I recently purchased a 2006 V8 Sport Edition (117k miles) and boy do I love this car. I am working on making it my own and my next plan is to replace the XREAS suspension with maybe an OME kit or Bilstein 5100/OME coils. Then get some 265/70/17 Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws on. And, I have the TRD Bronze wheels to go with them . But, I wanted to hear some advice from you all.



I use the car 80-90% as a daily driver and the rest is exploring Colorado, doing some camping, forest roads, but nothing too crazy at that. Don't really need an ultimate rock-crawler, just something that will give me some additional clearance and a smoother ride. Let me know if you have any ideas for a better or more suitable set-up than what I am looking at.



I am in Denver, and was quoted:

$1,314.45 for 5100s & OME Coils install (parts+labor)

or...

$1,554.30 for an all OME kit



Thoughts on this pricing?



I was told that if I stick to a 2" lift, I will not have to replace the UCAs which is a considerable added expense. Is that accurate? Also, I believe my lower control arm bushings are bad so I think I will have to get those replaced with this job if that is correct?

Do it yourself for around$800

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Agree with DIY. Shocks and springs just aren't all that difficult to do. If you can do a break job, you can do shock and springs.

Also consider the Eibach pro-truck lift. If you are looking for a lift where you don't have to replace anything else and retain a good on road ride, they are hard to beat. Main disadvantage is their rear spring is designed to be level with no load. If you like to load your rear up you will need a taller rear spring.

At 2-1/2" front lift, I don't have enough adjustment for a proper wheel alignment so I'll be installing new UCAs this week because without enough caster, it's a bit darty at speed. I'm guessing that alignment may be iffy at 2" without UCAs. Why do you think you need new LCA bushings?

Just based on a pre-purchase inspection I had done on the car where the shop (Toyota specialists) mentioned 'Replace Lower Control Arm Bushings Torn'

@thmclaugh

You mention being in Colorado. I do very much the same as what you mention wanting to do. Mostly Highway to get where I'm going then FS and fire roads into the back country for camping and photography. Since the upgrade my rig has been all over Co, Wy, Utah, Towed my ~3k lb A-frame trailer from Co to the Eastern Sierra. Then drove all around, on road, and off for a 2 week trip, then raced a blizzard back from CA to CO in 1 day with the trailer in tow. She never missed a beat and we loved every minute of the trip!

If you choose not to DIY then I'd recommend calling Slee in Golden. They did the upgrade on my 2006 v8 Sport ~2 years ago and I could not be happier. Tell them exactly what you typically carry in the rig both for daily duties and when outfitted for camping, along with your budget and they will find you the package that will get you where you want to be.

Boort

Awesome, thank you for the advice @Boort ! I will reach out to them today. Did you go with one of the OME kits (either 2" or 3")? Looks like that's what they have listed on their site for 4th gens.

Cool, I worked with Ben Swain and would recommend him. He talked me out of a few things that I've come to learn that I would not have been happy with before I built the 4Runner. (Someone I know did the install that I was leaning towards and has not been happy with it. I've driven his rig and would not have been happy had I gone that way.)

I went with 2.5" lift on the BP-51's, SPA UCA's, and BFG KO2 275/70/17 around the TRD SEMA Pro rims, don't recall the springs but they were skewed towards my drawer system and being able to tow my trailer. I recently posted the specs for someone on another forum so I can look them up if needed.

I just remembered an answer to one of your other questions swapping out the UCA's at 2" may depend on if the Alignment adjustment bolts have seized up. When they were doing the install they called to ask if I was cool with replacing them as mine were frozen and they would not have been able to do the full adjustment range. I was already going with the SPC UCA's so the cost would have been like $30-50 to get new bolts from Toyota rather than $30-$50+ new UCAs.

Boort

@Boort
I just set-up an appointment to get 5100s, OME springs, and SPC UCAs installed in January woo! Mine will be set at 2.5" as well.

Out of curiosity, what are you doing with your spare? I imagine it doesn't fit in the factory spot at that size based on what I have read, but maybe I am wrong.

I also have the TRD Pro SEMA rims, and leaning toward 275/70/17 (in Falken Wildpeak AT3W) so we will have a very similar setup and just trying to figure out what I want to do with the spare. Leaning toward possibly getting a hitch mount for it..gotta show off that 5th TRD wheel I have after all!

@thmclaugh

Sweet.

I talked to Ben about that and he suggested a couple of options:

• He said that it would be possible to tuck the BFG KO2 275/70/17 up under there but it would need to be somewhat deflated to fit. Not sure if the Falken Wildpeak AT3W would also fit.
  
• I've kept the stock sized spare in the underbelly. He said it should be safe to limp out with the stock on the rear, though it'll likely piss of the AWD system on the V8.

I've gone this way for now. because I only have 4 of the TRD Pro SEMA rims and the offset on the stock was different so I was going to need to put whatever I had on the rear anyways and don't have on-board air compressor to refill the spare if it's down.

FYI: The 4th Gen tracks all 5 tires TPMS and knows the different tires fill pressure but only has 1 TPMS light. Using my Scanguage I can look at the different tires, but unlike the modern Jeeps can't tell WHICH tire is low. So you need to track which tire is in which position manually.

I've been out camping with a buddy who has the RIGd UltraSwing Hitch Carrier specific for the 4th/5th Gen 4Runner. It was seriously impressive. I followed him for 3 days and Not a jiggle when we were riding off road or on. He has the V6 so was able to get the custom fit model. If you have the V8 and don't need the full towing capacity you can swap the V8 weight distributing hitch receiver for the v6 hitch receiver. Gain some exit angle and the ability to carry the spare with the RIGd setup. (They also have a more generic one that does not follow the body as well that is available for the V8)

I'm considering the 4Runner RidgeRunner Swing-Away from Detours of Maine and only carrying it on trips. But that'll have to wait till the toys piggy bank is recharged.



Boort