Icon lift vs. PRO
- Thread starter Woodytwin
- Start date
Bull@#*! A person should modify their ride however the hell they want. A "bro" could say the same thing about guys that beat their trucks on a 20 mile trail to nowhere. Drive YOUR truck however and wherever you want.
To ask advise on a forum like this full of enthusiasts only makes good sense. I expect that if we had a discussion like this in person that everyone would be perfectly cordial and wouldn't think of ridiculing another person for asking for help. I baffled how people turn into as_holes when they don't have to look a person in the eye.
I'll say it again.... I want a lift to improve road manners, looks AND off road capability. How is that a bad thing? My driving habits won't ruin the 4runner name - I promise.
1engineer
Moderator
No. I'm exactly like this in person.
Alright. Let me answer some of your questions and maybe you will learn something:
1. Lifting in any form will never improve road manners. Why? Because you are raising your center of gravity. Lowering the CG improves handling.
2. Suspension lifts are designed for specific tasks. Rock crawling, high speed woops and general off roading. For best performance you determine what type of driving you will be doing and you buy a suspension accordingly. NOTE: The TE model with KDSS is probably the best on road suspension you can get. And you can get it stock from Toyota! I'm not going to delve into how it works because there are several hundred posts already here on that subject. Do a search.
3. Some performance lifts require maintenance. Lot's of it. Can you get by without using your 4Runner for a few weeks because you ignorantly chose a lift that needs the shocks rebuilt every 20K miles? You have to take them off, send them back, have them rebuilt and then re install them. Same for some UCA's, which, depending on lift selected, you will also need to purchase so you can set your caster correctly.
4. Icon just happened to be listed a bunch because the guys who responded to this thread in the past few days have Icon. Suspensions are no different than toilet paper. What a person buys is usually what they think is best. You have a lot of choices and sometimes just because it costs a lot does not make it better for going to the mall.
5. If I were you I would buy Bilstein 5100's for the front, have them set at 2.5", get some 1" spacers for the back and call it a day. Even for looks that is all you need. Icon is suited for rocks and slower speed off road. Fox and King are more suited for higher speed desert running as is the Bilstein 6100 series. There are lots of good off road suspensions out there.
6. Last but not least: Every single performance mod you make will be a compromise from the OEM vehicle. You add an aftermarket suspension? You improve some aspect of performance but something else you lose.
Man, you just don't get it. I did in fact use my truck on three occasions to "rescue" people. It was scarey as hell. If you were there.... If it was YOUR mother or YOUR father that needed to be driven to the hospital through plowed in driveways and absolutely scarey roads, you wouldn't be such a dick. I live in an area that doesn't get much love from the DOT in the winter. My big ol' tires did in fact help save lives!
My parents are home bound and live deep into the woods - very difficult roads and a long steep and winding driveway. Few vehicles can access them in the winter. Yea, bad-ass tires are very helpful.
Engineer
New member
Everyone is free to spend their own money how they want, and however illogical the justification is so be it. However understand the context of this forum where many people do use the 4runner hard and have scratches/dents from rocks, trees etc and that is not for everyone. Nothing wrong with it and I honestly find I am the "odd man out" out in the “real” world in that most people think I am insane for beating on a 40k truck and not seeming to care. I think the difference is to them a car is more of a status symbol to be maintained and treated with care......I think of my 4runner as a tool to be used (not abused per say) , what good is a hammer that sits on a bench!..... [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] hit the nail on the head about if it’s just for looks just say so, I would say more people than not purchase “upgrades” just to do so because they think it makes the truck more capable and while they are likely right they have never pushed the truck to its limits in stock form or come back and complain about the downsides of these “upgrades”. I have done my share of that, My Radflo’s are far overkill for what I need and if I was to do it again I would have think long and hard about buying 5100’s or an OME kit and taking the savings and bought other gear sooner (Portable air compressor)
End Rant
For the record simply putting a xx” lift on a 4runner will not increase the ground clearance a bit but will make the CG higher and have a negative effect on handling and efficiency. Which is why you should only lift a vehicle enough to get the largest tires under you want to run and still maintain suspension clearance.
