TUNDRAUnlimited

Nitto Tire Builds The Baddest Off Road Toyota Tundra Of The Year!

In the automotive aftermarket, image vehicles are often the most productive means of promoting a product that the consumer can relate to. This concept is nothing new to the marketing folks at major companies like Nitto Tire who pride themselves with being directly involved with the different niches of the truck communities. One of their most popular areas of product development and promotion is the off road market. Not only does Nitto sponsor and support off road racing teams from various racing organizations, but they also seize these racing opportunities to develop and test new tires in a constant effort to improve the products such as the Grappler series of off road tires.

When challenged with the idea of combining the off road racing element with consumer level enthusiasts, the idea was born to merge desert racing engineering with the new Dune Grappler tire on what is most definitely the most talked about new truck of the year. The concept of transforming a 2007 Toyota Tundra Crew Max Limited 4x4 into basically an Unlimited class off road truck was perfect! Little did the marketing staff at Nitto know that this insane Tundra would soon become one of the most talked about new Tundra in the enthusiast communities.



Many dream of owning a super trick off road Tundra, and this truck very well could be it! Tim Coltey who heads up the truck tire marketing division at Nitto quarterbacked the construction plays. Being an avid off road enthusiast himself, he knew exactly what elements this truck needed. His knowledge landed him at Nitto-sponsored Donahoe Racing where the DR crew began the construction transformation. This included custom fabricating new fiberglass front and rear fenders to allow enough clearance to clear the 37x12.50 Nitto Dune Grappler tires mounted on KMC Monster 18x9 wheels. The front bumper was removed and replaced with a hand-fabbed 1-3/4-inch tube front bumper and aluminum skid plate mount which also supports a trio of KC Hi Lite HID driving lights.

When it came to the suspension work, it was simply a matter of transitioning tried and true long travel technology onto the Tundra in place of the stock set up. The factory front suspension was completely removed and replaced with a set of Camburg Engineering upper and lower long travel control arms which are basically identical arms to those used on Camburg-equipped race trucks. For aggressive support and yet a smooth ride, Donahoe Racing 2.5 Zoo-Road coil overs were installed along with a secondary smooth body Zoo-Road shock which attaches to a tubular upper mount stretching over the factory coil-over perch. The total lift from this front set up is 4-inches while the most significant enhancement is in the form of greatly increased wheel travel and the strength to handle extremely aggressive off road excursions.

For the rear Donahoe had Deaver Springs make a new leaf pack which would increase the rear ride height and ultimately the rear travel too. DR Zoo-Road 2.5 bypass shocks with custom valving were attached to the axle with new lower mounts while the bed floor was cut open to allow the much taller shocks to extend into the bed. The shocks mount to a full 1-3/4 inch tube bed cage that DR techs built around the need for the upper shock mount position as well as tying into the rear frame sections. A matching spare tire carrier replaced the tailgate as well as acting as a race-style rear bumper. The bed cage not only strengthens the rear frame section but also ties into the cab where it attaches to the eight-point interior roll cage. Matt Hill at Hill Performance Solutions crafted the 1-3/4 inch tube roll cage to further strengthen the frame and body to help eliminate chassis and body flex during extreme off roading. South County Auto Body got the call to blend the bed cage bars into the rear cab create the seamless transition to the interior roll cage via a fresh coat of black paint. South County also hooked up the red and graphite colored graphics racing down the sides of the truck as well as the hood. Topping off the bed treatment was the installation of a Power Tank portable air supply capable of retaining 200 psi of air which can be used in place of an onboard compressor to fill the tires.

While on the subject of the roll cage, one look reveals that a lot of work went into bending up tubes to fit the cab interior dimensions. The cage also features new tubular seat mounts to secure the four Sparco Modena race buckets and four-point Sparco harness seat belts. Both the front and rear seats are further supported with horizontal rear brace bars. All of the roll cage bars connect together to fully box in the Crew Max interior while helping to eliminate frame flex.

