Considering KDSS or not?

Hope this helps someone, because it was a lot of work getting here: A year ago, I bought a 2020 4Runner SR5 Premium for my kid with 20K miles on it. Fell deeply in love with this truck's performance on CO mountain roads in winter. So, bought myself a 2021 SR5 Premium with 15K miles. Put 17" Michelin Defenders on both trucks.

Second SR5 was a horrible driving POS. How is it even possible to have so much body roll AND incredibly over-sensitive road bump feel at the same time? This truck is an uncomfortable wallowing boat.

I started trying to find out why these two identical trucks are completely different. 4 months of rabbit hole later, come to find that my kid's truck is not really an SR5. The truck was ordered from the factory by a dealership service manager and is a mashup of several trims: has SR5 hood and 4WD dial, wood trim and cream-colored leather seats, and TRD Off Road Premium suspension with KDSS.

Part of my rabbit hole involved going to dealerships and driving different 4Runner trims new and used. The SR5 and most of the other trims were very similar handling. TRD Pro was slightly better in road feel but still ridiculous body roll. When I finally found a TRD Off Road Premium with KDSS, the mystery was solved and I bought it. KDSS drives like a different vehicle entirely. Flat in corners, WAY less bumpy ride on the road.

If you are not going to do off-roading suspension mods, I would say KDSS is absolutely the way to go. The stock 4Runners without it are a varying degrees of misery to drive on road. The TRD Pro I drove had Fox Shocks and it helped some but truly not at all like KDSS did.

 

Umm can't order KDSS with SR5.

 

Tell us about the dial. Does it have H2, H4, and L4? Or H4F, H4L, and L4L? If it’s the latter, what I think you’ve got there is a Limited that’s has had the wheels and bodywork swapped out, and what you're thinking is KDSS is really the XREAS suspension that comes on the Limited.

 

As mentioned by @Dillusion , KDSS is not available on the SR5.

Edit: I missed the "not" before.

In that case, I agree.

KDSS is a great setup for anyone who wants the best combination of on road handling and off-road articulation. But, for heavily modified vehicles it ends up being a limitation. If I was only concerned with off-road performance, I'd get the standard sway bars and remove the front.

 

One and done?

 

Just another thing to break. Only helps eith rollover on road.

 

...and increased articulation for off-roading...

...For those who want to keep their sway bars.

 

No dude that's just toyota marketing. Doesn't do shit.

4runners without kdss articulate all the way to their bump stops just like everyone else.

Just read OPs post. Less body roll on road. Helps with roll over. Less lawsuits.

 

Save up buy Dr. KDSS kit with dash switch and stay deactivated over 12mph* Then it's closer to experiencing best of both worlds.
Might be all Toyota marketing, maybe ur right, maybe not. We can be chill tho
KDSS with stock suspension has been studied at length, articulation has acted more like a sway bar disconnect than non-KDSS with stock suspension. Notice the Lexus (KDSS) stays much more level with further travel front travel

 

@Mel77 if that's all true and you know you're looking at KDSS - it sounds like quite the unique shitmix, maybe in a good way

 

Lol!

It's been tested, and it's been proven to provide more overall articulation.

I thought we had already had this discussion. The idea that Toyota would offer a necessary safety feature as an option on only some trims is ridiculous.

https://youtu.be/Ueshf401B0k

Please watch this before you continue to comment in these threads.

 

We discussed it and we both have the same opinion (as we did prior to discussing).

 

Iunno, in a number of situations, opposing wheels come off the ground before you hit bump. There's legit videos showing KDSS increasing articulation keeping the wheels down longer and traveling further towards bump stops

 

Watch the video in my post.

I am not stating opinions. I am stating facts.

 

If KDSS was good then the new tacoma would not have opted for an electronic sway bar disconnect.

 

Right no the new Tacoma and the new Runner will have new sway bar tech, KDSS is quite old my friend

 

Why does the new GX (which is probably going to be almost identical to the Prado) opt for KDSS then? Surely you don't think the new Tacoma is going to be the top of the line off-road option?

 

The sway bar tech they have is as old as sway bars.

 

Toyota talks about the 4th gen tacoma like it is indeed the best off road vehicle ever.

But let's see what they say about the next 4runner a year from now. Better yet let's see if it has KDSS.

 

No body share the KDSS beware thread

 

It certainly looks like an improvement from the current version. But, you'd have to be a fool to think it will outperform the next Prado, which will most likely have KDSS, as the new GX's "Overtrail" trim does.

 

The potential for failure is always worth considering.

But, I think a bigger consideration is that, even though provides an advantage for stock, or lightly modified vehicles, it eventually becomes a limitation.

Anyone who's planning heavy suspension modifications should probably skip it.

 

Should be way better than both.

New tacoma has much larger tires than the prado. Larger tires are the single best thing to improve 4wheeling capability.

Regarding the GX....it has lower profile tires. It also has worse entry, departure and breakover angles than the 2024 tacoma. So yeah I think the taco will be better off road if all these are stock. Taco also has 1.5 inches more ground clearance.

Why would toyota spend their time making luxury vehicles better off road than anything else they produce when the people buying them aren't going to be taking them off road as much.

GX is also 8 inches wider and 2 inches taller. My 4runner has barely fits on many a trail. The GX wouldn't be able to fit in as many places. Not as good

 

33 inches is much larger than 33 inches?

Also, the Tacoma TRD Pro, and the GX Overtrail will both have 18-in wheels.

And , the GX's approach, break over, and departure angles are not that much different than the Taco's. And, that's based on the Tacoma TRD Pro, and I'm not sure which GX trim. But, it's possible that the Overtrail trim will have different numbers than I found.

We'll see what happens, though . A lot of people are speculating that the Prado will be Toyota's answer to the Bronco, so I expect it to have better specs than the GX, regarding off-road capability.

 

Not on the same subject but I feel like with tire size 265/70R18 SL Toyota might be not true about 33in tire marketing. It also might not provide any side wall advantage compared to our stock tires. Not just, just kept bothering my brain.

 

According to Tiresize.com, that calcuates out to 32.6", so not a true"33.". Then again, a lot of 33's aren't exactly 33", anyway.

 

I found 265/65 R17 for the prado.

The difference in stats are significant.

 

That's the size my 2003 4Runner had. What year Prado are you looking at?

You might want to do a little bit more research...




Edit: And, I should, too. I'm seeing a few different sets of approach, break over and departure specs. And, it's way too late for me to dive into a rabbit hole right now!

 

At least both 285/70R17 and 255/80R17 have many 33 or more options right? Not sure if thats same about 265/70R18.
Maybe its just me looking very suspicious about Toyota after all the new engines coming out so looking every item in a suspicious mindset. Anyways not relevant for this topic. I might get in trouble discussing this.

 

I haven't looked into it much, but I wonder if there are more tire options altogether by going to an 18- inch wheel? Otherwise, I really wish they would have stuck with 17s.