I really like the KDSS for on-road driving. It really reduces body roll at higher speeds.

I'm also looking for an ORP with KDSS and they're nowhere to be found in northern New England. Do dealers actually stock any 4R's with KDSS, or do they have to be special-ordered, and what's the usual wait time on delivery?

KDSS vs limited year paint

This video is pretty good for showing the KDSS piston activating at low speeds. Pretty sure this was made by a member here.

YouTube

My personal opinion is the PRO is a waste of money and KDSS makes suspension installs needlessly expensive and also starts to lean if it's in a bad mood. So get neither.

hahaha

I’ll admit that when the PRO first came out I was enamored by it, but after learning more about what the package actually includes, it actually became less desirable to me by a large margin.

I have noticed a fair amount of Pro owners upgrading their suspension after the fact anyways… seems like a very poor value if one didn’t have the intention of just leaving it alone and enjoying it as-is out of the box.

KDSS is interesting to me, but I still question its true value as someone who would probably throw some decent coin at suspension.

To be honest, I got KDSS because I didn't thing I'd do anything crazy with the 4runner. But after seeing 35s on a 4runner.... hmmm. I do know of a few folks who have 4-4.5" lifts and 35s on KDSS but never asked them how or the diffculty of modding it.

I just have to keep telling myself that if I want a crawler of 35/37s, get a old jeep lol

I firmly believe that the KDSS helped prevent a roll over last year when I suddenly swerved to avoid a huge chunk of tire from a semi that blew a tire not far ahead of me, due to the fact that it reduces body roll when driving at higher speeds.

At this point, I don't see myself needing more than 3" of lift, so that 's not a concern. Many lift manufacturer's lifts are KDSS compatible. Just need a competent mechanic to rebalance the system after you add a lift.

just to pile on to this thread some more... we test drove both with and without KDSS and it was a night and day difference how much better the KDSS equipped model performed. at the same time, im a pretty analytical person and part of me wondered how much of that was knowing we were in a KDSS 4R so we subconsciously talked ourselves into how much better it rode, but regardless we were convinced.

and like others have said, if you're gonna go full aftermarket with your suspension, especially to the level of something like a MRR set up, i'd think twice about it. but for us and our moderate offroad use (forest roads and trails to access dispersed camping sites and exploration) combined with the fact it's my wife's DD and it was a no-brainer to spring for it.

I can certainly see KDSS and or XREAS helping in a sharp maneuvering situation like that… I have a Limited with XREAS and I can certainly throw it around a lot harder than I can my lifted 4th Gen. That said, all my comparisons are apples to oranges. My 5th isn’t lifted and I have a totally different mindset and driving style between the two so it’s very difficult for me to even try and compare.

If I was in the OP’s shoes, I would absolutely consider KDSS. What I would really like to compare and figure out for myself is if you can tune the truck to be a little flatter with the right shocks, specifically the Fox 2.5 RR’s with DSC adjusters because they have independent low speed and high speed adjustments. If I ever sell my 4th, or my 5th gen gets old and needs the XREAS replaced, going with the above mentioned shocks is my primary game plan.

Not sure if you're trolling or what but I politely disagree. The PRO, like others have mentioned, offers some unique customization options not available on other 4Runners. Limited color, TRD items, Badges, Suspension "upgrade". They are inherently more standout when compared to SR5. My Trail Premium, while nice as hell, doesn't really stand out from the crowd and most will not truly know what lurks beneath. A silver bumper valance being the only unique trait, which I find ugly to be honest, is all that gives it away. I personally would like some of those unique paint Colors and could probably do without the rest. Agreed that they are stupid expensive though. If I had the money I would have bought one but I didn't....

Not sure how having KDSS makes install more expensive. Lots of KDSS options for the typical suspension kits or sliders and they cost no different than the others. Yes extra consideration must be put into the install but as far I have seen it literally involves jacking up the piston to clamp the bracket on. If you have made it that far, the jack is already there. Lots of KDSS vehicles have been lifted and I will be doing mine at some point as well. I'm sure companies selling lift kits wouldn't be selling KDSS versions if issues were common. I helped do the lift on my brothers Tacoma and we had issues getting the sway bar back in place at the end. So I still feel that mileage may vary.

To my knowledge the lean probably happens for several reasons. Yes I've seen the lean threads after lift but there may have been factors involved that we just don't know because it may not seem relevant to the issue at hand. Lookup the LandCruiser service video on how to service this issue and bring it back within tolerance.

Truth be told my post seems a little fanboy and I hate it. Not a fanboy....I swear...I just think my truck is cool.

To me, the pro is an appearance package with upgraded shocks and a hefty price tag. The few people I do know that got the pro, ended up replacing the suspension anyways. Wheels are the same size 17x7 and though nice looking, have been ditched for wider wider ones. The KO2 though probably good for a factory vehicle leave room for improvement and have also been discarded. For them, it was an appearance package ultimately. Resale will be understandably higher if kept/turned back to stock over a ORP.
KDSS aids in on and off road capability. It does add another layer of complexity and another system that can fail. Just something you will have to weigh out. The vast majority of my miles will be on road, for me it helps with driving dynamics and therefore a safer, more controllable vehicle. I am willing to accept the risk of the system failing possibly down the road and deal with it then(10 year warranty). For the most part, it is fairly simple and not a new technology so I find comfort that it will likely not fail on me. As for future suspension upgrades, if 3 inches is the max, so are the CV joints so I don't find myself going any higher than that. Again, mostly a family vehicle for me. The one thing I did find when considering kdss is that depending on the area you live in, the connectors seem to fail due to corrosion, which then causes everything downstream to fail.
Kevin

Does anyone have any opinions on KDSS vs XREAS in a completely stock situation and driven on hard surfaces.

I’m pretty sure XREAS is only an option on the Limited. I don’t recall there being another option when we purchased.

On road, it appears KDSS and XREAS are trying to accomplish the same thing, I only have seat time with XREAS so I can’t help with a direct comparison.

The most street-centric trim level is the Limited, it is also the only trim level that has a Torsen center in the 4WD system which allows for mechanical limited slip so you can operate in 4WD/AWD on road.