2008 Stock Urban Runner 4WD- Needs Tires, time for lift?

[Perkology]

All, please forgive a 4 Runner noob's silly questions, but I need help and have no reservations about admitting that I know very little regarding the following.

Also, I have read ARK's "4th Gen Suspension Options/FAQ", and have reviewed numerous threads concerning fitting over-sized tires and specific types of lifts, but am having trouble finding what I need, so I thought I'd ask.

So, I just purchased a 2008 Urban Runner - I was in the market but couldn't find exactly what I wanted (price, mileage, color, options, etc.) It became clear very quickly that people love their 4 runners, and at least in my region, don't sell them often. After about 4 months, I found a gem at a ridiculous price, and jumped on it. Now that I have Her, she is in need of new tires. I knew I wanted to kick up the aesthetics of the vehicle and the obvious comes to mind: Bigger, more aggressive AT tires.

So, with the stock 265/60/18 setup, can I upgrade the size of the stock tire at all without rubbing, sans lift or other modifications? If so, what are my options. If not, then based on what I've seen, it looks like 1.25" spidertrax, and a 2/2 or 3/2 spacer kit will do the trick, at which point I will have a few options regarding tires. Is that right? Basically, I want to modify the vehicle as little as possible, to start, to get a beefier tire and go from there. It seems my issue is the Urban Runner's 18" wheels, would that been an accurate statement?

I will do few trails, and no serious off-roading. What I will do won't require a lot of additional clearance. Again, this is mostly for aesthetic appeal, and though I spend quite a bit of time outdoors, I won't need to push the vehicle into the bad-lands.

Thank you for your patience and advice. I apologize in advance for the redundancy, but I can't seem to get a straight answer from the manufacturer or local tire retailers. They just want to make the sale, and then answer questions. Weird.

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

You've got to decide if you WANT a lift. If you do, there are a ton of options. You could probably go up one size, not sure how many tire options there would be. One size bigger would be 265/65/18. A lot of people run this size stock with no issues. Certain tires, such as the BFG AT's, may rub, but most won't. Spidertrax will only cause more rubbing without a lift.

If you're interested in lifting, you can look at 275/65/18, which has a ton of tire options. It all comes down to if you want to lift and if you mind taking a hit in gas mileage (bigger tires = more gas).

 

[Perkology]

ARK -
Thanks for the speedy reply! To your point, if I could fit oversized tires without the lift, I would. With the 18's, from what I've read, and your response, it seems that my options are severly limited. That said, I like the look of a modest lift, no question; 2 inches or so, anymore is overkill for me personally. It seems I can do so without a huge financial hit, so it absolutely appeals to me.
I guess the one thing that was holding me back from doing both immediatley is the idea that changing factory specs will lower longevity. I have a friend who has been with Toyota for 15 years, and when I asked him about it before I purchased, he scoffed, saying: "The Toyota engineers are smarter than you. If these vehicles were meant to ride higher, they would". I take those kind of comments with a grain of salt of course, but I am hesitant about lowering the functional life of the components just becuase I think it looks better. Is this a real-world issue, or will a modest lift realistically cause little to no longevity issues?

Also, I'm aware of the MPH drop, and would not use spidertrax without the lift - sort of an all or nothing scenario for me.

 

[KyleSCWM]

As somebody that has the same vehicle as you I can offer this ....

I was in a similar boat as you a few months ago. My 3rd Gen T4R had all kinds of off road accessories/lift kits/big tires etc, so when I got my 08 Urban Runner I thought it was "lacking" in the front because of the rake.

My tires are brand new 265/60/18 so I didn't want anything outrageous. I too, didn't want to stress the components of the truck because most of my driving is done on normal paved roadways.

I decided to grab some FJ cruiser springs ($80 for all 4), and the Toytec front spacer that net's ~1" of lift. So all in, I'm about $140 for parts. I thought this was very do-able.

The installation took me ~7hrs by myself in the driveway. It is very straight forward and the only difficult part is working around the front struts without disconnecting the XReas line. If you go slowly and deliberately you will not run into any issues with the ABS lines, or anything else that will cause you problems.

The combination netted me 1.75" front, and just under .5" rear. But I can tell you the ride is amazing w/ the FJ spring on stock XReas shocks. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Also this is WELL within tolerances for suspension components and I don't feel worried about stressing components. Alignment was a breeze, and the truck drives down the road like stock; which in a sense it still is because the FJ springs are still "OEM".

I don't have a picture on hand, but I have posted one before on the FJ Cruiser Forum. If someone would chime in that it's OK to post, i'll put in the link so you can see what my truck looks like now with the springs/spacers/stock tires.

