Female Parts

[harper7]

Harper7, is moving to Denver an option, you are a wealth of knowledge! You are an extremely useful man, I hope your old lady appreciates you!
lol......Denver's not an option! My long time GF has a 1997 4Runner Limited that I maintain and we appreciate each other.She's the ones that going to be pulling me out of the giant mudholes!!!:biggrin2:
Her Limited 4x4 has 160+k miles and she bought it a when it was a year old with 11k miles. Never a single problem with it and still runs like a top.

Great thread, Sam...as another girl I've been confused by a lot more than you though so far, but you are encouraging me to ask more questions.

Just a few more:

1. On the SR5 with the soft shocks we have, how long can we expect those stock shocks to reasonsbly last with typical road driving plus some 10-20% off-road but not extreme rock crawling (just your typical washed-out very rocky dirt tracks)? While I like the smooth ride on pavement, I do notice the extreme side-to-side movement on bumps and off-road (nose-dive does not bother me too much as I try to brake slowly and avoid jackrabbit accellerations.) I don't really want to get into replacing the suspension until the current set seems like it is wearing out.These OEM shocks should last well over 100k miles,depending on hard you run them offroad.
   
   
2. What is the best kind of shop to look for to install such a parts list as Harper provided? Try to find a offroad shop, mom and pop shop or find a trusted local mechanic .They have a bunch of 4x4 offroad shops around here.
   
   Is this parts list the same for stock 17" rims as Sam's 20" rims? ..17's or 20's ,but Sam already has the tires/lift that are bigger then stock.Not sure on the lifted look with stock tire size. I personally like 17's for offroad as you can air them down more to get better traction and without getting rim damage as easy.
   
3. Sam - when you say your current ride is rough, do you mean on pavement, or off-road, or both?
   
4. Harper - when you say this Icon parts list will give a sweet suspension for Sam's SR5, how will it feel on pavement vs off-road? Will it feel very stiff like a typical truck when you hit bumps, or is it a nice medium between the current soft, bouncy shocks and a very stiff hard feel? (i.e. my husband's Honda Element - while a very practical vehicle - rides lousy on bumps, esp. if you are sitting in the back - extremely stiff, feels like there are no shocks, everything rattles like crazy when you are on rough pavement). Exactly, a happy medium between the two.A real rock solid feel that makes you want to hit holes in the road,just eats em up!The ride is alot better on and offroad.
   
5. One more dumb question: what is the purpose of spacers, other than looks? Does it provide more stability on curves since the tires are further apart? Stability, to fit wheels with too much backspacing and/or for looks.
   

Thanks so much for all the great info, you guys are a wealth of knowledge...and I second Sam's comments on Harper! :cheers:

C'ya

 

[mountaindog]

C'ya

Thanks Harper!:hatsoff:

Now you've really got me interested in the Icon based on the ride/feel. We will be towing a camper next year and as my husband just suggested, that may also make us decide to upgrade the suspension sooner than 100k, we'll see how it goes, but now we have some great info thanks to you.

Thanks again Sam, I look forward to seeing what you end up doing with all this info, keep us posted!:hungry:

 

[I AM SAM]

Harper7 - Well I'm guessing you're in TX because it's a huge hub. A couple that muds together, stays together. Believe it or not, I actually have a long time BF that absolutely adores and spoils me rotten and has as many toys as I do. He is however very smart and adheres to the fact that it's my money, my project....he doesn't get involved unless asked, some say I'm a bit head strong and hard headed. :redbrick: :bash:

I'm going to try and catch up to BFlan so that I can hear his pipes and make a discission from there on what I want to do exhaust wise. I also wanted to discuss the icons with him, I can hopefully get them ordered next week....I just need a little more info on what I need to order.

MountainDog - Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement! As soon as I get the Icons figured out and installed, I'll post pics and let you know how it affects my ride. I'm thinkin' stage 5. :dancin:

You're ruppie puppies are gorgeous by the way! I need to get some pics of mine in the back.

 

[clemson4rnr]

I wonder if BFLAN would be so kind as to post some audio? :banana:

 

[BFLAN]

I will try to get on that audio next week. I am sorry just seem to always be super busy