How is it daily driving with Long Travel?

[trailstandardoffroad]

These anti rock sway bars, are they a universal fit? Have to do some fabrication?
Who makes them?

They are made by Curry they are a universal kit. All-pro makes a rebranded version that is more bolt on but still requires some welding.

If I didn't have kdss previously I would keep the stock swaybar.

 

[honda250xtitan]

If you're going long travel because a sway bar piston is leaking you should really reassess your entire thought process. Sure they're "bolt on" kits, but this aint no pro comp 6" lift kit that requires zero maintenance and has factory geometry specs.


i'm interested in your feedback on that King bumpstop with the TC weld on kit.


BUT do it. LT is bad ass...

 

[Engineer]

Pick up a used Piston from a junk yard out of a Lexus460 - Cheap fix

 

[LawnDart]

If you're going long travel because a sway bar piston is leaking you should really reassess your entire thought process. Sure they're "bolt on" kits, but this aint no pro comp 6" lift kit that requires zero maintenance and has factory geometry specs.


i'm interested in your feedback on that King bumpstop with the TC weld on kit.


BUT do it. LT is bad ass...

The king hydros are not required. I can whole heartedly tell you that with all the weight my 4Runner has in the rear, I never ONCE bottomed out the 4Runner in Baja, and we jumped that big ***** at least 5 times.

On a truck hydro cans are annoying to hear clicking around, on an SUV they're almost insufferably loud. I have a set of hydro cans and the TC kit sitting in a box in my closet that I have toyed around with the idea of installing, and every time common sense kicks in.

Spring the rear end correctly with a set of Timbrens and you're set.

 

[westtex]

If you're going long travel because a sway bar piston is leaking you should really reassess your entire thought process. Sure they're "bolt on" kits, but this aint no pro comp 6" lift kit that requires zero maintenance and has factory geometry specs.


i'm interested in your feedback on that King bumpstop with the TC weld on kit.


BUT do it. LT is bad ass...

I just installed them few days ago. I’m sure I haven’t even been in a bump big enough. It’s looks cool though! They were an impulse buy, basically.

The reason I have been debating a long travel, is when my powertrain warranty is gone. I’m going to supercharge. I want to haul ass offroad.

 

[westtex]

Since I am that dude, I'll jump in here.

You can do long travel, and a lot of people seem to be jumping on that fad in the 5th gen market, but not a lot of people are either doing it right or doing it all out.

[MENTION=76550]cbielat[/MENTION] and I have probably been running these setups all out for longer than most, in totally different applications. He's been using his to crawl, I use mine to go fast. There's a big reason I haven't gone to 37's and that's because while cbielat gets that 1 more inch of ground clearance, it's at the expense of travel, which is painfully essential to me for what I want to do.

I think if you asked both of us if there's a compromise when doing systems as extreme as ours, we'd both honestly say yes. I have custom rear shocks, I have the first anti-rock setup in a 4Runner, and I also have a tremendous amount of labor I have to do every few weeks to keep my long travel working and sounding as factory as possible given the components involved.

This is why I say if your vehicle is primarily a daily driver (I work from home mostly, and my vehicle mostly gets used as an adventure vehicle despite it being my one and only vehicle) then you have to consider how it works from a maintenance standpoint, and how it drives. The minute you go long travel expect to do ALL the servicing on the suspension yourself, no service bay is going to help you when a shock goes bad. Are you prepared to do that? Just getting one of my front coilovers requires 30 minutes and about 5 ratchet straps just to compress the bypasses to allow me to access the coilovers.

As for handling, I've tamed it as best as possible, but it's cost a lot of money. It's also cost a lot of time from trial and error. I'll be honest, I've seen a lot of people add long travel to their 4Runners, and the vast majority of them are half assed. And to do it right requires a LOT of labor and time, and money, to build a system that doesn't beat itself to death, but you can drive long distances. I also tow, which means giving up a sway bar in the rear would have been super sketchy. Adding factory sway bars would limit the travel.

I have my setup tamed on road as best as possible, but 16.5 hours back from FJ Summit was exhausting when you're doing 85-90mph to get home, and the vehicle still wants to get away from you if you're not careful.

There's a lot I felt I had under control on my build before Baja, a lot I realized I didn't, then I rebuilt it and revised, and a lot of questions I have that I'm sure will be answered next June if I get the chance to do Trail of Missions 2019.

