Ready to pull the trigger on suspension.

So, I finally convinced myself to put a small lift on my 4runner. I also convinced myself to have a shop do it this time so it gets done right. I have a few questions, as my last lift was a standard OME 885x on my tacoma, and i'm moving up a little;

I only plan to take the truck to some of the path camping areas around the North East. I'm not rock crawling, not dessert racing or anything like that. Its my daily driver and I put 25-30k a year on my vehicle. It will mostly see highway use as i travel 50 miles round trip to work. I'm not putting armor on it. I do have a gobi rack. I will be using stock rims and moving up one size tire to 275's.

I was looking at the kings and the BP-51's. I watched the filthy motorsports video and started leaning towards kings. My question is, what level suspension do i really need? I want something that rides better than the old OME I had, but I see all the different stage ICONs and kings and it makes me wonder how much of that is really needed as much as it is really show?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I just did the exact thing you're debating. I went back and forth for months before finally deciding on a Bilstein 6112/5160 setup with Wheelers Offroad T13 springs in the rear. I went with 275 BFGs, had the front Bilsteins assembled for 2" lift in the front. I'm very pleased with the result. The ride is quite close to stock, but better.

I was looking at various Toytec kits, Icon, Dobinsons, etc. The reviews of the Bilstein suspension is what finally convinced me to go that route.

 

For your type of offroading, you don't need Kings. They would ride really nice, but you wouldn't use them even close to their capabilities. It would be a waste of money for your particular situation.

I'm not really familiar with the BP-51's, so I can't comment on those. But if you want to maintain a nice on and offroad ride, you can go a couple of routes.

1) lift coils that maintain the stock spring rate (since you are not adding any weight). Also, get a decent shock that pair nicely with these coils. A coil that is sprung too heavy or a shock that is valved too stiff will make for an uncomfortable, jarring ride. Dobinson coils and shocks have stock spring rate options with a few different height options as well. They get really good reviews and are very competitively priced. Well worth looking into a complete set-up from them.

2) Eibach kit or just the Eibach adjustable front shocks and use your stock coils. I have the latter and my truck rides really nice. I mostly use it for a daily commuter as well. Tons of great reviews on these kits/shocks on this site and others.

You didn't mention how tall you wanted to go.

 

Same here, 95% on road, read where Kings are King and had my mind set until I read they need rebuilding often..Mine is daily driver and can't park it for a couple weeks Everytime they need rebuilding.
Eibach, Bilstien 6112, dobkins are good drive and toss setups .I went toytec front only because a brother company made hands down the best coilovers for Ford and I tried many setups. Rear I picked eibach only because I don't want more than an inch in the back.
Plenty other options but quite frankly, so many mix and match systems out there it got way to complicated to keep reading

 

Thanks for all the good info. 2 inch max. I don't want to be blowing through CV's like I did on my tacoma ( albeit that was most likely my fault ). But I would like a nicer, less nose dippy and swaying ride. If I hit the breaks even moderately I feel like i'm gonna scrape the bumper.

 

Here’s the end result of my lift. I would say less sway, a little less nosedive, and smoother over expansion joints, etc.

 

This is what I'm looking for. That stance, functional off road performance for fire roads and such. The nosedive on my 4runner drives me nuts. Beautiful rig by the way. If you don't mind me asking, what am i looking at for cost? I wanted to upgrade to those rims, but with the price i was seeing for the kings that was out of the question. Also, not having to re work the shocks every year is huge. When they go, I can just buy a new set and be done with it.

 

Better shocks will help with the front end dip. You can go the Bilstein 5100 or 6112 route. I wasn't a fan of the 5100's on our vehicles. I thought they were too stiff but there are plenty of people on here who love them, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I don't have any experience with the 6112s.

I do have experience with Eibachs though, and I know they ride fantastic. They are softer than the Bilsteins because they have a bleeder valve early in the travel that helps keep things comfortable at slower speeds. Much like the Bilstein's, you can get just the strut portion of the shock and maintain your factory coils. The Bilsteins and the Eibachs will allow you to go roughtly 0.8" or 1.7" in the front. This option will give you a level stance (assuming you don't lift the rear) and will offer you the best bang for your buck.

