Eibach pro truck lift, Ironman UCA's and Firestone Destination X/T 285/70/17 tires

After 3+ years of ownership, I finally have my T4R sitting the way I want. I picked up the Eibach pro truck lift and Ironman UCA's while they were still selling around $600 years ago and installed them last year. The difference in appearance and handling is incredible, it sits pretty level with a slight rake, no more nosedive when braking or body roll around turns, a very pleasant and tight ride IMO. Also, the steering wheel shake around 55-60 mph that Toyota had been unable to fix went away after the lift and UCA's, this was on the stock tires.

I considered the JBA UCA's as they looked great for the price, but the owner at JBA confirmed they would rub with 285's unless I used spacers or changed to wheels with a different offset. I like the stock wheels so I went with the Ironman UCA's instead. They look very sturdy and appear to be well made.

I finally wore out my stock tires and just had the Firestone X/T tires (285/70/17) installed at Costco. There is no rubbing at all, even when turning at full lock going forward or in reverse and compressing the suspension. I'll have to see how it does off road and fully flexed but it looks like I will be in the clear. I did not notice any difference in handling, acceleration and braking feel unchanged.

I went back and forth on which tires to buy and it was between the KO2 or Wildpeak AT3 until I came across a great deal on the Firestone X/T's. There is not much information on these tires out there, at least on 4runners, but the reviews I could find were all positive, especially in wet weather and snow which was high on the list for me. They are only 50lbs each and have a 50k mile tread warranty. Costco had them for $258.99 and offered free mounting/balancing which I felt was a good deal.

Just wanted to show what this setup looks like in case anyone else out there was considering a similar setup. Next I will be saving up for rock sliders and skid plates. I absolutely love this truck and plan to keep it in our household for as long as I live.

 

Did the x/t tires balance good(not much weight)...how does it ride with e rated tires?

 

These balanced with 2-3 oz of weight. One had 2oz and the others were around 2.5-3oz. From what I hear, the rule is no more than one oz per 13 lbs of tire. Since these weigh 50lbs I am within that guideline. The lower weight was one of the things that made this tire appealing to me. Even though it is an E rated tire, it weighs in like a KO2 C load. The KO2 E load are 58lbs, the Falken AT3/W E load are just a tad more.

I was really close to buying the KO2's since they look amazing and are good off road. However, I had a set of them years ago on a Cherokee Sport and they broke free in the rain quite a bit, especially once they wore down. I live in FL where we get crazy rain all summer and like to road trip where there is snow, so the wet/snow ratings on the Firestone appealed to me. I hear the Falkens are also great in the bad weather. Plus the KO2s and Falkens were over $300 per tire and I was buying 5.

It rides great in my opinion, I really could not tell the difference compared to stock. Acceleration and braking felt the same to me. I will have to see if I take a hit in the MPG department, I anticipate that I will. I have been consistently getting 20 MPG on the stock setup which I think is great for a truck with a somewhat antiquated drive train. I believe the factory Dunlops weigh in at around 40lbs so I really did not want to go much over 50lbs.

Overall, I am very happy with the purchase and as long as these wear well and live up to the good reviews I found online about them, I would buy them again. I used to steer clear of Firestone (Owned by Bridgestone) after the Ford Explorer disasters in the 90's where they were exploding and causing deadly crashes. However, it appears they have not had issues like that since.

 

I remember that firestone explorer bull shit.

I've been eyeing up the xt in size 255 75 17 (c rated and 40 lbs) but I've also been eyeing up the maxxis razr at.

 

Did you go the the Eibach stage 1 or stage 2 adjustable suspension? Looks fantastic by the way!

 

Oh yes, that is another good size for these trucks, a tiny bit thinner and taller. I don't think you can go wrong there. The weight is basically stock weight.

 

Thank you! This was stage 1, before stage 2 even existed. But all the feedback was positive and the price was right. I almost went with the Old Man Emu Kit since they are venerable and proven, but they seem to have a rep for sagging eventually. But OME are hard to beat for a real off road lift kit that functions as advertised for a reasonable price. If I do it again in the future, I would go Eibach (or OME) adjustable, because, why not?

 

Congrats! Looks great!

I too am on the Eibach and Firestone program and am very happy

 

Would you mind getting more photos when you have time. Front (curious on ground clearance appearance) and back at least. I have a very similar set up but went with Ironman all the way around. I love it! I just can’t get over the feeling for some reason my ground clearance didn’t go up much (haven’t measured yet) but by looking at others in person mine doesn’t seem to be where it should be. Also I’m currently running 265s and am trying to find what 285 I want when they wear out so your write up helped thanks!

 

Congratz..

This is my style too. Lift with the factory look.

