2” vs 3” lift

Looking to put a 2 or 3 inch lift on my 2017 TRD off-road. Got a quote from a local shop for both and trying to see if the 3in lift is worth the extra cost.


Which do you recommend?
Pros and cons of each?

 

At 2” you can get away without needing to buy upper control arms. At 3” it’s pretty much a guarantee you’ll need them. But, even at 2” you MIGHT need them. How much more are you paying for a 3” lift? Is it all around or just up front? And are you getting spacers or a full suspension lift?

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Welcome to the forum!
What suspension packages are you looking at? How do you plan to use your 4Runner?

 

It depends what you need. In terms of looks and performance 2” is great. Imho, Toyota’s look perfect with a mild lift - it’s just the right proportion. But it is subjective - I’ve seen 6” lifts that look great too. The advantage of a 2” lift is that you can stick to OEM tire size and not have any gearing issues. Of course, if you definitely want to mount 33s you’ll need lots of clearance and adjustments to accomplish that.

 

For the 2” was getting Bilstein 5100 lift suspension
For 3” quite had Bilstein 6112 on the back, 5160 on the front. Needed upper control arms.
Wanting to build it up for off roading in Colorado.

 

Thanks

 

Currently looking at the Bilstein packages but open to other options.
What to build it up for off-roading here in Colorado.

 

Just starting out and wanting to outfit the truck for taking it out on the trail here in Colorado. Wanting a little more clearance and maybe add some bigger tires down the road. Which would be best for building an off-road set up that can get through most things without any issues?

 

what are the prices these people are quoting you. You could probably buy the parts yourself for cheaper and use the shop for labor.

 

Bilstein 5100's and 6112's are both adjustable, so you should be able to get the same lift either way. I'm assuming that you meant 6112 front/5160 front for the 3"option.

I have 6112's in front and 5100's in back. I am lifted 2.3" front and 1.5" rear, and I think this is a good spot. I think the rear wheel wells look weird with 3" lift unless you're running bigger tires.

A 6112/5100 (or 5160) lift is a good middle of the road option, IMO. The ride quality is good, and the 4runner handles very well. Eibach also offers a comparable lift that is extremely popular here.

I guess I went on a tangent there.

Here's what 2.3"/1.5" looks like:

 

Thanks for the info that is very helpful and since my truck is also dark grey it gives me an idea of look.

what do you use your truck for? Do you have any issues out on the trails with the 2in lift?

 

Thanks for the info. They quoted $1200 for the 2in lift and list Bilstein in the labor description but don’t list them in the parts. For the 3in lift they quote about $3k for Bilstein 5160 front, 6112 in back with SPC upper control arms.
I am open to suggestions for other suspension set ups.
That’s a good idea to find the parts myself and find a shop to install. Don’t shops charge more for labor if you don’t get the parts through them though?

 

Wow 3k for the 5160/6112? If you have that kind of money to spend on lifts don’t go bilstein honestly. For that money you can get quality coilovers that’ll perform amazing on/off the trail. My shop only charged me $265 to install my lift and do an alignment after.

 

I use it for traveling and off-roading. The lift is plenty for everything I do. I will try to squeeze in bigger tires before I go any higher. My goal is to keep the center of gravity low for stability. So far, I'm very happy with the results.

The Bilsteins do a great job in most scenarios. They can be harsh sometimes, but I believe it's the nature of digressive shocks. I have abused them pretty well and had no failures. For high speed off-road driving, I would look at Kings or something similar, though.

This is $3k installed, though. There's not really anything that's a significant upgrade over Bilstein that won't cost around $3k or more just for parts. The only thing I could think of would be Fox 2.0's, or something similar.

What would be a big upgrade over Bilstein that would only cost around $2k for all parts? That means about $1300-1400 for shocks and coils as you need to leave money for UCA's.

I do realize that 6112's are not top of the line. I just couldn't justify ~$3.5-4K for Kings at the time.

 

I’d go with 3” judging from the off road videos I’ve seen from Colorado. That way you can fit 285s, if you want to do some further mods to fix rubbing. I don’t drive in mountainous, rocky trails, I’m mostly in mud and woodlands. Clearance is always an issue. Mostly because guys with big tires and huge lifts like to use the trails when they’re wet, and leave behind giant ruts that you have to be careful not to fall into.

 

Hey Thatbassguy, remind us again how you achieved the 1 1/2” in the rear.

 

I recommend you buy all of the parts yourself. There are always discounts and promo codes online, for example wheelers off-road does not charge sales tax if you have an account and first purchase qualifies for 10% off. Shop around on the labor costs but find a reputable shop you trust, that’s the most important.

