steezemcqueen
Moderator
Sorry. I already have 1st dibs.
Brian2sun Build Thread
- Thread starter brian2sun
- Start date
Sorry. I already have 1st dibs.
brian2sun
Elite Member
Thanks guys, it's nice to know the 'ol battle wagon is appreciated! I'll probably never sell it, I love my 4runner. But if I do, I'll give ya 1st dibs Dylan. :cheers:
just_yul, I'm not sure what you mean by how I got my fenders to look like that.? If you mean, I removed my black SR5 flares, sanded where they scratched the paint, and shot them with some Autozone Toyota natural white spray paint, then that's what I did.
If your talking about how I trimmed them to fit 35s, well then I cut them back with an angle grinder and pounded the firewall in with a BFH.
Yeah, a winch'll still fit in there fine. J-money and I chopped our ARBs at the same time/same way and his Warn 8000 is good to go. I think he might have done something to that bottom plate though to make it fit, but I'm not sure. My ARB doesn't have that piece.
That reminds me.. I need to get a winch. That's basically the last thing my truck needs (hopefully) for a long while. At least before all the bigger stuff like SAS or LT, linked rear, SCer, etc..
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JWaldz
Moderator
That's good to know. I might do a little bit of measuring and chop mine too. I figured you'd have a winch by now or that you haven't had one for this long so why do you need one lol.
brian2sun
Elite Member
True, I haven't really needed one since all my 4wheelin buddies have one. I guess it would be good to have for those rare solo runs though.
rickashay
New member
Hey Brian,
Not trying to beat a dead horse but I am up-sizing my tires right away and pondering my options. I have read several threads about fitting 305's and I recall you saying the body sat ontop of the tire, limited flex or the ability to fully stuff the rear tire. I am just curious how much lift you had at that point in the rear and if you were running wheel spacers at the time. Looking at your photos I can see you were on the split 3 spoke wheels but Im curious about the wheel spacer... Thanks!!!
To keep this completely on topic, I want to see more photos (or videos) of your truck wheeling!! haha
Not trying to beat a dead horse but I am up-sizing my tires right away and pondering my options. I have read several threads about fitting 305's and I recall you saying the body sat ontop of the tire, limited flex or the ability to fully stuff the rear tire. I am just curious how much lift you had at that point in the rear and if you were running wheel spacers at the time. Looking at your photos I can see you were on the split 3 spoke wheels but Im curious about the wheel spacer... Thanks!!!
To keep this completely on topic, I want to see more photos (or videos) of your truck wheeling!! haha
brian2sun
Elite Member
I had Mastercraft MT 305s on the 3-spokes and I think they ran even wider than the 315s I have now! They wouldn't tuck inside my rear fenders because they hit the SR5 flares (even without spacers). If I wasn't running 1" wheel spacers I think I could probably tuck my 315s in the rear and could have probably kept the flares, but I had to hack my front fenders anyways so I had to lose the flares either way.
I was only running ~2.5" of lift with Daystar spacers when I had 305s, so that could have had something to do with the geometry of the suspension and how it flexed.
The bottom line is, in my experience you have to do almost as much clearancing to fit 305s as you do for 315s. I say, you might as well just go for 315s. Plus now that I have 35s, they look like they fit the truck perfectly and 33s now look small to me, lol.
Most of us are used to seeing 33s and 35s on Jeeps as "normal", and I think since the 4runner is a longer vehicle (especially with aftermarket f&r bumpers) it makes big tires look smaller than on a Jeep. So 35s look like they just fit the look of the truck better. I know it's a gigantic step from what Toyota might have intended when they made the 4runner, but I think all "trucks" come with too small of tires from the factory.
I was only running ~2.5" of lift with Daystar spacers when I had 305s, so that could have had something to do with the geometry of the suspension and how it flexed.
The bottom line is, in my experience you have to do almost as much clearancing to fit 305s as you do for 315s. I say, you might as well just go for 315s. Plus now that I have 35s, they look like they fit the truck perfectly and 33s now look small to me, lol.
Most of us are used to seeing 33s and 35s on Jeeps as "normal", and I think since the 4runner is a longer vehicle (especially with aftermarket f&r bumpers) it makes big tires look smaller than on a Jeep. So 35s look like they just fit the look of the truck better. I know it's a gigantic step from what Toyota might have intended when they made the 4runner, but I think all "trucks" come with too small of tires from the factory.
