4th Gen Suspension Options/FAQ

ANother great thread. New guy on the block here and i cant start a post yet, but working my way there. Anyhow, I got my sisters 03 4runner a couple years ago which is all stock. I just put on some 265/70 R17 tires which improves the look and ride of the car so far. I'm going to give this to my 17yr oild son, so i'm trying to pimp it out a bit for him to make it feel and look like he's not getting the old man's car. I know squat about cars, so please forgive me, and I'm also a full time student again at 46. The suspension has never been changed and it's got 187000 miles on it, so Im needing to upgrade. been looking here and on suspension connection for front and back shocks. What do I need to order? I was going to get the spacer from Jason on here to lift the front up 1" to level her out a bit for the new tires, but knowing I need shocks, I cant seem to spend $250 on a spacer and installation with crap shocks. from what I gather the Bilinstein 5100's should be able to give that 1' lift with the adjustment factor without spacers correct? And the only shocks i'm seeing are these..2003-2009 Toyota 4Runner 4wd - Bilstein Heavy Duty Shock Absorber (REAR) Yellow. And then I need front as well. Then all the talk of the 07 fj spings would be a great add on if I can find a set. Would I need these if I got suspension? Sorry for the winded post. I just want to hook my son up whos been a great kid. Thanks for your help or suggestions.

Those aren't the correct shocks here are the correct numbers for your rig,

5100's Front are 24-239370
5100 Rear are 33-187184



1" lift? That's not gonna do jack diddly squat to keep it from looking like dads grocery get'r you won't even notice that size of lift after the first couple hours it will still just look and feel stock...yeah and it's still so low to the ground you wouldn't even be able to see what shocks you have to slightly give him some kinda cool factor, still dads soccer wagon.
If he's been a good kid and you wanna "pimp it out" then do so but that's not gonna do it. He will say it's cool looking thanks dad, l luv you and I luv u to son. But he will think to himself and say to his friends , seriously? I can't even tell, my dad thought this would make it pimped out, oh well he tried. It's cool atleast I've got a car now.

Good luck,

And by the way I really do think it's cool of you to wanna do something like this for your son, good job dad. :thumb:
 
Those aren't the correct shocks here are the correct numbers for your rig,

5100's Front are 24-239370
5100 Rear are 33-187184



1" lift? That's not gonna do jack diddly squat to keep it from looking like dads grocery get'r you won't even notice that size of lift after the first couple hours it will still just look and feel stock...yeah and it's still so low to the ground you wouldn't even be able to see what shocks you have to slightly give him some kinda cool factor, still dads soccer wagon.
If he's been a good kid and you wanna "pimp it out" then do so but that's not gonna do it. He will say it's cool looking thanks dad, l luv you and I luv u to son. But he will think to himself and say to his friends , seriously? I can't even tell, my dad thought this would make it pimped out, oh well he tried. It's cool atleast I've got a car now.

Good luck,

And by the way I really do think it's cool of you to wanna do something like this for your son, good job dad. :thumb:

Haha! You just pissed in my corn flakes man!! Ha! I hear you though. I'll go a little bigger then....soccer wagon? That hurt
 
Haha! You just pissed in my corn flakes man!! Ha! I hear you though. I'll go a little bigger then....soccer wagon? That hurt

Lol. I know but you were able to understand the point.
Just do the 5100's all around and put the front setting on the 3rd perch or at minimum 2nd perch. Then get yourself a set of 1.5" Rear Spacers and if you feel the need for FJ Springs you can get those as well, think rock auto has them for like 50 bucks each.

Front 5100 shocks x2 $100 each
Rear 5100 shocks x2 $75 each
(order on EBay cybermonday from DownSouth Motorsports complete set F&R)
For like $320 best place to order bilsteins from and in the comments ask them to throw a couple DSM stickers in the shipment and they will, kid can slap them up on the rig.
Daystar 1.5" Rear Spacer kit $60
(Order just about anywhere)
07- last FJ Rear Springs x2 $50
(RockAuto)

Total 600-700 bucks when said and done
Son Response/Thoughts = jaw dropping and lost for words and a couple tear drops from being overly stoked on what you did.
Dad's Cool Factor/Meter = #1 Coolest Dad on the Planet for years to come
And his friends will envy him and you for doing that.
They won't even remember or recognize it as dads soccer wagon,afterwards.
 
