Level or Lift needed for 270/75/17

Hi, I'm new to the forum, this is my first post. I've done the research in the forum and I have seen many different answers and opinions, and I still don't know the right thing to do. I have a stock 2017 TRD Offroad. Not sure if it's got KDSS (how do I know this?) I got the Falken Wildpeak 270/75/17 after reading in this forum and on other sites that that size tire would fit with no rubbing. Well, they rub. Full lock in reverse and when in 4wd turning going forward. It's not so bad but enough to be annoying. So the question is, will installing Bilstein 5100 on the front only alleviate the rub, and if so, at what setting? Is that the preferred option to just a spacer ? If spacers work just as well, what kind and what size do people recommend? Thanks in advance and I apologize for the "newbie" ignorance.
PS: I really do not want to lift both front and back if at all possible, just front leveling if that will do the trick

 

Look at your sway bar. If you have sleeves on the swaybar you have KDSS.


What are the tires rubbing? Mudflap? I would take off the front mudflap if you haven’t, and just do the fender liner push and shave the front bumper a little. Spacers work just fine for zero to light off-roading as long as you’re not blasting through forest roads. The 5100’s would improve any nose dive you have and handle better than OEM (in my opinion).

 

Thanks, I will look at the sway bars, but isn't KDSS model specific?
It's rubbing front mudflap and fender liner. I thought the Bilstein would be easier than shaving the front bumper.

 

What do you mean specific? It’s an option for TRD-Road models. If I was in your shoes, I’d remove the mudflap and do the bumper mod. Just my .02. It cost $0 versus buying new shocks and having them installed if you can’t do it yourself.

 

I thought the KDSS was on specific models, I didn't realize it was an option. I read the KDSS make the shock install more difficult. I'm handy but I dont think I'm skilled enough to install the shocks myself. I think it's rubbing the mud flap but I'm not sure how high up on the flap or the rear wheel well it's rubbing. I'm sure I can search the mudflap mod and see how much I'd need to cut.
But, if I did opt for the shocks, do you know what height setting will level the front and likely alleviate the rub? Very much appreciated for your reply and patience with a clear novice.

 

I'd just get a second body to stand outside to see where it actually is rubbing.

I would just remove the mud flap.

 

Thanks guys. Appreciate the feedback. Will re-post with my solution. May not be til spring tho. Too cold here in the NE and too much snow to crawl under the truck.

 

It sounds like your wheels are the culprit (in combination with your tires).

What wheels do you have? What is the offset?

Have you had it aligned recently? Do you know the caster number off your most recent alignment?

 

I have the TRD Off Rroad wheel. I think the offset is 4mm. I had an alignment from the shop that put the tires and wheels on. I don't know the caster number. What would that tell me? From what I've read on this forum, the 275/70/17s may or may not rub depending on the tire itself. Some are larger than others within +/- .5". I see you are running the Eibach's. Do you prefer them over the Bilsteins for leveling the front? Do you think leveling the front would fix the rub issue?

 

The wheels in your picture look black. Are they the Pro wheels or the TRD off-road wheel? Those have two different offsets.

The caster number is going to tell you where your tire sits in the wheel well. Forward or back. It's easiest to fix rubbing issues if you set your caster high (somewhere around 3.5 degrees or higher) because it moves your tire forward. When you set it here, you can get away from the mudflap, but you'll rub the front fender liner/fender flare. It's an easy quick fix to mitigate that rubbing. Then you're good to go.

I love the Eibachs. Yes, I prefer them over Bilstein 5100's because I think they ride better. Lifting won't solve your rubbing issue though. You rubbing on the mudflap or fender flare is a mostly a function of your wheel offset, tire size, and alignment.

 

Yes, sorry my bad, Pro Wheels. I am pretty sure it's a 4mm offset. So the caster position be changed? Shouldn't the tire shop that installed the tires/wheels know this? I'll look into the caster setting but you also don't think leveling the front with either Eibachs or Bilstein 5100s would help?

 

The front fender mod is super simple and takes maybe 10 mins for both sides or like previously said removing the mud flaps (which I did) helps.

 

Did you shave the fender with a dremel or exacto knife? How much did you shave off? Without the flaps aren't you getting more dirt / debris kicked up on the side of the truck?

