37" Tires

I work on Atv and UTV (SxS) and have been for a long time. I remember when the 27” outlaw came out and we were all blown away. Few years later the 34” terminators came out and we were all floored and people tearing up everything trying to pull them. Now we are making people pop wheelies on 63s and skim on top of the water in bounty hole races. Portals, transmission gear reductions and frame hacking were the only way to make it happen. I’m very familiar with load and how much work is involved in pulling big tires. We have companies making 4”, 6”, 8”, 10” and 12” portals. Gearing is 15, 30, 45, 60, 70, 100% gear reduction. The portals have been in production for Atv and Sxs since like 2013 or 2014. A few years ago Mason Motorsports built a set for one of his awd trophy trucks to get more Articulation and clearance in the front and it was a huge hit. His trophy trucks are practically the benchmark in Offroad racing now.

 

This hobby is fairly new to me, but the bug bit me. My salvation is lack of money lol.

 

Here's a positive I have not heard anyone mention yet. Where I wheel in Colorado and Moab the trailhead is full of built Jeeps airing up/down. If you show up with a 4Runner on 37s you will be the oddity that draws the crowd. We were out playing on Potato Salad Hill one day when this guy showed up. He was immediately the hit of the day. Everyone wanted to see this thing shred the hill. I'm pretty sure it's not a Jeep. If you want to go big with a 4Runner you may end up with something that looks like this. That and you won't need to buy any touch up paint.

 

I second the buy a Jeep comment. This is not an easy feat, and you will end up with a very expensive unreliable 4Runner in the end. There is a reason why there are just a few people that even run 35's.

 

That beast also has the 5.7L V8 of the Tundra!

 

So I get all the people putting in their .02 here, but how many 1. actually have or had a Gen5 4runner and did any of the said mods to get 35's or 37's on their rig and had a good experience long term or had catastrophic ?

I have a 2015 and went the 35" route for clearance at my ranch/hunting area my buddies and I own - did all the cutting and mods to deal with the rubbing etc. and been running it for 35,000 miles with just base maintaining, a worn out front axel boot, etc. with moderate wheeling and knock on wood, no major blow outs. 2. Does anyone have real life up front experience with all the major negatives actually happening up front to their 4runner with mods?

No I don't do the Rubicon rock crawl or extreme stuff, but needed clearance and better tires for parts of our ruts/creek crossings and am not being negative, just see all these "you need to do this or that" which A LOT makes sense on the extreme end of use, but for most, does it really apply?

I guess there's always the cases that I heard of a guy, or seen a friend of a guy, of blowing out his steering, tie rods, transmission, drive train of a Gen5 4runner who went to 35 or 37's but doing a pretty scouring search on the web and locally at 4x4 clubs - and there's not a lot of clear examples of constant damage, carnage, and destruction out there (except for the obvious Rubicon runs that can kill off any short of par wheeler out there).

I just went to a large NORCAL Toyota 4X4 rally last week and saw many 2nd to 5Gen runners and Tacoma's in person running 35's to 40's at all levels of mods to get there - like over 50 rigs there of all walks.

At the middle of the road, lift + quality suspension, cutting, body mount move, bashing, etc. to get to 37's in which full lock and full travel are 90% not needed (when is it for most on these threads for the majority of peeps), not one guy at the rally out of 10 running 37" wielding runners had the apocalypse now scenario for their rigs daily and moderate wheeling. A few extreme guys who do full tilt had some good pictures of blown things but that was because they were at the far end of the spectrum?

The whole buy a jeep thing misses the point of liking a 4runner and modding it out - just like any other car or vehicle who's brand has a following and has followers for that look or make. Talk to the Ford, Chevy, Mopar muscle car guys or Honda, Toyota communities who do things way beyond what the original was made to do - that's why this is a 4runner thread, there's one called JEEP but this OP likes 4runner and nothing is fully practical in our minds when it comes to our rigs? LOL soon to put 37's and pay the $. Will post pics. Perhaps once i go to 37's I'll do a post of everything that I did to get there and seek others similar to do a 37's spot for reporting in actual live experience of the good, bad, and ugly... apologies for the long post.

 

I would imagine if you are ok with limiting the range of suspension travel, or steering angles, then a lot is possible. Even more is possible if you don’t use the 4runner for extreme stuff.

But the more you limit everything, the more it turns into a “show” truck. It’s totally fine to build a bad-ass looking vehicle for it’s own sake. But it’s a different type of enthusiast that wants huge tires for the purpose using it hard off road. And if somebody wants to build something that can travel to off road spots and back on its own, then you have to spend the money on making sure the vehicle doesn’t eat itself in the process.

If I personally spent a ton of money on tires and suspension, I’d hate the feeling if I knew I cant do U turns, or that my IFS only has down travel. It would feel half built to me.

 

That’s a nasty jeep!

 

Mhm
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again
When you grasp the list of spending and chopping and gearing it takes to “fit” 37-40”;
All roads lead back to portals!

