Eibach 2R Install - '23 ORP w/KDSS

Hey guys, I purchased an Eibach 2R lift kit on Black Friday. Looking to install it myself, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist. So I'd like to layout my plan after doing my research, and make sure I'm not missing anything before I get started. Planning on 2.25"-2.5" front lift, and 1" rear, and using stock UCAs.

I plan on following Exit Offroad's KDSS lean and front strut removal instructions:

• https://exitoffroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/KDSS-Instructions-4Runner-Exit-Offroad.pdf (Not sure if needed, but sounds like a good precautionary step.)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC33zcI9mXY (This looks to be the easiest method for the front.)

I also got Dr KDSS front sway bar end adapters and bushing brackets.

• https://drkdss.com/collections/kdss/products/kdss-front-sway-bar-end-adapters
• https://drkdss.com/collections/kdss/products/kdss-bushing-bracket

And I bought SumoSprings bump stops:

• https://www.superspringsinternational.com/shop/ssf-604-40/ (Front)
• https://www.superspringsinternational.com/shop/ssr-623-40/ (Rear)

Questions:

• Do I need to think about shorty BOTCK or KDSS drop spacers? I'm thinking not needed with this small lift, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
• Am I missing anything, or sounds like a solid plan?

Thanks in advance for your input. Once I have it installed, I'll upload pics, and then planning on some 255/80R17 Ridge Grapplers.

 

I also have a 23 ORP with KDSS. I'm interested in getting the same Eibach lift kit you have, but haven't pulled the trigger on purchasing it yet. I want to do a smaller 2" lift in the front but also 1" in the rear. I emailed Dom at Dr. KDSS if sway bar end adapters+bushing brackets and BOTCK are needed at the lift height I want and this is what he said:

No trac bar kit needed at that height and yes you can just use the bushing brackets but if those shocks are extended travel. You won’t get the full down travel with out the adapters.

Dom Ruangnol
Drkdss.com
Sent from IPhone

So yes, you are right, no track bar needed for 1" rear lift.
Looking forward to seeing pics once installed!

 

My 23 is not the KDSS so I can't address any of your questions. But I do have the Eibach 2R and it's one of the best changes I've made.

I set mine in the front @2" for the reason in this video. It's worth watching if also having maximum articulation is your goal. This guy knows his stuff. The quick data is at 8:07

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1tTelhdEiM&t=523s

 

I have the eibach stage 2r along with kdss. Lifted 2.25”-2.5” front, 1” rear. I also got the dr kdss sway bar end adaptor and bracket which I did not need, so I’m saving them incase I want to lift higher. Installed them but not like that video you posted, didn’t touch the kdss shutter valves or the disconnect the front kdss parts. Rears I removed the kdss that was connected to the axle.

 

I just installed these Eibach Stage 2 coilovers and measured lift height right after installation was 3.75 inches! Did you find they were set this high out the box in your case? I would like a final height of 2-2.25". In your experience did you give it some time to settle and lower a bit on its own or should I go ahead and adjust them down to my preferred height now?

 

I'd set the height to about 1/4" high than what you want. After it's been on a while it will settle in to the height you want. This way you only have to adjust once.....hopefully. I wanted a 2" height and set it there. A few weeks later I needed to adjust one more time because after it settled in, it came down about 1/4".

 

It was high when I first installed it, I had to adjust it down. Mine did not settle in my experience, at least not to where my eyes can notice.

 

Go ahead and adjust them down, if you want to keep a slight rake, adjust it until it is 1” or 2” lower than the rears, recheck after a month or 2. I set mine my front 1.5” lower than the front.

 

Thanks for the info @Rob41 and @Rott4r. I for some reason assumed there would be more settling so I didn't lower the coil overs enough. When I tried to reconnect the sway bar to the LCA the bolt holes did not match up with the bushing bracket. I thought I was going to have to use the Dr. KDSS adapter plates. Fortunately, once I lowered to the desired 2.25" of lift, the bracket holes lined up better. I did replace the OEM bushing bracket with the Dr. KDSS bushing bracket. This definitely helped with the slight misalignment of the bolt holes still present. But now I have a set of brand new Dr. KDSS adapter plates I'm not going to use.

 

When I installed mine, I didn’t touch the front kdss, left them all attached. passenger side I used a pry bar to get the coilover into place, removed the driver side and jacked up the lower control arm slightly and it made the passenger lower control arm move down than I put the lower bolt thru the strut. Driver slipped right in without a fight. I also bought the dr kdss bracket and adapters which I did not need, can always use them if I decide to lift it higher or when the eibachs get old I can get a different set up. Don’t forget to adjust your headlights if you havnt yet, turning the screwdriver clockwise moves it down, counter clockwise moves it up. What do you think of the eibachs overall?

 

I watched a few Youtube videos where they used a pry bar or even a 2x4 to push the LCA down far enough to get the coilover in. They looked like they had a really hard time doing it this way so I decided to disconnect the sway bar instead and go the route of unbolting the LCA from the lower ball joint. I did not see the guys in the videos jack up the LCA to move the other side down so that may be the difference. I intended to change to the Dr. KDSS bushing bracket in order to prevent any binding so the sway bar had to be disconnected anyways in my case.
Changing to this Eibach setup is definitely a worthy upgrade. The ride feels more secure and stable. Braking feels more confident as the nose dive has been greatly reduced. So far so good on the road. I still need to take it off road! Didn't even think about the headlights, thanks for the tip.

