2021 Armada: Getting Started and Tires question

[Bosus]

Hi all,

We just got a 2021 Armada SL, dubbed "The Chocolate Rocket" by my kids, for winter and summer adventures here in Colorado's mountains. I've been learning a ton from all the great build experiences documented here. I'll share a picture when I get the new wheels put on this friday.

For now, I'm going with the advice of leaving stock suspension alone and focusing on tires and underside protection. I have some underside cladding on order from Nisstec, and picked up some take-off 18" Titan Pro4x rims with 275/70/18 General APT tires (with new tire paint still on the treads) to swap out the shiny 20" rims and tires.

Couple of questions for the brain trust:
1. Of course the only APT's without 3-mountain snow rating are the oem ones that come with the Titan. So if they don't cut the mustard this winter, I'll swap them out. I'm considering 285/75/18's (34.8"). Is anyone running ~35" tires successfully on stock suspension? I'd like to keep the tires relatively narrow to maximize snow traction.
2. I had a great call with Nisstec in Denver last week. They're very eager to get an Armada to experiment with since they don't see enough to test out options. One point of feedback the Nisstec guy offered is that he thinks replacing the factory air suspension with conventional shocks and will result in a permanent error message - is that the case, and if so is it intrusive?

Thanks!

 

[e61outside]

Congrats on the new truck!

I ran my 295/70/18 ridge grapplers on stock suspension for several weeks without issue. No rubbing at all.

And no warning light of any kind from the rear air being disconnected. It’s basically a dumb/self contained system with little to no integration into the vehicle systems.


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[e61outside]

PS, I haven’t found Nisstec to be all that knowledgeable about this platform btw. No offense to them. They just don’t seem to have much experience with these.


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[GBGCR4x4]

I have a 2005 Armada. OME suspension, with BF Goodrich KO2 AT 275/65R/16 tires. I probably should have run 275/70 or even 285/75, but I chose the smaller ones, less noise.

 

[Bosus]

Congrats on the new truck!

I ran my 295/70/18 ridge grapplers on stock suspension for several weeks without issue. No rubbing at all.

And no warning light of any kind from the rear air being disconnected. It’s basically a dumb/self contained system with little to no integration into the vehicle systems.


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Perfect - thank you!

PS, I haven’t found Nisstec to be all that knowledgeable about this platform btw. No offense to them. They just don’t seem to have much experience with these.

Nisstec is dying to get a Gen2 Armada they can play with for a few weeks during their winter slow season. I even called the dealership I bought from and suggested they work something out with Nisstec to seed the aftermarket.

 

[Bosus]

... and by the way, @e61overland, I really like your build, and your documentation of it is fantastic. Thank you!

 

[Sooper Camper]

35x11.50 R 17 fit very nice at stock height, but I did get a little rub on bottom out in the rear with the factory ride height when fully loaded. A stiffer rear spring, and 1" bump stop spacer solved the issue. The front is simple, it's just a Titan. The rear, is simple too: it's a complex multi-link independent design, so you really aren't going to be able to lift it much more than 2" and keep acceptable alignment specs (which will affect drivability and tire wear).

I wouldn't hold out much hope for mass-market appeal on these, but there is plenty we can figure out on our own the old fashioned way, scope out my build thread. The world is 100% convinced that a Land Cruiser is the most perfectly engineered and performing vehicle of all time and they absolutely do not wear or break. And while it's good, this platform isn't exactly bad, and we aren't exactly traversing the Kalahari or active conflict regions in North America (yet?). Point being, the platform has been around almost 20 years and if someone was going to notice it for what we want by now, it probably would have happened, and that's reflected in the price discrepancy between the 2 vehicles. The Aussie guys LOVE their Y62's, and I can vouch, the platform has quite a bit of unrealized potential once you start getting your elbows into its guts. The reality is that everyone has it in their head that independent suspension is for cars and can't possibly work anywhere off road, so this platform is battling more than just basic brand loyalty.

The first thing you will probably notice when watching videos of bogans mashing these things up sand hills (aside from the ridiculous thong slapping exhaust note) is that there is essentially no wheel hop under hard acceleration, unlike basically any solid axle equipped vehicle...and even without sway bars, mine corners better on road than my GX470 did with a $8k suspension kit did WITH sway bars; both cars cycle essentially the same amount of travel at the wheel. Maybe it's better the world doesn't know just how good this platform actually is...?

 

[e61outside]

... and by the way, @e61overland, I really like your build, and your documentation of it is fantastic. Thank you!

Thanks! It’s been fun learning this platform.

And regarding the response above, I second all of that. And for context, here are a few of the trucks I’ve owned in no particular order and I’m certain I’m not remembering all of them ;-)

LR Disco 2
Series 1 v8 VW Tuareg
Range Rover 322
Range Rover 405 - wife’s. Current vehicle
LR 4
Disco 5
GL - 450 - wife
GLS 550 - wife
X5 - wife
QX 80 - wife
Gen 3 Tacoma
Gladiator Rubicon w/ fifty-ten system
F250 FX4

…and with that said, I have some experience with all ends of the spectrum. I loved my disco 5, except the small roof rack and the round opening in the rear ended up pissing me off during my last Moab trip. So when looking to go bigger I actively chose the Armada over everything else out there - and I’m not constrained by budget.

I do feel the combination of market conditions including the introduction of the y62 based Armada here does factor into some growth in North American popularity. Honestly, I personally don’t care for the exterior styling of the QX and may not have gone back to the platform had that been the only option here. So here’s me hoping more folks see what we are doing here and we get some more aftermarket support. Even without, it’s still worth it IMO.

Lastly, Toyota/Lexus is the only solid (non-removable) roof with solid rear axle SUV left in this world. And only front solid is Jeep, but form my experience a hardtop Jeep is not a SUV ;-) So more folks will be doing more off-road with IFS and IRS as time passes.


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[Bosus]

35x11.50 R 17 fit very nice at stock height, but I did get a little rub on bottom out in the rear with the factory ride height when fully loaded. A stiffer rear spring, and 1" bump stop spacer solved the issue. The front is simple, it's just a Titan. The rear, is simple too: it's a complex multi-link independent design, so you really aren't going to be able to lift it much more than 2" and keep acceptable alignment specs (which will affect drivability and tire wear).

Love it - thanks! For now my priority is keeping tires comparatively narrow for snow traction, so I'm now thinking about sticking with 275/70/18 and prioritizing for winter performance. Short list is Nokian Rotiiva, Toyo AT3, General Grabber ATX, Cooper AT3 XLT, Nokian Terra or Exo.

I'll see how stock ride height does over time, as well as how long the factory air suspension holds up, (and honestly see how long I can make myself hold off because the 2" lifts look so much better than stock) and then go with the consensus on ironman+lovells or similar.