Suspension for a daily driver and some overlanding?

What is the best suspension kit for a daily driver and some overlanding.

 

I like my Dobinsons IMS. Add their UCA’s and you have a great package. I daily drive mine 80 miles a day to and from work. Suspension is great on road. Firm but certainly not stiff.

 

I think it depends on the kind of overlanding you want to do, easy to moderate trails, or extreme rock crawling type activity. If it's the former, stock 4Runners are very capable and I wouldn't do anything to change the suspension until you can identify what you want to do that is beyond the capability of your vehicle as it is. If your vehicle has fixed running boards (as opposed to the automatically retractable ones), you probably should consider deleting them before you do any off roading that's more than a rough gravel road. If a running board catches on something you can do significant damage to the rocker panel area. You might also want to consider adding some armor like rock sliders and/or skid plates to protect the vehicle, depending again on what type of overlanding you plan to do.

 

With my experience ELKA 2.5DC. Won't see much difference on pavement but on rough forrest roads / trails are where you really feel the difference. If you have regular swaybar (no KDSS) they would be very comfy.

For 100% on pavement my favorite is factory XREAS

 

Seeing as you have a brand new 4Runner, I'll be the lame one and say run it stock for a while and figure out what your needs are. These things are very capable stock.

For the fun answer, I vote Bilstein 8112's.

 

I already beat you to the lame answer.

 

I agree I drove mine stock for 8 months before switching to Eibach Pro 2.

 

Save your money and keep it stock. I off road all the time and never had an issue with the stock suspension.

 

You caught me, I'll come clean and I didn't read the responses as I usually do. I assumed everyone was doing the whole, "Here's what I spent thousands on to drive to walmart."

Not that there's anything wrong with that either. My Pro is a pavement princess that takes me to the farmers market down the street on Thursdays, the curbs don't stand a chance.

 

IMO that's a serious answer. Want to see / hear reviews on Bilstien8112, really. Wish the 6112 gang consider 8112s.

 

I'll be getting 8112's to replace my 6112's soon (by time 2024 starts haha) I debated long travel and I just know I'll never use that in the PNW. I'll make sure to review

 

I agree with the others, run it stock. Then upgrade to ATs.

If/when you want more, you’ll have some experience to help you formulate a solution fitting your needs.

Enjoy the ride!

 

I'm going to see how the Michelin LTX tires on my 4Runner do off road over the next few months. I've had really good experience with them on my 2 previous vehicles, not real off roading but they were on tons of rough Forest Service roads without ever having a flat. I've seen a number of people on this forum and elsewhere who swear by them for off roading. They performed well yesterday at an off road driving class I took, but most of the trails were fairly dry. If I'm going to make any more changes to my vehicle, AT tires and possibly switching from 20" rims down to 17" or 18" would be at the top of the list. But the OP should probably do some research on the tires currently on his 4Runner to see if they're suitable for some off roading, and if the reviews are bad I'd agree switching to AT tires would be the first thing to do.

 

I like my Ironman 4x4 suspension.

 

I do not have XREAS or KDSS so can't comment on the ride with those. I was not impressed with the highway ride of sloppy stock suspension. ELKA 2.5 DC has made big improvement in handling with no more nosedive or body roll. Tracks smooth at 80 mph interstate speeds which is as fast as I need to go in this truck. I do a lot of highway miles so improving on road ride was the goal. Off road I have never had a problem with stock and AT tires.

 

Good read on the subject;

https://trail4runner.com/2020/12/18/top-10-5th-gen-4runner-suspension-lift-kits/

 

I don't find an article credible when it starts with an assertion that you should get a lift kit and that "there is a lift kit out there for everybody" and implies there are all benefits and no drawbacks to lifting a 4Runner. If the 4Runner needs more ground clearance and rides better with a lift, why didn't Toyota just build it that way? The author makes one assertion after another like "If you choose to go with a full-on suspension lift kit, then you will most likely see an increase in articulation (flex) while off-roading." I watched a video by a guy who tested a stock versus a lifted 4Runner and found there was little if any benefit in articulation because most of what was gained in upward articulation was lost in downward articulation. I watched a vehicle yesterday that had a lot of articulation - it was a Jeep Rubicon and it got a big boost in articulation when the driver disconnected his sway bar from inside the vehicle before taking on an obstacle. (The Jeep was also lifted, but it couldn't get through the obstacle until the sway bar was disconnected.)

The article might be a source for the OP to look at some of the lift options that are available, but it reads like a promotion for companies in the 4x4 lift industry.

