Spacer vs lift, 275 vs 285

hello ALL, I am new to this forum stuff, i purchased my first T4R about 3 months ago, i do a ton of on road miles, but cant stand the factory rake.... the most off road i do are logging roads during the hunting season..... I'm torn between the pro comp 3/2 spacer lift with stock rims and BFG 285/70r17's or the Billstein 5100's and Cooper STT MAXX 275/70r17's... any suggestions would be welcomed as there are a TON of opinions out there that contradict each other. Thanks in advance.

 

There are so many combinations that are just as good as the other. Reading your post the only thing that really pops out is a potential issue with the spacer lift using 285s -- with this combination there's a reasonable chance you will get some rubbing when the wheel is fully turned. I started with spacers, 2 inches, and 275s and had rubbing at full turn of the wheel (for example, when in reverse and backing out of a parking space). Then, I went to a full 3-inch suspension lift, using the ToyTec BOSS on the same 275s (BFG KO2s) and had no rubbing, and extra space (BUT...full disclosure: I also removed the front bumper and had the Shrockworks bumper installed, which gave more room upfront/underneath).

Now, I'm in the middle of re-doing the suspension with 3.5-inch ICON stage 6 (billet), including the Stage 3 Secondary (front) shocks, and swapping the 275s for 295s. I don't believe that there will be any rubbing issues with this suspension, but will update when able.

 

I do the same as you, logging roads, and hunting season. I have a spacer lift with the pro suspension. I am switching a suspension lift because of the weight i have added. The spacer lift will work, but you decrease the travel of your suspension especially on logging roads, like my hunting camp, i would recommend a suspension lift, especially since you have a lot of gear in your truck, spacers are weak on holding weight. And if you want to add a bumper like i did you will most deffinatly need a real lift.

 

what do you or people mean that you have to re-gear? From what I heard is 285/70R17 is the biggest tire you can go w/o the need for re-gearing. Is re-gearing means correcting the automatic transmission shifting point? Like re-calibrating the TCM Transmission Control Module?

 

Re-gearing means putting lower gears in your front & rear diffs.

 

just cause it work dont mean it's correct. I'm running 285 and havent changed gears (yet) wating to go to 35" then change
Watch "How to Choose Your Axle Gear Ratio" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/oDVpyhKEbaw

 

re-gear to compensate for the new tire size and weight. I get it. It is to retain factory like feel ride.

 

Is it more important to change the gearing if the tire is bigger in diameter or if the tire is heavier? Or are both factor equally important?
I know heavier tires you'll need more torque to turn it.

 

While I can't tell you if one change (re: bigger diameter, heavier tire) is as equally important as the other, re-gearing is more a factor of a number of things than one thing; personal preference is also one of those factors. I re-geared with the installation of 33-inch tires, but not because I had to. I re-geared (to 4.88) because my vehicle is also nearly 2000 lbs heavier than stock. I don't drive fast on the highway but wanted more power from the stopped positions. (I say that loosely, because, even re-geared, I'm not winning any races in my truck.) What re-gearing did for me, however, was to keep my engine RPMs at relatively the same levels as stock relative to certain speeds, which also keeps the speedometer accurate (yes, the larger the tire, the greater the potential your speedometer is not giving true speed); helped to maintain a more stock throttle response; helped to minimize loss in fuel economy, and to remove a sliver of the sluggishness the larger tires, and extra weight gave to me.

In the end re-gearing is done for the purposes I've stated, but most 4Runners will not need it unless you get above 33-inch tires and/or have a lot of extra weight to stock. Had my truck not had nearly 2000 lbs of extra weight, doubtful I would have re-geared, even with 33-inch tires.

 

somewhat agree joseph.

 

Are you fucking kidding me?!?!? You have nearly 2,000 lb more extra weight than factory stock 4runner weight?? Wow. Front steel bumper and rear steel bumper and everything else adds up I bet. No wonder why you need more torque. Otherwise if you didn't re-gear you probably have no power during take-off from a stop.

 

No, I'm not kidding (you).