Hi all-

I've looked around a bit, but I confess I know so little about lifting a vehicle that I struggle to make sense of all that is needed. So, I'm turning to the collective knowledge of those on this forum.

I bought my 2008 T4R new from our local dealer in 2008 and have used it lightly - it currently has less than 138k miles on it. It is stock, except that I removed the XREAS system when I put Bilstein shocks on it a couple of years ago. The current Michelins are 265/60R18 with an overall diameter of 30.5".

I would like to make it more off-road ready, but am at a loss about all the options.

I think I understand that the first step may be to install a set of new front coil springs to level the vehicle. I'll take some measurements this week to determine the height needed to make it more level. Let's say it's 1-1/2", I presume I'd need to purchase a set of coil springs that are 1-1/2" longer than what I currently have, right?

Next, I'm considering buying a complete set of wheels with larger tires. This way I can swap from off-road to daily driving easily. My question is, what size wheels and what size tires should I purchase to give me a bit more ground clearance and traction without the risk of rubbing? Do I need to consider any offset in the wheels compared to stock?

With leveling the vehicle and installing a little larger diameter tires, I think I'd be better suited for the roads I intend to drive without turning this into a rock crawler.

Please advise.

Thanks.

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Do you want the lift just for look of off road or will you actually go off roading?
Reason for the question is to better understand what you driving will consist of. You already said you wont be rock crawling so we can eliminate some product choices out. What is your budget? What percentage will be on road driving vs off road driving?

I have owned a couple of 4x4 withs king, icons, eibach, OME, to the horrible rough country lifts and rancho lifts.
But my current set up is ironman4x4 stage 2 and i can confidently say it is up there with king and icon. I have not had any issues since the 4 years i have had them on. Also just for some insight. I commute 65 miles a day, 20 miles of which are off road 2 times out of the week that i commute. So i often off road and have not had any issue.

Well, I would like function over looks, that's for sure, but I don't want to imply that I'll be doing serious offroading. Most of the time this will be my daily driver to/from work (~25 miles/day total, five days/week). I may go off road a handful of times in the year, but if I dabble in it and find I really enjoy it, that could increase.

We live in NE TN with many dirt roads within an hour or so. If you've heard or know of the Smoky Mountain 1000 (SM1000), the Jeep trails and national forest roads in it are what I'm looking at.

Smokey Mountains 1000 | Adventure Rider

Some have moderate stones in the roadway and perhaps some shallow streams (<18" deep). I figure I'll have to spend ~$3k for a set of wheel and tires. A buddy suggested I start with a leveling kit or longer coil springs on the front. For all I know, that may be all I need??? However, I think bigger tires with more agressive tread may also help??

You will find the options are complicated especially for what “fits”. A lift does not let you fit larger tires. Only more ground clearance for the body, not the frame. The tires will still get stuffed inside when flexed. Tires will give the entire truck lift off the ground. As far as what tires rub, it’s crazy complicated. Wheel offset and backspace are big drivers. More negative offset (wider stance) increase the steering arc and makes the tires rub inside the wheel well sooner. Positive offset does the opposite but your tires will eventually rub on the upper control arm. You will have some people who get rubbing on the front bumper and others, the body mount. In addition to the previous, it also has to do with how much caster they get during the alignment and whether or not the Upper control arm is providing the caster or the lower control arm. Lowers control arm caster pushs the tire forward with more caster so you hit the bumper or liner. Upper control arms caster pushes the tire back and then you start hitting the body mount or pinch welds. If you want to be conservative, Stay with a tire under 32” and 2” or less of lift and no extra wheel offset you avoid all kinds of problems unless you like tweaking all the problems out.

I would just get an Eibach or Dobinsons lift which will come with everything you need and call it good.

I took some measurements today. From the center of the hub to the fender edge:
Front - 18-3/8"
Rear - 21"

So if I understand this, I need to raise my front up about 2-1/2" to level it out.

Looking at Eibach they offer a Pro-Lift Kit (a set of coil springs) that provide 1.8" of lift in the front. Part #: E30-82-073-01-20

Dobinson has s set that provide,"2.0" - Toyota 4Runner 2003-09 V8 Heavy Load 100-220LBS" in the front. DOBINSONS COIL SPRINGS PAIR (RED) - C59-314R

Would either of these be a direct replacement for the stock coil springs that I re-used on my Bilstein front shock (4600)?

I would take what pasrky1 says into consideration. If you are going to spend the 1000+ on the Eibach Pro-Lift, i suggest dishing out a couple hundred more and find a kit that include the upper control arms. Far from just "throwing" a lift kit on you 4Runner. The components around the lift take a toll when the geometry of the suspension changes. When you are adding a lift and bigger tires but using stock UCA etc. you will start running into rubbing issues, wearing out tires quicker, wearing other components quicker.

I’m pretty sure, based on my reading, if you level it by wheel to hub you will end up with it visually looking like negative rake (sloping reward, aka Carolina Squat). I’ve been reading on this stuff for 9 months and I still can’t decide what I want to do lol