Help me decide on a suspension setup...

[Mistaken]

First off... I have done research and have read a lot before posting this. I am looking for opinions on what I should do for what I am looking for. My Limited does have XREAS and I dont mind ditching it for the right setup.

My goals for swapping out the suspension are (in no particular order):

-eliminate nose dive
-1-2" lift or so
-better ride quality
-better "stance"

I want to say "better offroad setup" but with my wheel and tire combo, Im not sure that makes too much sense. I do not off road my 4runner but will take it on some dirt roads/trails for fun. Have a trip to Moab planned for next spring/summer. But nothing to get excited about.

I am looking at picking up a used TRD Pro suspension for a good deal. Or should I just go with some 5100's? Or what else should I consider?

Here is a pic of my 4Runner for reference.

 

[1engineer]

First off... I have done research and have read a lot before posting this. I am looking for opinions on what I should do for what I am looking for. My Limited does have XREAS and I dont mind ditching it for the right setup.

My goals for swapping out the suspension are (in no particular order):

-eliminate nose dive
-1-2" lift or so
-better ride quality
-better "stance"

I want to say "better offroad setup" but with my wheel and tire combo, Im not sure that makes too much sense. I do not off road my 4runner but will take it on some dirt roads/trails for fun. Have a trip to Moab planned for next spring/summer. But nothing to get excited about.

I am looking at picking up a used TRD Pro suspension for a good deal. Or should I just go with some 5100's? Or what else should I consider?

Here is a pic of my 4Runner for reference.

I'm not going to recommend anything but I can say a few thing to hopefully help you out:
1. Nose dive will always be there to some extent. Unless you completely change the geometry of the suspension you will have some nose dive.
2. By adding 1-2" of lift you will change the handling characteristics of the 4Runner because you will raise the CoG or Center of Gravity and it won't change it for the better on the road.
3. Ride quality to many signifies how smooth the ride is on the highway. Tire type, sidewall height and compound are just as important, if not more, for ride quality.
4. Stance, when talking about vehicles, is usually the width of the track of the vehicle. People will run wheel spacers to improve the "stance."

Basically any time you change suspensions you are either gearing it for better road performance or better off road performance, not both. A stock 4Runner TE is probably the closest thing you can have that improves both on and off road performance.

I think it might help the opinions if you clarify:

-Do you want a better on road ride or better on road cornering?
-Are you going to change your wheel and tire setup to 17"?
-Are you really wanting a true off road suspension or just a better on road ride?
-What is your definition of stance?

I ask about the wheels and tires because changing them to 17's would give you a much better ride on the road and better off road too. They would not help with negating nose dive nor on road handling around the turns.

 

[Mistaken]

I'm not going to recommend anything but I can say a few thing to hopefully help you out:
1. Nose dive will always be there to some extent. Unless you completely change the geometry of the suspension you will have some nose dive.
2. By adding 1-2" of lift you will change the handling characteristics of the 4Runner because you will raise the CoG or Center of Gravity and it won't change it for the better on the road.
3. Ride quality to many signifies how smooth the ride is on the highway. Tire type, sidewall height and compound are just as important, if not more, for ride quality.
4. Stance, when talking about vehicles, is usually the width of the track of the vehicle. People will run wheel spacers to improve the "stance."

Basically any time you change suspensions you are either gearing it for better road performance or better off road performance, not both. A stock 4Runner TE is probably the closest thing you can have that improves both on and off road performance.

I think it might help the opinions if you clarify:

-Do you want a better on road ride or better on road cornering?
-Are you going to change your wheel and tire setup to 17"?
-Are you really wanting a true off road suspension or just a better on road ride?
-What is your definition of stance?

I ask about the wheels and tires because changing them to 17's would give you a much better ride on the road and better off road too. They would not help with negating nose dive nor on road handling around the turns.

Thank you for a detailed response, I was hoping you would chime in at some point.

I understand nose dive will always be somewhat there, I would like to limit it, if possible.

The reason for the lift of 1-2" is for 2 reasons, to elimintate some rubbing I get on full lock turns and in reverse and also for the look or "stance". I want a more aggressive ride height but not more than 2".

By ride quality I mean for the suspension to absorb more of the bumps of the road. I was assuming an upgraded shock would do the trick. Since I do have a smaller sidewall tire, it would be nice for the suspension to take more of the workload to limit the harsh ride at times.

What I mean by stance is just how the 4runner sits. So far to adjust the stance I have added more aggressive wheels and tires to give it a wider, flush and aggressive overall look. I think a small lift would also help this.

