TRD Pro vs Off road with KDSS

I have two of these ORPs and use the 4WD all the time and guess what, my purpose is pretty much what KDSS was created for, a lot of people who travel between the metro areas and the hills need off road capability and still be able to drive on mountain roads without too much sway. I have 4 other vehicles for different purposes, all paid off. I really don't care what you think.

It is cute though when a small subgroup of TRD Pro owners look down on others thinking they be balling. Like Junior Soprano once said, some people are so far behind they think they are ahead.

 

You seem really defensive.
I don’t know where or when you think I looked down on you and I definitely don’t think I’m balling, neither did I ever mention it. There are a lot of rigs out there with mods that are really cool and much better than what I have. Also they easily add up to $15-20k more than a stock trd pro. Good for you if you have 4 other vehicles. Funny you react like this though.

All I was pointing out is that the 4R, regardless of kdss is not the vehicle of choice to do a lot of fast twisty canyons. If you really need a 4R to go in the canyons, XREAS from the limited would be a better choice, and have the other 4R with kdss. Regardless, none of them will be ideal to go fast in the twisties.

 

Love my KDSS. My ORP suits my lifestyle at my age so that's what works for me. So that's what I purchased. Pro is a nice model with good resell value but I see no reason to spend the extra bucks on features that I will never use or care for. My ORP with KDSS is more urban friendly with the added bonus of still being a highly capable off road vehicle. And that is all I care about.

 

you seem to have a lot to say about things that you say you don't care about. LOL.

XREAS 4Rs don't have locking rear diff, so it is a no go for me. I also don't care for the Limited's 20 inch wheels and lower hanging front and rear bumpers

 

This reminds me of the story of three brothers, one a little taller, one a little smarter, and one a little richer. Same Mom and Dad.

 

Don’t care about what? When did I say that?

it’s okay, keep going fast in the canyons with your 4R since according to you it’s an amazing for this purpose. As long as you’re happy I guess…
As long as you don’t miss a turn and crash into oncoming traffic because you thought the 4R was as capable as a sports car

 

Yeah the 4Runner is the wrong vehicle for twisty mountain roads. It's also the wrong vehicle for rock crawling, for jumping in the dunes... The truth is, the 5th gen 4Runner isn't particularly good at anything, but is a decently reliable starter's kit to modify and build on.

 

Yes, it’s not the best at many things but it is good at a lot of things.
I can understand if one says, kdss helps in twisty canyons. This is absolutely true. However, someone that says it is godsend to go fast in a lot of twisty mountain roads is the equivalent of someone saying the Hyundai Tucson is godsend for Moab because it’s got awd

 

I'm not sure, I have done small jumps with my basic OME nitro shocks and lucky it didn't break.

I enjoy the 4Runner compared to a Wrangler. It is so much comfortable and quite for me. So much easy to drive to my hands.

Reliability wise in my mind it's the most reliable. No KDSS or no XREAS make it most reliable. Per Mr CarCareNut 5th gen 4runner has the most reliable engine nowadays even more than Land Cruiser 200 / Tundra with 5.7V8 and GX460 with 4.6V8. Having nothing really to go wrong on my 4runners I have high hopes like my dad's 1987 Corolla to run for generations.

 

driving through those canyons, is to get you to the off road trails. A large portion of the drive is on pavement, getting there?

So you optimize for one aspect of the drive versus the other.

who cares?

 

Here you go! Just saw this yesterday!

https://youtu.be/XCijADmiCwE?si=H_xTW_AQUwIyCpu5

 

I was pointing out the “driving fast twisty roads”, doing it at speeds is not the 4Runner’s forte, regardless of kdss

nothing wrong with having to go through a canyon with the 4R otherwise

 

some of us feel the twisty driving experience delta between kdss and non-kdss is severe enough to push us to prioritize kdss over the unique benefits that TRD Pro brings to the table.

 

I can afford it, I'm just cheap lol. My head is still in pre covid prices, as is my pay check. I've never paid list price for a vehicle either. I struggle with the fact the dealer is getting over on me. I'm still undecided. I figure I've got a good 9 months to find just what I want. Thanks for the input from everyone.

