Newbie 2024 TRD off-road leveling help

Hi all, newbie here. Joined yesterday and never owned a 4Runner before. I am planning to trade in my 2WD FJ Cruiser for a new 4Runner TRD offroad 4WD in the next few weeks. Never owned a 4WD before. I drove the TRD Offroad 4WD and I like it. Feels like a tank!

Like the FJ Cruiser, the 4Runner sits nose-down and I'd like to level it, at least a little. I don't need it perfectly level as I will be loading it once in a while for camping trips, and that could make it sit nose-up, which isn't good either.

It seems like the least high of the leveling kits is about 2 inches. Is that correct?

Is there a general consensus on whether to lower the front differential at the same time? There seem to be different opinions on that.

Does the 4Runner also suffer from driver-side sag like the FJ Cruiser? I had a leveling shim put in place for that on my FJ because it was very noticeable.

 

It's about an inch in the front to make it level, like the TRD Pro. You can take the cheap route and throw a spacer in the front, or you can take the more expensive route and start looking at suspension options set at level, which there are plenty. If you keep the stock coils you won't need to worry about driver's side lean.

Personally I went with Bilsteins 5100's all around, with the front set at .85, which is almost level with just a slight rake. This will also address the nose dive that you'll experience when braking with the soft stock shocks.

 

The braking nose-dive on the SR5 I drove was awful. I didn't find it so bad on the off-road, with not too much rocking forward-back like the SR5. I'd rather not have the expense of changing out the suspension, although I did on my FJ Cruiser, which got a suspension swap with the Toyota OEM Bilstein shocks and Toyota FJ 4WD off-road springs put onto my 2WD, which leveled it perfectly. I'd rather try leveling spacers. I don't see a 1" spacer online. I see lots of 2.5" and some 2" spacers.

 

https://www.cornfedsuspension.com/5thgen4runnerkits/

 

1" Front only kit with lean correction $59

I wonder if it's plastic or metal? I'll have to ask.

https://www.cornfedsuspension.com/driverssidesagcorrection/

I'll take a yard stick next time I go to the dealer.

 

Unfortunately, the Cornfed Suspension spacers are plastic, and if I live long enough to keep the 4Runner for 13 years like my FJ Cruiser, I don't trust plastic, especially not in the suspension system.

Other suggestions? I think there are the Bilstein adjustable front shocks (which Bilstein does not confirm as a fit for 2024 on their website) for a price. I'd rather have simple spacers.

 

I just put on the Rough Country spacer kit that lifts the front 2 inches and the back 1 inch for 140. I like the stance it gives and so far is working well.. but it's only been a few days... when I had my FJ I did the Bilstein all around and were great.

 

I also went the Bilstein 5100 route front and rear on my 2021 TRD Off Road with the front set at .85 on the stock coils. This setup gave me right at 1” front lift leveling it front to rear and greatly reducing the nosedive.

This is a fairly budget friendly solution and avoids spacers.

Cheers,
Bob

 

A pair of 5100 is $320 plus tax, but then there is installation cost. I have no idea how much that would be or if I can make that investment right now. Is there a problem with putting a pair of 5100 on just the front and not the back? Labor has gotten so expensive that I'm afraid to ask what installation cost might be.

Ekstrom Design makes 1/4" spacers that can be doubled according to their website. 1/4" x 2 = 1/2" = 1" lift. They are metal.

https://www.shopcoachbuilder.com/pr...-shim-provides-50-of-lift-tacoma-4runner-2005

EDIT: Ekstrom customer service said they have the required nuts too:

https://shop-coachbuilder.myshopify...t-2005-tacoma-4runner-fj-cruiser-99-06-tundra

Is there anything else I need to know before I get into this? There is this note on a website.

One thing you may also want to consider is adjusting your bump stops. The general rule of thumb seems to be that the factory bump stops will still work with 1/4” thick top spacers. Anything more than that and you run the risk of over compressing the coilover shock under a hard compression. To solve this, you can unscrew the bump stop and add a few washers on top to space it down some so that it makes contact sooner than the factory position ...

What size and thickness washers? Anyone ever done this? It doesn't seem like washers as suggested is going to make much difference compared to the 1" height change?