Best Suspension Lift?

Hey!

Now that we have put new tires and wheels on we are wanting to get a lift. What are your favorite brand(s)? Looking for at least a 1 inch lift for the front to level it out but also thinking of going taller all around...maybe a 3 inch for when we finally have time to go wheeling.

Bonus question:
What about your favorite blackout decals? Overlay or pop off old ones and put on new ones?

 

If you update the location in your profile people can make a more informed decision, and maybe describe what "wheeling" means to you. It may mean something different in Florida than it does in Washington, than it does in Arizona. The lift you buy/install would probably be different depending on where and what type of "wheeling" you're going to do.

 

This will be a subjective subject. I would recommend sharing your budget.

We just put on the OME lift (2.5" F&R). Rides great on-road however I'm partial to OME due to their name in other parts of the Toyota world.
The lack of clarity on what springs provide what lift (every vendor states different springs for the same lift height) made us nearly go another route.
Overall happy, but OME could do a much better job offering a clear "suspension package" instead of letting the vendors pick and choose how they offer a kit.

 

Budget isn't really an issue...we were looking at Bilstein but they are on back order for the foreseeable future apparently so open to other options. I'll definetely look into the OME that you suggested. Would like it to still be a nice ride on the streets and able to tackle the trails.

I also live in So Cal so we would be doing some pretty technical trails in Big Bear and Cleghorn and possibly Mammoth and Northern Nevada.

 

Check out Dobinsons as well. I'm putting there IMS system on my 4th gen next week.

 

There is a vendor here (and on Tacomaworld i believe), called Exit Offroad. Can just browse that website to see whats available. Dobinsons has tons of spring/coil options to go with their shocks.

 

Look up Muddify, I got my Bilstein lift there not long ago w/ ome springs.. 2.5"

 

I think OME, Dobinsons, Bilstein would all work well; however, I think what would work even better is a body mount chop (BMC) and new front bumper with winch (the right aftermarket bumper will give you more room for the tire at the front). I know that's a departure from your question, but for the trails you describe, I think tire size is more important than lift height. You don't gain (much) any tire clearance with a lift, as the wheel openings are too small for larger tires, on a horizontal plane. A 31" tire is about as large as fits in the stock wheel opening, horizontally. In order to fit a larger, taller, bigger tire, you have to make clearance within the fender/wheel opening, not by going up, but by going out "length-wise" (as opposed to height-wise).

Those are technical trails (I've driven them myself in a modified Jeep Wrangler). The clearance you need will come from a combination of small tire size increase and small lift height increase, but the tire size can only really be increased by cutting the front bumper and the body mount directly behind the front tire.

So, 'twere me, I'd not lift the vehicle until I decided what tire size I wanted to run, then I'd start with increasing the wheel opening to fit that size tire. After that is done, I'd only increase the lift height a small amount. Because you have an independent front suspension (IFS), your lift height is going to move the mid-stroke of the damper (shock absorber/strut) and you're going to lose corresponding down travel, unless you address it with slightly longer shocks and appropriate bump stops.

After you increase the front wheel opening, and choose your 285/75/17 tire, you'll be able to walk through most of those trails, with a little banging here and there along the rockers and undercarriage. Then you'll want to address gearing so the drive up the mountain isn't such a slog.

 

I wish I had the type of time and money you guys have ... lol

 

In 2020, per the 4x4shop I went to here in CO, If money is out of the question, The most comfy suspension set up is ELKA 2.5DC.
Not sure about current wait time, If I can remember correctly I waiting over 6 months.

 

Thank you for that! The new tires are 285/75/17 so were there already (my man had the wheels and tires in the backyard for his Tacoma but they got put on my 4runner instead ). He did shave off some of the front wheel well to make room so now there is only rubbing on TIGHT right turns. For the trails that I mentioned and that you have driven, we used to run them frequently years ago(around 15 years ago) so I am sure they have changed but John Bull is one of our favorite runs so I just want to figure out what would be the best for something like that. I'm currently reading up on OME with dobinsons next on my list, Bilstein was the first I thought of but figured it couldn't hurt to see what else is out there.

 

If you're in SoCal you might as well go Dirt King. I recently installed their new 2.5 setup (front coilovers, UCAs, rear shocks). So far, so good. They are great (made in partnership with Elka). Dirt King is local, they pick up the phone when you call, and they should be readily available compared to other companies where you have to wait months and months for availability.

