Ok so this is a topic that has probably been covered a lot, but i want to dive back into it. I've been gathering tons of prerequisite information and i think it's worth a shot reexamining for these trucks and the aftermarket parts available for them.

Two best pieces of info i've found so far are Tinkerer's adventure's video about suspension travel and limits of IFS trucks

Suspension Construction and Limits | Everything About Toyota IFS Part 1 - YouTube

and the section of this video where he talks about more lift equating to better off-road capability.

4 Common Myths About IFS Lifts | Everything About Toyota IFS Part 2 - YouTube



which ties in perfectly with eimkeith's article "Why bodylift" essentially, you tilt the A-Arms too much, you lose down travel and raise the center of gravity AKA more tippy, and rides terribly, suspension can't do it's job. so Eimkeith's explanation about a 2'' lift plus a 1'' bodylift being optimal over a 3 inch lift is correct.

why Body Lift? – eimkeith.com


So how do we unpack all of this info? Well at the end of the day, you add extended length shock and coils, a high caster UCA (another debated subject), and you get a truck that can droop more than stock. and a coil that can uptravel more due to a longer spring and lowered starting position... Lower it too much however and you lose droop. Therefor the shock and coilover has to be longer, without being so long it can't droop within the stock range of the LCAs and other limiting factors of stock Toyota IFS like CV shafts.

The idea behind the bodylift is so that you can safely clear more uptravel with larger tires, allowing you to hit the bumpstop with larger tires and keep the COG low, while also allowing for droop. Allowing the truck to move in it's full ranger of uptravel in conjunction with the extended shock's droop for more downtravel. Maximizing the capability of the IFS.

In Tinkerer's video he mentions that Bilstein shocks (every 4runner enthusiast's go to cheap, reliable shock) is extended travel, meaning you gain about an inch of droop (down travel). Bilsteins in this regard might be an even better choice than the 3" ICON lift due to this.


On a stock rig without sway bars you're looking at the absolute best 7.9" of travel at full compression and realistically about 6-7" travel with non baja like conditions. With something like a 2 inch lift plus bilsteins you can get about 9"-10" of travel due to the increased uptravel and 1 inch extra downtravel (lift anymore than this and you lose the down travel) Now 9 inches is okay, but from other cheaper setups i've seen on other rigs like a Titan swapped Xterra they can get about 12" of travel on a cheap 4x4 (not saying i like the Xtrerra better, but for 12" of travel on a sub 2k$ IFS setup... that is pretty amazing)

Titan Swap Xterra on 35s - YouTube

I don't think Toyota IFS can really touch this amount of travel without aftermarket long travel LCAs... Unless i am wrong and there is a way. Which is why i'm making this thread. How can we get there? I don't want to simply raise my truck and put big tires on. I want to maximize travel and offroad capability. I'm wondering just how close I can get to 12" of travel without an expensive long travel LCA. I do know you can get close, It is possible. Toyota longtravel can hit 12"-18" of travel easy... But can we get 11"-12"without it?
I know king makes a 2" extended travel shock

The main limiting factor behind the Toyota IFS is the CV binding with too much travel, and shock travel limiting the droop i think? So can we simply get extended shocks, diff drop and get extended CV shafts? Would that really be all we need to do?

I have also done a ton of research on shocks and i might've found a hidden undiscovered gem...

Dobinson's IMS lift

Dobinsons 2-2.5" IMS Lift Kit for Toyota 4Runner 1996 to 2002 3rd Gen – Dobinsons Direct

Why Dobinson's? Well, I contacted them and asked about their extended length compared to bilstein and their response was

"even though they will cost more. (than bilsteins) They are monotube IFP design, 2.2" diameter (bigger than the 5100s) and our extended length is 473mm vs bilstein 464mm, let alone the better valving (progressive). We get alot of questions about digressive and progressive, just so you know not all digressive and all progressive are valved the same. For 2.5" of lift in the front we highly recommend aftermarket UCA's for better caster in your alignment and more down travel."

So not only do you get an extended length shock like the Bilsteins, it's a bit longer, more extended and fatter. Even more extended allowing for more down and uptravel. I'll have to contact Ironman 4x4 to find their extended shock lengths as well, which tinkerer showed are about the same as the bilstein, but i should find out just to be sure. I would choose the Dobinson's over something like an icon 3 inch lift because of the Eimkeith article i discussed above. the 2-2.5" inch lift is optimal for the most articulation. The progressive valving is very superior to digressive as well but that's a whole other rabbit hole.


Tinkerer claims however that UCAs are rarely if ever the limiting factor behind downtravel limitations like the dobinson's rep claimed,

https://youtu.be/huMztKaHsUE?t=620

the CV binds well before factory UCA reaches max articulation... As you can see there's a lot of conflicting misinformation on this subject and it has to be rigorously tested by buying expensive products which vary from vehicle to vehicle. The result... It's very hard if not impossible to get concrete measurements on these parts how they will effect your rig.

At the end of the day should we just enjoy our runners and have fun? instead of trying to be armchair engineers? I think yes and no, i want to see this kind of research driving the aftermarket world to make better products that make your rig work better. So far Dobinson's has really impressed me...