However, the Dobinson coil lift and shocks should not be overlooked if you want a 1.5"-2" lift in the front and a 1" lift in the back. If you end up lifting the back as well, I would go lift coils all the way around.

 

Thanks Nimby, i'll check out the dobsons as well! Will I have to do a diff drop?

 

No diff drop or UCA's needed if you keep the lift mild in the front.

Roughly 2" or less.

 

Thanks.

I priced it out on 4wheelparts before I purchased, and shipped (with their 5% Off code) came to $1071 for the 6112s, 5160s, and the billet reservoir clamps. The rear springs were $159 for the pair from Wheelers Offroad. Beware the 5160s may be backordered. Amazon has them in stock, but they’re more expensive through them.

 

Lets skip suspension brands for a moment. How High do you want to go over stock? Do you want it lifted similar to your tacoma? With the experience on your tacoma is there anything that you wish you did differently that should not be done to the 4runner?

Personally I would put the tires on first and then decide on the height you would like to be at and lastly pick something out.

Edit: I reread the post.

If you like Huzer21's setup that is a 2/1.5 setup. If you don't quite want that much rake you could go with an 1" eibach rear spring that has just about the same spring rate as the t13. looks like the t13 is also made by eibach.

Its all going to come down to how much you might weigh the rear end down

 

TBH I don't necessarily need that much rake, but i'm not against it either. I use the back to sleep in. it's only going to have camping gear for one or two people in it. I'm not overlanding so it's not like its going to be loaded down with drawer systems and fridges. If down the road I keep it just for an adventure rig i would rethink the logistics then.

Can we fit 275's on stock height? I am planing a little road trip to nova scotia in 3 weeks. And i need new tires now. If they fit I could just put them on and see how things go on the trip.

 

Overlanding is overrated. Different people do different things. Its all really about getting out there when you actually want to get "out there". Currently I have a 1" level so technically I am a 1/0. I plan on going 2/1 via 1.6" eibach front springs with a 1/4' spacer and 1" in the rear of the same type. I'm using bilstein 5100's

I will get 275's first though. Its gonna be a while as the AT tires i have now are new and are doing pretty well.

 

I need knew tires now, which is why I was going to rush to get this put on. I didn't want to buy new stock size tires only to wish I put the lift on and went one size up. But If I can put the 275's on there and then see how things go that would be optimal.

 

Here is a Stock Pro that I saw at my local dealership. The only difference between a stock 4runner "height wise" is the pro is 1" higher in the front. these are 275 BFG's

 

I had 275s on stock height. No rubbing issues at all. Here’s mine prior to the lift. After I installed the lift, I ended up with about 3/4” less rake than stock. I prefer a little rake and wanted it to still look stock-ish. Prior to the lift, rake was 2”. After, it’s 1.25”.

 

This was my '16 with 5100's front and rear. Front set to 1.75" w/stock springs and rear had Wheeler's T13 springs I picked up used for cheap. 275 tires. I really liked this setup a lot and the 5100 shocks in the front got rid of that horrid nose dive but wasn't super stiff, softer than the Dobinsons setup I currently have on my 4th gen but still firm.

 

The truck looks awesome!! I have a 2018 ORP in the same nautical blue with the grey gunmetal wheels. Any reason why you went with the Wheelers OR T13 vs something like the Bilstein B12's at 1.5" in the rear? I have the same setup 6112/5160... I'm looking to get rear springs since I'm exactly level right now but seem to get a reverse rake anytime I put a few extra lbs in the rear. Was thinking of going with the B12's but would appreciate any input you might have from experience with the Wheelers. THANKS!!

 

His post is quite old, so I can tell you this.. the Bilstein coils are fairly new to the market and may not have even been available then. Both the T13 and Bilstein coils get fine reviews, I wouldn't worry about which to pick. They're probably the same exact spring, to be honest (the xxxx24 Bilstein and the Wheeler T13.. which are both probably made by Eibach). Eibachs 1" spring is also probably the same thing as the Bilstein xxxx17.