Let's Customize a Very Common Limited!

Hi all,
I was planning on sourcing an Underground Limited around MN or to ship, but it just did not work out. We tracked down a very good deal on a Midnight Black Metallic, so I think that is what we will end up with.

My thought is that MBM is so common that it will affect resale. It may never matter as we may hand this down to the kids, but I want to make the best investment possible. There are black 2015 and 2018 Limiteds at our small town (non-Toyota) car dealership sitting on the lot as we speak...

We do need running boards for the kids. This one has the ones with the chrome strip, can that be removed or would I need to change to Nightshade running boards?

What can I do to help make this a unique example? We live on a quite rustic northern Minnesota road so I think I would have needed to change to 17" wheels anyway. My thought is to use the matte black TRD wheels with Falken Wildpeak (SL) tires.

Is there now an option for the Heritage grill on 2020+ Limiteds?

Any other basic items you would recommend to make this typical black Limited unique?

Thanks all! Hopefully I will be sharing a picture of a car you've already seen 1000 times in a few days, but it will be new to us!

BTW: I would have purchased a TRD Pro if it had been offered with the 3rd row seat. With our location I do think full-time 4wd will be handy, that is another reason I felt I had no other option than the Limited although something more off-road oriented would have fit us better. I am bummed that the new LC's cannot use the 3rd row since the hybrid system batteries are there. We need more 3rd row options.

 

Welcome to the forum!

Since you are asking partially for aesthetic advice, I recommend you keep the running boards as is, get some stock ORP 17” rims, and have the tires mounted with white letters out. That would certainly distinguish your Limited from the others in town.

To my knowledge the only option for a heritage grille on a Limited is to do a front bumper swap. That would of course mean swapping the sills and rear bumper to match. A coulple of folks have done it, and had I known it could be done when I bought my ‘22 I might have gone that route instead of getting the ORP, but it’s expensive.

 

If you really want your Limited to stand out, check out @Daytonaviolet's Limited. It went from this:


To this:




The only thing I would have done different than he did is leave the Limited badging, just to mess with people's minds.

 

I agree with Captain Spalding's approach. It's old school but I like white letters out and especially on a darker colored vehicle. Personally, I find the blacked out wheels getting a bit overdone but if you like it, then you do you.
Also consider some take off GX wheels. The latest ones are a bit too busy for me with all the nooks and crevices when they get dirty. I've always liked these I've linked.

https://images.app.goo.gl/xiP6xzpLBXZ5UQBY9

 

Heritage grille for Limiteds can be purchased from CarTrimHome. It’s slightly shorter from top to bottom since the part it covers is shorter than the other trims.

If you want it to be unique, don’t get the black Pro wheels. Of all the “modifications,” black Pro wheels are one of the most common. Get some OR/ORP wheels and powder coat them in a color that’s uncommon. Wrap the chrome or replace it with TRD Sport pieces. Pick a color scheme that you like and think will look good. My Magnetic Grey Metallic Limited is MGM/black/bronze/forest green. MGM being the paint color, black wrapping the chrome and replacement handles, bronze being the wheels, and green as small accents. Wife’s Limited is Nautical Blue/gray/rose gold/red.

 

A color matched Limited is HAWT
I was going to build a white limited and have all the chrome wrapped black or color matched and was looking for the vehicle when Toyota announced the TRD Sport in October 2022 so then i went on the hunt for the TRD Sport.
The TRD Sport is a limited on the outside, that is all color matched. All the chrome is white, plus it has the hood scoop. My opinion is that this is a good look, i really like it. I saw a Nightshade that was wrecked, and the body shop went back and wrapped the black chrome accents with black vinyl and i thought the black stood out better than the black chrome look. That is what i was going to do until i saw the solid color of the TRD Sport.

 

Thanks all for your suggestions and great examples! I absolutely love Nautical Blue. I wish "she" would have gone for that. I was thinking Underground would be a good one since it is 2024 exclusive, but black was by far the best deal.

How difficult is it to black out the front chrome, and does the mod wear well enough for driving every day on a rustic gravel road?

I do think I will either find a way to remove the chrome on the running boards or replace them with the plain black. It's just too much, and it will be down in the dirt all the time anyway.

Wheels are more about practicality for me. We got in the habit of pressure washing out the wheels on our XC90 on a regular basis because they would build up hardened mud and throw off balance. Switching to a 17" will help a lot with that, but the design of the wheel should also make a big difference. The TRD wheels are fairly simple and shouldn't be too hard to clean out when we need to. It's possible with the fatter sidewall that they won't gather mud at all (I don't worry about this at all with our F350 on 37's).

