Baby on the way.. Going from FJ back to 4Runner. Many questions:

[Donovan1]

Guys, I'm sure some of these questions have been asked, but I wanted to see if any new opinions were out there and get some ideas and feed back.

When I rolled my 3rd gen (Then drove it home 60 miles..) I was forced to decide between the brand new and expensive 4Runner or an FJ which appealed to me and no car payment. I went with the JF. After 4 years of ownership and now having a baby girl coming in December, I'm leaning towards going back to a 4Runner which would be my 5th 4Runner!
The FJ does everything it was intended to do perfectly, however it is SHORT and getting kiddo into the back will be a pain. I always have to put the rear seats down or remove them when car camping with the wife, dog, kayak, etc so that's not really an option with a kiddo unless I throw stuff on the roof.

Questions: I'm thinking of going with the TRD Pro if my dealer ever gets them in... :noidea: Is there a reason to go or not to go with the Pro over the Trail Premium? Is there any difference in the suspension on the Pro that would be beneficial if I used say spacers to add another 2 inches? Doesn't seem to make sense to toss out the suspension on the Pro to add coilovers as it's already pretty great.

I'm running 305s on the FJ and I'd like to use them on the 4Runner. Is this going to be impossible as the 4Runner is a it lower? I'd think if they use the same lift I should be able to but????

Anything else I should be thinking of when making the decision to switch?

 

[gringo]

Start here:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/181238-trail-w-mods-trd-pro.html

 

[Jeff614]

If your planning on 305's, or even the more common 285's, I'd say go with TEP or even just regular TE and save the $$ difference for mods.

The linked thread should answer most of your questions but I know if they had the pro when I was buying and could've afforded it, I'd have chosen that and been done with it. Definitely going to be a rare vehicle with high resale value and great off-road ability already built in.

Congrats on the new baby and wheels!
- Jeff

 

[E-ROCKER]

It wasn't mentioned if your FJ is lifted or not? Do you have aftermarket suspension on the FJ or just spacers?

 

[Swarty]

Guys, I'm sure some of these questions have been asked, but I wanted to see if any new opinions were out there and get some ideas and feed back.



When I rolled my 3rd gen (Then drove it home 60 miles..) I was forced to decide between the brand new and expensive 4Runner or an FJ which appealed to me and no car payment. I went with the JF. After 4 years of ownership and now having a baby girl coming in December, I'm leaning towards going back to a 4Runner which would be my 5th 4Runner!

The FJ does everything it was intended to do perfectly, however it is SHORT and getting kiddo into the back will be a pain. I always have to put the rear seats down or remove them when car camping with the wife, dog, kayak, etc so that's not really an option with a kiddo unless I throw stuff on the roof.



Questions: I'm thinking of going with the TRD Pro if my dealer ever gets them in... :noidea: Is there a reason to go or not to go with the Pro over the Trail Premium? Is there any difference in the suspension on the Pro that would be beneficial if I used say spacers to add another 2 inches? Doesn't seem to make sense to toss out the suspension on the Pro to add coilovers as it's already pretty great.



I'm running 305s on the FJ and I'd like to use them on the 4Runner. Is this going to be impossible as the 4Runner is a it lower? I'd think if they use the same lift I should be able to but????



Anything else I should be thinking of when making the decision to switch?

The fenders/wheel wells are very different... I'd be surprised if you can get 305s to fit without rubbing and will def need a body mount chop.

 

[bimrunner]

You can get 305s on if you are willing to do some serious fender trimming, go to aftermarket bumpers, lift 3" front and at least 2" rear, go to upgraded UCAs, use the correct offset tires and do a BMC. I'm sure I could run 305s on mine. It just takes more work than the FJ to get there, but it is doable. I think [MENTION=8206]harper7[/MENTION] is running 305s. Oh, you are going to need to re-gear too.

 

[Donovan1]

It wasn't mentioned if your FJ is lifted or not? Do you have aftermarket suspension on the FJ or just spacers?

Yes. The FJ has Toytech's coilovers up front and their springs in back. I also have 1 1/2 wheel spacers to try to clear the body mount a bit and it looks cool..

 

[Donovan1]

The fenders/wheel wells are very different... I'd be surprised if you can get 305s to fit without rubbing and will def need a body mount chop.