To answer your other questions:

I want a better road ride. Something to absorb the road, gravel and dirt trails a little better. I am not interested in making this corner any better.

At this time I am keeping the 20" wheel setup. Maybe further down the road I would swap to 17's with a better off road tire but that would be a totally different suspension setup than I am after now.

I would like a solid mix of more off road capable and on road quality.

Thanks!

 

[slyangel9]

Not to make your head spin anymore, but IMO the 5th gen is probably almost identical to the 4th gen. I think you'll get better feedback on the various suspension options from the 4th Gen forum. The 4th gen lasted for 9 years, while the 5th gen is still sort of new (therefore there are not too many that have done it).

 

[3wbdriver]

Bilstein 5100's set at 1.75" front and zero rear or add a small spacer in back. Still maintains almost factory ride, but does ease the nose dive some. I can't say for sure it will fix your rub though. That may just require some trimming. I still had a slight rub up front on one side at full lock in reverse after the 1.75" because my wheels were 1" wider than factory. Even with the factory sized 265/70-17 AT tires.

 

[FactoryRide]

Not to make your head spin anymore, but IMO the 5th gen is probably almost identical to the 4th gen. I think you'll get better feedback on the various suspension options from the 4th Gen forum. The 4th gen lasted for 9 years, while the 5th gen is still sort of new (therefore there are not too many that have done it).

Pretty sure the 4th gen didn't last that long. Pretty sure 2003 to 2009 is 6 years.

The 5th gen has been around 5 years now, and we will start seeing their 6th year of production here in coming months.

There has been a large amount of members that have used various suspension set ups from daystar spacers to 5100s and on up to modular or long travel systems. Definitely no shortage of information in the 5th gen section.

 

[slyangel9]

Pretty sure the 4th gen didn't last that long. Pretty sure 2003 to 2009 is 6 years.

The 5th gen has been around 5 years now, and we will start seeing their 6th year of production here in coming months.

There has been a large amount of members that have used various suspension set ups from daystar spacers to 5100s and on up to modular or long travel systems. Definitely no shortage of information in the 5th gen section.

Ya right, not 9, technically its 7 years. point is, those older cars are more inline for a suspension replacement before the 5th gen due to their age and higher mileage.

 

[coversion]

I ditched XREAS for 5100's and have no regrets. I know nothing about the TRD Pro setup, but I'd personally rather put new equipment on my truck.

I don't "wheel" or "crawl". I am 90% on-road, but love getting on trails and fire roads when I can. I researched to the point of paralysis and came down between the Toytec/5100 and Icon. For my purposes, there was no need to spend an additional $1k+ more for any stage of the Icon setup. When they give out, I'll replace them. I have no interest in having shocks rebuilt.

It seems like the Limiteds with XREAS have much less trouble with nose dive than the others (at least mine did). However, the 5100's are a little more firm when braking. I think the ride is definitely improved both on and off-road, but I will say I replaced tires and wheels with 17/265s at the same time, so I may just be benefiting from taking off the 20's - so not quite apples to apples with your situation.

For me, it came down to this: I "wanted" the lift. I did not "need" it. It looks good. I love it. I have no regrets. It performs flawlessly for what it is intended. The suspension/wheel/tire combo has cost me 1.5-2.0 mpg. Also worth it for me. On-road, it feels as good as it did with XREAS & 20's, if not slightly better (which is all I was seeking). Off-road and through Dallas pot-holes, it is a world of improvement.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[LawnDart]

TRD suspension!

 

[4Surfin]

TRD suspension!

hmmm wonder if anyone is selling said suspension lol

 

[Mistaken]

Bilstein 5100's set at 1.75" front and zero rear or add a small spacer in back. Still maintains almost factory ride, but does ease the nose dive some. I can't say for sure it will fix your rub though. That may just require some trimming. I still had a slight rub up front on one side at full lock in reverse after the 1.75" because my wheels were 1" wider than factory. Even with the factory sized 265/70-17 AT tires.

That is good to know. I hope it would get rid of it but you never know.

I ditched XREAS for 5100's and have no regrets. I know nothing about the TRD Pro setup, but I'd personally rather put new equipment on my truck.

I don't "wheel" or "crawl". I am 90% on-road, but love getting on trails and fire roads when I can. I researched to the point of paralysis and came down between the Toytec/5100 and Icon. For my purposes, there was no need to spend an additional $1k+ more for any stage of the Icon setup. When they give out, I'll replace them. I have no interest in having shocks rebuilt.

