Do trucks handle?

I was riding with a friend and we got to talking about his Tundra. It's an 06 4 door. Picture this, It's loaded with our bikes in the back, strapped motocross bike style of course and a bunch of camping stuff. For anyone familiar with Northern California we were going to Middletown, just keep going down the Silverado Trail in Napa. Apparently there is this really nice twisty two-lane road on the way. Well we were commenting on this Genesis Track 2.0 that we saw. He was wondering if a turbo 2.0 is too small for the car blah blah blah. I changed the subject because he passed the Hyundai in front of us and the driver in the Hyundai passed us back on the straight and my buddy of course was bothered about how he was going to slow us down. Well we passed him on the outside in the next couple of corners. So I told him, "This isn't right, we are in a huge truck and that guy in the Hyundai isn't driving slow." He laughed and told me that's why he loves his truck, he says no one really sets a truck up to handle well. It's an interesting set up to say the least, I wish I had a picture because it's pretty cool looking. Widest 20 inch rims wrapped with really low profile Parada X-specs I have ever seen on a truck. Then he put some higher performance shocks on all four corners. But people educate me. Aside from his driving talent, should I be surprised that a full size Tundra grips ungodly hard? If trucks can handle why don't more people get more small/midsized pick ups and make a really fun utility vehicle? I mean it felt pretty grassroots picking off sport cars with camping crap and a truck drenched in mud at the end of the day.

Sorry for the lengthy post. It's just that it got me thinking. I'm not talking about the mini trucking crap, I'm thinking along the lines of super utility vehicle and fun in one package. Am I way out of line in my thinking? I believe trucks should have decent suspension stiffness stock since they are built to hold a load, so wouldn't decent rubber make a truck handle pretty well?

Anything can be made to handle, just bring cubic $$$

Good tires are one of the first bang-for-your-buck handling mods, IMO. I'm not familiar with the Tundra platform, but do they still make those big trucks with solid axles and leaf springs? I imagine more and more trucks and SUV's are getting independent suspension setups, since few are used for actual utility purposes.

I'm pretty sure all trucks except the Ridgeline have solid rear axles still. And out of those, Dodge is the only one who currently uses coils in the rear. Lots of SUVs are going to IRS however.

I have a tacoma with cubic$$$ into suspension , supercharger + some bolt on goods . Parts have to be made or GRMed from some thing else . Its a small % of people that do this . Most want to drop it on the ground or lift it . I need a truck for work and can't afford 2 vehicles and its allowed on the track . The last track day ,point by's were only given to an M3 ,an audi s4 ? ,elise ,and a vette.

Is that a Tundra with XREAS suspension? Those handle pretty well.

You'd be surprised how hard lifted Samurais with big tires can corner too, you just have to manhandle them. You can just keep pushing them until they start to get light on the inside, running out of grip isn't likely. The ultra-hard stock suspension helps.

Case in point:

Toyota X-Runner. (Ooops, gotta go put that one in the "bucket list.")

While it is not a pickemup,Jeep Liberty is a truck ..I am continually impressed on how well it handles. Maybe the well worn (4/32) Goodyears help.

footinmouth wrote: I have a tacoma with cubic$$$ into suspension , supercharger + some bolt on goods . Parts have to be made or GRMed from some thing else .

SNIP

I need a truck for work and can't afford 2 vehicles and its allowed on the track . The last track day ,point by's were only given to an M3 ,an audi s4 ? ,elise ,and a vette.

It seems to me that if the issue were not being able to afford two vehicles, then you couldn't afford to make a truck handle either.

Now there are plenty of other things that make a second vehicle problmeatic. Parking space being right up there for me for example (well for me it's a spot for car #3). But if it's $$ then you can't afford to make a truck handle either.

Old Land Rovers have a little bit of British sports car inside them. I don't know if they "handle" per se, but they can maintain a decent rate of speed down a twisty road once they get up to speed. They have to, they can't accelerate if you slow down The fact that the CoG is much lower than you'd expect due to the aluminum body is probably a factor...

Very few things handle as well as a truck when you have a 10k trailer behind you

keethrax wrote: Now there are plenty of other things that make a second vehicle problmeatic. Parking space being right up there for me for example (well for me it's a spot for car #3). But if it's $$ then you can't afford to make a truck handle either.

Not true. A few mods != monthly payments on a second vehicle or added insurance costs of a second vehicle, or added registration costs of a second vehicle.

you can mod the truck piecemeal when you can afford a bit on the side, but monthly payments and insurance have to be dealt with whether you want to or not.

I have been suprised at how well my wifes 06 MB R 350 turns, though my experience with trucks has been mostly with flat green/tan ones.

The first Gen Lightnings handled pretty well,considering. I believe that one tester spiked at .92 g's.

I used to get beat up in H-Stock by a ZQ8 S10.

Our 06 CC handles really well for a 19.5' long 5500lb monster. Corners flat, is long enough to not kick the back end out every turn. Tires, sway bars and springs (up front) in that order make them handle better. The previous Fullsize I had was an 89 Chevy 1500 regular cab short bed with eibach 2" drop springs up front, Hotchkis 4" rear drop springs (leaf), half helper springsin the rear and poly bushings for the front sway bar. I ran 255/70/15's on stock alloys and it was an absolute HOOT on onramps and twistys.