I went with Eibach 1" rear springs and then lowered the front a bit on the Dirt Kings out of the box to maintain a 1" rake front to back. I'm on 285/70/17 with SCS wheels in -10 offset. If you go with a higher lift in the rear (2"), you can run them out-of-the-box for a 2.5" - 3" lift in front, but they're adjustable from 0" - 3" lift.

Like Elka 2.5s, they use a 700-lb. spring, which made me a bit apprehensive since that's fairly high. But they assured me they would ride great. And they were right. The ride quality on-road is a million times better than the stock TRD Pro Fox setup. And the ride off-road is equally amazing, just need to adjust the high-speed/low-speed knobs before hitting the trail.

 

The nice thing about the 4Runner is there are a lot of choices and a lot of different budget options. That said, I second the Elka's. I've been running the 2.5 DC's for a year and a half now with no issues and the ride both on road and off is fantastic.

 

Elka's 2.5 are awesome other than the price. Dobinson IMS I think is the most bang for your buck mid price suspension.

 

That's why I went with Dirt King. They're made in partnership with Elka. But they're local (SoCal) and all support is domestic, plus DK has matching UCAs that are maintenance free. Lead time on the DK setup was like... 6 days.

 

I run Radflo. It is a Southern California company that makes high end quality suspension shocks and coilovers. Very pleased with the ride and performance.

 

Get Bilstein 8112's

 

Surprised nobody is mentioning Fox, King or Accutune since premium setups are an option.

 

I think of King and Fox as over-prices go-fast off road specific suspension. I think of John Bull as a go-slow rock crawling trail. Accutane though, can build either.

 

The dual use of rig off road and daily is why I went 2 speed adjustable. Nice to be able to dial in high and low speed depending where I am driving.

 

Someone mentioned bumper and winch...if those are something you plan on doing, do them when you do the lift and factor them in when selecting the lift as 100+ lb on the front end will cause more sag than stock (factor in skid plate weight too, especially if you go with steel).

 

Depends on what you go with. But good call on taking it into account on the build plans. Elka's come with a 700 lb coil. I did my winch and bumper after the suspension. Rode great without the weight and bumper/winch added.

Rear bumper adding the weight and needing stronger coils is a concern for me. Heavier coils generally make for a stiffer ride.

Surprised nobody has mentioned rear bumper being a problem with departure angle. Only a problem on more challenging trails. Maybe self correcting the trail removing bumper cover solves the problem.

 

That's what the shop told me. Kings are built for going fast. They are little cheaper than ELKAs making them relatively value for money. But I went with best comfort regardless the price tag.

Maybe next time I might try Kings as for the same price as ELKAs I can buy an entire kit including rear springs and UCAs. I know you can pay extra to make shock bodies black but wonder if I get the springs also black (not blue). I like to keep mine looks as it came from factory.

 

I drive in the snow a lot, so Kings was a no-go (steel shock bodies). And 500-550 lb. coils were too soft for what I wanted. Fox was an option, but I couldn't ever reach anybody at Fox to answer a question. I tried calling them every day for about 2 weeks and could never get a live person and they never responded to any emails or voicemails. Bad customer service. I also kept reading/hearing about issues with their DSC adjusters seizing up due to corrosion. I called Accutune to ask and they were pretty tight lipped about it but did concede that it happens and that if I wanted to avoid it happening, I should just avoid Fox. So I did.

 

I would start here to help decide which kind of lift you need/want (progressive/digressive/linear)
https://trail4runner.com/2020/12/18/top-10-5th-gen-4runner-suspension-lift-kits/

There are lots of other articles on that site (and threads on this one) that review the more popular lifts, their use cases, pros/cons of each, etc.

The key to choosing correctly will be research and honesty with yourself about use cases. I really wanted Elka suspension with reservoirs because they seemed to be the "best" in my opinion after research. But they were super expensive compared to other options and due to my trail options, I didn't need reservoirs. I thought progressive shocks would be best fit for me and after a lot of reading and research I landed on Dobinson IMS. I'm very happy with my decision and glad I made a reasoned decision and not an emotional one (saved quite a bit of coin).

 

You don't really have to worry about use cases, just uses. How do you really plan to use your vehicle and the suspension, not so much how you really plan to use case your vehicle and the suspension. Although, you've really already answered that. You're a So Cal wheeler that heads to the local trails

 

In Socal too. Local companies. Icon and Total Chaos. I ran this same setup on my FJ forever. Since you are local, you can have your shocks rebuilt at Icon when that time comes.

 

@OC4X4 Are you missing a portion of your fender liner?

 

Who is this guy??? Fox and kings are top tier.

 

No one of consequence.