It seems like the Limiteds with XREAS have much less trouble with nose dive than the others (at least mine did). However, the 5100's are a little more firm when braking. I think the ride is definitely improved both on and off-road, but I will say I replaced tires and wheels with 17/265s at the same time, so I may just be benefiting from taking off the 20's - so not quite apples to apples with your situation.

For me, it came down to this: I "wanted" the lift. I did not "need" it. It looks good. I love it. I have no regrets. It performs flawlessly for what it is intended. The suspension/wheel/tire combo has cost me 1.5-2.0 mpg. Also worth it for me. On-road, it feels as good as it did with XREAS & 20's, if not slightly better (which is all I was seeking). Off-road and through Dallas pot-holes, it is a world of improvement.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Thanks for your input!

TRD suspension!

Lol, I still want to go this route. Just making sure its my best option for what I want/need. :bounce:

 

[LawnDart]

hmmm wonder if anyone is selling said suspension lol

Sorry was the winky not obvious enough. I WILL TRY HARDER! /WINK!

I'm totally cool if Mistaken doesn't snag my TRD Suspension parts, I'd rather he end up with something that makes him 100 percent happy. I only changed my suspension out because of adding the winch, rack, awning, etc.

 

[mattr]

Just an anecdotal piece of info here, suspension comments are really subjective. Things like longevity, travel, etc. are more quantitative. You can a lot of opinions on here but you could easily have 5 people drive the same rig and have different opinions on the 'feel', and even the amount of nose dive. I found my stock X-REAS didn't have noticeable nose dive, and had there not been so much talk of it I never would have thought about it, my aftermarket suspension so far doesn't suffer any either.

I went with mine primarily because I wanted a little more travel, a bit of lift, but also the ability to easily adjust it to get the right feel on-road. I don't have any regrets so far, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else unless I knew the exact combo of what they were looking for.

Also, my stock sized 265's still rub a bit in reverse with ~2" of lift in the front. It's really all about offset and caster, lots of guys with less lift not rubbing with 285's. I couldn't find what the specs are on those 20's or your tire size. Good luck with whatever you end up choosing.

 

[Mistaken]

^ Thanks for the input. My wheels are 20x9, -12.

 

[jasonv]

just to add from experience, the LTD model has significantly less nose dive or bounce than an SR5. i had a 2011 limited and now have a 2013 SR5. i would assume its because of the XREAS. what else could it be?

5100's all around with some lift does make the SR5 more "solid" feeling than stock (hows that for subjective) but i also have 1.25" spacers, 8 inch wheels and caster maxed out. i have 1.75 up front, an 1.5 inch spacer at the back. this maintains the factory rake IMO.

I too am in the lift for looks/customization crowd. there are tons of 4Runners on the road here and i like that mine looks a bit more unique than most of the herd (not compared to the folks on here, there is a running theme here).

i do travel off road, but no mud bogging or crawling, and we have snow 10 months of the year it seems like. Ive had a marginal increase in L/100KM, but i also have lighter than stock tires and wheels so maybe that helps. i also don't drive like a dink.

 

[CraigRoberts]

Anyone have experience with both the Icon & Toytec? I wonder if one is notably better on road.

 

[Bevo]

If one of your priorities is reducing nose dive, then the Pro suspension might not be your best bet. I believe the springs are slightly softer than most.

I love the way mine rides, but it does have some nose dive when you get hard on the brakes. Sorry LawnDart.

 

[jicko]

Anyone have experience with both the Icon & Toytec? I wonder if one is notably better on road.

Depending which ICON are you talking about...... the stage 1 and 2 would be similar to TOYTEC..... while something like stage 7 will be significantly better.... basically, you get what you paid for....

First off... I have done research and have read a lot before posting this. I am looking for opinions on what I should do for what I am looking for.

By the way, a TOYTEC group buy is going to happen VERY SOON...... while an ICON group buy is in the works.... but maybe in a little further but not too distant future.....

 

[LawnDart]

If one of your priorities is reducing nose dive, then the Pro suspension might not be your best bet. I believe the springs are slightly softer than most.

I love the way mine rides, but it does have some nose dive when you get hard on the brakes. Sorry LawnDart.

No worries.

 

[Dirty Brigade]

Bilstein 5100's for the win. They help reduce nose dive a bit, ride great and look the part. Can't go wrong with 60+ years in shock technology.