Rough Country 3" lift kit rubbing UCA's?

Hi all. New to this forum and mods on 4runners. I have an '18 SR5 attempted yesterday to install 3" Rough Country lift kit with no luck. Once I installed the front set up, the OEM upper control arm would not clear the new beefier coil spring and thus stuck in place. It would not swivel or clear it. Had to put everything back together and now I'm bummed. Have you guys ever installed a Rough Country lift kit before? Do I just need to bite the bullet and buy after market UCA's or just take to a shop that knows what they're doing? New to this stuff so any feedback is appreciated. Thanks

 

You probably need to get some aftermarket UCA's. Usually around 3" or higher will require them.

 

Welcome to the Forum from Texas.

I would sell the Rough Country lift kit. Better options are available without breaking the bank, with no need for aftermarket UCA's, go a little less than 3".

 

Roland, do have any recommendations on different lift kit brands? My head's spinning from all the options out there.

 

David,

Lift: Dobinsons IMS59-50700 shocks - coils C59-302 Front - Dobinsons shocks IMS59-50705 - Coils C59-505 Rear. 2.7" front lift (shocks adjustable set at 215mm from the strut bushing eye to support a 2.7” front lift). No Upper Control Arms needed, with the 285/70/17 installed about a 4" lift; works wonders. Call Mike great guy, lots of knowledge. Highly recommended.

Mike
Exit Offroad
904-580-7510
https://exitoffroad.com

Red dirt gone. | Toyota 4Runner Forum [4Runners.com]

https://www.4runners.com/threads/moab-ut-with-dobinson’s-lift-and-bfg-ko2-285-70-17.20940/

 

Awesome. Thank you ✌️

 

Just to piggyback on what @Roland said;

Eibach makes a kit with different height options that seems to be the best bang for the buck. Another mid-grade option is a Bilstein 6112/5100 or 6112/5160 setup.

Beyond that, it starts getting expensive.

What do you use you 4Runner for?

 

This runner is used 95%commuter 5% off road in the pasture when sighting in guns, shooting, etc/ no trail climbing here. Just want a dyi lift kit that's easy on the pocket book. I have new 285/70R17 Yokohama tires and new 17"rims to install once I get the lift sorted out. Just trying to give it a beefier look for starters and slowly mod other items as fiances allow.

 

rough country is garbage. Get some Bilstein 5100’s, Bilstein rear spring and call it a day.

 

Like @Antman said, a set of 5100's all around with springs will be a great setup, especially for the $$!

I don't hear great things about Rough Country.

 

Roger that we get an employee discount at work for the RC product line, so I went that direction first. As I mentioned, new to lifting mods, so I went that route vs. consulting you guys. Glad I found this forum, wish I had found you guys a month ago... Better late than never, Bilstein makes nice stuff. Thank you for the guidance

 

Trying to stay inside $1000-1500 for the lift kit. Already bought the 285/70R17 tires and new rims, so that money is spent. Just working the details of the right lift so I can get this sucker looking nice.

 

I should have asked that "What do you use your 4Runner for?" In your case, I would go for the Eibach kit, hence the 5100 Bilstein shocks are OK as well.

Do not forget, it's not the shocks that are doing the lifting It's the coil/springs, Dobinsons have less expensive adjustable shocks as well.

 

Man you guys know your s#*@ on here! didn't realize that about the coil /spring doing the lifting. So many good things to think about. I'm on the www now doing more searching based on your input. Thanks a mil guys!

 

Less expensive. $1,000

Dobinsons 1" to 3.5" Build-A-Kit Toyota 4Runner 2010-21 | Exit Offroad

 

I have personally riden in Bilsteins (my original 4Runner), Dobinsons (also my original after I sold it to a friend and he upgraded), and Eibach (friend's 4Runner we lifted).

In order of comfort from worst to best - Bilstein - Eibach - Dobinsons. But I rode Billies for 4 years and had some great adventures so even those are good choices.

 

Have either of you owned a Rough Country kit? If so, which one? Did you install it yourself or have someone else do it?

I have almost 90,000 miles on my Rough Country knuckle/leaf spring lift kit and shocks. I just now replaced the shocks as I was replacing some other wear components. And I replaced them with Rough Country N3 shocks. For a nice budget kit that won't break the bank Rough Country is as good as any other kit at that price line.

David I would recommend to keep the kit you have and just bite the bullet and get aftermarket UHC's. There is no manufacturer of a 3" lift that will allow you to use OEM UHC's and still get proper castor in your alignment (to match the lift). Did you get the V2 or N3 shocks with your kit? The N3 will be a bit smoother for comfort and the V2 is for a little more stiffness.