For the remaining interior treatments Tim took the Tundra to Extreme Audio where a wealth of electronic equipment as well as custom panel and console work took place. Extreme Audio built a rear subwoofer cabinet that now houses a pair of Audiobahn AW101T 10-inch Excursion series subs along with an Audiobahn A12001DT amplifier. The amplifier also powers a collection of Memphis Audio separates installed in the door panels. Extending forward from the rear cabinet, a console was built to rise up and forward where it joins the factory front console. Black leather covers the console and rear cabinet while the top face of the rear console is now home for a Lowrance 5.5-inch GPS unit for the rear passengers.

The front cockpit is where the primary Lowrance GlobalMap 7200c navigation system has been molded into the upper glove box panel. Actually the glove box panel and lower dash panels on both sides have been smoothed out, reshaped and finally painted bright red by the staff at Extreme Audio. The surfaces eventually match the painted door panel arm rests, roll cage and other interior specifics that sport the bright red color. To give the red features a unique look, a darker brown was brushed into the red surfaces to promote the aged appearance. In other areas such as the custom lower door panel speaker pod inserts, the red areas sport the Nitto Tire logo which can also be found on painted on the underside of the dash.

But that isn't all folks. Plush black suede leather has been added to the door panels and consoles to match the course look of the black upholstery on the Sparco seats while the drink holders in the console are now home to a pair of Auto Meter Ultra-Lite gauges. To increase communications when out in remote regions, an ICOM radio has been recessed into the rear area of the front console. And finally to complete the custom applications seen inside the cab, aluminum panels have been fit to the top portion of the roll cage to give that race-prepared look as well as act as yet another location to brand the Nitto Tire logos.

When building an aggressive off road truck, there is no substitute for power. Thankfully the 2007 Tundra comes stock with tons of power. The 5.7 DOHC iForce V8 provides a healthy 381 hp and 401 lb.-ft. torque rating. But leaving the engine bone stock was out of the question. To creep the power figures up while making the engine sound really wicked when the throttle is cracked open, Tim installed an Airaid cold air intake system along with Doug Thorley headers attached to a Bassani dual exhaust system. This combination brings out a dominating roar that is unmistakable when pedaling the whoops on those high-speed desert trails.

In summary, this Tundra serves one purpose. That purpose is to brand the off road image of the Nitto Grappler series of off road tires, particularly the Dune Grappler tire. Though Nitto sponsors and supports numerous successful off road racing teams, there is something to be said about having your own desert-ready off road truck that will not only become an icon image vehicle, but without question is one of the most talked about 2007 Tundra's. Having the opportunity to ride shotgun in Nitto's Tundra through the desert trails and washes, I can say there is absolutely no question this truck was built to haul ass over the most demanding off road surfaces. The best marketing is done in the dirt, something this truck absolutely loves!

NITTO TIRE
CYPRE SS, CA
2007 TOYOTA TUNDRA CREW MAX 4X4

At the core of reasoning for building this Tundra was to promote the Nitto Dune Grappler Desert Terrain line of tires which truly are an amazing tire both on and off road. With the addition of bulged fenders and the long travel suspension, the truck was able to accept 37x12.50 Dune Grapplers mounted on 18x9-inch KMC Monster wheels.	A large majority of what gives this Tundra its aggressive attitude is the suspension set up. Donahoe Racing installed custom made Camburg long travel upper and lower control arms along with DRs own 2.5 Zoo-Road coil over and secondary support shock. This combination provides a substantial increase in wheel travel.	Bed is now home to a jungle gym of tubes that connect to form a bed cage which doubles as upper mounts for the long DR Zoo-Road bypass shocks that extend up through the bed. The tailgate has been replaced by a hand built rear tire carrier which also doubles as an off road-style bumper.
With the addition of the hand-fabricated bulged fiberglass front fenders, there was also a need for a pre-runner style front bumper and skid plate assembly which just so happens to now be home to a collection of KC Hi-Lite HID driving lights.	Four Sparco Modena racing bucket seats replaced the factory Crew Max seating while an eight-point roll cage provides mounting points for the seats as well as protection and frame stiffening.	Along with numerous smoothed and painted interior panels, one of the most obvious is the upper glove box door which as been modified to accept a Lowrance GlobalMap navigation system.
		South County Auto Body blended the mating of the bed cage to the cab and interior roll cage by molding the bars to the cab, then refinishing the cab and bed cage with a fresh coat of black paint