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BulletProof 12" Lift Leveling Question

11K views 35 replies 11 participants last post by  HiTekRedNekJoe 
#1 ·
So I am a bit curious.. I've seen several pictures of people with the BP Lift on their tundra and the rear end sits lower than the front of the truck. Other pics the truck looks leveled out. I've also read about putting 2-3" blocks under the rear so that you can max the front end out and still level. Is this what's going on here? Are those trucks I'm seeing with the rear dropped because they have the front end maxed out at 12" and it just won't sit level? Is it because they don't have the atlas leaf springs in the rear? Does this kit need blocks to maximize the lift?

I know..lot's of questions to be answered. Any insight would help.. I'm having my BP lift installed tomorrow and I mentioned it to the shop, they said they will crank down the front and level out the truck. I mentioned blocking the rear instead, and they said it wasn't necessary. I just figure if you pay all the money for a 12" lift, it should be a 12" lift - nothing less.

Opinions? Experiences? Knowledge? Please, and thanks.

Oh, and I'm doing the stage 2 with the Fox Shocks and coilovers.. not sure if that makes a difference.
 
#2 · (Edited)
** Pulled from BP site **

Our Bulletproof kit features a one piece lift cage, Fabricated spindle uprights w/ aircraft grade Chromoly Heim outer steering, Heavy duty coil over spacers, Atlas rear Leaf springs (quoted separately - no blocks or shackle extensions on our kit), differential drop brackets (4WD), sway bar drops, sway bar links, Standard Uni-Ball A-arms and a complete instructions booklet with photos and hardware kit labeled for each step of the installation.

Two shocks are required for the rear and we offer Standard Shocks, Fox Racing Shox or Bilstien Shocks as options.

Items required:
Bulletproof Kit
Atlas Leaf Springs
Rear standard shocks

Kit includes:
Impact bars
Braided stainless steel brake lines
Tie rod extensions
Sway bar drop downs
Sway bar links
Drive line spacer
Rear shock clevis
Uni-ball a-arms
Chromoly steel heavy duty heims
Complete hardware kit **


The standard BP lift only covers the front suspension, and uses struts spacers, so by using Fox coilovers you'll have the ability to achieve 12" up front. But will still only have the Fox rear shocks. Thats where the atlas leaf springs come in... The new Atlas leaf springs are good for 7" of additional height but still come up short. Most installers just throw in a set of tapered blocks 2"-4" depending on the height up front. I've supplied more than a dozen guys running the Atlas rear leafs with my +3" shackles and have averaged 2" of additional lift. The degree of arch allows more lift than average with my +3" shackles.

How does your installer plan to make up for 9"+ of needed rear lift?
 
#3 · (Edited)
That's a great question and I'm glad you asked! I'm doing the atlas obviously.. Their answer for making it level was to crank down the front. So I guess I can either sit 10" up after the install and if I get bored with that I can go bigger, or I can go big from the get go. Right? They've installed a couple BP lifts, including on one of their personal trucks. I'm sure they'll make it right, but I'm just not sure HOW familiar they are with this kit beyond that. I mean, there's a lot if extra options out there, your shackles for example. And I doubt they frequent these forums so they wouldn't know. I'm just trying to educate myself so if I'm not 100% satisfied after the install, I know how to resolve it.

It defeats the purpose of paying for the extra lift up front if they crank it down to level with the rear.

I will definitely bring it up with them again tomorrow and I will keep you in mind. And thank you for the feedback.. It makes more sense now.

Just curious, how would the ride differ with the front cranked down to level versus lifting the rear to level? Much stiffer, better or worse ride? Any idea?
 
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#4 ·
.

And after the lift is installed and complete, how difficult would it be to add coach's shackles and decompress the front end?
 
#5 ·
If you run 12" lift in the front you'll need a 4" rear black to make it leveled. Banger did this and it leveled his truck perfectly.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Erik- I had the Fox coilovers cranked to the 12" max on the front of my Titan. And Sam is right- the ride was worse then your stiffest **** on your first date, lol! I went with the atlas springs out back, fox resis and 4 inch SS blocks to bring it to level



You might PM DR006DR(ROB), A member on here, he has built many suspensions, especially BP12" Lifts
 
#7 · (Edited)
Good info.. I'm gonna let them finish the build, and then decide which way to go. If it looks good and rides right, then I'm just gonna go with it.. If I feel that the suspension is too mushy, or too stiff then I'll do something about it. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking that I'll get it and love it..and just know that if I ever want to go taller and stretch the front and lift the rear then I know I have a couple more inches to play with.

EDIT:
And I sent a PM to DR006DR just for his feedback and advice. Thanks Joe
 
#9 ·
My good friend just built his crewmax last week with the Bulletproof lift. Just like it's stated above, you'll need a block or shackle in back to level the truck if you want to take advantage of the coilovers and set the lift at 12". My friend used shackles to get an additional 2" lift in the back to match the 12" in the front. He's also running the Fox coilovers in front and Fox resivoirs in back.

 
#10 ·
So got the truck back today with the lift installed.. They did a great job, as far as I can tell. Will post pics later. BUT! Just as I expected..the rear sits lower than the front. My question is, if I block or shackle the rear will I need to get it aligned again? I wouldn't think so..but just checking. Maybe Coachbuilder can tell me. Anyhow, the lift is sick. Got the illuminated Amp steps, gonna get exhaust done tomorrow morning. Ill try to get some pics up tomorrow.
 
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#11 ·
Glad it turned out for ya!

No alignment needed with any work done in the rear. Let me know if you need any larger shackles :) Looking forward to your pics.
 