I really appreciate your input and time. When you speak of weekly maintenance what’s involved? I do all my own mechanic work, as well as many friends. We all come from fabrication and race car background (but I’m a horrible welder). But, I’ll be the first to get into the racing offroad. I would most certainly try to do it right and correct. What’s your input on doing it the right way? Do you mean adding and having the complete and right parts for the system?

 

[LawnDart]

I really appreciate your input and time. When you speak of weekly maintenance what’s involved? I do all my own mechanic work, as well as many friends. We all come from fabrication and race car background (but I’m a horrible welder). But, I’ll be the first to get into the racing offroad. I would most certainly try to do it right and correct. What’s your input on doing it the right way? Do you mean adding and having the complete and right parts for the system?

Is your goal to race it because it’s just about the worst platform you could pick.

You may seriously want to consider a good king and total chaos extended travel setup. I chew through bushing and heim joints like it’s going out of style. I find that even getting the truck aligned can be an issue.

I think If you think that adding a super charger to a 4Runner is gonna make it fast off road you’re gonna be in for a rude awakening. And if that’s your goal you may want to pick another platform entirely.

 

[westtex]

Is your goal to race it because it’s just about the worst platform you could pick.

You may seriously want to consider a good king and total chaos extended travel setup. I chew through bushing and heim joints like it’s going out of style. I find that even getting the truck aligned can be an issue.

I think If you think that adding a super charger to a 4Runner is gonna make it fast off road you’re gonna be in for a rude awakening. And if that’s your goal you may want to pick another platform entirely.

The goal is not race, just go fast offroad. I have a little money to blow. But I don’t have that much to spend on $80,000 on a trophy truck chassis only. I drive my 4Runner everyday, but I have other vehicles. Long travel to new to me. So I’m guessing it may not be right for me.

 

[honda250xtitan]

The king hydros are not required. I can whole heartedly tell you that with all the weight my 4Runner has in the rear, I never ONCE bottomed out the 4Runner in Baja, and we jumped that big ***** at least 5 times.

On a truck hydro cans are annoying to hear clicking around, on an SUV they're almost insufferably loud. I have a set of hydro cans and the TC kit sitting in a box in my closet that I have toyed around with the idea of installing, and every time common sense kicks in.

Spring the rear end correctly with a set of Timbrens and you're set.

timbrens arent sexy:girl:

they shouldn't be clicking all the time tho right? lol unless they're setup to engage at ride height....at that point they're bypasses:vader:

 

[tacoyota]

If you are going to do long travel you should do it right and cut through your 4runner to gain all the travel you can to bomb through the desert at 60mph+. If not, just stick to mid travel front and extended travel rears. TBH the 4runner is too heavy in the rear and will be a pain to get dialed in. Lawndart will have the most knowledge since he actually did Baja. I ran TC 3.5 front and 18in triples in the rear on my Taco. The Toyota team actually chose a KDSS 4runner for their stock Baja race (I am curious why...) and they cut through the chassis.

 

[LawnDart]

timbrens arent sexy:girl:

they shouldn't be clicking all the time tho right? lol unless they're setup to engage at ride height....at that point they're bypasses:vader:

They should not touch the axle constantly, they're not bypasses. And they're loud as shit. Even in a truck you can hear them 6-7' behind you when you bottom out.

 

[westtex]

If you are going to do long travel you should do it right and cut through your 4runner to gain all the travel you can to bomb through the desert at 60mph+. If not, just stick to mid travel front and extended travel rears. TBH the 4runner is too heavy in the rear and will be a pain to get dialed in. Lawndart will have the most knowledge since he actually did Baja. I ran TC 3.5 front and 18in triples in the rear on my Taco. The Toyota team actually chose a KDSS 4runner for their stock Baja race (I am curious why...) and they cut through the chassis.

Please forgive for my lack of knowledge. But, was is a mid level travel system.
Right now I’m running Fox coilovers with camburg UCA, and Fox shocks, king bump stops in the rear.

 

[LawnDart]

If you are going to do long travel you should do it right and cut through your 4runner to gain all the travel you can to bomb through the desert at 60mph+. If not, just stick to mid travel front and extended travel rears. TBH the 4runner is too heavy in the rear and will be a pain to get dialed in. Lawndart will have the most knowledge since he actually did Baja. I ran TC 3.5 front and 18in triples in the rear on my Taco. The Toyota team actually chose a KDSS 4runner for their stock Baja race (I am curious why...) and they cut through the chassis.