The 2000 Sonoma I had before that was a stepside regular cab and I ran 17x8 Boydz with 255/50/17 Nitto NT450's and there wasn't an onramp in the state I couldn't double the posted speed....

I'm a truck guy. I love trucks. Nothing like hustling something that weighs 5k+ lbs and is almost 20' long and am taking roundabouts faster than 90% of the cars I'm sharing the road with.

OOO 93Celica, that X-runner is so cool. Some people will bash it for the semi cheesy body kit. But man, 4 liter six, 6 speed manual, and skidpad numbers comparable to a 350z. That is one cool sport truck. Plus it's not sky high so it's easier to load motorcycles and other stuff in the bed. I think it's funny that I was thinking of a friend's lifted Samurai. That car went around corners way faster than something 4 feet off the ground should. But I was thinking, that it shouldn't take cubic$$$ to make a truck handle better than most econo boxes. Most trucks can fit much wider tires than most vehicles. Along with the fact that the suspensions are already pretty firm, or shoot just with the off road oem stuff it's significantly stiffer than most stock cars. So just putting decent street tires instead of the rock hard crap that those cars come with should already shoot the abilities of the car up drastically. With a wider track and a stiff suspension, the formula should work well right?

O yea footinmouth, I was trying to find more info about people who make trucks sportier. It seems impossible. Being a college student, small trucks are incredibly useful. I would love to find a 5 speed 2000-2004 nissan frontier to replace my 97 autotragic hardbody. Don't they make a decent turbo kit for the ka24 now? That would be a cool truck to drive.

i had a 90 chevy c1500 regular cab longbed for a while. it had 3" drop springs in front with the factory huge swaybar and 4" drop in rear with shackles/hangers. it had a 305 and 5 speed and 275's all around. that thing handled like no truck is supposed to. granted i could only put about 400# in the bed before it bottomed out, but it was free and fun.

Chris_V wrote: you can mod the truck piecemeal when you can afford a bit on the side, but monthly payments and insurance have to be dealt with whether you want to or not.

I was referring specifically to his mention of having spent big money on it and yet not being able to afford another car.

Further, a second car that's going to be a toy doesn't have to (and I would argue generally should not ) involve any monthly payments.

For the cost of the suspension work he mentioned, "tacoma with cubic$$$ into suspension," I suspect (he didn't' really put a # on it so it remains somewhat conjecture) I could buy a car outright that out handles pretty much any truck.

The car still wouldn't be worth enough to carry more than liability on it, so insurance for quite a few years should easily fit in at less than the rest of the mods he's made. And depending on insurance where he lives the more costly consumables on the truck may eat up a big chunk of that depending on how often it sees the track. As a bonus, the car would likely be significantly more economical than the truck, so I could use it for some things that don't require a truck and save even more $ there.

As another big bonus if I did something stupid with it while running it in situations where that handling mattered and wadded it up, I'd still have my truck to get to work.

Now, there are plenty of other reasons to be limited to one vehicle. And then a sporty truck could be a great idea.

Hell, even without a "reason" a sporty truck can be good idea. I've certainly got nothing against (and rather like) sportified trucks. But I have real problems imagining real world #s making straight $$ money be the reason on has to do a truck instead of a car. Plenty of other good reasons, including no reason at all, though.

I love the handling of my frontier NISMO. It is as flat as it can be in corners, has great power and torque...6 speed...There is one cost of a great handling truck, I have added sway bar disconnects to get some flex when off roading...No its not a miata or anything, but it handles as well or better as my wife's prelude did.

I am still surprised at how well my '06 F150 Crew cab handles. I cant really comment on how it handles compared to other well handling cars but its way better than my old Cherokee and I can throttle steer it through a round about faster than my old A6 with worn tires could traverse it.

Yeah, the ZQ8 s-trucks handled great. Autocrossed one in 2001 and did very well with it. It as a 4cly to boot. Trucks can handle good if approached correcly. The have rigid frames and stiff springs from the get-go. Just get the CG down and some good tires.... Driver is still the most important part though. Just watch a school bus race!

My '79 Bronco handled shockingly well. It helped that it was stock ride height and had passenger car tires on it, but I used to pass all manner of people going back and forth over 299 from Redding to the coast. Having the torque from a 400 didn't hurt, either, hahaha.

I think one thing people don't realize is that straight axles have better camber "curves" than mchpherson/chapman struts, so you keep more contact patch with body roll. Just don't hit anything with your inside tire.

thats kind of how i decided on a Trailblazer SS for DD. the ls2 initially sold me but i honestly enjoy the mostly de-chevy'd steering, fairly taught suspension, and wide tires. it cant do what my m3 can certainly when it comes to quick momentum shifts, but if you take the right line through an onramp it can really fly. plus it tows 6600#

i keep thinking about swapping it for a 2wd TBSS, ssr pedalset, and t56.... mmmm