 

Hey Bassguy, I have been pretty much set on getting the TRD Pro rims in black... until I saw your Procomps. They look great! I looked on Procomps website and if I'm correct you have the 7005 series. I saw where you had posted the specs on them on here. But I still have a few questions if you don't mind. First, what size tires are you running? I'm gonna be running 265/70/17's and I was a little worried about the 9" width. (Though the specs on my tire say 7" to 9" is ok). Second, on Procomp's site all I can see for that wheel is flat black but I swear in the pic you posted they look gloss or at least satin. Can you verify that for me? Third, do you happen to know the weight on them? I can't seem to find it. And lastly, are you happy with them, any problems etc?
One other concern I have is that I have a 4th gen and with the -6 offset I'm worried about rubbing. Did you have any issues with that or are they close? My understanding is the 5th gen has a little more clearance than the 4th. Thanks!

 

Given those options, I would opt for the 6112/5160 combo; even if you planned to stick to around 2".

Not sure what's available in your area, or where your quotes were from... but I would check around for smaller off-road focused shops for some labor quotes. Or, if you have a local off road group you could join, might be able to find someone to help you install it for the cost of pizza and beer; or at the very least, maybe good some leads on a good local shop to go through. If you were in Michigan, I'd say bring it on over my way and we could knock it out.

Otherwise, going Fox or King, with UCA's, you are of course looking at around $3k for just parts.

 

With 1.5" lift springs.

https://www.bilsteinlifts.com/shop/...ings-heavy-load-for-2010-2019-toyota-4runner/

I ran 265 KO2's for a year with no issues. The 8" width might have been more ideal, though.

I have 285/70/17's now with only slight rubbing while turning in reverse. I have a BMC and Rokblokz mud-flaps.

You are correct about the color. The Finish appears to be more of a satin than a flat black. Here's a picture I just took.

The only complaint I have is that paint on the center caps peels off when installing and removing them. I plan on sanding them and repainting them eventually. It doesn't bother me too much.

 

Wow, thanks for the quick response. I think those are the first aftermarket rims I've seen that I like as much as the TRD Pros. If I go with them I'll probably get them in 8". Just hate to pay about $12 more per wheel for a smaller size. I guess it's supply and demand or volume of sales or something. Thanks again,

 

I spent about $1550 on 5100’s with headstrong coils, SPC UCA’s, Fox 2.0 shocks in the rear with icon coils plus $275 installation that’s about $1825 said and done, so it just seemed over the top to me but I realize different shops charge differently especially if you buy parts through them. I’m not 100% familiar with what the setup is that’s paired with 6112/5160, is it that much more expensive? For me if I was going to spend 3k said and done I definitely would’ve gone with something better than I have now, just my opinion.

 

You're welcome! The 8" are 0 offset IIRC, which should reduce rubbing.

 

He's looking at 6112's up front, though, which are more expensive than 5100's. I do agree that $3K is a lot for that setup, though. A good tech should be able to do that install in less than a day.

 

100%. I got a BMC, suspension, wheels and tires all done in about 6.5-7 hours.

 

I see this all over that you folks lift the nose a bit higher from stock compared to the back, why is that ? Why not 2" front and 2" back ? My OCD kicks in big time here.
I love the look with the ass a bit higher and definitely helps with a small trailer in tow or loaded to go camping. All the lifted ones I see look silly with a trailer and the front end pointing upwards. They look like the older explorers when their suspension gives up.
Leveling it for that 1" - does it help in any way off-roading? Cause it's definitely not helping when loaded or towing.

 

Are you towing 100% of the time? I’ve hauled about 250lbs-350lbs of cargo in the rear with no sag.

 

If you lift the front 2-3” and do the same to the back, the result will look a little ungainly imho. It’s fine if you’re carrying heavy loads though, but when it’s empty it will ride like a UPS delivery van. Most guys on here add a lot of weight to their vehicle often around 1000 lbs. Its so easy to do, so if that’s you too, no problem with heavy springs. Also, when towing your tongue weight shouldn’t be more than a couple of hundred pounds. Let the trailer carry the weight, that’s the whole idea with it.

 

The 4runner comes with about 2" of rake. I only lifted the front .8" more than the rear. You can see in the photo that I still have some rake.

Aside from that, I'm using heavy springs in the rear to avoid sag when loaded or towing. I generally have 200-300 lbs of assorted tools/gear/etc in back and still maintain some rake.

There are 2 reasons (I can think of) to lift the front higher.

First, to clear larger tires. There's almost never a clearance issue in back.

Second, in my case, was that the front differential skid was the lowest part of my truck. I was more concerned with getting that off the ground than the whole truck.