Oneluv summed it up good. Get the Bilsteins from Down South Motorsports, will be $335 if I remember correctly. Order a 1.5" daystar spacer for the rear and pick that thing up a little.
Oh, from one father of teens to another, make him help! Let him learn how to do that stuff so that when he gets it he can do it himself. Also, if you are going to be looking at new tires go with something that has a more aggressive look. Some wheel spacers or rims that push the tires out an inch will help greatly too. Don't let him talk you into big rims, they ride like shit and will get bent up offroad if you guys ever do that. And never underestimate the power of plastidip! You can change the whole look with that stuff and when you don't like it anymore pull it right off. I've even done interior pieces in mine with it. You can also paint over plastidip and still pull it off later.
 
2wd vs 4wd front springs

Is there a difference between the front springs on a 4th gen 2wd vs a 4wd? as far as overall height? my gf's 2wd sits low in the front. 130k miles. what is the typical sag amount over time that people are seeing?
 
I know it is a matter of personal preface BUT... What is the preface between KYB Strut Mount, Insulator, Bushing and Washers...... or Moog Shock Mount... Moog comes with the same....

Just getting other opinions.... Thanks
 
I know it is a matter of personal preface BUT... What is the preface between KYB Strut Mount, Insulator, Bushing and Washers...... or Moog Shock Mount... Moog comes with the same....

Just getting other opinions.... Thanks
Personally I think kyb is a better brand, but that's it.
 
Personally I think kyb is a better brand, but that's it.


I'm leaning towards the KYB for I can get 2 sets for the a few dollars more than one set of the Moogs.

It is $44 for the Moog and $25 for the KYB..

I know nothing about KYB so thought I would get some feedback.

Getting my coils springs this week and want to put the struts together with new mount hardware...
 
I'm leaning towards the KYB for I can get 2 sets for the a few dollars more than one set of the Moogs.

It is $44 for the Moog and $25 for the KYB..

I know nothing about KYB so thought I would get some feedback.

Getting my coils springs this week and want to put the struts together with new mount hardware...
That inner rubber bushing takes a beating so replacing them is a good idea. And hell, for the price might as well!
 
where did you find that price? I have only found them for $83 for the 81108 and $63 for the 81081..

That was on rock auto I think they have kyb as well but don't recall the price,
sorry about that and late response.

I also can't comment on which is better Moog or Kyb for these type of parts since I have never used either of them for these parts.
Personally I would go with [MENTION=101553]t-man[/MENTION] opinion/recommendations if I were going too, he knows what's up. Glad to see he picked up my slack with a response for you lol.

Good Luck
Brotha
 
It might be a good idea to update this post. The original sticky is years old and there is a lot more useful information out there now.

Missing vendors:
Radflo , King , Fox , Bilstein 6125s , etc...

The part about the sway bar relocation kit / diff drop has caused a lot of people to order extras as most vendors ship them with the kit now. Just something you might point out as many people I talk to use this sticky as the end all to ordering there 1st lift kits.

Toytec Superflex Springs actually give 3" lift not 2" and the HDs are 4"
* Should know I've installed 30+ of these springs now

Might throw a part in about shock body size.
( rough idea )
1.5" is good for stock
2.0 for a bumper and skids
2.5 once you get into winches heavier bumpers skids etc...

example an ultimate kit on bilstein 5100s is not going to last a year with a heavy bumper ( some ive seen exceed 150 lbs ) , 12000 lb winch , Skids , roof top tent , etc.. It will over heat and burn up. I couldn't find a good link to share explaining this better sorry. I also don't know if a heavier spring would make up the difference.
 

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