What the best performance upgrade for my 2021 4runner?

Hmmm, maybe from a redlight that's the entrance ramp to a highway? That's at least once every day for me. My Runner does just fine, even starting out at almost 6000 feet. It's a body on frame, 4x4 truck, it's not a 911. Feels great to me. I mash the pedal and tell my beautiful wife with a coy smile that it's in Sports Mode (tm). I drive it like a 4Runner, not like a 4Runner that I'm expecting to perform like something else. I can almost see my Runner smile when the tach gets above 3K. Kinda like, "Wind it up - let's go!" 0-60 in a little over 7 seconds is a pretty good time for a truck that can also be submerged almost 2 feet and survive. Try that in your Firebird.

What hills are you trying to climb? Everest? I've had mine on passes well over 10000 feet here in Colorado, and even stock geared on 285's I have no problems accelerating at 70+ up the hills. Yeah, the engine is revving. The engine/tranny is working in accordance to how it was designed. And it works very well for it's purpose. Oh the horror, it downshifts. Learn how to drive the Runner according to it's design. Or just sell the damn thing and let it go to a home that appreciates it's capabilities, and not focus on it's (supposed) faults.

This isn't all directed specifically at you Trail Runnah. I've grown tired of reading these bitch threads. Too slow, brakes suck, headlights are weak, the paint is thin, gas mileage SUCKS. Boring and whiny. If a Runner doesn't meet expectations vs. design, then someone didn't do their due diligence properly or thoroughly before buying. Or set unrealistic expectations. The 5th gen has been in the market for 10 years now, and is a fairly well known quantity. There's plenty of info, from real owners, on how the truck performs in the real world. Just look at this or the "other" forum for real owners thoughts and experiences. Even better, drive it in real world situations and not just a quick lap around the block before buying it. It's not the truck's fault. Cheers.

 

Best performance upgrade I’ve found is the Pedal Commander.

No, it doesn’t increase HP. No, it won’t decrease your 0-60 time.

But for every day normal driving it increases the throttle input lower in the pedal travel, and absolutely gives it a MUCH better throttle feel as the lag is taken out.

Less than $300 too. Exhaust / CAI / etc will only net negligible HP extremely high in the RPM range. I rarely drive up there, so having a much more responsive driving experience where I spend 99% of driving is preferable to me.

Signed,
Guy who traded in his 14 Jeep SRT w/ suspension and exhaust upgrades on a 4R.

 

Same for me with Sprint booster. Everyday driving does have more zip to it

 

New members with no posts are allowed to start a thread? SMH.
4 more pages of a 10 year debate that has raged on since the demise of the 2UZ option. And even that wasn't a race car.

 

The 2uz 4runners were slower than the 1GR dual VVT-I ones. they did have more torque, though. I loved mine!

 

Amen from another Colorado driver. I could not have said it better.

 

LOL at all the people saying the 4R is slow.

My first car was a 91 Civic Hatch. I don't think that 90hp POS could go faster than 55.

 

Pffft. That's a Formula 1 compared to what I had to drive. I had to go around the block three times just to get it to 30 mph. Sounded like
a chainsaw and smelled like one too. 1967 Saab 95, with a three on the tree, and a three cylinder, two stroke engine. Mine had the optional
oil injector. I think the engine made 38 hp. At sea level. Brand new. Mine looked just like this except it had black wheels instead of red.



Info:
https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1967-saab-95-3~cyl._

 

That Saab is stylin

I had a 91 Civic hatch. First new car I ever bought. Really impressively well built thing for the price. The 16-valve four felt and sounded so precise. As if as much engineering went into that engine as in the engines in most luxury cars of the day. I don't actually recall how fast I ever took it on the highway, but I definitely don't recall it having trouble at highway speeds (of course, back then almost all roads had a 55 MPH limit, so you weren't often doing more than 65 anyway).

Here's a link to a nice story about that car:

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/videos/a31018/1991-honda-civic-hatch-regular-review/
"The EF Civic embodied the values that made Honda great: basic, affordable transportation, built to the highest quality possible."

Speaking of speed, I was out running errands in my Limited last night and said to myself, "You know, self, a lot o folks on that Runner forum thing complain that the vehicle is sloooow. Let's give it some gas and see how it goes..." So I did. And it done went good.

Call me crazy, but I even liked the sound of the motor as it revved up toward redline. Sounded darn good to me.

And remember folks, I've had BMWs, a GTI, a WRX...

I like this Toyota 4.0.

 

This guy unlocked the secrets to making the 4Runner fast

https://youtu.be/OolDF6wDv0M

 

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, now if I could only find the dang B and A buttons…..