Here's the core problem with trying to shove 14/16/18" shocks through the rear wheel wells: You are going to hit the fuel tank on any articulation. So if you want to use the damn thing off road you have to make a custom fuel tank. And at that point you still have a rather crappy platform to go fast.

Brass tacks: I feel like a 5th gen with really dialed in +2 long travel can run with the pack against raptors off road in Baja, but my god what what cost?! I beat the piss out of my rig to stay middle of the pack, and even then a +2 LT 4Runner doesn't feel as good as a stock Raptor.

Yes I keep bringing up that truck, and I may be VERY close to selling my 4Runner to buy a Ford, but on paper my 4Runner has a great suspension compared to the Raptor, but the Raptor just FEELS better off road.

With enough money you can make a 4Runner into a plane, but with money ANYTHING is possible, won't make it great.

 

[westtex]

Please forgive for my lack of knowledge. But, was is a mid level travel system.

Right now I’m running Fox coilovers with camburg UCA, and Fox shocks, king bump stops in the rear.

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[LawnDart]

Please forgive for my lack of knowledge. But, was is a mid level travel system.
Right now I’m running Fox coilovers with camburg UCA, and Fox shocks, king bump stops in the rear.

Mid travel is about 9-10" ish of travel utilizing UCAs and shocks that allow for additional travel. It usually utilizes the existing suspension geometry and lower control arms.

Long travel is usually about 12'ish inches of suspension, and requires longer axles, LCAs, etc.

 

[westtex]

Mid travel is about 9-10" ish of travel utilizing UCAs and shocks that allow for additional travel. It usually utilizes the existing suspension geometry and lower control arms.

Long travel is usually about 12'ish inches of suspension, and requires longer axles, LCAs, etc.

Thank you for your input and knowledge. I suppose I’ll steer away from long travel. I Shouldn’t mess with something that I don’t really understand.

 

[LawnDart]

Thank you for your input and knowledge. I suppose I’ll steer away from long travel. I Shouldn’t mess with something that I don’t really understand.

Eh...it's worth messing with if you are open with yourself that it's not going to turn your truck into a trophy truck or something and it comes with a lot of downsides. If you can live with that, sure...why not.

It's just a lot of money. I guess the example I'll say is that with my shocks i really have to get the vehicle moving fast over tough terrain before the valving opens up and the ride becomes soft. At FJ Summit people asked me if my 4Runner was way softer off road than their vehicles, and honestly my response is "Nope, not with how slow we're all driving." I simply can't get things to feel super soft unless I'm flat out ripping it off road, and I get very few locations outside of Baja or eastern oregon that I can do that safely.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

For awhile I was thinking about a 1st gen V8 Tundra +3.5 for MAYBE keeping up with the Raptor. The ones with the step side aren't that popular and might go cheap. That bed is so ugly, it's ripe for a true cut through LT rear. Cantilever even if you had the coin. Probably need a gear swap too. I never ran with it because a LT project is a full commitment of funds or don't do it at all. That and an 03' V8 4Runner popped up for sale and I went another direction.
Good luck with the project OP!

 

[WandaRunner]

They should not touch the axle constantly, they're not bypasses. And they're loud as shit. Even in a truck you can hear them 6-7' behind you when you bottom out.

Agree, the hydro bumps can be loud. With all the other crap rattling around I don’t notice.

The ability to revalve and/or change nitrogen pressure with hydros in relation to shocks in rear for different weight setups is why the hydros are worth it for me personally. If you don’t test and revalve your hydro/shock setup at least a couple of times to get it right then the value add is not there.

It is extra work for sure, but I love the planted feeling of the hydros progressive hit when they work right in time with the final upstroke of the rear shocks.

If you’ve seriously considered putting them on, use a liberal amount of sound deadening around the wheel wells and it eliminates a good amount of the click.


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[Easyrider18]

Don't be intimidated by long travel...yes it is more work/money. However, it forces you to learn and become more mechanically knowledgeable with your vehicle which is a great thing IMO.

If you look around on Instagram and other forums you can find a couple 03+ 4runners running some really good setups (3.5+ kits in the front with cantilever systems in the rear). You CAN make it work with a 4runner but its definitely easier with a truck to go fast. Plus depending on the truck there are way more go fast parts/kits readily available (especially for rear suspension).

Hardest part with my experience with a 4runner has been piecing together a good rear end system to try to keep up with my 3.5+ kit. Right now I have bypasses, air bumps, coils, and links all from different companies...but it works pretty damn good for what it is.