This turned out to be a lot longer than I had initially intended, and will add pictures to subsequent posts in this thread. (Before/After along with some from the shop.)
I initially became interested in the 4Runner as a teenager when one of my friend’s father bought a used first gen. I knew I wanted one after my friend and I drove it quite literally through the Potomac river west of Harpers Ferry, WV and crossed to the other side. (I do miss the removable hard top, but it was a pain to remove. Very heavy...)
It wasn’t until many years later that I started looking at the 4Runners again. The 5th gen was about to be released but I loved the look of the 4th gen. I made up my mind that I would get a 2006 - 2009, and had my heart set on a V8. I started reading about various upgrades and lifts etc, and thought it would be nice to throw some spacers in and perhaps some slightly larger tires, but honestly didn’t know much about it. (Still don’t know much, but know who does...)
So my search began for a 2006 - 2009 Sport with a V8. I found one I liked, but it was at a dealer and they wanted a lot more than I was willing to pay. So the search continued and I found a 2006 V8 Limited in my favorite color and in the price range I had in mind. It didn’t have the spiffy hood scoop, but it was fully loaded out with navigation, leather, and all the goodies. Unfortunately it also had the Rear Air Suspension with adjustable height and XREAS.
In December 2010 I became the proud owner of a 2006 4Runner Limited v8 with 22k miles on it.
The first thing I did was buy new tires. (265/60-18 Revos) These tires were great, and we got a bunch of snow that first winter. The truck was simply amazing in the snow.
June 2011 I took my new toy to the Outer Banks of NC. The first test was taking it out on the beach north of Corolla. It powered right through it like butter. No issues to speak of. (Mind you I stayed on the nicely packed sand...) The next test would be the beaches south of Hatteras Lighthouse. The sand down there is much finer than the sand north of Corolla. Much like baby powder in many places. Long story short, my wife wanted to go shopping, had both kids in the back, but I wanted to go test out my new toy on the beach again. Did I air down the tires? No. Did I get stuck? Yes... About 100 feet into the sand, the front of the truck bottomed out on the ramp going from the road to the beach and buried up to the frame. I am sure I did several additional things wrong, but this all transpired very quickly. Three hours and one tow truck later I was back on our way to go shopping. (Several larger trucks tried to pull me out to no avail...) Needless to say, the wife was beyond unhappy with me.
I clearly had to upgrade...
Goals:
More Clearance
Bigger Tires
Smaller Rims
Wider Stance
Problems/Challenges:
Rear Air Suspension with XREAS
Speedometer Correction
Tire Clearance / Trimming
Absolutely No Spare Time
No prior knowledge of shops in the area willing to do or capable of this type of work.
I had done quite a bit of reading on several sites about various options to meet the goals outlined above. Early on in the search I was looking at throwing some spacers in to get a 3/2” lift and even out the stance of the truck. (Didn’t care for the appearance of the heavy nose raked appearance of the 4th gens.)
By and far the biggest problem I discovered was how to handle the rear air suspension. From what I understand some people have successfully modified/machined the rear Cornfed spacers to accommodate the rear air as there are clearance issues with some of the hoses. As I read more about it, I started leaning towards ripping out the rear air, and converting it to the standard spring setup.
In making the decision to rip out the rear air, I would also have to eliminate the XREAS system unless I wanted to put in the non-airbag stock suspension. I didn’t want to go through all the trouble of taking out the air just to replace it with a stock set up. Ultimately this sold me on the idea of doing a full on lift kit.
Path forward:
Find a shop willing to help do most/all the work.
Determine which lift kit would best suit my needs.
Determine a reasonable size tire/rim combination.
Determine if a body lift was necessary for what I wanted to accomplish.
I emailed a few shops in VA, and described what I was looking to do along with my concerns regarding the rear air. I got three responses, but only one had actually read my email and was genuinely interested in what I was looking to do. (Two shops completely ignored the whole rear air suspension detail)
Bobby aka Ducmonsta manages “High-Tech Auto and Truck” and took an immediate interest in the project and asked if I was a member on t4r.org. After multiple emails and phone calls with Bobby, I felt more than confident moving forward with the crew at High-Tech. Bobby showed me several of the upgrades he has completed on his own 4Runner and took the time to answer all of my questions. (I had some dumb ones too.) I’ll say right now, it was nice working with someone whose interest far surpasses my own and has both the knowledge and experience to back it up.
The biggest issue with the rear air is that when you remove it, there is nothing to hold the spring that you replace it with. Some people have fabricated a plate for the spring to sit on and then either welded or bolted it to the rear axle. (I say this like I know what I am talking about. I don’t. I have never done any of this.) I have seen where some people have discussed using a clip from a jeep to prevent the spring from moving. (Again, more fabrication and guesswork that made me squeamish. The last thing I wanted was something coming apart on me down the road and no easy way to bolt on a replacement part.)
The solution I opted for was to purchase the conversion kit for a GX470 from Strutmasters at the link below:
Lexus GX-470 4 Wheel Air Suspension Conversion Kit
The only piece I needed from this kit was the bottom plate with the retaining piece to secure the bottom of the spring where it sits on the axle. What I liked about this is that it didn’t require any guess work, and bolts directly to the axle where the air suspension was previously attached. No welding required. What I didn’t like about this is that I now have two struts and springs for a GX470, but will be looking to sell this on the cheap, so no big deal there. The black rubber piece on the metal plate did require getting sized down as the base of the spring on the GX470 is wider than that of the 4Runner.
