Alright, let's be honest; who here is considering a 6th gen?

I like them on a dark green or black 4runner. On the lighter colors it makes the wheels look small.

 

Yeah, obviously.

But, some people don't need to tow a 10,000# trailer. And, some people don't want to buy a pickup truck to tow a small trailer 5× per year.

The 4Runner is a great multi purpose vehicle. It's pretty good at a lot of things, while not necessarily being the best at anything.

 

That's a Unicorn! Beautiful.

 

That is for sure. I have towed my boat Apx 2500lbs and often more with gear, fuel, 2 kayaks, island camping gear etc. with 3 different gen 4runners. Obviously the v6's were better but it did fine with all of them. I once towed it with my sons F 350 7.2 diesel, it was like it wasn't there. But he could haul a huge boat with that truck. Right tool for the right job. Often towing it with my 21 loaded and with 4 people down to the Keys.

 

It looks good on your rig, but to me, the 6th gen flares are more bold and pronounced.

 

You are next to Illinois, where AMD, the Car Care Nut Channel has his shop. I don´t know how far are you in miles but I would get an appointment with him, if possible, to get it checked out.

 

Ahmed is the GOAT... tbh he's the only YouTuber I absolutely trust with car reviews.

 

Given how long it’s ran this way and the TSB that was issued for Tacomas regarding this I’ve just sorta accepted it as a normal characteristic of my specific engine. Fuel mileage is right in line where it should be and nothing else seems off. The pinging only happens in the hot weather under certain throttle conditions.

it pretty much mimics this guys experience here. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/engine-pinging-disappointed-with-toyota.280108/

this thread suggests it could be timing related. https://www.fjcruiserforums.com/threads/engine-knock-premature-ignition-detonation.758978/


As for TCCN, he’s an hour and a half from me in good traffic. I’ve considered it but that’s quite a ways to get stopped in traffic.

since mine seems to be heat related, almost makes me wonder if there’s a blocked coolant path somewhere.

I will say I did experience a non-pinging 1GR, my dads 14 limited did not ping.

 

I don't mind the black flares. I also like the bronco raptors and jeep flares. It's supposed to be an offroad vehicle so when you rip off a flare you don't have to worry about color matching.

 

One does lose a little cushion with the lower profile tires, but on road ride is the specific purpose of XREAS and Limited are usually equipped with pavement oriented tires so they are better on road.

I heard the same from people who have TRD Sports, they say the thing rides great. I can only imagine if a Limited or Sport with XREAS swaps out for 17 inch wheels with 31.5 inch all season tires, it would ride even better.

Excuse me while I go and look for a used Limited as an impulse buy...and probably return shocked at used prices on those too...

 

I have had a 4th gen with Xreas and two 5th gen Limiteds and a TRD Sport and can confirm, the Xreas rides great on the road. The valving is much different than the normal aftermarket stuff you see where pretty much everybody uses Digressive valving that is relatively harsh on slow speed stuff like cracks in pavement or rough chip seal road or patched pot holes. Tiny stuff that seems insignificant makes your dash rattle with a digressive valved shock. The valving in the Xreas seems more progressive, its actually super squishy on the slow speed stuff, you dont even feel chip seal road and cracks in pavement and driving over speed bumps in a neighborhood is practically effortless 15-20mph. I always put aftermarket tires on mine and play with air pressures to get the tires to wear evenly and with the factory 20s, good tires, and the Xreas, they ride like a freakin dream. I have tried Bilstein, Eibach, KYB shocks, and none of the aftermarket stuff that everyone uses will come close to being as smooth and plush on the tiny stuff as the Xreas.

I will say that with the bilstein at 40+ on a gravel road does actually do a little better than the Xreas, but the slower 5-30mph the Xreas is smoother.

