What the best performance upgrade for my 2021 4runner?

Good luck on the test I hear it’s quite difficult

 

Aeh, no. It doesn’t. It’s slow as molasses no matter how hard you “smash”. It’s just so able to join traffic on a freeway safely, but that’s the best that can be said about it.

 

Yeah, barely. Of course it can "accelerate" and slow down, otherwise it would be stationary. It's slow at both. Every single car or truck I've ever driven was faster, oh yeah, maybe that 50HP 1978 Volkswagen bully was slower. But hell, 1990s diesel Sprinter vans were faster. At least when not packed to the brim.

Speed or braking is not something to write home about with the 4Runner. The engine might be capable enough, but the transmission and drive ratio is complete and utter garbage.

 

You must have gotten an inferior specimen, mine picks up speed just fine, and the shifting is fine also. Before i got my runner i drove a 2004 Ram SRT-10 daily for 9 yrs.

 

That's the thing, you have to drive it like you hate it. Foot to the floor it goes, kind of, but not many people drive like that. I HATE that. No other vehicle I've owned has required such a heavy foot. Then the motor revs way the hell up, where it sounds like garbage. The 4 liter is BY FAR the worst thing about the 4R.

 

These debates seem to pop up every few months.

It must be relative to other vehicles you've owned.

I have 0 complaints about speed. I'm on C rated 285's and constantly hauling over 500# of armor and tools, and have no problem accelerating, merging, passing, or whatever. I have never thought it was underpowered.

I wonder if it's more of the younger crowd that feels it's underpowered? Folks who have never driven a car that was actually slow.

I'm not trying to fuel the fire, just curious..

I've owned around 10 vehicles, and most of them were slower than this 4runner. Granted, none if them have been fast. But, the only one I really felt was slow was my '94 4runner. And, even then, I just accepted that it was slow, and drove accordingly.

 

I’d suggest going to the local 4-rings shop, write a check for an SQ7, drive off with a mad hp SUV.

 

If someone bought a 4R for speed and slot car performance... there in lies the mistake.

 

As the OP (RockinB) hasn’t responded I say this was asked to get everyone talking... One last thing from me on this thread.

If you spent X amount of $ to buy a 4Runner and you didn’t test drive it or do your research before buying one then that was your mistake and no one else’s. Feel free to sell to someone (who hopefully will appreciate the vehicles off-road capabilities). Not to talk about myself but I believe this applies to most 4Runner owners... I first bought the vehicle for its reliability, I also bought this vehicle because I wanted a vehicle where I could go where I can reach the end of trails, explore, see scenic views I have never seen before, not be limited to the pavement, but is so reliable that it will last me 300k+ miles with just general maintenance (upgrades for even more potential routes to take, or maybe fixing what I destroyed from the trails (not the fault of the vehicle).

Go have fun, explore, slow down, enjoy life. I am 34 years old but have learned life in the fast lane is limited to tracks (unless done illegally), I am not racing to my death but enjoying that which is around me. We have good people on this forum that enjoy the 4Runner not for the speed but because it can go where not many other stock vehicles can.

I bought mine over a jeep because it had a 3rd row option. I can’t fit all my kids in a Jeep ( legally that is), but in a 4Runner I could and my entire family gets to go on trails and see new places.

So RockinB if you really own a 4Runner then I hope you enjoy life in the middle to slow lane (depending on mods), if you want a race car I would recommend sell your 4Runner (again if you truly have one) and go that route but know that the speed limit applies to you too... I have had no problem getting to 90 mph but it takes a little. Not like my crotch rocket that I had for sure, but I am done with that life. It was fun for sure and still don’t mind jumping on one every now and again.

 

What's funny is that the 4runner is actually faster than some of it's competition.



And, out of curiosity I looked up the statistics on a diesel Sprinter van. I didn't find specs for a '90's Sprinter, but in 2007 it ran 0-60 in 14.8 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 19.4 seconds. So, no.. They were NOT faster than the 4runner.

 

I'm actually considering it. Just not sure what I'd replace it with.

 

Funny that somebody wants to speed around in a 4Runner, just drive it with the pure excitement of owning a kick ass truck. I look at mine every day and really appreciate it for what it is, just really cool. I’ve had two really nice BMWs, 5 series and a 3 series diesel 3 litre V6 monster, but neither made me smile as much as my 4Runner.

 

Ram TRX. If this doesn’t have enough HP for you buy a Tesla with ludicrous button. It’s a 4Runner not an F1 car.. maybe Ferrari F1... as they suck... for the past 10 years.

 

Facts? Fake news.

 

Probably looked up the slowest one there is. 212 was a hell of a lot quicker to drive empty than the 4Runner I have here.

And of course it’s compared to other vehicles I’ve driven or owned. Say a 2020 Defender 110 with the 6 cylinder engine. I’m not even comparing it to my other car because that just makes no sense.

And no, I couldn’t care less how fast the thing is. I don’t have it for speed. It’s a snail, so what. But if you think ANY performance mod will make this thing feel quick, just forget it. It’s the wrong base for this.

 

Well, I hardly believe they were much faster in the 90's than they were in 2007. The comment just reminded me of when another member said his Jeep Liberty was faster, when it turned out to be significantly slower. I would love to see any road test results showing a Sprinter van beating a 7.3 0-60 time.

I am not sure who your last comment is directed at, but I have no interest in trying to make mine fast. It moves just fine for what it is.

 

And that’s the thing: it’s slow as hell, but for what it is I don’t care about fast either. It’s just plain stupid to put “performance mods” on something like a 4Runner.

 

Well, we agree on that!

I have no interest in racing anyone in the 4runner. Most of the things I bought it for require driving slow, or very slow. But, it does have enough power to have fun screwing around on the beach.

 

If it’s so slow sell it to me I’ll take it off your hand
the used price for a Toyota slug that can’t out run a sprinter van is $20.
Do you have PayPal I’m ready now

 

There's always the new Hellcat Durango

 

Did you ever notice that most 60 degree engines sound like crap? I'm thinking Toyota 4.0L is a 60 degree engine.....right? The sound reminds me of the old S-10's with the 60 degree v-6, the newer S-10's had 90degree v-6's, my 2000 S-10(90 degree v-6) sounds fine when ya get on it, not so much the 4.0L Toyota!

 

I agree the power sucks. The fact that there is no back up sensor sucks too but I bought the 4runner for overall reliability and not power or backup sensors. If it comes down to it I'll trade it in for a Tundra or Tacoma TRD.

 

I came over from a Tacoma TRD OR, I'll stick with the 4Runner, Not a buy for power or backup sensors like you said!

 

Me too as I ditched the 17 TRDOR because of the issues with it and got the 19 T4R then the fuel pump BS sent me into the 21 T4R

 

It’s 4 rings and it’s the RSQ8 you want

 

Wait a minute, you actually got rid of a 2019 4Runner and bought a 2021 4Runner... because there was a fuel pump recall?

 

Yep, I sure did they could not get my 19 fixed until May and was sitting on the back lot since they could not release it back to me.

 

This forum has plenty of former 3rd gen Tacoma owners who ditched them to buy a 4R. Don't count on one of those to be a performance upgrade from a 4R if you don't like it.