Toytec Boss + JBA UCA's + Maxxis Razr MT
 

I recently installed the Toytec Boss 3" lift with JBA UCA's and Maxxis Razr MT tires and thought I'd put together a quick review on the install and my opinion of the final product. The install was on a 2003 V8 with XREAS, the suspension was 100% stock and no other mods.


Summary
The whole package exceeds expectations. The ride is a little stiffer than before, which is a good thing. It's stiff but not harsh - kind of a sporty feel, as sporty as a lifted 4R could be... The tires hum but aren't terrible (even with the factory radio). I can still set cruise at 80mph and comfortably drive down the highway. I ended up doing the body mount chop (BMC) and trimming and relocating of the inner fenders.


Install
The lift and UCA install took two of us about 8 hours (16 man hours). We didn't have a lift, but we had an impact, ratcheting wrenches and all the other tools we needed. This includes the differential drop kit and the bump stop relocate kit. We would have saved ~1.5 hours (3 man hours) if we had read the UCA instructions first.

The JBA UCA's come with several washers that are 2 different thicknesses. We didn't pay attention until after both UCA's were in and had to re-do both sides. Getting the long bolts lined up and through the frame and UCA's is a pain. This was 100% self inflected as the UCA's came with crystal clear instructions in the box.

The body mount chop took my friend ~1.5 hours from start to finish, including cutting the frame and slowly welding in the Metal Tech plates while quenching with water. The Metal Tech BMC plates were great and worth the $25.

I had to trim a little plastic from the inner fenders and move the front portion forward. In all, the trimming was pretty moderate. Before the BMC I could turn going forward on a flat street with no rub, but I always rubbed badly in reverse (even on a flat area). Going forward even a small bump caused rubbing. After the BMC, we're rub free!

My VSC TRAC and VSC OFF lights came on after about 30 minutes of driving. I was concerned that we had broken an ABS sensor wire, but they continuity tested just fine. I took it to the dealer and the zero point calibration ZPC solved all my problems.


Toytec Boss
SKU: TTBOSS-FJ3K; cost $1,450
I called the guys at Toytec to get a better understanding of the pros/cons of their different lift kits. They were very friendly and knowledgeable - great customer service and I would gladly buy from them again. I landed on the Boss kit as this will be driven mostly on the highway with light/moderate offroad use.

The coils are adjustable when installed on the 4R by un-weighting the suspension but be warned that it's a real pain. Each turn with the provided spanner moves the suspension very slightly, even when you disconnect the sway bar to get more room. I wish these would come with some rough guide of where to set the adjustment before installing based on your setup (v6, v8, heavy bumper, etc).

Right now it measures 38" from the ground to the fender in front and 39.5" in back. I lost my "before"measurements, but this is a little over 3" of lift in the front, even with the current 1.5" rake. I have had almost no settling after 2 weeks.


JBA STD high caster
SKU: JBA-7.0.HC.EZ; cost $450
I emailed the generic "sales@jbaoffroad" with several questions before my purchase and was pleasantly surprised when the owner, Marlin, responded quickly. He was friendly, responsive and helpful in answering my questions. He even gave me a nod of approval on my alignment spec sheet. Would gladly buy again.

Be sure to read the instructions that come with these. They're great and they'll save you a lot of time! The only tricky part with the install is sliding the bolt through the frame and UCA while putting in the different washers. The clearances are tight (which is good) but makes it a little tricky to get everything lined up.

I was able to get 4.3 degrees of caster. The 4R drives very tight and feels very stable at all speeds.


Maxxis Razr MT
285/70/17; cost $1,100
I was looking for aggressive tires that wouldn't break the bank and were a little different when I came across a review of these tires on the Dirt Lifestyle Youtube channel. I looked up Maxxis dealers in my area and got these for right at $1,100 mounted, balanced and taxes. The tech said that they balanced out a lot better than the Duractrac's another guy was picking up at the same time. They hum, but I don't think it's obnoxiously loud. I also have a Jeep JKU with 35" Pit Bull Rocker's and these are way quieter and more comfortable


SCS Ray 10
Matte Dark Bronze; 17x8.5; 4.3" Backspace; -10mm offset; cost $1,200 shipped
I love the way these look, but I had a Jekyll and Hyde experience with SCS customer service. I'll make another post on that experience for those interested.

I ended up buying the wheels from Freeman Toyota in Houston; they're one of a handful of dealers that carry SCS wheels and apparently have better stock than SCS as SCS was sold out in under a minute after posting but Freeman had plenty options available several hours later. In fact, SCS has been sold out since they were last offered on January 8th but you can still buy them from Freeman right now (February 24th).

Before and after

Here are more pics

4Runner - Google Photos

Damn that looks so good with those wheels! I definitely want to get a set for mine. We've got the same year and color.

Was the BMC absolutely necessary with the 285s and having the adjustable caster?

Thanks man. I was really happy with how it looks.

With these tires, the rub on the body mount was bad even just around town. There was no room for flex at all. So to me, it was 100% necessary and I couldn't get it done fast enough!

Maybe with different tires it would be better?

I doubt it, a 285 is going to be pretty much the same regardless of the brand of tire. I have no issues doing a BMC, I was just curious if it was really needed or not. Sounds like it was.

Seems to be a wide amount of variance for people running 285s on how much (if any) rub they get. Weird.

I think it depends on the wheel used (backspacing/offset/width) more than the tire tho. And the UCA used.

Oh, I meant to say body mount rub not rub in general. You'd think running 3-4+ degrees caster with 285s in general would keep it pretty far away from the body mount regardless of the offset (as long as there's no inward interference of course).

I agree. I did tons of research and the results were all over the map. I suspect you also have personal preference in play - I’m the kind of guy who can’t tolerate any rubbing noises, whereas others just turn the radio up louder and let it roll...

Toytec Boss + JBA UCA's + Maxxis Razr MT
 

Mine is at 3.0 and is no where near the body mounts with 285s.
17x9 with -12 mm offset

Yeah it seems to be common with the reversing at at and angle and stuff. I guess I'll see for myself once I install my lift.

Hmm yeah, did you get rubbing anywhere else? I'm assuming the normal stuff like removing the splash guard, moving the fender liner forward and trimming the corners of the front bumper. That seems to be common with 285s and/or wider offsets.

I'm gonna be running 5th gen trail wheels and Spidertrax Spacers so that'll put me out at around -17 offset. Hope it won't stick out too much...

I guess we'll see on the body mount clearance too.

Toytec Boss + JBA UCA's + Maxxis Razr MT
 

Edit. Replied with quote

So yeah the normal stuff for the front.
Trimmed off that tiny little lip that pokes out towards the tire. Then heated up the inner fender with a heat gun and pushed it in rather than cutting it all to bits.

-17 will only be .197 of an inch more than I’m at currently. I don’t think it will be to far out but don’t expect to be able to keep it clean for long periods of time. Lol.

I'll keep this is mind as I'm doing tires real soon. I'm actually thinking of going with 295/70s since they're only .6" taller and .1" wider (.7" taller and ".3 wider than your KO2s) than the same brand 285/70s.

How much body mount clearance do you have with +3 degrees caster? It's strange that @_kbarb had rubbing issues on the body mount with +4.3 caster and roughly the same size tire...