Finally Arrived - 2014 Trail Premium w/ KDSS

[Engineer]

Updates below
After 9m+ of looking, countless test drives and 3m of waiting my 2014 Trail Premium w/ KDSS Mag Grey arrived yesterday. I feel like a kid in a candy shop (not sure if this is due to the T4R being my 1st new car or the fact that its a T4R). Hard to do much of an evaluation with only a couple days and 100miles but my thoughts below. (none of this will be news to T4R owners). Only regret it the amount of modifications I would like to make and the realization that it will take time to do them all

Options:
*Cargo Cross Bars (Will likely be up for sale along with the roof rack end of summer if I get a Gobi)
*Carpet Floor Mats (Replaced with Weather Tech)
*KDSS
*Alloy Wheel Locks

*KDSS , on road does exactly what you would expect, flattens the truck during corners. I love it and considering the reality the truck will spend 98%+ of its miles on road I think it was well worth it. I realize this is considered an "off road" option but to me the primary benefit is seen on road with the thicker sway bars without compromising the ability to flex/droop the suspension off road.

*Power, I haven't had a chance to lay into it (break in period) but just driving around I do not feel this is an underpowered vehicle. Maybe people are used to more but I suggest go drive a 12 year old civic that is measured in hamster not horse power and report back if you still feel the 4runner is underpowered. (granted in hill country with a full set of skids, lift, 285 and wind I can see that maybe it would be more of an issue)

*Nose dive, as expected is present but doesn't bother me much. However I do have Camburg Ball Joint UCA (in transit) and 2.5" Rad Flows to fix this "issue" and lift/level the 4runner.

*Gas Milage, REALLY you bought a T4R not a Prius, 1st modification was to turn off the ECO light and move one with life. All kidding aside no reason to report anything here as but for kicks the computer readout says 13.4 avg

I have not noticed (time will tell), Wind noise from mirrors, glare from the +15hp hood scope, staining in the headlights, noise around corners (KDSS noise)

Once some modifications are completed I will Post Pictures/change this to an amateur build thread.

Modifications:
Weather Tech Floor Mats
Removed unneeded Toyota Safety/info stickers (....yes this counts)
Turned off ECO Light (.....and yes this counts swell)

Items Coming/Waiting for install
*BudBuilt bumpout sliders (non beefy, non powered coated - I painted using rustoleum berliner)
*ARB CKMTA 12 Air Compressor (Mounting position TBD)
*Bussemann Fuse/Relay Box (Mounting position TBD)
*Camburg Balljoint UCA (confirmed to have +2 caster)
*Rad Flow 2.5" Extened Travel Coilovers
*Rad Flow 2.5" Rear shocks and 2" Spings (Rad Flow but made by Eibach)
*OTRATTW Switches (SPST White LED Upper/Lower)

Future List:
*Tires - Undecided, love BFG KM2's but there is no justifying a MT when it will live on streets, grave roads for camping and sand dunes
*Gobi Stealth Rack/Ladder
*Skid Plates (Brand Unknown)
*2nd Battery

Height Measurements: 3/4 tank of fuel - Stock Wheels/Tires (Dunlop AT20 Grandtek #37psig) - Nearest 1/8 of an " - 107 miles on ODO

Driver Front: 34 1/2"
Passenger Front: 34 1/4"

Driver Rear: 36 3/4"
Passenger Rear: 36 5/8"

And nothing you haven't seen so no :worthless

 

[1engineer]

Welcome! Just came in from the trail with new scratches all. the. way. down. the. side and including the rear flare lol. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine! You need no modification to make it off road worthy unless you are going to rock crawl or high speed desert runs.
Also be aware that the ECU is "learning" your driving habits for the first few weeks so if you crawl around pampering it the vehicle will think that is the way you drive and adjust settings accordingly. From day 1 I drove it exactly like I drive regularly. The engine was run, drained and refilled at the factory so no worries there.

Take it out, get it dirty and have fun!

 

[Engineer]

Thought it would be fun to update this post 5.5 years later

After 9m+ of looking, countless test drives and 3m of waiting my 2014 Trail Premium w/ KDSS Mag Grey arrived yesterday. I feel like a kid in a candy shop (not sure if this is due to the T4R being my 1st new car or the fact that its a T4R). Hard to do much of an evaluation with only a couple days and 100miles but my thoughts below. (none of this will be news to T4R owners). Only regret it the amount of modifications I would like to make and the realization that it will take time to do them all

Options:
*Cargo Cross Bars (Will likely be up for sale along with the roof rack end of summer if I get a Gobi) While I love the roof rack and it has held up very well aside from some fading of the powder coat I would likely not do it again, i hate storing things up there as they are in the weather (why I bought an SUV not a pickup) so aside from the rotopax and the traction mats, which became obsolete once I installed the winch its just wind noise)
*Carpet Floor Mats (Replaced with Weather Tech) Held up great so far aside from the logo falling off, I did have to trim the rear of them to make room for fire extinguisher mounts
*KDSS Don't regret this option in the slightest
*Alloy Wheel Locks Love the I put this in the "options" category