>Small Bump & Washboard:
Small bumps and washboard surfaces cause the wheel to move very quickly, but with very small displacements. Due to the minimal movement, the valve disks in the shock may not have enough time to open properly. As a result, these forces typically occur around 2 to 10 in/sec for both compression and rebound. Looking at the graph, we can see that digressive pistons would likely feel stiff and possibly harsh, while progressive shocks would offer a much smoother ride. Since the movements are so small, factors like tire pressure and tire stiffness can have a significant impact on ride comfort.<

 

Son of a biscuit eater
Somebody makes progressive shocks for the 4R

https://www.shocksurplus.com/produc...strut-shocks-set-for-2003-2022-toyota-4runner

>The Rancho RS5000X series design includes patented progressive rebound and compression discs. At lower speeds or in the earlier stages of the shock's travel, an eccentric disc in the valve shim stacks will engage the valving at lower frequencies, helping to control the energy of motion as the cycle of the shock increases or decreases in its action. When hitting a pothole, off-road trail obstacle or similar activity, Rancho's Progressive Engagement Valving allows for early flow of fluid, helping to reduce harsh initial impacts and to control the flow of fluid in a progressive, gradual manner through the valving. During on- or off-road driving activities like washboarding or when travelling a rough fire road, the early flow of fluid helps to minimize a "rough" ride as the piston movement is able to glide through the initial travel motion of the shock with minimal ground impact or force. If needed, the Progressive Engagement Valving will further engage to maintain control and stability.<

 

Yeah, most people who go by car maker marketing are not told that off road suspension doesn't automatically mean super squish ride on city streets, the shocks have to be valved properly and filled with heavier weight oil to have the ability to handle sustained high vehicle speed bump absorption due to the heat the repeated cycling of the shock shaft in the oil produces, and to prevent bottom out and valve lock on sustained high-G hits without resorting to stiffer spring rates.

I assume the interconnected shocks on the XREAS leverage the increased fluid volume in the connected lines to add cooling capacity to allow lower weight oil to be used for more compliance on pavement and lower speeds.

I grew up rebuilding older suspension that had only a couple of tuning parameters like spring rates, oil weight, and valve stacks. When more advanced manufacturing techniques allowed separate high and low speed compression and rebound damping settings, that was some Hogwarts level stuff when combined with suspension geometry designs that have variable travel curves.

 

That and/or different pressures. In offroad guys change pressure in the Nitrogen charge to change how the shock feels and further eliminate / prevent shock fade. A lot of the offroad shocks are 225-250psi but yet those Rancho only claim 150psi. I am sure there is a whole lot of "fine tuning" in making one feel the way a person wants but when it comes to box stock feel, the Xreas is the best that any of the 4R come with in my opinion for driving on the roads and regular maintained gravel roads. I also feel like you, the interconnected tubed and expansion chamber / canisters are likely similar to a remote reservoir shock and all that added fluid and interconnected system likely helps with keeping the oil in the shock cool.

 

And shinier.

 

My winter tires are on 17 inch rims. Surprisingly, the ride is barely softer.

 

I think a comparison between two sets of tires of same or similar model and usage would tell more. Winter tires use different compounds and at the beginning or end of winter when it's not as cold as its intended operating temperature, they ride and handle differently than when temperature go south of 0 degree C.

 

My Tacoma has that problem if I run 87 octane. If I run 89 octane the pinging/knock goes away.

 

Since new? And you’ve got the 2GR, interesting.

For me it’s there even with 89 octane, Indiana has 93 as premium. Looks like Illinois has 91 as premium, at least according to Wiki. I may have to see if it still pings on 91.

I want to say at one point the FJ manual for the 1GR said premium was minimum requirement when it was updated to dual-VVTi but I can’t remember for sure.

edit: maybe it was right at FJ launch, so single VVTi. Can’t find anything while googling though.

 

It’s a 2014 4.0. It had the knock since new in hot weather. I brought it in for the TSB and it got a tiny bit better but was still present. I’ve just run 89 octane ever since. It’s cost me a few thousand more in fuel than it should have.

 

Ahh I saw the 2017 in your profile and had assumed that was a Taco; completely blanked this was an 4Runner forum.

Anything above 65° and mine will ping. How many miles on it now? I’m just assuming my 4Runner has done it since new since it was low mileage when I got it.