 

That’s not a bad idea, installing the bracket to prevent binding. Maybe I will install the bracket and adapter for that reason, I also have the outer sway bar clamps that I need to install. Every 4Runner will be different, some people can step on the caliper and it will move the lca down enough. Even with alignment, I’ve read 4runners with 2”-2.5” lift can get caster in spec, that was not the case with mine. After I got the Ironman uca my caster is now in spec. Guess you can’t believe everything you read on forums until you do it yourself to find out the real answer. Seems everyone that has eibach are having good experience, which is good, shows that they’re consistent. No prob on the tip, I didn’t adjust my fog lights tho, I have the diode dynamic fog lights and didn’t feel like adjusting them. And Yup take it off road and enjoy it now.

 

Here’s a before and after…




Should mention this is the Stage 2 kit, not the 2R.

 

Just curious, how far off was the alignment after install? I have this kit, installation looks straightforward enough to do at home, but is it driveable after without immediately taking it for alignment? I

think I'm going to need new LCAs in order for it to be aligned (I'm pretty sure cam bolts are frozen), but I do not want to do that job at home.

 

To be honest, I just finished the install a few days ago and haven’t had the chance to get an alignment yet. I plan on getting it done this weekend. I did drive the truck to work yesterday and today (7 miles each way) and have not noticed anything of great concern.

 

Looks real good! Perfect stance. What size tires are you running? I have stock size Mickey Thomson Baja boss a/t. Got wheels and tires before I lifted it, going to wait until these wear out then go 285/70/17.

 

Mine was drivable after the lift. No pull or anything. Then when I went to do the alignment, that’s when I saw my caster and toe was out. I drove with the caster being out for a month or 2 and it drove fine to me, after I installed the UCA the caster is now in spec, only thing I can feel different after doing UCA is the turns feel tighter.

 

I’m running the stock 265/70/17 tire size as well. Same situation as you, I had the KO2s on before lifting.

 

Here’s when I lifted it, don’t have any recent pictures, but after installing the uca I raised it to where the front is lower than the back by 1.5”.

 

Nice! Those tires fill up the space pretty well for being stock size.

 

Yours tires fill up the space as well, that’s why I asked what tire size they were, I thought they were bigger than stock.

 

Thanks for the info! That's helpful. I figured I would have to adjust the toe and maybe re-center he steering wheel, which I know how to do. I was worried about the caster and camera being off to the point that it's undrivable.

I'll still get it aligned of course, but it's nice to know I can do it at my convenience and not be under time crunch to do it. I should definitely wait to get new tires till I get it aligned though.

 

No problem. You should be good to go if you lift the front around 2”-2.5”, at least from my experience, then you can set the toe and center the steering wheel. Both idoc and I didn’t have drivability issues after the lift. You can wait until you get new tires to do alignment but it is always a good thing to do an alignment after suspension work.

 

I noticed in another post you installed Dobinsons UCAs. Any issues installing at the 2” height you mentioned above or did you ultimately lift your ride a little more? Asking since they have a fixed caster angle and I set my lift height to 2.25” (prior to settling). My caster was off spec after alignment and I’m leaning towards getting these Dobinsons UCAs.

 

From what I can tell, the 3 degrees of castor correction built into the Dobinson's makes it easier to get a good alignment. I'm not sure where my alignment sheet is right now but it came out very well.

Eibach and other lifts in this height range usually say aftermarket UCA's aren't necessary. But, given the varying levels of talent of alignment techs, I'm guessing it makes it easier for them and sure doesn't cause any harm.

I like the Dobinsons because of the correction, and ease of OEM like maintenance. They use Sanken ball joints that can be had at most parts stores.

 

Was your caster around 1.0-1.1 degrees?

 

It was actually a little in the negative.

 

I ended up getting OME UCAs because Dobinsons are backordered for 3 months. Needless to say I’m very happy with the OMEs thus far. I was able to gain about 4 degrees of caster and now the alignment is back in spec. Most importantly the steering/handling is so much better. The Dobinsons would have been nice since they are 100% set and forget whereas the OMEs have maintenance free bushings but a greasable ball joint. It came down to me not being patient enough to wait and the OMEs being the next best low maintenance option I could find. If I had to do it all over again I’d probably just replace the UCAs at the same time I installed the lift, but I guess the learning process is what makes modifying this rig worthwhile.

 

All these low/no maintenance UCA will be similar to each other. One reason why I didn’t go with Dobinson is backordered(couldn’t wait either), Ironman was the other no maintenance uca. I looked at the ome as well, seeing it on yours makes me regret not getting them now lol. The tube design just looks better in my opinion, probably has more clearance around the coils too. Can the ome uca use oem ball joints as well? What’s next on the build list? Bump stops?

 

In my search for a UCA, it was difficult finding information about the ball joint used in the OME UCAs. I am guessing they cannot use OEM ball joints which may serve as a hassle down the road.
The ultimate question, what's next on the build list? LOL. Because there surely is something else even though I swore I was going to stop at new tires and a lift. There is so much customization you can do with this vehicle it's easy to go down the rabbit hole. New bump stops? Never thought of replacing them. Would it be a good idea to?