4Runner suspension questions (5th Gen): Help me plan please!

[SnoViking]

I went through the same thought process because of the amount of daily road use. In my last 4Runner, I went with stiffer springs (and a lift) all around and it was FANTASTIC when loaded down with kids and dogs and gear on fire roads, but it was a pretty terrible ride 90% of my daily driving. For the past two months I've been going back and forth with what I wanted and needed.

I'm going with Bilstein 5100s in the front (adjustable heights and valved correctly) and plan on using the stock springs. Since I'm not adding a winch or front bumper (I may add a 2nd batrery but thats 75lbs +/-) I decided I wanted to keep the stock spring rate and ride quality. I plan on putting the Bilsteins on the 2nd perch which should net me just under 1" of lift (which is all I want)

For the rear I'm going with a small coil spacer (1") and a set of the Air Lift air bags within stock springs. Again; as my daily it'll ride like factory, just 1" taller. Once loaded down, I can inflate the air bags to compensate and get my ride quality back.

In liue of doing a taller lift and sacrificing daily ride quality, I opted for a short lift (just a little bigger tires - 265/70R18) and then I'm doing aluminum skid plates to protect the underbelly since I wont have the clearance. Plus I keep my KDSS system fully operational. When everything is said and done I'll only have about $300 into it and then when I have to replace my rear shocks it'll be another $150.

 

[fogab]

Pretty good article right here on the EP :safari-rig:


https://expeditionportal.com/did-bilstein-just-make-the-ultimate-4runner-overland-suspension-system/

I have this lift on my 2016 TEP. 6112 up front, 5160 with Sway-A-Way 1.5 inch springs in the rear. Running 6/5 and the mounting instructions (http://cart.bilsteinus.com/pdfs/E4-WM5-Y506A00_1.pdf) don't seem terribly accurate in terms of the height up front. The alignment was difficult and I'll be replacing the UCAs soon.

Tires are 275/70/17 KO2 E rate. Why E rate? Two severe punctures in a very short period of time. Hoping these last longer.

The ride is fantastic. Do I want to say luxurious? Yes. Within hours of getting the lift I left on a 2000 rt mile road trip to Lake Michigan and the Silver lake dunes. Not ideal planning but I had some delays in getting parts and it pushed back my install a few weeks.
On the road my 4Runner drove better than my MKX. Soaked up the big bumps. No floating. Quiet. Just a marvelous ride. When we hit the dunes, (10lb in the rear, 11lb up,front) it was, again, a smooth ride. No bottoming out like last year. Handled large whoops and dips much better than stock and the additional clearance was a noticeable improvement. I'm very happy with it.

My mechanic was not an off-road or 4Runner expert but my options are limited. He had some experience with Toyota and lifts and did a good job. I always look for a better or second option if available. If anyone knows of a great off-road/4x4 performance shop on the Albany NY area, please let me know.

 

[dcwn.45]

I have a 2nd gen Tacoma
Here are my thoughts
I use the truck for work and DD, I regularly tow a cargo trailer that's probably 2000lbs.
I have an ARB front bumper w winch.
I installed an OME front coils and shocks (the heavy ones for the extra weight)
And toy tec rear AAL with matching OME shocks
Empty it's great, but with trailer or camping setup,I'm finding the rear not enough, it works but it sags a bit more than I like.
I'm going to get Allpro expedition leafs in the near future.
My lift is 2.5" uca s not needed, my tires are BFG AT 265/75/16, they would fit without the lift but my main reason for the lift was for capacity not height.
If I went bigger on tires,
I think I would want to re gear as the drivability for towing and DD would be unacceptable.

 

[SWITAWI]

I can't argue with the Toytec BOSS or Bilstein 6112 as front end options. Old Man Emu is great but I considered it overkill for my 90% daily driver needs. I wanted something more OEM-Plus if that makes sense, and that ExPo article on the Bilstein 6112 suspension for 4Runners really caught my eye.