By the way, I'm not saying lifts are bad or people shouldn't do them, but starting with the assumption you should do a lift and the only question is which one doesn't make any sense to me when a 4Runner that isn't lifted can do plenty and most people who own 4Runners probably do at least 90% of their driving on pavement.

 

Well the article is about lifts, not the off-road capability of a stock 4Runner. Would be kinda weird if he opened with "you don't need to lift your 4runnner"

Also isn't OP looking for info on lifts?

 

OP didn't say anything about lifts. He asked "What is the best suspension kit for a daily driver and some overlanding?" A lot of people think the stock suspension is fine for what was asked. Suspension kit doesn't necessarily mean lift, although that is usually the end result.

 

5100s or for a bit more performance, 6112/5160s
Dobs also gets my votes

but I agree with a few others, run stock for awhile and find out what you need

 

What are your complaints with the stock suspension?

Mine were that the factory shocks were pretty soft and wallowy on the road. I installed Bilstein 5100s, with the front set to 0.85" height. Stiffer and more controlled both on and off road. That would be my recommendation based on your question.

 

Sorry to pile on, but I have to agree with others here about the stock suspension.

First off, it isn’t as though Toyota delivered a garbage suspension. I didn’t want to throw away (or try and sell/barter for value) a brand new set of shocks and springs. I’m using the first (so far) 53k+ miles to setup the rest of my truck and learn about it. What do I want to do with it, and how much suspension will I need? A recent trip to Merus opened my eyes a lot.


I’ve added spacers to help with sag from added weight, but that only cost me $140. At this point, I’ve got almost all my weight, so I’m 1/4 saved for my new suspension, and hoping to do the swap in the next 10k miles.

I know that’s not popular. I feel like I see takeoff suspensions with less than 100mi almost weekly. But it’s how I justify getting as much out of the factory suspension as I can, and so far it’s doing great.

 

I'm with the folks who say run it stock for a while and determine what you need vs asking what's best. What folks think is best is subjective to what they have. Rarely will someone have tried more than 2 lifts on their vehicle, so most will just recommend what they have if they like it. I ran mine stock for a almost 2 years and other than putting a huge dent into my stock gas tank skid and scraping my rock sliders, the stock suspension did great for all of my offroad adventures.

I opted for a mild dobinson IMS lift (with their UCA) to raise the truck up and level it a bit and stiffen up the suspension. It wasn't done because I felt the stock suspension wasn't capable or to gain any off road capabilities, it was done purely for esthetics and my own preference in driving experience.

That said, I'm super happy with the kit and working with Mike at exit offroad to ensure I ordered the right parts for my goals was a breeze.

 

agreed, bilsteins all the way. I love my set up

 

agreed. Stock suspension is junk. I changed mine out at 200 miles on the clock and never looked back. Its a night and day difference when you go with a quality aftermarket setip imo.

 

I would honestly drive the truck for a bit and see where you need it. Coming from other trucks with built suspensions, mostly Land Rovers I have done nothing to my 4Runner except tires. It has done 1000s of miles off road and tows an off road tear drop style camper. Besides a few whacks to the skid plates I have been impressed with it. A little soft on the road but the KDSS is nice when traveling. Not saying in the future I will not upgrade, especially if I need to replace components but I have kept it stock for almost 4 years suspension wise and it has been fine.

 

I Concur. Why not just run stock until it breaks.... Hopefully within warranty period.
At that point .... go aftermarket.

That's what i did with my new house. All stock. No extra options. Saved 60/80k. After 3/5 years.. started replacing and repainting etc.

 

run it until it breaks. Thats funny because if/when it breaks, its too late.

I did my suspension for under $800. Do it right the 1st time, because Toyota sure didnt, and upgrade it. You’ll be glad you did as the ride quality and handling will improve drastically.

 

In my head, it’s kind of like buying a brand-new built house and immediately tearing out and replacing all of the new flooring because you have a rich friend with slightly softer floors.

I’d rather live with what I already paid for, and then know for sure the value of my upgrade when the time comes and is necessary.

But I know not everyone thinks the same way, and that’s why this forum is so great. No dearth of valid opinion.

 

Toyota did just fine with the 4R suspension for a lot of buyers. My stock ORP does great on the 8-10 mile round trip on dirt roads from my place to the highway. And it handles just fine on the highway for a truck. All I did was swap the tires for ATs for the dirt roads and make it look better but probably really didn't have to.