Assuming you have never owned a BOF truck before?

That's a feature, not a bug.

KDSS mitigates body roll somewhat but it's not designed to make it handle much better on road.

So you didn't test drive the truck before buying it? We drove both with and without KDSS, and decided KDSS was mandatory. Doesn't help with the brake dive, but definitely helps just driving around town. But yeah, in your situation just suck it up and upgrade the suspension, or sell the thing.

Yep. That’s the one thing I really hate about it. Especially on dirt/gravel roads. Barely tap the brakes and all of a sudden I’m sliding and ABS is kicking in. WTF? It acts like I slammed on the brakes when all I did was lightly and consistently press it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Indeed, a suspension upgrade should solve that problem. I went with the ironman nitro set up and the difference is night and day. My ride is firmly planted around corners and I barely have any nose dive at all. Super smooth ride. I did get a discount, but my set up only cost me around $1000 with control arms and pre assembled struts. Best decision I've made in a minute.

Aftermarket springs and shocks will make a huge difference in the way the truck rides, much less dive/squat/body roll. It sucks to buy a new truck and not be happy with something as important as the way it rides.

Stiffer suspension, bilstein ome with digressive shocks will make for a more controlled ride, less body roll, less nose dive but'also a'stiffer ride. To get a smoother ride without the stiffness you'll have to go with progressive shocks like kings.

Look at the Eibach kit. Firmer shocks AND springs. Tightens up the ride without making it too firm.

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. I did drive a couple of 2019 SR5s and hated the way it drove but my wife had no issues with it. And this is her car, or at least she is the one who really wanted this for her "mid-life-crisis" as she put it. I figured that the car I like and want is probably still a year out so this will do and so far from what I see, the resale value is pretty good on these. I actually just drive a kia Telluride and it blew my expectations. I would have bought that instead except that there is an 8k markup on them.

As for body on frame, I owned a range rover classic LWB for a while which is a BOF. It did drive like a truck but it was also 20 years old.

I am going to see how it goes. It only has 300 miles on it right now but we are driving to Yellowstone and beyond in 3 weeks so will have more time with it.

As for off-roading, we do a few camping trips here in Oregon where we drive on forest service roads and our Subaru Outback has done great but there are places I haven't dared to go; but will now. I feel like I need to go off road to start appreciating this rig otherwise I will keep hating it. Just need to find something close-by soon so I can test it.

I will look into these shocks. Even though I have done this myself 15 years ago, how much are we taking for a set of Eibachs or Kings installed? 1k I am guessing is just the price of the shocks.

Another vote for the full Eibach Pro Truck Lift. The full kit with springs and shocks sells for $748, most places have free shipping.

Direct:
PRO-TRUCK LIFT SYSTEM (Stage 1) - TOYOTA 4Runner Base

Free Shipping:
Eibach E80-82-071-01-22 | THMotorsports

My local lift shop in Springfield, MO installed the Eibach Kit that I supplied for $450.

I had the same exact feelings on the handling of my non-KDSS Off Road as I drove home from dealer. Tons of body sway and tons of nose dive on braking.

I test drove the 4Runner twice and didn't notice the horrible handling characteristics till the drive home. I really debated taking it back to the dealer. It was awful in the hills and curves here in the Ozarks.

The full Eibach kit solved that. Now I can take curves at speed. Nose dive is significantly reduced. 100% better handling on and off road.

That happened a lot on my '10 TE when I first got it and I found it to be a flaw in the gas pedal design. I mean, I know brake assist was a poorly executed concept on the 4Runners overall, but I fixed it on my Trail and it behaved more like a normal vehicle. Sure, in a true panic stop, the brake assist still worked but it no longer happened in stupid situations like a light changes and I had to stop a little quicker, or someone starts to back out of a parking spot and I have to jump to the brake pedal just in case. Before I fixed it, it surprised and embarrassed me on a regular basis.

In my '20 ORP, I have tried to replicate that and even in what would've been considered an urgent, if not true panic, stop with fast and heavy brake pressure, it did not enable the brake assist. So hopefully on the new ones that has been fixed. Or if the same pedal design it will probably start happening at about 30-50k miles and I will have to fix it again.

As for the wallowing and boat-like ride, I too can vouch for the Bilstein struts and shocks as a cheaper and easy way to fix this. It definitely made my '10 TE more enjoyable and I plan on doing the same for my '20 ORP.

Kia for over sticker? Sounds insane.

I am surprised that coming from an old school Rover that the 5th gen 4Runner is causing you driving pains. I have owned many Rovers, and the 5th gen 4Runner is by far a much more compliant on road performer than anything Land Rover that isn't relatively new. The Defender 90 was like like rolling the dice at anything over 40 mph.

When I bought mine I wasn't thrilled with the handling either. Being short on cash the first thing I did was swap out all the sway bar bushings for urethane. This was I recall like a 50-60 dollar investment and maybe an hour of work. Made a huge difference in the way it tracked and a lot less wallowing in corners. I don't know your wife but I know my girlfriend and my ex wife would be pissed if I lifted their vehicle. But regular Bilstein HD's are an excellent addition. I did this on my ex wife's 3rd gen and it was amazing how much a difference it made. My current one is now lifted with eibachs, 5100's, jba arms, spacers in the rear, 285's.... It can snowball pretty quick. I would try the bushings. It really helps a lot.

Before doing a lot of mods to your 4R, you should test ride a Lexus GX460. It will ride more like a jet ski than a boat. You can still do some off-roading too.

Good Luck...Jim

I just bought a set of dobinsons for my 19 SR5. Total price was 1100 shipped and included the spring already installed on the shock. Took about 3 hours to install, not hard at all if you have the tools.

Drives like a different truck, so much better. There is a thread here for Dobinsons suspension through Exit Off road and Mike will answer any of your questions and help you out.
Dobinsons 5th Gen T4R Suspension options - lots of choices