*KDSS , on road does exactly what you would expect, flattens the truck during corners. I love it and considering the reality the truck will spend 98%+ of its miles on road I think it was well worth it. I realize this is considered an "off road" option but to me the primary benefit is seen on road with the thicker sway bars without compromising the ability to flex/droop the suspension off road. Stick by this

*Power, I haven't had a chance to lay into it (break in period) but just driving around I do not feel this is an underpowered vehicle. Maybe people are used to more but I suggest go drive a 12 year old civic that is measured in hamster not horse power and report back if you still feel the 4runner is underpowered. (granted in hill country with a full set of skids, lift, 285 and wind I can see that maybe it would be more of an issue) While I find the highway use of cruise control very limited other wise it hunts for gears I have been known to toss it in S and limit it to 4th and it runs fine - 4.56 gears are still on my short list and I expect I will wish I did them sooner

*Nose dive, as expected is present but doesn't bother me much. However I do have Camburg Ball Joint UCA (in transit) and 2.5" Rad Flows to fix this "issue" and lift/level the 4runner. The shocks have held up to ~60,xxx miles without rebuild which is a shock in the midwest winters, If I was to do it again i would likely stay much closer to stock, I have had to rebuild the UCA twice and have only been one a single trail where I really felt "every inch mattered" I have these set for minimal lift, 1.5-2" up front and almost nothing in the back after the extra weight

*Gas Milage, REALLY you bought a T4R not a Prius, 1st modification was to turn off the ECO light and move one with life. All kidding aside no reason to report anything here as but for kicks the computer readout says 13.4 avg Still averaging 12-13 but I drive almost exclusively short trips and the truck sits outside most nights so cold starts on the highway I can get 15-16 if I keep it within the speed limits

I have not noticed (time will tell), Wind noise from mirrors, glare from the +15hp hood scope, staining in the headlights, noise around corners (KDSS noise)

Once some modifications are completed I will Post Pictures/change this to an amateur build thread.

Modifications:
Weather Tech Floor Mats
Removed unneeded Toyota Safety/info stickers (....yes this counts)
Turned off ECO Light (.....and yes this counts swell)

Items Coming/Waiting for install
*BudBuilt bumpout sliders (non beefy, non powered coated - I painted using rustoleum berliner) Even with proper prep the paint held up very poorly in the midwest winters ( I do not have front mud flaps installed) and I ended up having them powder coated, while it has held up much better its starting to degraded at an accelerated rate and I will end up line-Xing them along with the hybrid front bumper
*ARB CKMTA 12 Air Compressor (Mounting position TBD) Mounted this in the engine compartment and have been thrilled, maybe the best mod aside from tires I have done - I am a huge proponent of airing down offload for improved ride quality, I am normally in the 12-18psi range
*Bussemann Fuse/Relay Box (Mounting position TBD) Ended up putting this by the engineer fuse box, its held up well but I think I could have done a cleaner job on the install
*Camburg Balljoint UCA (confirmed to have +2 caster) As mentioned above, have been happy but have had to rebuild 2x
*Rad Flow 2.5" Extened Travel Coilovers
*Rad Flow 2.5" Rear shocks and 2" Spings (Rad Flow but made by Eibach)
*OTRATTW Switches (SPST White LED Upper/Lower) Without a doubt my favorite switches, they look like they could be OEM

Future List:
*Tires - Undecided, love BFG KM2's but there is no justifying a MT when it will live on streets, grave roads for camping and sand dunes I caved and did end up with KM2s - loved them but man did they get loud once worn, I did not notice it as the truck is just generally loud and it clearly got progressively worse but once I swapped to K02s the differance was night and day
*Gobi Stealth Rack/Ladder See above
*Skid Plates (Brand Unknown) Ended up with RCI Alu. and would do again in a heart beat - I have beat the living piss out of them and am to the point of needed to order full replacement as the BFH is starting to get in effective at getting them back in shape to mount (they don't look to bad but installing them is getting to be a PITA to get everything lined up
*2nd Battery Still have not done this but I do have a LI jump starter that has been used many times and is on my short list of recommended for Mods

Height Measurements: 3/4 tank of fuel - Stock Wheels/Tires (Dunlop AT20 Grandtek #37psig) - Nearest 1/8 of an " - 107 miles on ODO

Driver Front: 34 1/2"
Passenger Front: 34 1/4"

Driver Rear: 36 3/4"
Passenger Rear: 36 5/8"

And nothing you haven't seen so no :worthless

Overall no regrets, with a 3year stay out of state and a move back home and starting a family I will fully admit the past couple years have not been as exciting as the first few from an offload perspective but certainly more so from a "life" perspective. The 4runner had never let us down and we have used and somewhat abused her. Looking back on things I overbuilt and while I understood that at the time I did most Mods time with time priorities change and I think a more milder build would suit us just fine and perform slightly better on the roads