X-REAS

Good day everyone. I am a first time user of the forum. Questions on my 2016 4Runner Limited with X-REAS, and no I am not bitching just seeking information and input. I have a little over 110 thousand miles and dealer showed me both frt shocks leaking/seeping. Quote for just the two front with OEM was $1800 with the provision that next repair to system would require system replacement to the tune of "somewhere" over $5500. NOT normal maintenance to me. They did say that I could just go with regular truck shocks for half that price. I have no complaints on ride comfort, it is wonderful but will I be sacrificing comfort and control by doing so? All my driving is street and a lot of highway. If there are no other alternatives than the OEM system to maintain that ride quality then I guess that's what I will do, but that kind of expense is a little hard to swallow. I would appreciate your input. Thank's a bunch.

 

Many aftermarket lift kits will improve the ride quality or at least keep it the same, depending on what combination springs and shocks you use. And you don’t have to lift it that much if you don’t want to.

If you do go with regular shocks, ride quality won’t suffer much but you will notice more body roll and diving on braking.

 

I'm a big fan of XREAS but the replacement cost is simply bonkers. It's not that complicated of a system, so I don't get why it has to cost so much. Or why there aren't aftermarket replacements. But maybe that's all connected -- demand is too low to make it profitable for an aftermarket manufacturer, so Toyota has no competition and can charge whatever.

Anyway, as much as I love it there's no chance I'm gonna spend 5K to replace mine when it eventually dies. It's almost a matter of principle.

That said, I'm not convinced there are shocks out there that are as effective at reducing body roll and brake dive, both of which are almost non existent with XREAS -- an amazing feat for a truck like this. I'm sure you could do it with much stiffer springs, but then you've caused issues with the ride quality, right? Maybe shocks with piggyback reservoirs would do the trick?

 

As per my 4x4 shop Toytec ELKA 2.5DC is the most comfortable suspension but imo it is not comfy on-road as XREAS. They are crazy comfy on trails. So I think all this lift kits focus on trails not on road. ELKA are $4000 just front coilovers + rear shocks. So if you add rear springs + uca + diff drop + extended brake lines (because they are extended travel), bump stop,.. you are looking at $$$$ yet on-road comfort is not matched to XREAS.

 

If your interested, im selling my xreas suspension front and back. Pulled them off at 600 miles before swapping to Toytec coilovers.

 

2011 Limited

I replaced my leaking XREAS with Bilstein 5100 shocks, stock springs, but I did replace the spring top hats and bushings in the front. I couldn't be happier with the ride quality, and I think its actually an improvement. I drive mostly (around 90%) on road with lots of highway miles.

I was in the same position as you about month ago, and the dealer gave me the same 2 options of paying $5K or going to standard shocks. Get Bilstein 5100s and call it day. I'm telling you, it will be just as comfortable, have less body roll, and should cost around $1K or less installed with an alignment. The Bilstein shocks are height adjustable in the front, and I set mine one notch up from the stock height (.85"), which is about 1" higher at the bumper and wheel-well. It doesnt change ride quality but reduces the forward rake a bit.

Search for reviews of Bilstein 5100 shocks on 4Runners, and you will see tons of great reviews.

 

I second the 5100 option. I replaced both leaky front X-REAS and they failed again 6 years later. The set up clearly wasn't designed to last. Just ditch the faulty system.

 

I removed my xreas on my 16 limited and replaced it with kings. Huge improvement of both ride firmness and higher stance.