Best of luck to you. As long as your XReas are in good shape I'd say go for it. If you do lots of off roading, I'd go ahead and replace XReas with something different as it is not made to be abused off road repeatedly. You should be fine in either 265/60 or 265/65 tires. When I need new ones in a couple years I'm likely to purchase 265/65 because of the tread options.

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

I agree with Kyle, that setup would be great for you I started out with the same setup, loved it. Only reason I swapped was for more lift and I had 150K miles on the stock xreas. IMO a mild lift, 2" or so, has no negative affects on longevity. Bigger ties add some stress, but not enough to be concerned about with what you're looking for.

Unless you choose too ditch xreas, I'd go with fj coils and the Toytec spacer for lift. If you want more lift, you can do fj coils with the daystar budget boost front spacer and daystar 1.5" rear spacer. Both daystar spacers can be purchased for under $80 shipped. This will give you approx 2.75" front and 2"rear. IMO, I don't think you'll have any issues at all with either setup.

For tire size, I'd do either 265/65/18 or 275/65/18. If you add spacers, either size will require some work to make fit, but this is minor. Neither size would require you to have spacers though.

The biggest component affected when you lift is the CV axles due to increased angle. However, our 4runners aren't affected by this. If you look at your CV, you'll see that it slants upward toward the tire. A lift of up to the inches will only reduce the angle or invert it so that its at the same angle, only slanted downward now. As long as angle doesn't increase, wear and tear will be no worse than stock.

 

[Deepseathomas]

Tire size

I have been down the road of bigger tires and more aggressive tread before. I have a 2008 Urbanrunner and the only tire I will use is the Michelin LT MS 2 on it. This is the reason, you said you wont go off road very offten, and If you do they will do nicely or fine for the time your off road, and the other 93 % of the time you will be driving around on the assfalt Yes. The bigger tires will give you a little more height. It also comes with more road noise, not as good traction in the rain or snow. I have used all sorts of tires and what i have come to love are the Michelin tires like the LT stands for light Truck, I like the MS2. this is the latest on for them and dont let the tread pattern full you.It is the best in snow and rain, and It is good off road. Now if you are going for some serious off road, Them there is alot more you want to do, like a lift . Old man emu Springs are great. I put a set on my old 2002 4runner and the ride is better than my new 2008 4runner. to some degree. I like this because I just put the springes and new front shocks with springs and new shocks in the rear to cover the new travel it added. raised the toyota up by 3"s was more really, didnt have to aline it. it was a quick change and gave it a better look.and ride.pluse more travel. The old saying is you change one thing you have to make changes to other things. a larger tire is cool. 2 to 3" Spring lift. you have to replace the front and rear, springs and shock in front, and both in the rear. If you dont go off road that often, I would opt. for the Michelin tires, you will never look back. Smother and quiter and better handling then all the rest.
Food for thought.
It you are going to get bigger tires you need to lift it. off road will rub when it is bouncing up and down. So if you want to do it do it right. Lift , more travel for front and back, and bigger tires. then it looks impressive. But tires alone will only make you think man I should of done it right the first time. NOT Backwards. I've been there. good luck hope I helped.
Deepseathomas Usn Retired.




, I have read ARK's "4th Gen Suspension Options/FAQ", and have reviewed numerous threads concerning fitting over-sized tires and specific types of lifts, but am having trouble finding what I need, so I thought I'd ask.

So, I just purchased a 2008 Urban Runner - I was in the market but couldn't find exactly what I wanted (price, mileage, color, options, etc.) It became clear very quickly that people love their 4 runners, and at least in my region, don't sell them often. After about 4 months, I found a gem at a ridiculous price, and jumped on it. Now that I have Her, she is in need of new tires. I knew I wanted to kick up the aesthetics of the vehicle and the obvious comes to mind: Bigger, more aggressive AT tires.

So, with the stock 265/60/18 setup, can I upgrade the size of the stock tire at all without rubbing, sans lift or other modifications? If so, what are my options. If not, then based on what I've seen, it looks like 1.25" spidertrax, and a 2/2 or 3/2 spacer kit will do the trick, at which point I will have a few options regarding tires. Is that right? Basically, I want to modify the vehicle as little as possible, to start, to get a beefier tire and go from there. It seems my issue is the Urban Runner's 18" wheels, would that been an accurate statement?

I will do few trails, and no serious off-roading. What I will do won't require a lot of additional clearance. Again, this is mostly for aesthetic appeal, and though I spend quite a bit of time outdoors, I won't need to push the vehicle into the bad-lands.

Thank you for your patience and advice. I apologize in advance for the redundancy, but I can't seem to get a straight answer from the manufacturer or local tire retailers. They just want to make the sale, and then answer questions. Weird.[/QUOTE]