New to the 4Runner and have questions

Hi guys/girls (yeah, I'm pretty sure that some Girls have 4Runner, right ,

So, first, sorry for all the question and lonnnnnng thread, but I'm relatively new to 4Runner, so, I don't know very much about these truck, I come from a RAV4 that I have from the past 10 years. I just bought a new(well, used, but relatively new) 2017 4 Runner Limited that is really like new, with about 26000km on it he is on really good condition. So I have a few question about this truck, so I think here is a good place to start (well, maybe the best place ). So here is my question, and again I'm a real noob with 4Runner.

1) Me and wife have got some minor motion sickness with the car (the kid seem perfectly fine they even swing, dance, sing and play iPad in the truck, so...), we didn't really experienced this motion sickness with the RAV before nor any other car before(I specify car because I never had, truck, pickup or anything else), it is because we are new to the truck ? is the bouncy effect of the truck (its my 4th question) ? Did some of you had experienced this too ? Do it improve with usage and time ? Do some of you use the weird rubber strap that hang under the car to discharge static electricity ? Did you find something to mitigate this ? How long it take ?

2) I got a Limited, so I understand that this truck doesn't have all the Pro and Trail trail "suspension", but I was wondering if I can do some off roading with it also, does the suspension is ok for some kind of off-road ?

3)What is the maximum acceptable towing capacity, I know its rated for 5000 lbs, but it seem really high to me, like a sort of high limit that I don't want to pass, but what is a more realistic towing capacity (2500, 3000, 4000?), I don't want to struggle with the truck to keep it on road. I see people towing way over 5000 with their 4Runner, but, it seem a bit dangerous to me. I don't want to go swag with the trailer at highway speed.

4)The truck is little bouncy over pothole and crack and it seem to send back all imperfection of the road into the cabin, and im In Canada, so we have a lot of imperfect road here. I know its a truck so it can be a little bouncy, what can be done to mitigate this effect, I have 20inch wheel on it with Yoko Geolander G96B at around 32-33psi, the suspension seem different from other 4Runner, In a good or bad way, I don't know since its the first time I drive a 4Runner. Can the suspension be adjusted to make it less bouncy and less reactive to all the road bump, I read that I have sort of weird suspension system (called XREAS) that link the opposite tire on the truck. Can this system be fine tune ?

So, again, thank for reading me and helping me, I know it a lot of question

Have a nice day guys/girls !

Eric

 

Welcome to the forum Eric.

 

Hi guys, thank you for your fast awnser. Snickel, since my 4runner is still under warranty until 2025, do you think removing xreas will void my warranty? Also, just changing the wheel/tire can be done easily, but does it will make a difference if i don’t change the suspension as wheel. I ve just came back from a long run, mixed with city road, highway and country road. My impression after this ride is when cruising at high speed (around 60mph) on the highway the ride is nice, i can feel bump, but much less. Also, the steering is precise and i don’t experience too much nose diving. The main problem seem to be at slow speed under 40 mph, the ride is much more harsh and bumpy, i can feel all crack, pothole, manhole, uneven asphalt patch. On the positive side, driving a country road in loose sand/stone at 50 mph is pretty fun and i now understand the true purpose of the 4Runner. But i’m ready to lose a little offroad capacity to an better day to day driving in the city. Do you have some replacement idea for the xreas system ? And for tire / wheel, which tire is better all around ? The michelin defender ltx seem good, but i don’t know them so.

thk for the help

Eric

 

Welcome from Arizona

 

Thank you Ironguy

 

Welcome! I have a 19 SR5 but maybe can give an opinion or two. I've driven SUVs ( Chevy Blazer/Trailblazer ) for the last 25 years...at first, my 4 Runner did feel like it swayed a little, by comparison especially on the highway, but I got used to it pretty quickly.
Never seen a need for static discharge strips on a road vehicle. not even my wife drives fast enough to generate electricity from air friction (but seriously...I could be missing something)
From what I understand, all the 4Runner family are pretty capable off-road vehicles. I'll let the hard core off roaders comment, but I've been told that even my humble SR5 can get out there on all but the worst terrain and based on a little experiece..never had any problems.
And for towing...I wouldn't hesitate to go all the way up to 5k ...I mean, most engineers 'under rate" load bearing so should be fine. Handling maybe something to get used to...I live in the relatively flat Southeastern US so I don't do mountains often, but I did some trailering in the Tennessee mountains with my Blazer which wasn't built nearly as well as the 4R, with no problems.

 

Thank you Tama for your input, after my yesterday ride, I also think that they are pretty capable off-road in all trim (I have a limited).

For the towing, I was wondering if they can "really" tow 5000lbs since I read a post (I can remember where) from a guy that had some trouble with is 5000lbs trailer. But anyway, I don't plan to go that high, I only plan to tow small trailer around 3000-3500lbs fully loaded. I think I will need brake controller as well, since in didn't anything that look like this in the dash.

I think I will get used to the little harsh and bumpy ride at low speed, I will continue to look how to overcome it, but I will probably get used to. I wonder if I lower the tire psi a bit if it will help "absorb" a little. But I don't how low I can go, I have them a the normal 32 psi ATM. I also wonder if will help to go with smaller rim instead of mag (like 18inch of 17 inch).

 

I'm not a tire expert, but I wouldn't go much lower on the pressure. Heavy vehicle, and I would worry about sidewall damage with pressure too low for very long. Mine does have 17". I keep my 4Runner tires at 32 and around the city, she feels smooth as silk. We have pretty good roads for the most part here in Florida, but we frequently go 'home' to Mississippi & Louisiana where the road surfaces are little more...challenging for a vehicle suspension and the Runner is pretty comfortable there too. I think you'll really like yours once you get everything dialed in. I've had mine just over a year now and I love it.

 

Hi Tama,

yes I think I will get used to, its just I never "had" a truck before, I tried some, but never owned one, the 4R seem pretty confortable compare to other truck anyway, good noise isolation, even road noise is minimal. I think all BOF vehicle must act the same way (except for the very expensive Land Cruiser with the ajustable suspension). All other SUV here in Canada are not "true" SUV, they are all unibody, except maybe the Jeep, but the Wrangler doesn't seem really confortable, and he seem excessively noisy and loud on road. Also for the tire, I run them currently at 32psi, its way less bumpy now, when I get it from the dealer, the tire was at 36psi, that was way to bouncy. I will take a look to change tire, maybe the Michelin are more "confortable" and more ''forgiving" of bad road crack. The Yoko Geolander that I have with the truck seem good, but very stiff. Maybe other 4Runner owner will weight in their opinion about the Michelin vs the Geolander.