Suspension upgrade for daily driving + forestry roads?

You know how it goes, once you start, you never stop.

 

If I may ask, why didn't you do rear springs?

 

I'm always open to suggestions if you'd like to opine.

This is an ongoing process, I may be adding weight, bumper, drawers, fridge, etc. I expect to change springs before too long. I'm going to see how it sits, decide what I'm going to do to, beside low pro with winch, sliders, fridge. If I decide to start adding weight to the back like bumper, spare tire, fuel, jack, shovel, etc. it will help me decide which way to go. I'll definitely be playing with different springs.

And I don't want any more lift than I need for 285/70s, or the narrower and slightly taller 255/80. Problem with 255/80s is that the selection is smaller and the tires are heavier (I believe). For now too, I'm sticking to stock wheels to keep things from becoming too complicated. Also I made the mistake of buying with KDSS which does impose some limits (I was told by several that KDSS would not be a concern. Right.)

This is the very first step, and I'm planning my Tundra now. May go with a completely different and hopefully less expensive setup on the Tundra. I'm contemplating Bilstein, OME, Donbinsons, but I need a 3" lift and don't want it to ride like a dump truck.

 

Welcome to Idaho! You'll soon figure out that most of the roads requiring more than a stock 4x4 are gated off most of the year in this area. If you want to explore the woods, then an ATV is perfect. I have a Honda Pioneer 500 UTV for going around the gates and exploring the mountains. 98% of the roads can be explored in a Subaru with good tires. My 4Runner was built for exploring the deserts of Arizona and Southern Idaho.

I was on this logging road last week as the gates were still open, and it wasn't anything a stock 4Runner couldn't handle...

 

I am on stock suspension and have not needed anything else. My truck sees a good amount of off road use. The North Maine Woods for example is a mix of maintained dirt logging roads (shale) and off road tracks with some being overgrown and not passable anymore. I air down to 25 for logging roads with a loaded truck. In fact I have seen many Subarus up there that have no trouble at all, especially when its dry and sticking to the main logging roads/tracks. They would not be able to access some campsites designated as 4x4 only, but that is only a few.

With that being said, I do not rock crawl or beat the truck through mud up to the hood so it really comes down to your usage requirements. Sounds like your requirements are similar to mine.

 

Well, thank you for the welcome. We've only lived in Kootenai County since July 25. But I did a lot of research, you have to, before moving to North Idaho. We knew we were going to move to Idaho for a couple years, sans kids. Looked at South and North Idaho, but prefer North at this point. I like trees. The winter is going to be a bit challenging, even with a snow blower and a maybe a plow soon.

We ordered the the 4R ORP from the Coeur d'Alene dealer (screw Commiefornia taxes and registration fees) in April before we even bought our house. I'd heard about the shortage of 4Runners. We waited and couldn't take deliver until the middle of August as expected.

4R came with CRAPPY Dunlop tires (WHY Toyota?). I decided I wanted snow rated 33"s. Dealer could only offer us a too tall spacer lift.

I did my own research and ordered suspension to make the 33s work. I admit I went overboard, but I plan to use this vehicle in South Idaho, and other Western States, not just North Idaho.

Everyone's needs and wants differ, mainly I didn't want to do the suspension change twice. I am not experienced to know what will fulfill my needs, so I just threw money at it without going too radical. The 4R is an awesome vehicle in stock form, especially in ORP or Pro.

I say get the KDSS if you plan to leave the suspension alone, it handles very well and relatively flat in corners for a heavy SUV. If you plan on lifting and/or changing the suspension, I'd suggest the plain suspension to start, for less restriction and possible problems.

UTVs and ATVs - I also made plans to deal with my interest in exploring Idaho in depth. I knew about the 50" gates and was originally planning to a buy an ATV, but I decided that I wanted an old man vehicle first. So, three weeks ago I bought a Yamaha RMAX 1000 2 seater. It can haul wood, tow 2K, and push a plow, in addition to RIPPING through the woods. The RMAX is too wide for gates, I'm planning to buy a used ATV later to get to those narrower trails.

By chance I found out that I can take a trail out the back of my lot, motor across town about 3 miles mostly dirt in the SXS, to a huge area where I can ride. Pure luck. I also love being able to drive on the streets to the Market to pick up gas and groceries in the SXS. I count myself as a very lucky guy.

 

I was just wondering with such a nice setup, why you opted for spacers in the rear; the shocks you have are excellent, hence, they take care of dampening, the rest is done by the springs. Nevertheless, I see your point.

KDSS might be a concern, depending what you are going to do; there are some members here on the Forum that are very well versed on this topic and had to deal with the limitations having KDSS.

Regarding lift height, you don't need much lift to install 285/70/17 some members have 1.6" front & 1" rear and the 285's don't rub, a good alignment is most important to avoid rubbing. I don't have problems with 285's rubbing and have Pro wheels and no wheel spacers.

Good luck.

 

You can see that not having decided the amount of weight that will be permanent leaves a question mark for rear springs. I'm trying to avoid too much harshness (mainly so my wife won't bitch). The spacers could introduce a problem for that matter, but I'd rather try it this way first. Springs are not that expensive relative to the other components so I could just take a guess, but we are testing the KDSS spacer too.

I want to add a little ground clearance if possible. I'm not as concerned with tire clearance. The 4Runner platform is relatively unstressed by 2.5 inch front lift or less. I've read 2.25" in the front for KDSS equipped. That's what I'm shooting for. There is a very good chance that I will end up going lower.

The rear with KDSS is more sensitive I've read. This is why weight/height calculus is important to me.

Good, happy you are not using wheel spacers. Like I said, I'm starting with stock ORP wheels. No matter what happens I will never use wheel spacers. The wheels/tires must fit properly. I know that this will piss off a lot of folks, but wheel spacers, especially, are shit. I don't even like the idea of spring spacers on my 4R, even if they are temporary. BAD engineering, bad ju ju. If and when I buy aftermarket wheels, I will ensure they have the proper offset.

I expect to learn a lot on this build.