I have seen the CarTrimHome Heritage grill for Limited. Is it a direct match for the OEM with the matte look?

 

Any modification will decrease resale value, not increase. Even people who like to mod want to start with a blank canvas.

I had black cars in the past, they are very difficult to keep clean. As such, consider ceramic coating to help you with that. Or even better, don't go with Black unless you don't mind constant washing.

I find OEM Limited rims too large and the resulting ride too hard (for what should be a cushy SUV). I have a set of 17 inch take-offs with winter tires, the ride is much softer with them on but highway handling is not as crisp.

If they salt roads where you live, strongly consider applying Fluid Film inside the frame rails. Rust is one of the few weak spots for this truck.

 

Yep, we live on a gravel forest road so any color needs to be washed frequently. I drive a white truck and the Volvo we owned was black. We have a silver Suburban 2500. They all need to be washed in order to look clean

Good point on mods affecting resale.

I've heard that. Is there a definitive guide for this, is it something a guy can do or is a lift required?

 

I may just do wheels, but I don't want it to look awkward with off-road wheels and A/T tires plus chrome running boards.

If I do any body modifications, I'd aim to make it look OEM like the car we would have bought: An off-road oriented 4Runner with 3rd row, the nice interior, and full-time 4WD. I don't know why they don't offer this since that's exactly what the Land Cruiser used to be.

 

Very few people could afford old Land Cruiser when they were brand new, a lot more can afford Limited 4Runner. So it is about selling more units.

There is Lexus GX 460 that is probably closed to LC than 4Runner. Personally, I can't stand the fugly Lexus front end design.

 

Hwat?

 

Have you seen a Limited with a small lift and tires? They look pretty bangin.

You described a 4runner. You can get an SR5 and others in 3rd row, your limited with 3rd row is VERY capable of going offroad. Do you really need AWD? Can you not stop and put it in 4wd when needed? I am happy you have a 4runner, i think you will soon see it will go places, and do things that you likely are not aware its capable of. My daily driver is a 2008 with the TRD limited slip in the rear, i have a small lift and a nice set of tires and i go ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE i have the nuts to point it towards. Snow, Ice, Sleet, Mud, Hills, it climbs up over around and goes thru anything i have ever asked it to do. Cross country trips and drive into a snow storm, cars and 18wheelers all stopped and i am still driving 60+, sleet and ice storms where the road is solid ice and hundreds of vehicles are in the ditches and medians and i am in 4wd high doing 30+ without a care in the world. Climbing 3/1 slopes without worry, these vehicles will go practically anywhere you are willing to point the front end towards.

 

IMO the Limited Trim looks fantastic from the factory. I would just do personal touches to make it stand out from all the others. For me, those touches would be:

- black out or color match chrome accents
- maybe a Prinsu rack or something along those lines
- maybe some ditch lights, could be useful for you on your back country roads or even just for looks

Something about the Limited ground effects, to me, don't look good with chunky tires. It looks lowered due to the ground effects compared to an off-road or other trim level. I think Toyota nailed the 'complete package' so to say with the Limited.

 

Mine was transformed from this


to this, without too much trouble.

 

I don't know if it is Xreas or rims, but 4Runner Limited does a poor job absorbing small bumps and potholes. I should not be feeling impact of 1 inch or less pothole through my seat, yet I do. I have driven many SUVs over the same roads - Mercedes, Subaru and Lexus and can directly compare. My 2024 4Runner Limited 100% stock is on a harsher side of ride quality of any similarly-sized SUV. Interestingly, my 4Runner does much better when I swap in winter tires on 17 inch take-off rims. I don't think 4Runner Limited has any progressive dampening - you get the dampening rate you get from the start. Consequently, the ride quality is notably improved when tires with larger sidewall installed.

I have a lot of bad paved roads around where I live, I was unpleasantly surprised how much stuff rattles in the 4Runner cabin. Almost as much as in my sports car on performance tires (with adjustable suspension on soft).

 

Xreas. It’s a sport suspension. One of ours still has Xreas with taller sidewalls than the one with Dobinsons. The Dobinsons rides better. More floaty and you don’t feel every road imperfection

 

Love the look of the lift with the 17s, but I always have a hard time replacing suspension/ tires before there’s an actual need - sometime it takes my wife reminding me that 10x before I back off the “I want to do the tires/ suspension ledge”.

personally, I think it’s better to enjoy it as designed until it’s actually time to replace it - did this with my 2nd gen Tacoma and no regrets waiting (unfortunately, that also helped me justify spending a stupid amount of money on the lift, but all of it needed to be done at 120k with stock off road suspension). If you have a need (moderate to “extreme” off roading), then I think it makes sense. But again, yours does look super good/ well done - not arguing against that.

to the OP, if you plan on keeping it a decent amount of time (5-10 years), it will be far more uncommon than it is now. More about how well you take care of it in the meantime.