On my '08 FJC I have the 6112s with the 600lb coils that Eibach supplies to Bilstein for their kits. I'm sure there are differences in the ride height settings between FJCs and 4Runners, but I will say I found Bilstein's 'average lift' estimates to be conservative. I got more like 2.5" of front lift at the 2.0" notch. 4Runner installs may vary, of course.

On the rear I went with the Bilstein 5160 shocks really because I could more than for any practical reason. I paired them with Toytec's regular Superflex 2.0 coils. I understand the 2.0s are ~10% increase in spring rate over the stock coil springs and the 2.0HD coils are ~25% increase for extra load capacity.

So far the truck rides really nice compared to stock. The front has less dive under braking than the OE setup did making on-road driving feel more stable while still allowing some off-road flexibility. The rear has significantly less rebound over sharp bumps/dips which is really nice on the FJC's relatively short wheelbase. You can take that ExPo article to heart on the ride comments. Maybe not really 'like a Cadillac', but really nice for a mid-sized body-on-frame 4WD SUV when unloaded. And a hard run down a heavily-rutted beach was eye-opening with the ability to cruise significantly faster than I ever did on the stock suspension.

Now I will address my unfortunate personal choice...

The only issue I've had is really of my own making. Since I received no install instructions with the 5160 shock absorbers I did my own research for the mounting. I didn't like the frame-mount piece with the hose clamps so I sprung for Bilstein's billet reservoir brackets. I turned the shock body so the braided line came off the rear and swung to the reservoir mounted forward of the shock, like the picture in the ExPo article. And this happened...



See where the fitting on the back of the shock contacted the frame? There was plenty of clearance at static height or partial compression when I parked on an embankment to look at the state of things underneath. The passenger side shows no signs of coming anywhere near the frame. But I still had to buy another 5160 because there's no way Bilstein is gonna warranty that. Obviously both rear shocks needed to be rotated 180deg with the braided line coming off towards the front of the vehicle and the reservoir still mounted forward of the shock body. Like this smarter person did.



Ironically if I had either purchased the regular 5100s or done the 'cheesy' frame mount I would have unconsciously avoided this. I realize there are frame differences involved and this may not be a problem on later vehicles, just passing it along so others can be aware of it. Especially since Bilstein lists the same 5100 or 5160 P/Ns as rear fitment for the entire run of '07-'14 FJC's and '03-'17 (4th & 5th Gen) 4Runners.

:beer:

 

[Badmeat]

I have a 2013 SR5 with Bilstein 5100's. It's a daily driver that will be doing some occasional overlanding (I hope to convince the wife for more frequent trips, but that may take a RTT). Potential future plans for the ride are sliders, hidden winch mount for the stock bumper, and as mentioned, a RTT. I actually just talked to Hugo at Toytec yesterday regarding suspension. He recommended the Toytec coilover sleeves for the front and Superflex springs for the rear. With the fronts rated at 600# and the rear at 10% higher than stock, it won't have a harsh ride when unloaded, but still enough to handle the extra cargo/gear. The benefit of the coilover sleeves, is that if/when I do the winch, I can adjust the front preload to combat the additional sag that the weight of the winch will bring.

For my vehicle which is a daily driver first, light off-road rig second, it's a good cost effective option.

 

[crussellcampbell]

Airbags off road

I am looking at a similar setup. My questions is in regards to putting air bags in the rear as I like the idea of being able to adjust depending on load. Does anyone have any real life experience with having airbags offroad? By offroad I mean logging roads as well as deactivated ones with cross ditching. Will I run into issues with airbags, or is it not a problem? I am hesitant to put in springs, as when I had a Tacoma the rear end was much too stiff unless I had a load in the back.

 

[Pete22]

James:

Was the .5" spacer in the front or back? Also did you attend the Roof Top Tent Rally at James River Park in VA? If so think I spoke with you. Had the stock black 4RT about 3 vehicles down from you. Believe you had a lab.