Watch This BEFORE Lifting and Modifying Your Truck!

If people are spending thousands for their vehicles to ride like shit, they're not buying the right stuff.

 

I don't understand why people spend thousands on a body-on-frame SUV with low-range 4WD only to saddle it with ghey side skirts, donk wheels, and drive it exclusively on pavement. A unibody SUV offers much better ride and handling, sharper steering, better gas mileage, and more interior room.

Why do people buy 4Runners anyway? It's the wrong vehicle for twisty mountain roads. It's also the wrong vehicle for rock crawling, for jumping in the dunes... The truth is, the 4Runner isn't particularly good at anything, but is a decently reliable starter's kit to modify and build on.

 

I get what you're saying and have driven countless lifted vehicles that drive like shit, or won't steer without the tires rubbing. If people spend thousands and it drives like shit, then they chose the wrong parts/tires, etc. There are plenty of options out there that blow a stock setup away, highway and off-road handling.

Exactly!

They do just fine.

 

Yep, I have no problem keeping up with much lower riding vehicles on moutain highways that I frequently travel. Those who can't handle a few curves with these things should probably learn to drive a bit more.

 

Compared to a Subaru or BMW? Not a chance. It only feels fast in the 4R because of the soft suspension takes a set at an earlier point.

 

4Runner and fast in the same sentence, and comparing to AWD/German engineering for curvy roads? Best laugh all day, thank you!

 

Yeah some of the Anti-AMD/TCCN takes presented here are truly entertaining to watch. Imagine getting so worked up over a mechanic telling people "try your 4runner out first before throwing more money at the itch."

 

AMD has evolved from an out-of-work mechanic making videos in his garage at home to this YouTube celebrity. I quit watching him long ago.

 

Did you buy a lottery ticket that day? I'd rather be lucky than good!

 

Probably right for most cases and applications. I was wondering the same before I did my mild lift. Do I really need the extra ground clearance for 90% of my driving? Nope!! But I like the look much better and also, it made a positive improvement for how it handles and during brake dive (much less of it). So to each their own. Do what you like!

 

I didn't watch it all, but did he mention the fact that some stock 4Runners have the needle bearing howl?

 

Exactly, the 4Runner is not particularly good on twisty mountain roads. To think otherwise is being delusional.

 

I have been playing with different stuff on my 2012 Limited and honestly think i have found the Bee's knees for shocks.
Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport Hitachi shocks ride freaking absolutely amazing on the 5th gen 4R. Sure a set of Ebay stock replicas ride nice enough, but the feel of the Tacoma TRD Sport OEM Hitachi blue shocks are absolutely great on the 4R. I used stock springs, just swapped in the shocks and the ride, firmness, and handling are all amazing. The bump absorption in corners is next level, the bump absorption in straights is almost like there wasnt anything there, no nose diving, no real body roll, the shocks just freakin work and they work great.

BEST PART: They can be had as take-offs for dirt cheap. I picked up a set on ebay as new take-offs for $125 shipped for front and rear. All you gotta do is swap the lower shock bushing for a bushing you can buy online for about $25 and swap your front springs over and the ride height is the same, the ride quality is great for a fraction of the cost of other replacements.

Here is a set of fronts for pretty cheap
https://www.ebay.com/itm/146638255925

Here is a set with springs, i may be wrong but i "think" the Tacoma springs are taller than the 4R and it should provide some lift over the stock springs.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187541590132

Here is a whole set brand new at the dealer
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256332924051

Here is the take-off set i got for $100 plus shipping and i love them.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/146542038341

 

IMO these things are actually fairly low stock. I bang my front skid all the time, my Volvo wagon has the same clearance.

 

If you can improve handling in that scenario, then you're doing something right.

 

They forgot to include convenient oil changes.

 

Umm, mine with my set up rips. Stock set up, not so good.

 

I have no complaints on mine stock with factory KDSS, I can drive some mph over the speed on the curves with no fanfare. Just do the braking before the turn and turn in smoothly to let the suspension settle in and the vehicle is always planted and very forgiving of mid-turn throttle lift, something that cannot be said of many "sporty" cars.

Can you whip it like a GT86? Of course not. Then again it's no 1990s Bronco either.

 

Even though minimum overall clearance may be similar, a lot of the important components and bits are still much higher up.

The lowest parts are likely the skid, rear differential, running boards and frame. (off the top of my head)

On the usual crossover like my previous car, while often tucked up well, the lowest parts are… everything.

I will say though that my tires complain much more often than they did before whipping it into corners so I doubt the twisty mountain roads thought - but then again, I didn’t have the nerve to keep up with my friend in his mid-00’s Silverado on winding roads in my Sonata so… driver mod?

 

Stock springs actually sag after less than a year. My LCAs are touching the tip of the Energy bumpstops already. Stock suspension tuning was passable in ~2008 when the 5th gen was designed. The state of the industry has advanced a lot farther in the past 17 years.

 

Just needed to be conscious of tire placement to get the propane tank to pass on either side of the rear diff.

If you turn up the volume, you can hear it bang around under the semi trailer at 00:03-00:04.

 

i bought some OME springs and they sagged an inch in a year
I have my 2012 and 2023 both with stock front springs and they are within 3/16” on front height. Rears have certainly sagged a bit, I think the 2012 is about -5/8” to -3/4” lower in the rear than the 2023. But honestly the fronts have held up great.

 

^Your 2023 front end has sagged already to the same level as your 2012.

 

No offense to you guys in Illinois, but he's from Chicago, he sees legit mall crawlers and his idea of off road is probably just your average, everyday dirt road that's better than some paved city roads.

 

A year or two ago I thought my stock springs were sagged pretty bad, because looking underneath the front really does look low in relation to how much space there is between the bump stops. I measured the hub to fender lip, and it actually was what most people were reporting so I didn't think it had really sagged.

I think one of the main issues with clearance is that on IFS vehicles in general, if you have 9" under the front skid, when you come down off of a rock or a ledge and your front suspension compresses 3 in, you now have 6 in of clearance. I feel like I bang a lot because as I come down off one rock, suspension compresses and I smash against another rock.

I don't off-road that much, just a few times a year, but the trails I'm on are basically unmaintained roads that have rocks anywhere from the size of a grapefruit to a watermelon or larger. I try to put my tires on the larger rocks when I can, but even then I bang a lot. I even have a nice gouge in the side of my transmission crossmember from a rock.

I have full RCI skids which is basically like a belly pan, so I don't really worry about it, but the noise gets annoying after while haha.

 

That was my frustration, bottoming out on the same rock twice! LOL

 

Never heard about that. By how much?

 

I didn’t even give my springs enough time to get dusty because I gutted the suspension out at 400 miles. Lol

 

I am highly skeptical of the claim that OEM springs sag. Logically thinking, you would have a lot of complaints about non-KDSS tilt, because they wouldn't sag always at the same time.

 

Mine sagged about an inch in the front. I had OEM takeoffs installed in June 2023. By April 2024 the LCAs are touching the tips of the Energy bumpstops. The front end is now hugging the ground like your Limited.

Every used 4Runner I've looked at had the LCAs at an inverted angle - outer ball joint higher than the inboard bushings. That's a good indicator of sagging. Yours are probably like that too.