I decided to test out the KDSS and A-Trac on my 15 Trail

[brian0128]

This past weekend a Jeep group that I belong to had a get together and I brought the 4Runner to test out the ATrac, crawl control, and KDSS. I was able to go through the moguls without getting stuck and without spinning the tires at about 3mph. A few Wrangler JK's with lifts and 35's did get stuck with 2 wheels in the air and without lockers had to rock the vehicle and spin the tires to get out. The only damage I sustained was ripping off the silver "Trail" plastic piece on the rear bumper and a few scuffs. The truck was loaded with 4 people on the obstacle course and a full tank of gas. I thought I would post up the results to show the flex (or lack there of). I was happy with the results because I doubt I would ever run a trail that hard in the GWNF. I was on stock Dunlops as well not aired down.

 

[brian0128]

 

[brian0128]

 

[brian0128]

The gas tank skid scraped once, transfer case had a little bit of dirt on it but the side steps never hit.

 

[Antman]

Rep points for pictures of the stuck Heeps!




Great pics.

 

[brian0128]

Here is the damage. Stuck Jeep pics on the way.

 

[brian0128]

Some guys had trouble and had to rock their vehicle or back up and hit the ramps at speed because they didn't have lockers. Nobody got stuck and needed a strap although the HUMVEE had the most trouble. Thanks to CPO in Maryland for letting me run the Toyota.

If you see dust then wheel spin was needed to get over the humps.

 

[brian0128]

If you are descending a hill in the Trail it's easy to catch the lip of the bumper trim. $150 in repairs.

 

[BobsTrail]

I`ll bet you had the locker on, but did you use ATRAC only or did you try Multi-Terrain too?

The Heeps may not let you go with them in the future. Great set of action pics.

 

[brian0128]

I did not use the locker because I was testing out ATrac. I did have multi terrain on set to Moguls.

 

[brian0128]

I thought the front of the 4Runner would flex more. Here is a picture of a 2in lift Rubicon to compare.

My up travel in the front was good and the down travel in the back was great.

 

[4Rager]

I did not use the locker because I was testing out ATrac. I did have multi terrain on set to Moguls.

I don't use the locker a lot of times because usually ATRAC get's the job done and it's way easier to engage/disengage. I have to some damage to that same part of my rear bumper, but I look at it as a badge of honor. It's hard to notice, and proves that you actually use your truck on the trails. Thanks for sharing the pics too!

 

[4Rager]

I thought the front of the 4Runner would flex more. Here is a picture of a 2in lift Rubicon to compare.

My up travel in the front was good and the down travel in the back was great.

Heeps (JK's) don't use IFS (independent front suspension) so it's really apples to oranges in that regard.

 

[cjacob316]

I thought the front of the 4Runner would flex more. Here is a picture of a 2in lift Rubicon to compare.

My up travel in the front was good and the down travel in the back was great.

Maybe you didn't get as much flex, but you retained a lot more contact with the ground on your front left tire than this jeep did.

 

[Intruder]

I don't use the locker a lot of times because usually ATRAC get's the job done and it's way easier to engage/disengage.

There's a time and a place for everything. I've run into lots of situations where ATRAC wasn't enough to get through an obstacle and I had to use the locker. Any time you need to keep your momentum up - like in snow or ice - a locker will beat ATRAC hands down.

 

[Ron4RNevada]

Thanks for sharing. A-Track is a wonderful technology. If you had locked the rear diff you probably wouldn't have noticed any difference.

 

[brian0128]

I don't use the locker a lot of times because usually ATRAC get's the job done and it's way easier to engage/disengage. I have to some damage to that same part of my rear bumper, but I look at it as a badge of honor. It's hard to notice, and proves that you actually use your truck on the trails. Thanks for sharing the pics too!

I want to fix the silver trim but I'm not going to fix the scratches on the bumper because I'm sure there will be a few more.

 

[brian0128]

Heeps (JK's) don't use IFS (independent front suspension) so it's really apples to oranges in that regard.

I agree with this but I thought from videos that I had seen that the front suspension would have more travel. The rear has negative camber at full flex but the front does not.

 

[brian0128]

There's a time and a place for everything. I've run into lots of situations where ATRAC wasn't enough to get through an obstacle and I had to use the locker. Any time you need to keep your momentum up - like in snow or ice - a locker will beat ATRAC hands down.

I've used the Toyota locker in the past on my 2012 TRD Tacoma so I wanted to see what the A-trac and all the multi terrain button could accomplish. I was impressed with what it could go through without the locker and having 1 or2 wheels in the air at the same time. I like A-trac because as you said it's easy to engage and its a "smart" system and that was the point of the test.

I posted the pictures so that others could see the stock 4Runner Trail can accomplish on radials what most people wouldn't subject their vehicles to. I've got 6k miles and factory tires and I was able to traverse 6x6 pieces of wood, large moguls, steep hills with bad approach and departure angles and moguls with factory floorboards.

I plan on upgrading to Cooper AT3's in factory size and leaving it alone for now. I've got a trip planned to Rausch Offroad Park in July and will update with a report and pictures.

 

[DesertCanyons]

T4R vs Rubicon Jeep

I thought the front of the 4Runner would flex more. Here is a picture of a 2in lift Rubicon to compare.

My up travel in the front was good and the down travel in the back was great.

When I read the first post, the OP, I thought, the Jeep Rubicon is the only Jeep that would have an advantage over the T4R TE with a locking differential. The Rubicon has locking front and rear diff's, the other Wranglers don't. The red Rubicon seems to have a lot of axle rotation too. The Rubicon also has an electronic sway bar release mechanism, which may be why he's getting more ground contact than the other Jeeps. If it wasn't such a noisy, rough riding, ugly vehicle I might have bought a Jeep Rubicon 4-door instead of the T4R TE.

A lift and big tires won't give you more axle rotation or ground contact unless it's a long travel setup.

Thanks for posting the pic's. I always look for the easy way through tough terrain. I would have just driven around the moguls. :lookout: