DarthYota
Member
331K miles of experience, 250K of that with slotted on the 4Runner, lot of off-road miles including sand and mud. Sand or mud chewing up pads has never been an issue. The ceramic pads are too hard to get chewed up.
Yeah the 4R will never see a track, which is why I always get a chuckle over guys here talking about their improved high speed cornering/handling with KDSS or XREAS.
Chuckle away. Sure It may never see a track but living in the DC area and taking on/off ramps for the Beltway, 66, 81, 50, 95, etc at speed so I can better merge with the idiots on the highway, the XREAS is noticeably better at maintaining the body control and feels significantly more stable. I'll take that every day when I get an SUV that takes those ramps like a car with minimal body lean.
Before I bought my LE, I rented a brand new, less than 5k miles, SR5 in Denver from Avis for a work trip and took a weekend to go skiing in Keystone. On the way back it felt really unsettled and an unnerving amount of body lean on the big sweepers on 70. I suspect the 17 inch wheels/tires are also a component of that.
We also have some country twisties here.
Sure I drive 10mph over the speed limit, when appropriate, as a general rule. I love the fact that my 4runner handles almost like a car on the highway and can still go get rough and tumble.
After that experience in Denver, I would never own a 4runner without XREAS, KDDS, or aftermarket suspension. And I'd never track the 4runner, but there is real-world practical application here.
To each his own though.