Get Some P rated tires and your ride will change immediately. for under $1000 cant have it all, either tires only, or spacer lift and P rated tires for the budget you threw out.

So the tires I have are 265/70/15 Cooper Rugged Treks, in XL load. No sure how many PLY they are, but they are definitely not a E load. I have them at about 35 psi so maybe I will try lowering them a bit. But for what it's worth, they rode nicer than my basic P rated winter tires.

My hub to fender heights are below, not terribly far off from original?

Front: 20"
Rear: 19.5"
(basically empty truck)

https://imgur.com/a/rKiAQSk



I'm not really opposed to doing a 99' tall with OEM or aftermarket shocks. But the OEM 99' springs are surprisingly expensive (950cad for all 4 is the cheapest I found). The rear Tokicos are not bad at $100cad each, but the fronts are $360cad each. So just doesn't make sense to me at these price points.

I did happen to find a set of used 'Used: Very Good' Moog 81008 on Amazon for $55 cad which seems like a steal (assuming someone didn't just clean up their old springs and return them lol). I could get the rear Moogs and all 4 KYBs for $300 cad since they are running a rebate ATM. For the cost, maybe this is the way to go - practically 1/4 the price of a bilstein/OME setup. Any idea how much lift this would net me?

Next best option seems to be Bilstein/OME and just dealing with the ride, would cost me around $1300 cad

Dobinsons IMS sounds the most promising as far as ride quality, but would be at least $2000 cad with current sale.

Why does no one make a simple soft extended spring and soft shock?

Because 4Runners are trucks, not cars. The factory setup with all new rubber bushings and body mounts would be the softest ride possible, as already stated. Nobody makes softer springs for these vehicles.

I may go the 99 tall springs route or 99 talls up front and the 906s in the back as I may get a small RV that might get pulled behind the 1998.

Currently I have OEM springs with about 1/2 inch of rear sag. Shocks are Bilstien 4600s with 73K on them so I'll probably replace them too. With 227K miles on it I know I should replace all of the original bushings (25 years old) to reduce any harshness they might be making so I'll probably make it a all-at-once project.

Still researching the springs but am in the camp of trying to preserve the original ride quality with maybe a little lift.

That is essentially what I did on mine. I would call how mine rides as 'secure and confident', not really soft. It did get rid of the water bed ride with the worn out springs I had before. It's pretty good on gravel and fire roads though.

I think KYB makes a softer shock than their Gas-a-just shocks. Not the Mono-Max, that one is very stiff. There's another product line.

Just a thought... Maybe there's something for Lexus that would work? Don't know but may be worth some research.

Right now I'm leaning towards setting up my 1998 with 1999 tall coils, OEM shocks and wireless controlled airbags in the back coils- that way I can add a little air in the back when I have more weight in the back while preserving the ride.

Right now I have Bilstien 4600 HD shocks with 70K+ miles and they are starting to dance on washboard dirt roads and are pretty rough overall. I have my OEM sized 265/70R17 General APT tires set to 32 PSI.

That's what my red one has minus the airbag idea - I like it, any particular brand/model you're gonna use, I may do the same.

The ride is stellar for a runner, very smooth, controlled, near car yet still stiff enough for off roading/extending its legs. Luck.

I had a good experience using Air Lift Wireless air on an RV I used to own so I'll probably go with them.

1999 Toyota 4runner Air Bag Suspension Kits | Air Lift Company

Probably this system -

WirelessONE with EZ Mount – 25980EZ

Or plumb out two schrader valves to an accessible spot and use a small hand pump (bike shock pump or similar) to air them up. Saves a couple of pennies.

I did this on our Odyssey for reference (no airbags on the 4Runner):


-Charlie

The convenience of the wireless system (with a remote) is that you can easily set the pressure for both or either bag separately and use given pressures for reoccurring loads....trailer, 20, boat 25, ect.

You can also change it while driving to see how it handles at different settings.

Thought I would update this. I ended up going with Eibach Pro Truck Shocks, Eibach springs in the front and OME 890s in the rear. I wanted OME 881s in the front, but they were on back order. The Eibach springs are slightly shorter and 77lbs stiffer.

Eibach Front Lift Springs: 362mm long and 577lb
OME 881:375mm and 500 lbs/in

Overall I gained about 2.5" in the front and 3-3.5" in the rear.

I wouldn't say it rides good, but better than my worn out stock components. Hitting terrible potholes or bumps is no longer terribly jarring. On the highway it feels more stiff and confident at speeds. Parking lot speeds its still pretty rough. With more weight it rides better, and more speed seems to let the suspension work better. I also added Energy Suspension - 8.9104G bump stops to the front, which made a noticeable improvement.

Overall, it's fine for what it is.

[IMG][/IMG]
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(it settled a little bit after these pictures)