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JWaldz
Moderator
I second that..
I think the 35s look right at home with the 3rd gens. I've had a couple people in their 3rd gens go out of there way to stop me in a parking lot when I'm just getting out of my truck to ask me what size tires I'm running lol. They usually give me the
when I tell them 
brian2sun
Elite Member
I haven't updated my thread in a while because I've been busy and haven't been driving the 4runner much for the last few months. My rear axle seals were leaking because my wheel bearings were original and had almost 220K miles on them and that made my rear brakes useless. So I fixed all that the week before last (thanks for the write-up BigFishAllDay) and it's sure nice to have rear brakes again!
The next thing I did was take the swing-away tire carrier off my CBI rear bumper. I wanted to remove it mainly because I could really feel the extra weight back there and it made my truck tippy and do wheel stands on steep climbs (on the same lines that other 3rd gens were keeping their tires on the ground). Basically with the swing-away and the spare tire, cooler, etc.., It was like having a 175 lb. man hanging off the back of my truck at all times and I could feel the weight back there. So I removed it and put the spare tire inside). Now I can see out my back window again, which is kinda nice.
I didn't want to get rid of the swing-away completely because it does come in handy for camping trips and such (when I need the extra space in the back). But for local wheeling, I'd rather not have the weight back there. I put a quick wire disconnect in so I can still run the license plate light on the swing-away when installed. And I'm going to just mount my CB antenna on a driffter mount so I don't have to mess with that every time. It only takes about 10 minutes to install or remove the swing-away.
And today I got some new tires installed! I was running 315 Cooper Discoverer STTs and I wasn't crazy about the traction I got from them on the rocks. Since I only put <5k miles/year on this truck, I didn't want to be stuck with tires I didn't like for the next 1/2 a decade or so. So I bought some 315 Goodyear MT/Rs and I'm really liking them. They are a full inch taller than the STTs too (even though they are both 315/75/16s). Now onto the pics...
(In front of Lake Gregory, CA.)
The next thing I did was take the swing-away tire carrier off my CBI rear bumper. I wanted to remove it mainly because I could really feel the extra weight back there and it made my truck tippy and do wheel stands on steep climbs (on the same lines that other 3rd gens were keeping their tires on the ground). Basically with the swing-away and the spare tire, cooler, etc.., It was like having a 175 lb. man hanging off the back of my truck at all times and I could feel the weight back there. So I removed it and put the spare tire inside). Now I can see out my back window again, which is kinda nice.
I didn't want to get rid of the swing-away completely because it does come in handy for camping trips and such (when I need the extra space in the back). But for local wheeling, I'd rather not have the weight back there. I put a quick wire disconnect in so I can still run the license plate light on the swing-away when installed. And I'm going to just mount my CB antenna on a driffter mount so I don't have to mess with that every time. It only takes about 10 minutes to install or remove the swing-away.
And today I got some new tires installed! I was running 315 Cooper Discoverer STTs and I wasn't crazy about the traction I got from them on the rocks. Since I only put <5k miles/year on this truck, I didn't want to be stuck with tires I didn't like for the next 1/2 a decade or so. So I bought some 315 Goodyear MT/Rs and I'm really liking them. They are a full inch taller than the STTs too (even though they are both 315/75/16s). Now onto the pics...
(In front of Lake Gregory, CA.)
J-money$$$
New member
now you just need to get out and wheel it.
brian2sun
Elite Member
I know! I'm thinking about going camping/wheeling on Fathers Day weekend, wanna go?
J-money$$$
New member
I may be up for the saturday. Maybe. I have a back packing trip on the 18th and need to get my junk ready for the con because I'm leaving for tahoe on the 28th.
we will see if i get all my stuff done this weekend. If so yeah
troyboy162
New member
saturday wheelin sounds good....
brian2sun
Elite Member
Sweet, let's try to plan something. Maybe camp Friday night and wheel on sat? Wish I could join you on the con, just to many commitments right now. Are you going to the con Troy?
J-money$$$
New member
Troys too askeered, Plus that JOB gets in the way LOL
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