those are some of the nicest shocks out there. thats a 4 inch block in the rear right? how bad is the axle wrap? our trucks have alot of hp and torque and i have a feeling titans will have alot of axle wrap unless traction bars are installed. let me know
thanks

HVACman · 09-15-2004, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vansd1

nice fox piggyback resevoirs, i bet those set you back a pretty penny. those are some of the nicest shocks out there. thats a 4 inch block in the rear right?
thanks

The Fox shocks were a $400 upgrade. They (and possibly any other shock) noticeably improves the ride at street speeds. The highway ride is still just as choppy though no worse. Yes, a 4" block. As far as axle wrap, what will I feel when this happens?

vansd1 · 09-15-2004, 10:14 PM

read my edited post

doberboy · 09-16-2004, 09:29 AM

That lift looks awesome. Wheels look great too. THanks for the pics.

MaxPowers · 09-16-2004, 05:04 PM

Your lift looks sweet man, welcome aboard to the lifted owners club.

rawze · 09-16-2004, 05:31 PM

very, very nice

MaxPowers · 09-16-2004, 11:10 PM

The site has now 7 pictures of lifted Titans on there. That seems like a lot for a truck that hasn't even been out one year considering there are only a couple of tundras on there. I like it!!

Shadowofnight2001r · 09-17-2004, 11:07 AM

Looks SWEET.....and the Fox shocks were only a 400 dollar upgrade ? You got a great price on those. One minor tip that would be really easy for you to change yourself if you are ever gonna take that puppy wheelin...replace those HUGE headed bolts holding your new skid plate on with some really nice button head ones like the ones holding your front mounted stock skid plate....it looks much nicer...wont hang up on anything on the trail...and shearing a bolt head off or bending the bolt head aint no fun at all...just a suggestion..the button head allen bolts would look sweet ! Also, are you gonna get a spare tire that would work if you get a flat in one of those really nice new tires ? Awesome job on the mods !

gero · 09-17-2004, 07:49 PM

looks like i'm going to have to upgrade my rear shocks....

did they have a replacement option for the front coilovers? I heard that there was a now a fox option for the fronts....

the axle wrap thing has to do w/ the jet tech leaf mod.
I've thought about doing it just to see if it made a difference .. but I haven't yet.

gero

vansd1 · 09-17-2004, 09:19 PM

axle wrap is caused when the trucks rear axle tries to basically rip itself out towrds the fron of the truck. as you give the truck gas your tires spin and it pushes your axle forward..this motion is passed on to yout truck through the leafsprings and then the frame. it you look at jet techs pic it shows a really good example of axle wrap. the problem is by adding the block in the rear you just extended the torqe arm for the axle to pull on the leafs. imagine trying to turn a nut by hand.....at some point it gets tight and you cant turn it anymore so you go get a ratchet handle, this extends the torque arm and allows you with minimal effort to turn the nut. adapt the same principle to your leafs/axle. the axle is trying to turn itself up and push forward. we already have a small issue with this with stock trucks because the titan has so much power. now just like the ratchet example by adding the 4 inch block you just extended the axles torque arm so now it has even more torque on the leafs. this will cause it to "wrap" 4 times more than it did when stock. and let me tell you on my old f 150 we put it on a dyno and it had a 4 inch block on the back and you wouldnt believe how far the axle wrapped forward and upward.....and that a truck with on ly 230 hp.....add 70 hp and lookout ur gonna have axle wrap. this can easily be fixed with traction bars and if your truck is lifted i wouldnt suggest the jet tech mod. it is great for stock trucks and i have it on mine but when you lift it you really need a traction bar it will really help.
hope i explained it ok let me know if you have any other q's
alright later

HVACman · 09-17-2004, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gero

looks like i'm going to have to upgrade my rear shocks....

did they have a replacement option for the front coilovers? I heard that there was a now a fox option for the fronts....

the axel wrap thing has to do w/ the jet tech leaf mod.
I've thought about doing it just to see if it made a difference .. but I haven't yet.

gero

Ya know, SoCal Supertrucks told me that Fox did not make anything, yet, for the Titan. Then today I look at their website and there is a great picture of Fox shocks on the front. There on the truck with the 12" lift, so maybe thats what they mean, nothing yet for the 7" lift. I'm going to call tomarrow and ask again. Check out that picture, it's enough to make your mouth water!

HVACman · 09-17-2004, 10:36 PM

Vansd1 - Thanks for the info. I P/M'd JetTech for the info.

ben95m · 09-17-2004, 11:08 PM

Very very nice! Those are some meaty tires.

gero · 09-18-2004, 01:37 PM

ken,

thanks for the info.

i pm'd jettech and he was of the opinion that his fix would also work on a lifted titan... i can't say that i have experienced any problems ... but i'd like to know that I'm maximizing this truck's power.... l look forward to hearing his current thoughts .

vansd1, i wonder if the 4" deaver kit would have been a more appropriate option; or if a traction bar is necessary...

gero