Originally Posted by Mr. Leary

It all boils down to how much money you want to spend. Off roading is kinda like driving fast... "speed is money, how fast do you want to go?"

If you want to have a truck that safely pushes the truck within its stock capabilities, then go with a 2" lift (no body lift), a rear locker, and 265/75/R16 tires with an aggressive tread pattern. This will get you down level 3 trails with ease and you will not have to worry about re-gearing or breaking drivetrain components. This is the route I would recommend... and it is the route I recommend to my customers. It requires far less investment and pushes the truck capability right to the limit of diminishing returns. Pass that level of build and you are getting less and less in terms of additional performance at a rapidly increasing $$$ amount.

To run 33s, there are several modifications that need to be made if you are trying to achieve something other then a mall crawler (i.e. "looks badass"). A re-gear should be considered to reduce strain on the rest of the drivetrain components (without it the RPMs will be a little below the power band at highway speed). Simply putting bigger tires on will not infer traction gains, however more aggressive tires will. 33" tires and you will be much more likely to break stuff... plain and simple... big tires to turn means axles go snap. Likewise, big tires will not prevent you from damaging your drivetrain on obstacles (skid plates and slider will). The body lift that is "required" to run 33s does not give you extra clearance, so the only performance advatage you will have is that extra 0.5" to 0.75" of clearance from the taller tires. When this comes at the penalty of drivetrain vulnerability and gearing that is no longer properly suited to the tire size, its not a win.

Unless you are ready to spend the money to properly prepare the trucks to run 33s, then you are not really netting a performance improvement and its not worth it. 265/75/R16s are a much better size for a mild build.

Your choice, but my advice is to do it right or don't do it at all. Builds with a foot in both camps (33s without additional work) are less capable then either camp.

I have built a 3rd gen 4Runner pretty much as far as possible, and would keep it closer to stock if I could start over.

Your choice, your truck. Best of luck with your build.

Leary