4runner


Hello,

2014 4runner with KDSS.
Dark gray.
About 115,000 trouble free miles.
Running stock suspension and tires, with bilstein shocks.

I was planning on the new landcruiser, but after seeing it in person I really appreciated my existing 4runner more and spent my new car funds on a 991.2 S instead. I decided to stick to my original plan of owning it for 250k miles.

That leaves a few problems to solve:

The rear spoiler-thing melted in the sun a little.
The roof is totally oxidized.
the 4runner just does not have acceptable passing power/uphill power
super outdated screen
air conditioner isn’t great when its 115 out

so far,
I updated the speakers to focal. that’s good.
Pedal Commander. It’s fine. Might swap to the Roar Pedal that I have in my other car. I like the app/flexibility more.
I added a carplay unit that goes behind factory stereo, its OK.
Added sherpa rack. Very good.
I polished off the damaged clearcoat and treated it with optimum clear coat restorer (a permanent wipe-on clearcoat product.) It looks absolutely awful, but it shouldn’t rust now.

I don’t want to off-road it.
I don’t want to make it louder.

So here are the things Im planning:

Interior:
70% ceramic tint everywhere but the windshield. I just want the heat rejection, not the darkening.
Daisata G12 head unit. Just to use with carplay really. Wont mind the extra power for my focals.
3m Thinsulate sound insulation in some areas. This worked amazingly in my noisy-as-hell 991.2.
New center console lid if I can find the right part number.

Engine/Drivetrain:
Get a compression test, and if OK, add the Magnuson supercharger. I’m leaning toward driving down to Magnuson and having them do it themselves since I don’t really trust shops. I’m in the Sacramento, CA area.

I understand the Magnuson won’t turn it into a tire shredder, which is fine. I hear they drive quite a bit like the 5.7 Tundra, which feels pretty ideal. If the truck can do 40-70 at a good clip, I’m happy.

I’m not doing CAI or exhaust. I know the CAI doesn’t do much, and I really don’t like loud/droney exhaust.

On the fence about OTT after the Magnuson. I don’t want to hurt reliability, and I can only get 91 gas here.

Gearing: No plans here. It looks like people changing the gearing are mostly doing this to accommodate larger tires. I don’t care for the idea of running higher RPMs and losing more MPGs. If my thinking here is wrong, I’d like to know.


Exterior:
I’m pretty much stuck with repainting the roof, OR doing a vinyl wrap on the roof. Possibly a full vinyl wrap. The cheap in me wants to attempt DIY on the entire vehicle since that would be ~1k in materials and done as I have time vs ~4k in having a shop do it.
I did originally want a white 4runner, and 3m has some interesting white wraps. Or I can go wild with it.

I’m not sure what to do with the melted rear spoiler. I’ll need to find the part number for it and see what that entails.


Brakes:
They’re not bad, but I’d like better brakes but they dont seem to exist. I’m guessing a nice fluid flush will help a bunch. I have akebonos and the stupid powerstop drilled rotors.


Anything obvious I’m missing?
I figure for 12-18k I can make my 4runner feel more updated, have more power, and last me another 10 years and 100-150k miles. Yet, Ill still pay old-car registration and insurance costs.

You don't mention new tires anywhere. What are your plans there?

A super charger will reduce the life of the engine; too much added stress.

Defender LTX again. Current defenders have some good tread left, but they are getting old.

If you're not going to offroad it, I would trade it in and take that "upgrade" money and buy a highlander. It would be faster, get better mpg and be more comfortable. If I didn't need to offroad I would get a highlander or the iforce max sequoia since I still would want to go camping.

I love the 4runner and I have the magnuson, but I only keep it because it has a purpose. I also don't drive it daily and at this point it maybe sees 5k miles per year max. It is nice, and comfortable but there are better non-offroad dailies.

