4R scary on the highway/wind

D

dirtysparks

New member
I need recommendations here. I drove in pretty nasty crosswind the other night to the point where I felt like if I over corrected I would end up in the ditch. Ever since I had lifted my vehicle, it's been a pretty squirrely at high speeds which is even more affected by wind and I've been really on edge with any interstate driving. Now with snow on the ground and my new tires, it seems like there's a lot of wander/squirm/drift and feels like I'm always correcting. I was surprised driving straight over snowpack/ice that it felt like I could slip out at any little wheel turn, but when i test it turning the wheel back and forth, the vehicle responds normally.

My castor was brought into spec after the lift, but maybe it's a little too low. I had my psi up around the 42 range as recommended by the P to LT psi chart. I like the ride it provides but the steering wander is really sketchy. I miss the way it drove before lift and tires.

Here's some history, will attach last alignment sheet.


fj springs/5100s 1.75 in front and 1 inch cornfed spacer in rear
New C load Cooper AT3
spidertrax


Anyway what do I do?
remove spidertrax
adjust psi lower
switch to p rated tires
castor corrected control arms
new alignment
get used to it, this is normal
buy minivan
 

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IMO your alignment specs look perfect.

What kind of wind are we talking about here? There are some days that will be so gusty, no matter what vehicle you're driving in, you'll get blown around a bit.

Keep in mind, you're dealing with a lifted vehicle that will get blown around on a windy day. Taking the spidertrax off will probably make it worse because you're narrowing your width. P rated tires would be worse too bc the sidewalls wouldn't be as stiff as a C rated tire.

I would check your tire psi for sure. When discount tire mounted my E-load range BFG AT's on my tundra, they inflated them to factory spec which was around 33psi. On the drive home, the truck was all over the place and it wasn't even windy. Bumping the pressure up to about 45psi made it perfect.
 
check your control arm bushings, specifically the lower rear control arms, but it'd be a good idea to check all your bushings for wear/play.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. The other day was 35 mph gusts, and while I expect to be blown around a bit, I do not think it should feel quite so unstable. It won't track straight for very long before needing correction even with no wind. I will check bushings but keep in mind the vehicle handled properly before lift/tires. Will also try a higher psi, I almost felt like that floaty wandering feeling on the ice was due to overinflation and the tire not having even tread engagement. Never did do chalk test.
 
maybe sway bar bushings would help, and some poly end links too. might control the body movement a bit when you have to correct
 
I checked tire pressure when I got home and was surprised all 4 tires were set at 35 psi. I bumped them up to 41-ish and will see if there is any difference.

Have link or part number to end links and sway bar bushings? Probably won't get to that until it warms up.
 
Not sure if this is any help but this is why I kept my lift to a minimum (FJ all around + 5100s @ 0.85 up front, nothing else). This being said I do notice a clear difference between 34psi and 40psi now that I've got LT-spec tires. At 40psi the truck tracks well in a straight line at highway speed, at least if there's no crosswind. At 34psi the steering is sloppy.

My truck drives pretty good for what it is but if you give it sudden, quick (yet small ) steering input it's scary to feel how the chassis wiggles as all the mass catches up. A sportscar it ain't. Bottom line, you raise the center of gravity and handling will suffer, no getting around it.
 
wnelax04sr5 said:
maybe sway bar bushings would help, and some poly end links too. might control the body movement a bit when you have to correct
Click to expand...

You beat me to it. The OP did not disclose how many miles are on his Runner, but most of us 4th gen owners are near, or even surpassed 100k on their clocks and thus, their sway bar bushings and sway bar end links are SHOT and require replacement. I know that when I did my Toytech Ultimate lift 10 months ago, ALL of my SB bushings and end links required replacement. The OP should check these parts as they are a VERY inexpensive fix which will have a dramatic affect on handling. My 2 cents!

PS, I've driven my Runner through some pretty nasty crosswinds and gusts, since installing my Toytec Ultimate lift and I have had no issues with control or confidence.
 
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74K on the clock. Anyone have recommended parts for the bushings? Don't know much about them, would prefer greaseless and squeak free.

Will update if the higher tire psi helps out any. I would assume it would.
 
dirtysparks said:
I checked tire pressure when I got home and was surprised all 4 tires were set at 35 psi. I bumped them up to 41-ish and will see if there is any difference.