Just by looking at the picture your bushing between the bottom of shock tower and spring looks upside down or mount is not clocked correctly.

Do not shy away from what you already purchased. Rough Country has an outstanding reputation and durability for a budget lift kit. Unfortunately it gets a bad rap on some of the forums because of installer error or he said/she said with no personal experience to back up their claim.

 

Never purchased because I knew better. Have 2 friends who had RC kits on their vehicles. A jeep Cherokee and a f150. The ride was rough and they both went thru multiple shocks as they kept blowing out. They both went thru 2+ shocks each. They both sold the vehicles and purchased a different brand for the new vehicles.

I highly disagree with you when you say “their in the same category as other budget lifts”. Bilstein, OME and Robinson and eibach are leaps and bounds ahead of RC.

 

Thanks for the details on your set up. I have the loaded N3 Struts. The upper control arm was a real pain to maneuver around the larger diameter coils. If I do get new control arms, wouldn't I have to purchase other components as well in order to make everything align properly? If the other kits that mentioned previously would work w/out having to go the new UCA route, I'd prefer doing that. But if I merely installed this unit incorrectly, then perhaps there's a chance I keep what I have & go for new control arms.

 

Hello Chris,

I purchased a Jaguar second hand with 41000 miles in 1981 and put an additional 78000 miles on it without any problem. Hence, the saying goes make sure you have two in your garage. Maybe I was lucky?

 

Jaguar?

78000 trouble free miles?

Luckier than Lucasifer.

 

As best I can tell, they only make spacer lifts for the 4Runner.



This is probably fine for street use and fire roads. I think people just have a negative opinion towards spacer lifts because they don't add any performance, but rather just make the truck sit higher on the stock suspension.

 

You bet.

 

I said "same price point". Bilstien, OME, Robinson, and Eibach do not make complete kits that are 600 bucks with fully assembled struts, rear shocks and springs. "Ride was rough" is debatable per users interpretation and and blowing out shocks can happen to anyone who beats on their vehicle.

The kits are complete with fully assembled struts, rear shocks and rear springs. If I was on a tight budget I would be all over the Rough Country kit and a set of JBA upper control arms.

You are going to get opinions from other members who have done 3" lifts with OEM control arms. It has been done but tire wear is accelerated and you are putting undue stress on the upper ball joints. I recommend you let your head clear out a bit and go back to retrace your steps during the install. It is probably something simple like not having the sway bar connected, loose top mount, incorrect clocking of shock/spring, etc.

 

Thank you. I'll mull it over tomorrow. Gotta get up at 430 for work. Thank you everyone for the input/s.✌️

 

I see it now.



I don't have personal experience with them, so I was just going off what I hear second hand. I was asking about them when I had my Tacoma and got the same type of response we saw in this thread.

It could be a case where they're fine for most driving, but don't hold up to much off-road abuse. But, if you're beating the snot out of yours and they hold up, maybe they're fine.

 

Oh gosh do not use me as an example other than just owning the dang kit!! I'm pretty mellow these days. I will tell you in my experience no matter how good your suspension is it's not going to hold up to a beating. Race trucks routinely get rebuilt after every event.

Kings suspension is local to me but I would not consider getting a set of their shocks. They are good for about one race and then ready for a rebuild. There is arguably no better shock in a race application. For a daily driver I would not recommend them. I will say they are very popular. Just not my first choice. FWIW I have had a ride in the desert on Kings suspension and it's like riding on a cloud!!

 

Haha! I agree, anything will eventually fail with enough abuse. I did look into higher end shocks, but decided to stick to something low maintenance and (relatively) inexpensive. I might go with something fancy after the 4Runner is no longer my primary vehicle. For now, the 6112's and 5100's are getting the job done.

 

As they say, what wins on Sunday sells on Monday.

Most people own a $5000 suspension and just do gravel roads. The OEM suspension is sufficient for that. The TRD Pro suspension that people bag on is more than capable for that (and it honestly rides better than people give it credit for).

Fact is, people want to say they own Kings, so they buy Kings. Are they better? For my application, not particularly. I want something I can wail on and they hold together. I went to the Aussies for that (Ironman). It's not the sexiest, it doesn't have reservoirs, but I've seen them blow a shock and that shock still inexplicably function. I've ridden in a LOT better suspensions and an even more worse ones, but it's durable and that's the hill I'm dying on with my build.

I think your assessment of Kings are spot on. Great, but needy.

 

IMO this is the most budget premium bang for your buck suspension you can go with. A great starter one that hits above it's weight class. In the end, it could easily be a "final" suspension too.