Question for the people!

As others have stated, research the options within your budget. Spacers are OK if you don't want to improve offroad capabilities and are just going for a "look." All components are part of a system. They must work together to achieve optimal performance. There are plenty of aftermarket components that outperform OEM. Be honest with yourself, there is nothing wrong with just trying to look cool. 4Runners look awesome with a little lift and bigger tires. I would not recommend spacers, but my needs may be different than yours. Either way, let's see pictures when your done!

 

Having recently gone down this rabbit hole, I can attest that you will encounter a lot of conflicting information. Some will say that any mod is a bad idea, while others will go deep and make massive changes. From my research, several reputable brands offer solutions to lift to 3" without too many issues, but other aspects of a 3" lift are not mentioned. If you can find someone local with experience lifting Toyota IFS, pick their brain. When researching online, try to identify sources that have respect and knowledge of Toyota IFS. There can be a lot of great knowledge and experience in the forums, but many times, someone will say, "I have XYZ suspension, and it is great." Unfortunately, those comments don't educate, and there are so many variables that it is difficult to copy someone's setup. Unless you do a basic Bilstein 5100 lift at 2", you will unlikely find consensus in the forums. UCA's are a great example. Some will say the stock is fine at 3", but others insist anything over 2" requires aftermarket. Not to mention misinformation like a UCA adding more travel to a mid-travel kit. The more you learn about Toyota IFS, the better positioned you will be to make a good decision.

 

Falken WP AT3s have a 275 C Load... BUT they are indeed ironically heavier than most 285s... go figure?

 

A lesson on how to make the most popular SUV on the planet loose bags of money on resale (IOW, I’m never selling).


Listen to everyone, drive it stock until you find the limits, then figure out if it’s worth it to you to “fix” it.

 

Think this comes down to want it to "look" cool for some of us (me included ), until you realize what looking cool costs both in $ and performance.

 

The stock 4R is very capable from the factory. I can afford all the mods, but I am too old to worry about what the truck looks like, as in Mall Queen. I have stock size C-load KO2 tires, no other mods. I even removed the rock sliders it came with. I drive a lot in deep sand, rough and rocky roads. I don't do technical rock climbing. No need for mods. I get a chuckle when I see a heavily modded 4R with a big lift and 285 tires "off roading" on a road that looks a little rough but could be handled by a sedan on street tires. I don't want to change the CG of the truck and screw with the suspension, maybe mess with the warranty, worsen highway driving, and deal with all the problems I see written about on this platform that were caused by mods. But we are all individuals with different points of view.

 

Thank you!! I think it's coming down to that, too many bad stories on repairs due to "no need" modifications. Just curious... what mods do you have on your 4runner? Also, eventually if i were to install a metal bumper and winch, Im assuming a 2" leveling would probably be safe right?

 

Oh lord, you asked the guy that has the most amount of mods on this forum. Let's see....

 

Shoot...I'm stuck down the wormhole just trying to figure out what wheels I want...offset, style.

I'll rack my brain on suspension another day...

 

I’m probably one of the bigger deviants on this site, but it is a very well planned truck. I took it nearly as far as I could go, short of upgrading the steering rack and breaks. I plan to keep those OE until something happens.

The mod list is long but the concept was to truly fit 35” tires and self recovery.

So it has 4.88 gears and air lockers (it’s an LE so it didn’t have an e-locker.

It’s long travel front and rear so it has pretty good balance. The front wheel well needed surgery, the rear axle moved back a bit. The track bar needed leveling and the front body mounts were relocated. I have a sway bar designed for LT so the road manners are good.

The washer fluid tank was removed and the Rago tank was installed. There was some interference with the front bumper but you can rotate the tank 90 degrees CCW and get it to work.

One of the most overlooked aspects are the shocks. Many use too much preloading and too stiff of springs. The solution for me was to listen carefully to Accutune (it was hard B/C what they recommend is counter to the conventional Internet “wisdom”. I’m glad I followed Accutune’s advice.

So for your bumper plans, I’d get the numbers together and ask them their thoughts.

Whatever you do, try to think it through and budget for it.

Again, if you’re shy of wrenching, and if resale value is important, don’t do it! But do call Accutune before you run out and buy 700# springs and jack up the preload.

Cheers
Mike

 

Or buy a Wrangler for off road.

 

And keep the Runner for the Mall

 

check my info. Steel bumper 2” lift, etc. rides wonderfully on the street and long hauls. Just took the fam to NC, 518 miles, loaded up and knocked down 19.3 mpg

 

I probably passed you along the way.. went from N.C to North of Pittsburgh. Around 502 miles my way up.

 

Of all the things that mess with factory anything, spacers are the worst aside from replacing arms. They will have all the negatives of a proper lift but with even more downsides. They exist because they're the cheap way to get the look.

As was said above, you short-change your struts with spacers and risk bottoming them out before you get into the bumps. You can compensate for this with bump spacers or longer bumps, but these will reduce your suspension travel. Travel is defined by the arms, not the springs and struts or lift. All a lift does is change the ride height, the neutral point in the travel. Lift springs will still allow the full wheel travel but you lose an inch of down travel for each inch of lift... too much and you'll notice ride quality issues over bumps as your struts top out so there is a sweet spot between 1.5" and 2.25" depending on your setup.

For a casual road and light trail build, Bilstein 5100 is the gold standard for entry-level. They're a slight step up from the 4600s that come on the TRD Taco and will give similar life to OE. Set the fronts to 1.5" to level you out with OE rear springs and you'll be golden. You can order them assembled from several places to save at the installer or if you can find a mod day, it's a pretty straightforward install in a driveway.

If that's outside your budget, save until it isn't... lifting poorly is the fast way to lifting twice.

 

Damn...this is straight gospel..well said brotha

 

nice!