Westcott Leveling Kit and 35s

[rangertrace]

Since I decided not to spend the money on an aftermarket roof rack, I'm going to go against my original thoughts of wearing out the factory 33s before buying bigger tires. Based on what I've read here, I think the Westcott leveling kit and a set of 35" K02s or K03s would give me the look I'm going for while keeping the drive quality pretty close to stock. Oh, and my wife wants to put my 33s on her GX460 to beef up the look of her ride.

Thoughts?

 

[Danh63]

There are a few pictures floating around of that setup. That is a great look

 

[S SUBERI]

Sounds like a plan. I went with the 285/75 R17 (34") with a 35 mm off set. That way you don't have to make any changes to the wheel well. The 35's will give you a better look

 

[Danh63]

Sounds like a plan. I went with the 285/75 R17 (34") with a 35 mm off set. That way you don't have to make any changes to the wheel well. The 35's will give you a better look

Not to Hijack the thread but I am waiting for my Incognito GX Premium + to come in. How are you liking the color?

 

[rangertrace]

Sounds like a plan. I went with the 285/75 R17 (34") with a 35 mm off set. That way you don't have to make any changes to the wheel well. The 35's will give you a better look

I think I like that idea better. Your's looks great.

 

[S SUBERI]

Thank you

 

[Danh63]

Anyone know if the Westcott leveling kit changes the stock ride much?

 

[rangertrace]

I spoke to the folks at Park Place Lexus yesterday and they've installed a few of them. Nothing but good things to say and most importantly, keeps your warrant in tact. But I'm not paying them 4K to do it.......

 

[Bluegill]

It rides great with the Westcott lift. Some people report that the suspension is tighter/firmer which I guess it should be with the pre-load collars tightening up the coils a bit. I really didn't notice a difference.

 

[Danh63]

It rides great with the Westcott lift. Some people report that the suspension is tighter/firmer which I guess it should be with the pre-load collars tightening up the coils a bit. I really didn't notice a difference.

That's great! I am hoping to order soon. Haven't seen any install video yet. Was hoping to see some to see if it is something I want to do myself. I have put lifts on Jeep and Ram's but I am sure this is a different animal! My Bronco has the Sasquatch package so didn't have to do it to that.

 

[S SUBERI]

Westcott has an install video on their website. I agree the ride is firmer and i prefer it.

 

[Danh63]

Thanks! I will check that out

 

[rangertrace]

I'm sure this answer is already here somewhere, but what is the largest tire you can put on a 550OT without a lift or modifying the vehicle?

 

[killy]

somewhere between 33 and 34 depending on your tolerance for rub.

 

[Overandunderland]

This kind of lift pushes up the front end by adding tension to the spring, thereby extending the shock. This means that for every inch of lift, you are taking away one inch of downtravel. Let's say you get 2.5 inches of lift. Well, then you've extended the shock 2.5 inches and removed 2.5 inches from how far the wheel will be able to go down when encountering a low spot in the terrain. That's going to leave you with only 1.5 to 2" of down travel in this truck. If that's what you want, then this would be a good option. But when you only have that much down travel, your wheels will not roll across dip, holes, and depressions in the terrain the way the engineers intended. You will have severe compromises in performance in many ways. Any notion that this kind of lift does not alter factory performance is laughable. Also, it's important to end the myth that lifts like this make more room for bigger tires. They do not do that. At rest on pavement, there will be more clearance above the tire. But when the shock is fully compressed, you will have the same clearance between the top of the tire and the top inside of the fender as you had before. The additional room mainly applies if you are only riding on pavement and not actually utilizing your suspension. The only other way it would apply would be if you have coil bind or some limitation and can't compress the suspension all the way. That's not something I have any data on here, though, so hopefully this product isn't limiting uptravel too.

Of course the ride will be firmer, because the spring is tighter. Again, great for pavement and maybe for looks. But if you are going offroad, your vehicle's function will be reduced from that of a high-end offroad premium truck to something like a basic AWD sedan, in terms of suspension function. You will have more clearance, but only for some components, not for the low hanging diffs and axles, so even the additional clearance benefit would be questionable in light of the reduced suspension performance.

 

[Bluegill]

I don’t think you are quite capturing all the moving pieces in your summary.

“But if you are going offroad, your vehicle's function will be reduced from that of a high-end offroad premium truck to something like a basic AWD sedan, in terms of suspension function.”

This is an incredible naive and incorrect hypothesis.

 

[killy]

He is a bit hyperbolic about it but he’s also not straight up wrong.

 

[Overandunderland]

I don’t think you are quite capturing all the moving pieces in your summary.

“But if you are going offroad, your vehicle's function will be reduced from that of a high-end offroad premium truck to something like a basic AWD sedan, in terms of suspension function.”

This is an incredible naive and incorrect hypothesis.

By all means, I'm open to debate and reconsideration if I'm missing something. I've certainly been wrong about things in the past. But that would, of course, require you to make a reasoned argument, not just a summary judgement.

 

[Mainelexus]

It depends on what you want. Rock crawling is different than going over a washout and a big rock on a logging road. Serious off roaders need the travel. For what I do, driving down miles of dirt roads, with occasional obstacles probably the additional ground clearance is more important. But I am not doing technical stuff. Of course my guess is 90% who get it lifted are just for looks anyways. For me great tires is the most important part.

 

[BakeShow]

With a preload lift with stock suspension components it’s obviously a give and take when off roading. What you lose in ground travel you gain more in larger tires(the reason for lift), approach angle, and ground clearance. IMO that’s a net benefit.

As far as the ride being “firmer”and the springs being compressed do we know if the
AVS would perceive a bump being bigger? Therefore making the adjustment to smooth out the ride?