It’s not a sports car. Sell it to someone who understands and appreciates that.

it never sees anything tougher than fire access roads. When I bought it 10 years ago I did consider things like the Highlander or the Cayenne but I just like the 4runner and the way it drives.

nothing new is appealing at all either. so I figure I might as well fix a couple of little things like the acceleration and the carplay and be good for 10 more years

I would 100% rather have a cayenne or highlander if worst it sees it fire roads. I have the magnuson and the yotawerx tune(I was an alpha tester for it), and will tell you now that though it helps it is not gonna be like "Wow!". I am on 33's but it just brought it up to feeling like how I would have expected it to from the factory. It is still much slower than my 2007 v6 camry was. It also brought my mpg down(I average 14mpg). I don't know if you would consider it worth the investment. I NEED the 4runner for offroading and live at altitude so I did the upgrades, but there are SUV's that feel/handle much better on the road than the 4runner, but I consider it the most reliable swiss army knife offroader imo.

If I didn't go offroad I would rather be driving a Macan, Cayenne, RSQ8 or even Highlander. I daily an RS5 as it just feels much better as a daily than the 4runner and gets 31mpg in cruise control. Don't get me wrong, I love the 4runner but it has a purpose, and if I didn't need that, the road handling/mpg/slowness tradeoff is not worth it if not going offroad.

If you just are happy with it and want to keep it, update it to a carplay headunit and call it good.

yeah I might go a little while longer without the supercharger it just feels unsafe when passing you know?

funny I did test drive a Cayenne and checked out a Panamera as well a few months ago to see if i wanted to change.

and I mean a cayenne is a great vehicle but I just didn’t really enjoy driving it like I like the 4runner.

although that little test drive did end up with me buying a 911.

I am guessing your expectations would be a night and day difference, but it is not quite that. It helps, but its not a massive difference like you would assume; mostly due to the weight I think and since you can't upgrade the pulley the tune is the only place to get a bit more power.

The best way to describe it would be a tuned wrx vs non tuned. It would not feel like a stock supra vs big single turbo supra like you are probably thinking.

Just giving an honest opinion on it. It is nice, but the ROI given the price is debatable. If you plan to keep it for 20+ years like I do, then over that time it can be considered worth it, but hopefully that gives you a realistic expectation.

May I invite you to join PCA, Porsche Club of America? I've been a member of PCA for 52 years now, having bought my Porsche new 53 years ago. Still have it and still runs great. I just went out for a drive this afternoon.

PCA has, by far, the best monthly magazine, called the Porsche Panorama. Panorama Magazine | The Porsche Club of America

There is also a yearly convention called the Porsche Parade, and local chapters have lots of events such as tours, rallys, and parking lot auto cross.

eBay center console replacement cover

Center Console Armrest Leather Synthetic Cover for Toyota 4Runner 10-19 Black | eBay

Goes on easily and looks like new OEM, except it’s made of a beefier material. I’ve had mine for years and it still looks brand new

Not true. Actually the opposite is correct. Engine not working as hard with the blower and in return will last longer. Just don't expect great mpg's.

The Magnuson supercharger is worth the money if you enjoy driving. The SC shines on the highway. Getting up to cruising speed is actually fun now and I don't have to worry about changing lanes.

Also has gotten me out of some sticky situations due to having the extra power.

Might I suggest trading your 2014 in for a 2020 4Runner and taking advantage of all the updates like push button start. Especially if the roof it showing it’s age.

Also a tune, plus the pedal commander you already have, & a cold air intake make a lot of difference and would be cheaper than a supercharger. That’s what I have on mine and it’s not a sports car but it’s a lot more fun to drive. The vivid racing tune won’t work on the 2020 but there are other tunes out there if you search around.

VRP Cold Air Intake Kit Toyota 4Runner 2010-2021 | FJ Cruiser 4.0L V6 2010-2014 | VR-4RUN-110

Appreciate the honest opinion on the S/C. I probably should put some effort into seeing if anyone local has one and would give me a ride or something.

probably will join PCA at some point

thanks for the link to the cover, ill see if they have one with red stitching

I did think about new, but with the higher insurance, resale value drop, registration costs, and the fact they are like 55k and still have basically the same engine/etc it didn’t seem like the way to go. If i hadn’t bought the p-car, I’d almost consider a Lexus GX if I was thinking that way.

Sheez our 2014 SR5 averages between 18.5 and 20.5 mpg.