 

Portals when they hear you’re buying portals:

 

Just install the rear parts:

• Coil Springs
• Sway Bar Links
• Control Arms
• Track Bar

I also installed an OME spacer (1/2 inch) to level the rear and front

 

Well, I decided to replace the tires for 37s Yokohama MTs, (current 315s are heavier), waiting to be delivered the rest in a couple of days, I will keep you posted. I do not expect any rubbing but if it is the case, gonna be minimal

 

Did you have to do any chopping? I just lifted mine with the 6” kit and have 275s

don’t have to re gear or anything so far?

 

Chichox hasn't been on the site for about 7 months. But maybe he'll hop back on and chime in?

Regearing is advised for 35s and certainly for 37s.

I'm on 34's and needed a tune for the added rotational mass. When I step up to 35's I may have to regear.
It's worth noting I'm in north Texas so not a lot of mountainous terrain and being close to sea level means the engine makes decent power compared to higher altitude states.
This is likely why I don't feel the need for a regear... yet. Although it would help.

Other things to consider when you move to larger tires are
-Clearance body mount/ bumper/ fender liners (33s and above)
-Clearancing the firewall (35s and above)
-Weak steering components (35s and above)
-Weak front diff. (35s and above)
-Weak CV's (35s and above)
-Gusseted spindles (For off road use)
-Gusseted cam tabs (For off road use)

Not a lot of rigs with 37s on this site. Most who go that route (and post about it here) are doing it for off road use and go with an RCLT *or some sort of long travel* kit along with a tundra or LC rack swap and longer/ stronger CV's. All this along with regearing to 4.88s.

With a 6 inch lift and street use I'd just slap on some 35s, cut what needs to be cut to clearance everything. Drive it and see if you need to regear. Which I'd say is likely.

I know you started with a 3" lift and wanted bigger, so I'll leave the rough country bashing out of this comment.

 

Appreciated, I looked around for 37” or any info on it for sure going with 35 unless I do 33 but the lift is still gonna make it look weird if I just stick with 33.

Thanks for not bashing, I was running on a budget which is why I didn’t go with any other lift. Aware I likely have some limitations with it but it’s a start.

 

All good brother. Get some lightweight 35's and take it to a reputable shop for a body mount relocation if needed.

I know a lot of people in Canada run 35's without regearing so depending on your use (and your patience) you may not absolutely need it.
Keeping that rotational weight down should help quite a bit as well.

Good luck man and remember to enjoy the journey!

 

thank you, I’ll be posting updates as I upgrade more.

 

I run 35” Toyo MTs and they are heavy. I regeared to 4.88 and it helps great deal with acceleration and overall drive ability.

I also have the Total Chaos +2 LT. As soon as the steering rack fails I’ll be looking at the LC, Tundra rack solutions.

As it’s been stated already, I think you need to go pretty deep down the rabbit hole to run 35+ and be ready to make compromises in terms of maintenance or serviceability.

If you’re doing it for looks you can go cheap and get away with it, but if you plan on using it, be prepared for the cost and effort. I think it is worth it for me anyway. Your mileage may vary!

 

Personally... I wouldn't go above 35's unless you're ready to lose your drivability. Portals is the easiest route and can use all stock components... But they require maintenance and mechanical skills if something breaks as you're not going to your local shop to troubleshoot. RCLT kit is the next best bet as it will move your axle forward... but same story... maintenance on boots sucks. If your not wheeling hard... I would keep stock lowers and maintain the 4Runner ride quality. That can easily be accomplished with 35's with a 2.5" lift kit, a 10 pound hammer and a Dremel.

And the portals with RCLT is not the issue... the 200 rack is amazing but I'm on my second too.

 

This is my 08 T4R on 37s and 4.56 gears with rear LT getting ready today to install the front LT.

 

Any update?

 

I had 38's. Went back to 35's after my 4th blown front diff. Check out my build thread if you really want to see what it takes to do big tire wheeling with an IFS 5th gen.

 

side question, did you rebuild the front diff? Ive got a dead front diff I had to take out still in the crate, was wondering if you can get a total parts rebuild kit for it or any idea what it would cost? I thought this might be my opportunity to learn how to rebuild a diff....

 

The front diff side shaft is what keeps failing for me. It's a trail fix as long as you bring a spare.

The clamshell design of the front diff requires the case to be reassembled almost completely before you can inspect it. Makes final adjustment a little labor intensive if you're new to it. Used front diffs run me about $120 at the local pull apart, if you aren't locked or regeared I might go that route.

The rear diff on the other hand is a breeze and is a great place to learn as the carrier can be assembled and tested on the bench.

 

Wow, 38's?!

I can't imagine trying to clear those fronts! Did you have to do anything trimming in the rear?

Any pictures? We love pictures!

I suppose I should just check out your build thread..

Maybe the solution for the front diff issue would be portal hubs with gear reduction.

 

I thought for sure this thread was revived for this video, guess not

https://youtu.be/Q7MyN1qOFgs

 

Nice dude I didn’t know you ran that



This poor bastard is dealing with running 40’s

 

I feel like Kai was running out of ideas for content and needed a reason for a new ride that was going to be cheap to procure so he could maximize his profits from his channel. That said, it's cool. It's more unique. He has great content.

 

Sorry, I don’t get a lot of pics

 

This indeed is a beautiful rig. Wish there were more pics.