I had to chop the hell out of the FJ to get the tires to quit rubbing on the body mount. They are well clear of the fenders however. I don't know that I'd care that much about them taping the fender at full compression but if they simply won't fit, that is another story.

 

[Donovan1]

You can get 305s on if you are willing to do some serious fender trimming, go to aftermarket bumpers, lift 3" front and at least 2" rear, go to upgraded UCAs, use the correct offset tires and do a BMC. I'm sure I could run 305s on mine. It just takes more work than the FJ to get there, but it is doable. I think [MENTION=8206]harper7[/MENTION] is running 305s. Oh, you are going to need to re-gear too.

I didn't re-gear the FJ. It's a bit slower, but not hugely and I get acceptable mileage considering the tire height difference and the treat pattern. If the Trail comes with 31s more or less wouldn't 305s be close enough to run on the T4R too with standard pumpkin gears?

 

[Donovan1]

If your planning on 305's, or even the more common 285's, I'd say go with TEP or even just regular TE and save the $$ difference for mods.

The linked thread should answer most of your questions but I know if they had the pro when I was buying and could've afforded it, I'd have chosen that and been done with it. Definitely going to be a rare vehicle with high resale value and great off-road ability already built in.

Congrats on the new baby and wheels!
- Jeff

I had 285s on my old 3rd gen and they looked small. I guess I'm just used to huge tires. I'd really like to get the larger tire under there.

 

[Donovan1]

TRD Pro = No sun roof?

 

[Donovan1]

This is my rig now. It's next to a Jeep with 35s.

 

[Donovan1]

What wheel size are they putting on the Pro?

I'm sorry for asking stupid questions. I just figure it's better and easier to ask the experts and folks that actually own one.

 

[Swarty]

Harper is so far from stock and uses small dia 305s.

You can get 305s on if you are willing to do some serious fender trimming, go to aftermarket bumpers, lift 3" front and at least 2" rear, go to upgraded UCAs, use the correct offset tires and do a BMC. I'm sure I could run 305s on mine. It just takes more work than the FJ to get there, but it is doable. I think [MENTION=8206]harper7[/MENTION] is running 305s. Oh, you are going to need to re-gear too.

Harper did BMC, lift, fender mods and still had to extend his bump stops to fit those though and then he switched from a 305/70(34") to a 305/65(33") in order to not rip the lugs off of his wheels... a 305/65 is .1" smaller in dia than a 285/70. In reality they are so close to identical dia you'd never notice. although that extra inch in width has got to come in handy sometimes.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/155751-rims-big-tires-without-spacers.html#post1544510

 

[bimrunner]

Harper did BMC, lift, fender mods and still had to extend his bump stops to fit those though and then he switched from a 305/70(34") to a 305/65(33") in order to not rip the lugs off of his wheels... a 305/65 is .1" smaller in dia than a 285/70. In reality they are so close to identical dia you'd never notice. although that extra inch in width has got to come in handy sometimes.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/155751-rims-big-tires-without-spacers.html#post1544510

I thought he was running 305/70/17. I'm running 34" tires no problem but I've done what most consider extreme. I'm sure I could go bigger too. But really this size is perfect.

 

[bimrunner]

I didn't re-gear the FJ. It's a bit slower, but not hugely and I get acceptable mileage considering the tire height difference and the treat pattern. If the Trail comes with 31s more or less wouldn't 305s be close enough to run on the T4R too with standard pumpkin gears?

You could stay stock but the 4Runner has the same engine as the FJ but heavier. It will feel even more sluggish than your old rig did. You can always try it and if you don't like it, then re-gear.

 

[Donovan1]

You could stay stock but the 4Runner has the same engine as the FJ but heavier. It will feel even more sluggish than your old rig did. You can always try it and if you don't like it, then re-gear.

I suppose I could do that. My FJ also has the off road package so it had 16 inch wheels. I used 16 inch again with the new wheels. There will be a difference is sidewall height if I use 17s or 18s on the T4R.

 

[bimrunner]

I suppose I could do that. My FJ also has the off road package so it had 16 inch wheels. I used 16 inch again with the new wheels. There will be a difference is sidewall height if I use 17s or 18s on the T4R.

16 inch rims don't fit on the 4Runner. Many have wished/tried but it just won't work with the calipers on the 4Runner. I'd run 16s if it was possible. It isn't.