After
Budget is a hot word right now with money being tighter than ever, and spending your hard-earned dollars on your truck has to be an educated purchase with parts you know will perform at a high level. We've experienced both good and bad advice on internet forums, but nothing beats trial and error. Fortunately for you, we're your crash test dummies. We install dozens of parts on a variety of trucks every month and when it came time to customize an '07 Toyota Tundra, we wanted every part to be an upgrade from what we took off. That is easy to do, but what we set out to do was keep as much money in our wallet as possible-that is not such an easy task. For this month's Fantastic Four, we focused on good looks, added capability, and more power for as much bang for the buck as you can squeeze out of four simple bolt-ons. The end solution provided us proof that, without breaking the bank, you can upgrade your truck and make it your own.
Before
Airaid is a leader in cool air intakes, and their prices are very competitive, so it was a no-brainer for us to order a new intake for our stock 4.7L V-8. To keep cost as low as we could, an order was placed to Magnaflow for a single-inlet/dual-outlet muffler and then we took the muffler for a custom exhaust to be made at Pro Muffler, in Peoria, Arizona. This saved us a few bucks and allowed us to build the system to our design. For suspension, we contacted BMF for its latest leveling kit that raises the front end 2.4 inches and is made out of aircraft-grade 6061-T6 aluminum. Tires of choice were 33-inch Toyo M/T muds and to make this Tundra stand out at any jobsite or office parking lot, we ordered a set of BMF S.E.R.E. wheels in Death Metal Black. These wheels are unlike any on the market and instantly transformed our Tundra from dealer-lot to mosh pit with the cock of a pistol hammer. Check out how we only spent $4,000 and easily turned this Toyota into a respectable driver.
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We took our project Tundra to Pro Muffler in Peoria, Arizona, to install the custom Magnaf
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James then set the new Magnaflow muffler in place with a stand and after taking a few meas
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Out back, James bent up the dual exit pipes and added the round, polished exhaust tips. Be
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The new look of the dual exit pipes and loud rumble gave our project Tundra a more aggress
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Moving to the air intake, we first removed the factory plastic beauty cover and, using a s
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We then checked out the contents of the Airaid air intake, which included new cool air dam
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Next, we used the supplied hardware to assemble the cool air dam box and installed the wea
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The next step was to install the stock mass air flow meter (MAF) onto the new Airaid intak
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We were now ready to install the Airaid intake tube. First, one end went into the cool air
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...and the other end was installed onto the throttle-body reducer hose. New clamps secured
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Wrapping up the install, the Airaid filter was secured, the stock breather/vacuum lines co
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On the dyno, the 4.7L V-8 made an additional 7 hp and 7 lb-ft of torque thanks to the Aira
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Thanks to Toyota's new suspension design for '07+ Tundras, you can clear a 33-inch tall ti
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With the wheel off, we got things started by removing the outer tie rod end and unbolting
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After unbolting the shock from the lower control arm and removing the spindle bolt that co
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The BMF leveling lift spacer was then assembled using the included grade 10.9 hardware...
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...and the spacer added to the coil spring via the strut upper bolt.
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We were now ready to install the strut/coil spring assembly onto the front suspension. The
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To wrap up the front leveling kit, the lower ball joint was installed onto the spindle, th
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Heading over to the tire mounting machine, the factory TPMS (tire pressure monitoring sens
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Mounted and balanced, the new BMF S.E.R.E. wheel looked sinister in Death Metal Black and
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With the truck back on the ground, the new BMF leveling kit provided ample room to clear t
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FROM THE DRIVER SEAT
After a short 6 hours, the Tundra went from showroom stock, to street bruiser with the simple addition of several bolt-ons (shown here with a new, black billet grille). The BMF leveling kit was easy to install and besides the need for a coil compressor, it was a breeze to install. As always, the Airaid intake went on with no problems and the exhaust has a nice, deep rumble to it. What really did the custom trick were the new BMF S.E.R.E. wheels and Toyo tires. Now the Toyota looks like it's always pissed off and it not-so-subtlety urges people to move out of the way. That's just the way we like it.
YOU QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Time Spent Working: 6 Hours
Degree Of Difficulty: Beginner
(with the exception of the exhaust welding)
Tools Needed:
Assorted metric sockets and wrenches, prybar, jack, jack-stands, torque wrench
Parts Used:
Airaid cold air intake 510-213 $349.95
BMF 2.4-inch leveling kit for Tundra LTO-9200 $289.00
BMF S.E.R.E. 20x9-inch wheels in Black Death Metal $450.00 (each)
Toyo Open Country M/T 33x12.50R20 tires $392
TOTAL: $4,006.95
(prices from bmfwheels.com, summitracing.com, and superbuytires.com)