 

I used a dremel and shaved off maybe half an inch. It wasn’t very much. As for the flaps, I haven’t driven it much since so I can’t say for sure how much more dirty it may or may not be. Thinking about using heat gun on the flaps for more clearance and reinstalling it back on.

 

At port, the people who install all the Pro items on a 4runner trim the fender flare in front of your front tire and push that fender liner forward. They do this because even with the stock 265's, there's a chance the tires will rub in this area. You added the same wheels as a Pro with bigger tires. That +4 offset with bigger tires will rub.

To alleviate this, you need to do that fender liner mod and go get an alignment. Tell the tech you want your caster around +3.5 degrees or higher if they can. These two things will solve your rubbing issue and you'll be able to keep your mudflaps on.

 

We have a 3"/2" RevTek lift/leveling kit, installed JBA uca's, had the alignment set to 4.0+ caster angle and are running Cooper 275-70-17 tires. While I did not cut the fender, I did do the inner fender mod. There is absolutely NO rub. While I do not recommend a spacer lift/leveling kit, we did this to find out what we needed in the future. It is a more costly way to do things, with more trips to an alignment shop, and we have money in a lift/leveling kit, but that cost is nothing compared to the cost of quality shocks and suspension components. I forgot to mention we have 0 offset, 17", 8.5" width wheels.

 

Here I was thinking i could just slap on the TRD Pro Wheels on my TRD Off Road, move up a .5" on the tire size and it would be easy peasy. Don't I feel like a jackass. I'm gonna first try what Nimby suggests, the fender liner mod (once it gets warm enough here in New England to crawl under my car) and the alignment / caster setting to get that corrected. It's not a terrible problem right now, the rub is only in reverse at full wheel turn and I've heard it a couple times turning full lock forward but only when in 4wd (can someone explain why that is?). If that doesn't work, I'll remove the flaps and look at leveling the front up about an inch. Thanks to all who have been kind enough with your advice. Much appreciated.

 

If you don't know... ask questions. The things I've done to our 4Runner were things I've asked questions about. A lot of times you can come on the forum and use the search mode (the search box in the upper right hand corner) and this will give lots of answers to lots of things. Nimby talked me through the inner fender mod. (thanx Jake) You will be surprised how easy it is. Good luck, don't feel dumb, it's all an expierience. 10-4!

 

Like Jeff said, fender liner mod is super easy.

I think that combined with caster adjustment will put you in the clear.

Let us know how it goes.

 

I will definitely update the forum and hopefully the next poor soul will do better research in advance than I did. Thank you again for your wisdom gentlemen.

 

Well, here's what I know: I have a TRD Off Road and I upgraded to 275/70/17 Wildpeak Falkens and TRD Pro Wheels. The problem was I changed two things at once and despite all the research I had done, the wheels rubbed, mostly at full wheel lock in reverse. All of you very kind souls have offered some very sage advice. I've tried to fix one thing at at time. I took off the mud flaps. Still rubbed. I had the Bilsteins installed at the first level of lift, .85". Before install, my the bottom of the front bumper was about 17.5", now it sits at 19" from the ground, same as the back. Seems to be pretty level, no rake. But I still have a rub, albeit very slight at full lock in reverse. It's definitely less than before the Bilstein install. I know that some suggested a caster adjustment, but I think my next move is to attempt the front fender liner mod, when it gets warmer here in New England, and I'm hoping that should do the trick. My issue was i went up to the 275's, went with a very aggressive tred on the Falkens, and the difference in the TRD Pro wheel offset from the standard TRD Off Road wheel created the issue. Live and learn. Hope this helps someone else. Thanks again to all.

 

Yep yep this is known at least to us that have this setup. Some guys get no rub but it's a luck of the draw thing.. the clearances are so tight. The good news there for you is that it means the rubbing, if you do rub, is so slight that only minor modification is necessary to alleviate it.

Not a whole lot of 275's out there but I love mine! The Falkens are a big 275!

With no mods mine rubbed like crazy. The worst was the lower bumper lip so I cut that first. After that alone, my rub is very slight so I'm not adressing it until after my lift is installed. In the meantime, until we make some mods, I don't quite use full lock, and I go reallllly slow when even near full lock.. that does the trick. Any bit of lean or sway from turning tightly at speed inevitably goes "bwraaahhhh" until I back off lol.