Also why I love TRD Offroad wheels, within spec to run 285s and haven't had wheel balance issues.

I love to see you still have mud flaps. They really help from rock chips hitting the body.

 

Thank you! I did read many of your posts over the last couple years as I was saving up for the parts and I almost went with your same setup since I did not want to replace my UCA's at first. It is great that you were able to fit the 285 Firestones with less lift in the front. Your truck looks great as well!

 

Sure, here are a few more I took along with one on stock tires after the lift (but I have a trailer attached which is bringing the back down a little). I tried to get some pics from the side with a ruler but they were not coming out right due to the angle. Hopefully these help you a bit. Which Ironman lift did you go with? The Eibach was very accurate as far as advertised lift. I do have a slight lean towards the drivers side but I'll address that someday.

 

Oh yes, I think the TRD OR wheels are perfect, and they have valve stem protection built in. They look great on almost any Toyota truck IMO. I was glad there was no interference with the mud flaps, but I was prepared to mod them to work if I had to. I think some of the other 285 tires run larger than these so some people do have issues with that and rubbing in the front.

 

thanks! Haven’t had a chance to go through it but I wanted to answer your at least. I got the Ironman nitro gas stage 2 3in suspension lift

 

Thank you! I'm glad you're happy with the set-up.

 

Was there a big difference in your 265 to 385 tires ie appearance ground clearance? I really wanna get bigger tires but not sure it’s worth the money

 

The ground clearance is not really all that noticeable. The 285's are only about an inch larger only adding 1/2 of clearance (and I think these Firestones run a little smaller than some other 285 options). They are not quite an inch wider, but visibly, they certainly fill out the wheel wells more. With the lift, I think these tires look better than when I was on stock tires (like in the picture above with the dirt bike). However, I have seen many people on the forums running stock sized tires with a more aggressive tread and it looks great.

 

What do the 285 xts measure when installed under the weight of the vehicle?

 

I too went with the Eibach lift (stage 1). The front adjustable spring clips were set too high by the installer so I now need to have them readjusted to level things out and get rid of the reverse rake. I have the TRD Pro rims with BFG KO2s 265/70/17 but will be upgrading to 285s after the front end adjustment. According to all sources 4runner there should be no tire rubbing issues with the lift.

 

Front end and overall clearance much improved over stock...but this is coming from a LimitedAdditional mods coming soon....

 

I too found through research they shouldn’t rub, finally decided last week to upgrade to the 285s. THEY RUB! I have a 3in suspension lift from ironman4x4

 

to explain a bit more than, they rub! I believe they may be possibly rubbing due to the mud flaps. I know my first instinct….. we’ll take em off! This is actually my wife’s vehicle that she wanted modded out this way and for whatever reason won’t part with the mud flaps. Secondly, initially I only noticed the running when cutting hard in reverse. Then I noticed it say going up hill and cutting to the right and in other instances I.e turning on loose gravel.
I have not had time to visually and physically inspect to see if the flaps are the reason or not, but I was highly disappointed. However, my wife loves the new tires and the flaps and doesn’t mind the rubbing, and it’s not bad enough to tear anything up. I’ll attach some photos for reference, as well as photos of mine with 265 and then 285 for you to compare. Call me crazy…. I actually liked the 265 look better for some reason ‍♂️.

 

Above is 265s, tried to play with lighting on wheel well to better show the amount between tire and car.

 

285s

 

If they made more 275 tires they would be perfect. The 265 tires look small and the 285s rub if you don’t have the Offroad wheel. Did you get max caster from your alignment?

 

I sure did!

 

any thoughts or theory’s?


QUOTE="HarrisNC, post: 382776, member: 21571"]If they made more 275 tires they would be perfect. The 265 tires look small and the 285s rub if you don’t have the Offroad wheel. Did you get max caster from your alignment?[/QUOTE]

 

I don’t remember seeing what your caster was, on my 17 Offroad I had 3.5 caster and 1.75 front lift. I had more than enough room for, but I had the Offroad wheels and NO mud flaps. If you want to keep the mud flaps you’d have to get closer more caster and trim the bumper.

 

This is correct. If you're rubbing on the mudflap, your caster needs to be pushed forward. Shouldn't be a problem since you have UCA's.

 

Can you clarify this for me "The 265 tires look small and the 285s rub if you don’t have the Offroad wheel" ?

I have a TRD ORP with the standard OR wheels (no spacers) and I am trying to decide between 285 vs 275. I have Eibach stage 2 front sitting around 2.75 of lift and no UCAs. Right now I am hesitant to trimming the front wheel well and the mud flaps. Are you saying with an OR wheel in most cases you will be clear to run 285s?