Best Offroad and Pre-Runner Wheel, Tire & Lift Combo

Hello!

New to this group as I just bought a 6G4R TRD Pro.

I’m looking to do my first upgrades but I am taking this very slowly as I want to have the perfect setup with no regrets.

Short term goals is to do a 2-3” preload collar lift and add 17” bead locked wheels and 35’s. I will be taking this bad boy off road on some rock crawling and adventuring.

My question for you expert off-roaders is what in your experience would be the best setup for medium rock climbing/off-roading as far as tires, wheels and offset? I want it to be fully functional and also look nice. But functionality is my priority.

I eventually will upgrade to a Mid Travel or maybe Long travel in a couple of years. But I first want to use the hell out of the TRD Pro suspension hence why I’m going to install the preload collar lift.

Thanks in advance!

 

Slap some 35” Mickey Thompson Baja bosses on and you’re good to go.

Wouldn’t fiddle with suspension yet unless you’re going mid travel. Buy the tires, sliders, and skid plates and stop there.

A lift will only cause you to lose available down travel and raise the center of gravity. Stock is fine save your money for a mid travel setup

 

id need some clearance for the 35s though. That’s why I figured go with the westcot 3” since I’ll be able to use the stock suspension. And then move up with the mid travel later on.

 

You just spent what $70k+ on your TRD Pro?? I'd just run it as is for now and see how it does, I bet its more than capable as it sits. From what I see it comes with pretty nice tires and as good as it gets factory suspension so putting a spacer lift IMHO would not be where I was looking to upgrade.
Congrats by the way on the new rig!

 

thanks man! So westcot claims it’s not a spacer lift. The owner of westcot has a few videos out explaining it. But I’m not an expert so. I just need to clear 35s. I don’t want to cut the body. I may just go mid travel kit. But like you said I want to enjoy the current suspension for the short future.

 

Ah I see. You think that the lift alone will clear 35’s.

The 6th gen will fit larger tires than my 5th gen from factory. But they’re both IFS vehicles.

With IFS, lifting will only keep you from rubbing on the street. The minute that front suspension actually articulates off road the lift won’t help you clear the large tires… only trimming will.

So if you’re lifting to “clear” large tires I’d suggest trimming instead. This solves the issue at any ride height or during flex. Honestly it’s the right way to do it.

 

thank you for the info! If trimming is inevitable then I guess I’ll have too. Becuase I do want to add 35s. 37s in a perfect world lol. But 35s I can be content. But with a mid travel kit I would add more wheel travel to articulate more wouldn’t I? Verse stock

 

Yeah a bit.
Mid travel essentially means you have extended travel shocks.

On my 5th gen for example the front shocks have an additional 1” of extended length. Not much but you’re limited by ball joint and cv angles.

the rear has 6” of extended length over stock. But up travel has to be limited by bump stops to protect the shock from internally bottoming out. This is why most people with mid travel kits run a 3-3.5” lift. The rear requires it.

Here are some travel numbers I got for reference (no front swaybar)

Total travel:

Stock front 7.8”
Dobinsons front 9.0”

Stock rear 9.25”
Dobinsons rear 12”

The gain in overall travel is good but the real magic of mid travel is that rear axle.

Stock rear shock extended length: 22.8”
Dobi rear shock extended length: 28.7”

That extra droop allows lift height without having the detrimental loss in travel.

*extended travel front shocks with a 1/4 top hat spacer to max out available down travel before encountering cv bind…granted .5” more droop than ET shocks alone*


^Dobinsons IMS extended travel rears, upgraded upper and lower links, panhard bar correction, extended brake lines*

Keeping tires on the ground is the key to stability. The extra droop allows it.

What many people do is get extended travel front shocks for that 1-3” lift height and run normal rears. This negates some of the travel loss concerns in the front end. It’s also cost effective since leaving the rear end alone means no need for aftermarket upper/lower rear links, panhard correction and extended brake lines. This doesn’t provide the off road capability that the rear extended travel shocks/springs do... But many just want to lift for looks.

In short man (and in my opinion) mid travel is the only lift that will actually gain you some real off road benefits. But if people just want some lift for looks I’ll push them toward bilstein. They’re inexpensive, fronts are 1” extended travel, and adjustable in lift height. Great value and hard to argue against!

 

Man that was detailed. Appreciate you sharing all that. Man if I could afford it I’d run a full long travel kit on the runner with a custom cage lol. A mid travel kit is def the route I’m most likely going. Again my priority is functionality. Looks come second. So if tha means running the extended shocks front and rear that’s what I’ll do. There are two kits I’ve had my eyes on. The DirtKing 2.5 adjustable coil overs and the 2.5 Kings front and rear w/resivoirs. They’re both relatively the same price. But the kings come with a sway bar link kit. The Dirtkings don’t I believe. But they offer a nice UCA. Opinions on these two kits?

 

Straight out the factory and into the butcher's shop

 

@roooo as harsh as that sounds you’re not wrong.

Mods can get out of hand quick. Best way to do it is get some decent AT tires and use the truck. As the driver progresses in skill and ability the trails can get harder. If/when they do the necessary upgrades will become obvious.

Doing mods that are necessary for your use case gets you a truck purpose built for you and your trails. Not chopping it up to fit 35s and mid travel or long travel cause some goons on the internet say it’s best.

every off road oriented mod will sacrifice some on road comfort or efficiency. Keep that in mind and remember to enjoy the journey!

-1SilverRunner

 

That’s great info 1SilverRunner. I’ve been trying to find some similar info on the OME shocks that came on my TH. Haven’t been able to find the shock travel distances defined anywhere. Any ideas on sources?

 

You can usually find that on the mfg’s website. If you can’t find the info, just remove the shock from the vehicle and cycle it. (Obviously the front springs have to be removed for this)