Have link or part number to end links and sway bar bushings? Probably won't get to that until it warms up.
Click to expand...

all 4x4 bushings are the same i believe, the only difference may be the front, but here is what i used.
for some more information- http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/34115-swaybar-bushing-upgrade.html

front: Amazon.com: Prothane 19-1186 Red 30 mm Universal Greasable Sway Bar Bushing fits B Style Bracket: Automotive

rear:
Amazon.com: Prothane 19-1164 Red 21 mm Universal Greasable Sway Bar Bushing fits A Style Bracket: Automotive

front end links left and right
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DBTXJY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Amazon.com: Raybestos 545-1582 Professional Grade Suspension Stabilizer Bar Link: Automotive

and for the rears, i would do this:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...sh-extended-rear-sway-bar-links-write-up.html
 
I'd try closer to 4* or a hair higher of Caster, lifting the J120/J150 platforms usually results in needing more positive Caster for better control.
 
Not to be that guy but have you considered that maybe you were driving too fast for the conditions?

Cross winds can be some of the most dangerous conditions because often times gusts are out of nowhere and you can't see them coming. At least in snowy weather you know what to expect or have a decent idea that the roads are slick so you can slow down and adjust. With heavy cross winds you can't see, there're really nothing you can do to prepare or correct for them other than slowing down.

Another thing is that when you lift your vehicle, you raise the center of gravity without widening the stance so your tipping point is much higher and will cause you to feel the wind more so than a vehicle that is at stock ride height.

As others have said, check your bushings and tire pressure as those can firm up your ride significantly but I would go out on a limb and say that its just what to expect when you lift a vehicle and drive in 35mph cross winds. Nothing much more you can do than slow down.
 
I get what you're saying about speed/safety/conditions, etc. I've lived in this stuff my whole life in a variety of vehicles - lifted included. It's not like this thing is 7 inches higher than stock or have a huge bodylift, it should drive reasonably well.

Hopefully it was my oversight on the tire pressure, otherwise I will look at bushings and possibly camber corrected UCAs.
 
verman84 said:
Not to be that guy but have you considered that maybe you were driving too fast for the conditions?
Click to expand...

I've driven mine in very high winds and never felt what he's experiencing. It has to be something with the alignment/tire pressure to be so flaky.
 
wnelax04sr5 said:
all 4x4 bushings are the same i believe, the only difference may be the front, but here is what i used.
for some more information- http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/34115-swaybar-bushing-upgrade.html

front: Amazon.com: Prothane 19-1186 Red 30 mm Universal Greasable Sway Bar Bushing fits B Style Bracket: Automotive

rear:
Amazon.com: Prothane 19-1164 Red 21 mm Universal Greasable Sway Bar Bushing fits A Style Bracket: Automotive

front end links left and right
Amazon.com: Raybestos 545-1581 Professional Grade Suspension Stabilizer Bar Link: Automotive

Amazon.com: Raybestos 545-1582 Professional Grade Suspension Stabilizer Bar Link: Automotive

and for the rears, i would do this:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...sh-extended-rear-sway-bar-links-write-up.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this info. It is very helpful. I have 182k on my 4runner and notice it is not as tight as it used to be. My wife uses it as a DD so I need to look into fixing this. It does jerk to one side or the other over road imperfections sometimes.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
I'd try closer to 4* or a hair higher of Caster, lifting the J120/J150 platforms usually results in needing more positive Caster for better control.
Click to expand...

I'd try for more caster as well.

When I lifted my Tacoma to 1.75 they couldn't get enough caster dialed in. It drove ok, but you had to be on your toes at all times..it just would not track straight for very long.
I had light racing UCA's installed and we dialed in more caster. It drove so nice after that.

I'm not lifting my current 4runner very much because I like how it drives stock.
 
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Air pressure helped quite a bit. It still jumps a bit but not the death roll i was getting before. I will probably end up getting some camburg ball joint arms to correct the caster.
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but since I have a wife and kids riding in this thing at highway speeds I can't go cheap on UCAs. Which are considered more reliable total chaos uniball or the icon tubular UCA uniball.
 
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