 

I’m not arguing with that. If anything, I agree 100%.

I’m repeating myself but there’s a difference between kdss is better than non kdss in the twisties and I feel like Michael Schumacher in the twisties because I have kdss on my 4R

anyways I’m done discussing about this as we’re just beating around the bush at this point

 

You think all those people with 300k-500k on their 4Rs are all slow technical offroad miles?

LOL.

Hang on,

LOLOL.

 

Hey, some of us like to keep up with traffic.

If you are the kind of person who drives his pro under the speed limit with a long time of cars behind you, that's your thing.

 

Ha! I underestimated the price. Looks like Apex will be selling it at $750: https://www.apexdesignsusa.com/products/kwiklynx

In addition to the sliding links, there's a shock absorber on the sway bar itself, which probably contributes to the high cost:

 

This is exactly on point for this thread. I cannot understand people buying the ORP and throwing in thousands and thousands of dollars on it, just to make it "look like a PRO." Unless you are REALLY lifting it waaay high and stuffing 37s (which I personally think are both a huge mistake to do to a 4R) to make it like a monster truck, the whole dance of modifying to have the PRO look puzzles me. Just go ahead and use the additional thousands, get a PRO and have everything OEM straight from Toyota. Much better quality and as a bonus you get all the things that only a PRO (or Limited) has.

 

I keep my 2 4Rs as stock as possible as long as they are under warranty so this is not really my scene, but there are far, far, far better suspension choices than the fox shocks that come on the pro. The price difference between an OR(assuming one doesn't get an ORP with all the options) which is now routinely selling for 2-3k or more under MSRP, and a Pro with the inevitable markup, gets once a helluva lot of options in getting some wicked builds done. I bought my first one during the shortage and paid MSRP, and my 2nd one was 3k off MSRP 3 months later. Even today Pros are hard to find and those that do arrive often get a 5-10k markup in my area.

But if you are the type of buyer who only wants factory everything and not willing to go aftermarket, then yeah, by all means, get the Pro. Your dealer will love you for it. LOL.

 

Like I said, I was referring to the ORP.
Got my PRO for MSRP, not one penny more. If you have patience and just walk away from greedy Mark up dealers, it is far from "inevitable".
But you bring a good point. I was not even considering the warranty arguments trying to convince a dealer to take up a warranty claim in a lifted/modified 4R.

 

Have you tried to buy a Pro for MSRP lately?

Even if you did, ORPs are selling for much lower than MSRP now so you have to add that to the difference in MSRP.

Like I said, if you insist on OEM only and no aftermarket parts then Pro is the way to go.

 

Bought mine a couple weeks ago. And in the underground color, which during my search experience was harder to find than the terra/poop color.

 

Congrats on that. If you are keeping it stock then the Pro is fine.

 

Pro's are going for list around here, ORP's are $3200 off on average.

 

If your priority is less cost at initial purchase, don’t go Pro.

 

I've been searching for a Pro and the Terra color is hard to find as well. Plenty of black and white Pro's though. KDSS ORP are hard to find as well or the dealers aren't listing them on their web sites.

 

KDSS ORP only get allocated to certain regions. I think dealers do swaps at the regional distributor level on a case-by-case basis. I would have preferred KDSS, but I wasn't willing to wait extra for it.

 

Yep. In my area currently there is realistically a 12-15k gap between what ORPs are selling for, versus the sticker price on a pro, if you can get one at sticker. That gap grows to 13-16k between ORPs without KDSS versus Pros.

that's a lot of money to go around for some serious builds.

 

Pro has 9.6 inches of GC. Mine ORP has over 11 inches. Pro has 31.7 inch tires, my ORP has 33.9 KM'3. My ORP has 12 steel skid plates, steel bumpers, winch, and a Viper Cut. Soon 4.88 and front diff lock. Good luck to a Pro who wants to follow me offroad, they will get totalled lol.