The stock non-air suspension bump-stop for the 4Runner was used to secure the top of the springs.
For tires I decided on the Nitto Terra Grappler 285/70-17:
Terra Grappler
I decided to go with a 17” rim vice my stock 18” rims that come with the Limited for two reasons. Firstly I like the look of more tire versus rim. Secondly I am of the understanding that I can more safely run them at lower air pressures for driving in sand and get a better footprint than I would with a lower profile tire. (I could be completely off on this so don’t quote me on it.)
I thought I liked the G-FX OR-9 rims before I ordered them, but they look sick on the truck. I am very happy with how they turned out.
OR-9 Matte Black w/ Machined Bolts » GFX Truck & ATV Wheels by Voxx
For the lift, Bobby was able to explain the differences between various kits and pros and cons. Again, he was very patient with me as I know I asked him a ton of questions.
The kit we decided on based on my wants was the “4Runner Ultimate 3” Lift Package” from Toytec Lifts:
FJ Cruiser/4Runner Ultimate 3" lift package - Toytec Lifts: Toyota Lift Kits: FJ Cruiser Lift Kits, Tacoma Lift Kits, Tundra Lift Kits, 4 Runner Lift Kits, Sequoia Lift Kits, Toyota Truck Lift Kits
I opted to get the front coilovers in silver vice red, and added the Light Racing UCAs. The UCAs allow for additional adjustment of the Camber and Caster over the stock UCAs which results in a superior alignment.
Bobby steered me away from doing the additional 1” body lift unless I decided to do it for aesthetic purposes after the initial lift as he believed I wouldn’t need it for the setup I was trying to achieve. (He was correct.)
The tires and new rims achieved a slightly wider stance than the stock configuration, but I really liked the look of trucks running Spyidertrax. The link to the 1.25” spacers are below:
Toyota Hub Centric Wheel Spacer Kit
I have seen where many people seem to believe that these spacers reduce the amount of tire rubbing or the amount of trimming required. I can attest that quite the opposite is true unless the offset of the rim being used compensates for the spacer and vice versa. The tires did not rub until we put the spacers in. The problem is I love the way it looks with them on and like the idea of a wider wheel base for potential stability. (This stability I speak of is purely theoretical. I have no idea if it is actual or not.)
To eliminate the rubbing and allow for the potential of a more aggressive tread down the road such as what the “TrailGrappler” sports, the front body mount got the chop. The crew at High-Tech did a fantastic job on this. They cut it at a 45 degree angle away from the wheel well and then welded in a small plate for reinforcement. This was also primed and painted black and looks like it was there from the factory. I was quite impressed with how this turned out.
Additional cutting/trimming was made to the front of the wheel well and fender lining. The lining was also pulled forward slightly.
With the current configuration there is absolutely no rubbing at all. I asked to take the truck home prior to making the body mount chop to see what it was like. It barely rubbed when the wheels were cut all the way.
The last piece of work that I had done was the addition of a Speedohealer v4 (Digital Version) which calibrates the speed after changing the circumference of tires. (Bigger tires result in a slower displayed speed on the speedo than what the vehicle is actually traveling. This is easily seen if you compare your speedometer to a GPS that displays your actual speed.) There is a write up that we followed regarding the install of this with pictures at the link below:
Speedometer correction - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum
4mudder wrote the instructions at the link above, but added some additional clues in some other posts which I will include here. The digital v4 Speedohealer is easier to program, and has an additional and optional button that can recall the recent high speed. (Some people have reported that the odometer will increment for the duration that the high speed is being displayed. IE if you hit the button a lot, you may start adding up the miles.) Needless to say I asked for this not to be added. It can easily be plugged into the Speedohealer later should I change my mind. Without the additional button there are three wires that need to be tapped into. The three wires are power, ground, and speed signal. Because the Speedohealer was originally designed for motorcycles and is meant to be plugged in line with an existing wiring harness connection, the three wires are actually 6 physical wires coming out of the Speedohealer. Two red, two black, one white and one green.
There is a GRAY-RED wire that runs from the VSC ECU to the Combination Meter. The GRAY-RED wire is the speed signal, and is the one that needs to be tapped into. The Speedohealer should receive the signal from the VSC ECU (White wire on the Speedohealer), and then the output from the Speedohealer (Green wire on the Speedo Healer) goes to the combination meter. The other wires on the Speedohealer are just power and ground.
If you are in the mid-atlantic region and need some work done, I have nothing but the highest respect for Bobby and the crew at High-Tech Auto and Truck here in Northern VA:
Automotive Car Repair in Chantilly, VA | High-Tech Auto & Truck Center
Between being totally flexible regarding when they could fit me in and the loaner vehicles, it just made working with them even more convenient.
I will be making my way back to the Outer Banks of NC next month for a rematch with Hatteras Island beaches. (May have to leave the wife behind just in case I get stuck again... If I do get stuck again, it will be a result of doing one or many stupid things on my part...)
Please feel free to ask me any questions you like, but honestly I would direct you to Ducmonsta here on the forums.
I also want to say thanks to all of you who have contributed to these forums as you have ultimately helped me get to where I am today. I have been trolling these forums for years and will try to contribute more myself going forward.
Cheers,
Rebar
<--If you watch long enough he will do a backflip
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