 

So true. I appreciate how it was originally engineered, and would prefer to use those parts as-is. I'd only do wheels/tires if our road demands it.

Anyone have a picture of a bone stock black Limited with chrome running boards and 17's (TRD gunmetal/black, trail, anything OEM)?

And you're right, we need to take good care of it. We will either keep it "forever" or sell/trade for a more off-road oriented 4R/LC once we no longer need the 3rd row.

I see people doing PPF, ceramic, etc., which body treatments would best preserve a rig being driven routinely on gravel?

 

im getting Xpel full ppf and ceramic done next week (300 miles/ got it in early August). It’s probably one of the most unnecessary things I’ve done money wise but I plan to keep it forever and I enjoy keeping my vehicles in as good as shape as I can. Door dings/ parking scrapes drive me f’king nuts and the only way I’ll be able to use/ enjoy it is if it’s protected. Shit might still happen but it is what it is at that point.

My Tacoma has accumulated a decent amount of door dings over the past 9 years (and scratches from off-roading that are on me) - but it’s also a truck/ used for more truck things bc of the bed. I view the 4Runner more as an overland/ highly capable road trip, daily driver vehicle

 

I don't liken a Limited 4Runner to a Land Cruiser. What I mean is this: Land Cruiser is unabashedly off-road prepared, there isn't an "on road edition" like Limited. TRD Pro has all the interior niceties (funny enough, but for us, things like auto headlights matter when juggling 4 kids, business, etc.) so if it only came with a 3rd row, I would be purchasing that right now. That's all I am saying, our everyday life requires off-road capability (this is why we have a huge F350 with 37's that seats 6, it would be quite handy if we had an emergency and the road was washed out or hadn't been plowed), but we also value and benefit from the FT-4WD and nice features in the Limited interior.

(agreed on the Lexus design, whereas 4Runner and LC's of all gens are excellent designs)

 

The on road version of the 200 series LC is the LX.

Sounds like swapping the bumper covers would do what you’re looking for. We too bought Limiteds for full time 4WD. Wife’s is staying how it is. Mine is getting the front cover swapped. Rear bumper was replaced with full steel already so cover doesn’t need to be swapped.

We are also swapping interiors so she gets the 3 row and I get the 2 row. That is an option if you want the Pro with part time 4WD. Could find an SR5P with a third row they don’t want and swap it. Same softex interiors.

 

Looks great. This is essentially all I'd like to do -- a mild lift (not for appearances, but for practicality to get further up off of the gravel road), and 17" wheels for safety, compliance, durability, and reduced tire cost. I'd aim for the end result to look OEM, just the 4Runner variant I would have bought if it had existed.

Is the tire circumference essentially identical to stock, so your speedometer/odometer reads the same?

What lift kit did you use, and did it affect stock handling at all?

 

this is what I did. I talk in details the things I changed from the stock package they offer and ride comfort and what not.
https://youtu.be/Xrp-LYkTLf8?feature=shared

 

That's awesome -- for me, I plan on keeping the stock setup. I am hoping I can just lift the front maybe 1" or so to get some more clearance from the gravel road.

 

That would be great. If I can do this some day and build a TRD Pro with 3rd row, I will do it. I wonder if it's possible to buy the parts, or if there would have to be a donor?

 

Yep. I missed out on a 4Runner with factory PPF so I have been looking at it. What is a reasonable cost for PPF, what parts are you doing, and what are you having to pay for ceramic (I know this is a loaded question since there are so many vendors)?

 

I love my Limited - and really had no interest in the other trims. So of course, the first thing I did was start thinking of ways to make it like the other trims. Seriously though, I have other trucks that play in the dirt; this one will live a very easy, 99% pavement-bound existence. And that's IF I keep it.

Because this truck was bought with the expectation that it may only be around a year or so, I definitely don't want to throw money at it that won't come back, or worse, reduce the value. So for now, it's just a set of gunmetal TRD wheels and some KO2s. The Escalade wheels and tires just had to go.

 

Haha! For the record, I love it too. I just know it's not an ideal setup for our location. The idea is to protect it as well as possible from rocks on the gravel road, and make sure we have the traction we need.

If someone can suggest a method to lift the front just to level front-to-back without affecting stock handling, then I will be set.

I will most likely do just what you did, gunmetal 17's and some tires.

 

I love the black TRD rims that I put on my gray/silver LE, but I am kicking myself now for not going gunmetal.