2020 4R TRD Pro suspension vs Off Road trim - height difference & ride quality diff.?

[jay35]

2020 4R TRD Pro suspension vs Off Road trim - height difference & ride quality diff.?

I see a lot of OR/ORP owners change out their suspension pretty quickly to improve road handling and ride quality (reducing brake dive, etc), so I'm curious if Pro owners have the same issues and end up doing the same, or if the Pro suspension is already substantially better for road use and the only reason to change it is if you plan for more extreme rock crawling and such.

I'm also trying to ascertain whether there is a stock ride height difference between the Pro's suspension and the other 4x4-oriented trim levels like the Off Road/ ORP.

I read somewhere that the Pro rides about an inch higher but haven't been able to verify that anywhere. On the Fox product page, they creatively use to the "2.5" number in the same sentence as ride height, but careful examination appears to indicate the 2.5" is the valve body diameter, not a measurement related to the ride height. So what is the height difference, if any?

Is the Pro's Fox suspension componentry any more capable/articulate for trail rides, rock crawling, or overlanding than an OR/ORP model, or is it just designed more for absorbing bumps at speed when doing things like desert runs, sort of like the Fox suspension in the Ford Raptor?

I haven't found much info out there regarding the difference other than the Pro suspension allegedly rides better on the street. I'm planning to test drive the Pro and an Off-Road Premium back to back to determine ride quality/preference.

p.s., I think I originally posted this in the wrong forum section, as it was getting views but not replies. Maybe this is the right spot, being 5th Gen dedicated

 

[AZ Craig]

I can't help with the measurements off hand since I never measured my 2016 and my wife has my 2020 right now .

That being said, I put about 50K miles on my 2016 Trail (precursor to TRDOR) with the stock suspension (albeit, I did have KDSS on it). Have had my Pro for about 10K miles now.

The only thing I maybe miss about my 2016 is that I definitely had a bit less body roll with KDSS in turns. Brake dive and lean under acceleration was down right terrible with the stock suspension and we never cared for the vehicle's ride and handle much (just found it sloppy overall). I actually preferred it once we put E rated 265/70R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws on it as it firmed up the ride a bunch and generally seemed more planted than with the stock Dunlops (those tires were horrible). One of the reasons I actually swapped into my Pro was that I was looking at somewhere around $2K to $3K I figured to swap out the whole suspension on my 2016 (as I planned on doing something more substantial than the Billstein 5100 swap).

The Pro suspension rides and handles EXTREMELY well overall and is great offroad if you want to run with speed (which is something you can do down here in Arizona). I think it technically has a bit more travel than the Offroad, but it's not really going to help you in technical offroad situations in any specific way from what I understand of it. You may be able to do better for the money with a full suspension swap on an Offroad, but that's not going to come with the convenience factor of getting it all straight from Toyota (and having the initial equipment likely warrantied if anything fails prematurely on you).

The true litmus test for me will be once I swap the Terra Grappler P-metric tires off of my Pro (as I expect it to ride a bit harder at that point). Still haven't decided if I'm going to C or E load rated, but definitely doing something LT. I had 60+ pound 33 inch Exo Grapplers on my Wrangler JK back before my 4Runners though, so I'm used to running heavy tires .

 

[Thebeastlives]

The Pro and offroad diff in their suspension components and colors available . Their offroad capabilities are the same. If you modify your 4 runner to handle serious terrain you probably will do what most do and replace your stock suspension with aftermarket shocks, struts, springs, uca etc which make purchasing a Pro nonsense unless you want a color only available in the Pro. After market shocks from King or Bilstein will exceed the capabilities of the Fox Setup on the pro when done correctly. Yes the pro will perform offroad in rough desert or hard packed desert terrain better than a stock offroad. Most guys I offroad with have SR5 with all the offroad goodies and the trim they want and then they modified their suspension and tire etc setup far from anything stock can match. Stock sucks once you leave the road and for the money you can get alot on the offroad (warranty too) and be superior in both on the road and offroad capability over the Pro.

 

[jay35]

Thanks, all. Appreciate the feedback.

As far as ride height, if anyone knows whether the Pro the same as the other trim levels or is it any higher in stock form. If not, I can try to measure when I go to the dealer to test drive.

 

[Thai]

IMO...if you’re not into modifying your rig with aftermarket parts AND you have deep enough pocket, then get the TRD PRO. For 90% of 4runner owners, they will never exceed TRD Pro capability envelope.

 

[AZ Craig]

Thanks, all. Appreciate the feedback.

As far as ride height, if anyone knows whether the Pro the same as the other trim levels or is it any higher in stock form. If not, I can try to measure when I go to the dealer to test drive.

From what I've seen you'll actually run into vehicle to vehicle variation, but should give it a shot for real measurements .

I am sure the Pro does not have as much of the "factory rake" as it's referred to on the other trims (front end is significantly lower), so front end is definitely leveled out if nothing else. I always had thought it had something like 1.5 inch lift in the front and about half an inch or so in the rear from reading I previously did.

 

[TRD PANTHER]

Thanks, all. Appreciate the feedback.

As far as ride height, if anyone knows whether the Pro the same as the other trim levels or is it any higher in stock form. If not, I can try to measure when I go to the dealer to test drive.

The Pro is 1” higher up front over the other models. The Pro also comes with the fender liner mod done at the port for additional clearance at max articulation with the oem 265’s.

 

[spartacus]

Trd pro is worth it in Army Green.

 

[jp.vegas]

The Pro is 1” higher up front over the other models. The Pro also comes with the fender liner mod done at the port for additional clearance at max articulation with the oem 265’s.

Yep. Fender liner and bumper cut. +1"up front is right as well.