5th gen springs on 4th gen

[cbelisle]

Hey guys, I've searched high and low for an answer, and have found some information about this, but not a specific answer. I know that the 5th gen springs should fit easily on my 4th gen, but what I don't know is how much lift I should expect. Can anyone help me out with this? I'm asking because my buddy has a 2011 4R SR5 and he gave me his stock springs. I plan on getting 5100's all around, but not sure if I should go with the 5th gen springs, or look around and get some FJ springs.

Thanks in advance.

 

[KaseyMcc]

Hey guys, I've searched high and low for an answer, and have found some information about this, but not a specific answer. I know that the 5th gen springs should fit easily on my 4th gen, but what I don't know is how much lift I should expect. Can anyone help me out with this? I'm asking because my buddy has a 2011 4R SR5 and he gave me his stock springs. I plan on getting 5100's all around, but not sure if I should go with the 5th gen springs, or look around and get some FJ springs.

Thanks in advance.

I recently swapped a full 5th gen suspension (with less than 100 miles) over to my 4th gen. I would expect to get more lift from FJ springs if that's what you're after--I didn't notice much extra lift that I wouldn't just attribute to new coils. It basically looks like it's stock ride height. I have a 1.5inch spacer lift I'm looking to install to level it out, down the road I'll probably do a swap to 5100s and reuse the coils I've got now, maybe swap to FJ--not sure. Either way, I wouldn't expect much lift, just a little.

 

[cbelisle]

I recently swapped a full 5th gen suspension (with less than 100 miles) over to my 4th gen. I would expect to get more lift from FJ springs if that's what you're after--I didn't notice much extra lift that I wouldn't just attribute to new coils. It basically looks like it's stock ride height. I have a 1.5inch spacer lift I'm looking to install to level it out, down the road I'll probably do a swap to 5100s and reuse the coils I've got now, maybe swap to FJ--not sure. Either way, I wouldn't expect much lift, just a little.

Perfect, thanks for the help! Do you notice the ride being stiffer at all?

 

[KaseyMcc]

Perfect, thanks for the help! Do you notice the ride being stiffer at all?

I would say yes, but it's hard to say to what degree you could attribute that to swapping in a 5th gen suspension, versus replacing the tired old suspension with a new one. It feels as firm as it did from the factory; however, I think I need to replace other suspension components to make it "like new" (i.e. control arm bushings, sway bar links & bushings, ball joints, etc.). At 230,000 miles, I'm pretty sure all of my suspension components need revitalized--planning on doing them all this year.
A caveat: you will need to slightly modify the lower bushings on the front strut assemblies to fit the lower control arm mounts (either grind them down a little or spread the tabs on the lower control arms out a bit to accommodate the slightly larger bushing--when you tighten them down the tabs will suck right back up to the bushing). On the rear shocks, you'll need to ream out the upper mount hole on the frame to accommodate the newer style bumper that sits between the shock itself and the frame.
Once you've done this, everything will go right into place.

If you need more info, use that search bar on here--there's plenty of info to be found on how to do it and you'll likely gain a lot of useful info relating to other things that would come in handy down the road. This place is a sea of valuable information and experience gained from other members will shortcut your path to being able to do just about anything you need to do on this vehicle...even if you're not that mechanically inclined.

 

[cbelisle]

Thanks! Yeah, I've read about fitting the struts. I was just curious about the differences with the springs. I'll be doing 5100's so I don't need to worry about making the struts fit.

 

[Syr4RinNC]

I did this as a budget swap - I have bilstein 5100 and 5th gen coils/ springs. Got a small lift ~1 inch and a little stiffer ride. Haven’t done any significant towing with it to see if it’s less bumpy