Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Thought I would share my experience and suggestions on the T-Rex suspension system. I opted for the mild 4 shock Bilstein setup with the mini paks in the rear. $2300 plus shipping.
First misconception. I won't need a front end alignment. WRONG! Major toe in problem caused by effective chassis lift from new springs. Get it aligned ASAP!!
Second misconception. Stock tires and wheels will be fine. Not as wrong as the front end alignment BUT. Ride was not that impressive with worn OEM E rated tires except for aggressive driving/jumping. Today, I replaced my third set of OEM size/type worn Michelin LTX A/S 265/75/16 E''s with the new Michelin LTX 285/75/16 D rated tires, keeping the stock wheels. About $199 per tire. Vast overall suspension improvement and a much better look/ride for the truck. Tires are taller/wider and fit the wheel wells much nicer than OEM size. (I know, PICS, PICS) It;s freekin midnight, I'll try tomorrow. The OEM's turn 654 rpm's per mile @ 45/mph vs 634 rpm's/mile for the 285's. About a 3% wheel/speedometer difference. Off-road performance with T-Rex suspension is greatly enhanced over stock tires. Reason.
Max pressure on these tires is 65 PSI vs 80 PSI on the E rated tires. I am running 45 up front and 40 in the rear now which makes a huge difference in the "plushness" of the ride. E rated tires max @ 80 PSI @ 3415 lbs per tire at max pressure. The D rated 285's are rated @ 3305 lbs at 65 PSI. I can tell you that E rated tires do not wear properly at 50ish PSI (under-inflated) and do not ride very well off road. These new 285 Michelin's seem to be the perfect tire for me as I only lose 110 lbs per tire/wheel rated carrying capacity and I can run in the 40 PSI range (unloaded) without wrecking my tires.
I have read that the Toyo M/X E rated tires with the 18" wheels are supposed to be the dream setup but after the T-Rex payment I could only handle new tires! I am pretty happy with the overall effect. Truck now feels almost like wifes Jeep Grand Cherokee on the dirt road but sucks up the big stuff like the Jeep never will. Road feel is like a "stiff" Cadillac. Expansion joints are there but most of the uncomfortable "edge" is removed. Hit a few railroad tracks at 50+, WOW. SWEEET. Like people are saying, this system likes it fast and hard. Very slow dirt driving is about like stock or worse if you have stock tires/wheels.
Last item not mentioned yet? Steering. I have noticed that there is a general sensitivity loss in the steering due to the geometry change relative to the drag link and the pitman arm and/or the bigger tires. I was surprised at the overall lift that the truck got from the new springs and can see/feel the change. The difference is not earth shattering but after thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of miles with my truck, I can feel the difference and would like my steering sharpness back, realizing that slightly larger tires will remove a bit of this feel.
My 2 cents, gents.
First misconception. I won't need a front end alignment. WRONG! Major toe in problem caused by effective chassis lift from new springs. Get it aligned ASAP!!
Second misconception. Stock tires and wheels will be fine. Not as wrong as the front end alignment BUT. Ride was not that impressive with worn OEM E rated tires except for aggressive driving/jumping. Today, I replaced my third set of OEM size/type worn Michelin LTX A/S 265/75/16 E''s with the new Michelin LTX 285/75/16 D rated tires, keeping the stock wheels. About $199 per tire. Vast overall suspension improvement and a much better look/ride for the truck. Tires are taller/wider and fit the wheel wells much nicer than OEM size. (I know, PICS, PICS) It;s freekin midnight, I'll try tomorrow. The OEM's turn 654 rpm's per mile @ 45/mph vs 634 rpm's/mile for the 285's. About a 3% wheel/speedometer difference. Off-road performance with T-Rex suspension is greatly enhanced over stock tires. Reason.
Max pressure on these tires is 65 PSI vs 80 PSI on the E rated tires. I am running 45 up front and 40 in the rear now which makes a huge difference in the "plushness" of the ride. E rated tires max @ 80 PSI @ 3415 lbs per tire at max pressure. The D rated 285's are rated @ 3305 lbs at 65 PSI. I can tell you that E rated tires do not wear properly at 50ish PSI (under-inflated) and do not ride very well off road. These new 285 Michelin's seem to be the perfect tire for me as I only lose 110 lbs per tire/wheel rated carrying capacity and I can run in the 40 PSI range (unloaded) without wrecking my tires.
I have read that the Toyo M/X E rated tires with the 18" wheels are supposed to be the dream setup but after the T-Rex payment I could only handle new tires! I am pretty happy with the overall effect. Truck now feels almost like wifes Jeep Grand Cherokee on the dirt road but sucks up the big stuff like the Jeep never will. Road feel is like a "stiff" Cadillac. Expansion joints are there but most of the uncomfortable "edge" is removed. Hit a few railroad tracks at 50+, WOW. SWEEET. Like people are saying, this system likes it fast and hard. Very slow dirt driving is about like stock or worse if you have stock tires/wheels.
Last item not mentioned yet? Steering. I have noticed that there is a general sensitivity loss in the steering due to the geometry change relative to the drag link and the pitman arm and/or the bigger tires. I was surprised at the overall lift that the truck got from the new springs and can see/feel the change. The difference is not earth shattering but after thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of miles with my truck, I can feel the difference and would like my steering sharpness back, realizing that slightly larger tires will remove a bit of this feel.
My 2 cents, gents.
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