#13 ·
You probably have a narley minus offset like me( -44)20x12 Fuel Octane- I'm only running 13.50's though and i rubbed the body mount. I cut mine with a sawzall and had my local truck guys wrap a piece of steel around the body mount and weld it in place. Looks better then a jagged piece of metal. Hard to believe ya still rub with the big bad BP 12" up front

 
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#14 ·
Truck sounds like it's BADASS congrats. I am assuming whats killing you with the rub is 38.15.5 I know Punch is running a 40x14.5 tire. but if it only rubs at full lock which you will wanna try to avoid with the whole steering rack fiasco i think you should be GTG with a good body mount trim and rebracing.
 
#15 ·
It's coming along nicely.. Having exhaust done right now. As far as the rub, yea..it's at full lock. Ill have to see about doing some trimming. Or I may wait it out, plans for a new bumper in a couple months. We will see.
 

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#16 ·
Looks NICE! If you have a second snap a pic of what they installed in the rear. I really like your flares too, what brand and how much do they cover?

Received your PM on the shackles :) thanks!
 
#17 ·
Holy cow!! That things a monster!!! Nice work Erik- Man you're rocking a nice truck dude. I sent the heads out to ya today and will PM the ship info to you. Good work man. Joe
 
#19 · (Edited)
Thanks Joe.. I'll keep an eye out. Looking forward to some BHLMs! :)


Can't afford bumpers now- Waiting on tax season! I can afford some shackles though.. just gotta wait on some new ones to be fabricated. :)

Threw in some more pics, including the rear and a profile view. Also, my buddy's tundra has a 6" Procomp lift on it just for visual reference.

Im thinking the +3" shackles should rake the truck just right.
 

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#20 ·
Added a few pics.. Dave, you get my PMs? Ready to schackle it up!
 
#23 · (Edited)
Replied.. they're ready to go! :)

** Update... shipped.. Tracking is in your email inbox :)

Thanks!
 
#21 ·
Nice Erik, sits good and level from side to side on the front picture shot- Wow, that thing dwarfs the 6" kit! very nice- I placed yours as my screen saver to get sick over, hahahahaha. Awesome project ya got going there- You could plasti-dip those bumps in the meantime to make it look even better
 
#22 ·
Your truck is sick bro! Love it. :) I'll look into the plasti-dip thing.. hopefully it doesn't involve removing the bumpers.

And yeah, the other Tundra belongs to my boss.. he's wandering if there's any way to get some additional lift other than just a body lift. He doesn't like being shorter. ;)
 
#26 ·
Side note, I mentioned rubbing.. the tires actually rub on the backside of the front bumper when turning at certain angles. Doesn't rub the backside of the wheel well.. I should be able to trim the back side of the front bumper, right? I think it's the 15.5" width, if they were an inch less I'd likely clear the wheel well entirely.
 
#27 ·
Are you rubbing on the painted portion of the bumper itself, or just the black plastic liner?
If its the liner, you can just unbolt the front of the liner, trim it and punch new holes to move it forward.

I had to do this on my truck with 38X 13.5s

(Your truck looks great By the way. Good color, good group of mods)
 
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#29 · (Edited)
I'm pretty sure it's the liner only. It's scuffing the liner up a bit where it rubs. After asking for a resolution before, I found what you're referring to with moving the liner forward. I'm going to try that today. Hopefully that fixes it.

Glad you have the same setup..lemme ask you, does you front end make any noise when turning at speeds between 5-15mph? It sounds like something up front may be moving, not popping, not clunking..just an obvious sound of suspension moving. Is that normal? The shop that did my install is closed til after the new year so I can't ask them.

Thanks for the feedback!

Update: trimmed the plastic bumper liner and moved it forward as far as I could, which is maybe half an inch - so far no more rub. I haven't done figure 8s in reverse or anything but locking the wheel at slow speeds I'm not rubbing anymore. Still have sounds coming from the front end tho. Not a squeak, not a groan, but somewhere in between - sounds like a spring bending or something. If I had to describe the sound..not saying its a spring. Just saying its the best word to describe it.
 
#32 ·
As far as front end noise is concerned, Make sure they lubed the upper arms, and re-lube them again after the first couple hundred miles. I had some groaning noises from the front until I re-lubed the arms/ swaybar.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Got the upper arm joints lubed today. 4 total points to lube. Now it's louder and more predictable! Slow turns when having a crank and a half on the steering wheel, right when it's about to re-center it makes a grunty metal noise. Slow turns only..at driving speeds there's no noises, no clunks, it's solid. But those slow turns make my arm hair stand up on end. I didn't do the sway bar, it doesn't look like it requires grease? I've read about lubeing steering stops-maybe that will help? I'm gonna call the shop that did the lift Wednesday and see if they can take a look at it if I can't resolve before then.


UPDATE:
After further inspection, and thepunk's similar experience.. I've realized it's the passenger side swaybar extension link. It has a bad angle where it connects to the swaybar and it's pretty much chewed up the bushing. Taking it back to the shop so they can repair it properly. Attached some pics- 1st two are the passenger side which is f*cked up - second 2 are the driver side which looks just peachy.
 

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#33 ·
@EwreckedG-your truck is so sick!!! I love the lift and I think those flares you have look better then the Bushwacker pocket style ones!how far do they stick out?what kind of exhaust are you going with on that beast?
 
#35 ·
Thanks for the compliments.. the flares give about 2" of extra coverage..but I've realized having 15.5" wide tires there's never going to be enough coverage. Truck gets dirty quick! And I did true dual Magnaflows, with a custom H pipe, and the 5" RBP tips.. One day I'll make a signature. :p
 
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