End Rant
For the record simply putting a xx” lift on a 4runner will not increase the ground clearance a bit but will make the CG higher and have a negative effect on handling and efficiency. Which is why you should only lift a vehicle enough to get the largest tires under you want to run and still maintain suspension clearance.
Now that's what I'm talking about! I very much appreciate the technical advice here. Thank you!
bimrunner
New member
Based on your use case and needs, I think you would probably be happy with any of the lifts mentioned so far tbh. You are going to want the height and good shocks (all of the brands named so far will be good for you - each is specifically designed, but all nice and probably will make you grin). My recommendation for tires would be 285/75/17 because tall skinny is better in snow than the fatties I have for rocks. I think you are pretty set here now! Get the TE without KDSS if you want max lift though (my opinion since you will have less potential issue with max lift- notice I'm talk max lift). If you really want 35s there is a bracket lift I can't recommend from Procomp (made for fj cruiser but is a direct fit to the 5th gen). With a bracket lift you can probably go 35 without much issue and some have gone mongo bigger but then you probably would want to gear down to 4.56 or 4.88.
Have fun!
borfoo3
New member
Many good advice stated above, but I would repeat the one commonly mentioned around this forum:
Drive it as it is for 6 months.. Do your DD routine, do what you consider "offroading" in it. Try to ride in T4Rs with ICONS (if possible) THEN go from there.
The T4R is pretty darn good as is, PRO has a decent setup for an OEM truck IMHO for everything except the most hardcore needs. After all,
Toyota's only been doing couple million trucks in the past few decades so they must've gotten something right by now.. My 0.02
Drive it as it is for 6 months.. Do your DD routine, do what you consider "offroading" in it. Try to ride in T4Rs with ICONS (if possible) THEN go from there.
The T4R is pretty darn good as is, PRO has a decent setup for an OEM truck IMHO for everything except the most hardcore needs. After all,
Toyota's only been doing couple million trucks in the past few decades so they must've gotten something right by now.. My 0.02
cbielat
Senior Member
Just get the Pro and leave it alone. All of the models are extremely capable even in stock form and you'll have one of the most sought after models in the line.
cbreze
Member
I rarely go off road in my 2012 SR5, however I do have an icon lift adjustable to 3". I find 2 1/2" is my sweet spot. I like being able to see way down the road ahead of me and the lift gives me a great view without being overly tall. Once in awhile I do take it to some remote trailheads over some pretty rough roads in the Cascades and love the way it handles, lift and all. I lifted it and added some mods to remove the "soccer mom" appearance of a stock 4runner. I love the way it handles and in snow it is second to none. Highway speeds it is smooth as silk. I get compliments all the time. I'm glad I insisted on lifting it and I'm glad I went icon for the superior(IMHO) quality of the performance and ride.
For your needs as you describe them sounding similar to mine, I'd have gone with an SR5 , saved some coin and used that on the icon lift. With enough left over for sliders and great tires.
wadle5
New member
If I may add to this I would recommend like everyone else a Trail Edition as the KDSS is the best riding suspension from factory. Not only that the 4runner is an extremely capable and as my in-laws say "sharp looking vehicle". In regards to ICON, I think the only reason you have heard of it the most is due to their great marketing and I will give them that. I would rather go with King over ICON. I run both ICON and Toytec, and while a good product(yes I said good not great, now lets see the comments) you are really paying moreso for a name. If you have the cash I would definitely go King or even see if a local place would do a custom set up. Locally we have Kelderman, which does just about every SEMA truck/suv suspension set up.
Either way good luck out there, post pics showing off your glorious machine, and let us know what you end up going with.
Either way good luck out there, post pics showing off your glorious machine, and let us know what you end up going with.
Miguelon
New member
Looks like I am short bead lockers and Oakley stickers ...LOL!
LandCruiser
New member
The first thing I asked when getting a lift was which one gives the best road ride over the others. That happens to be subjectively the Toytec Ultimate which comes with Bilstein 5100s and Eibach coils (they can even be had in Broseph Red, mine are not they are silver).'
Is the ride the same?
It's not firm and punishing, but if you get out of a stock 4Runner you WILL notice a difference.
Did I get other stuff like a bumper, armor, sliders etc. Not at this time since my needs to go off road are not as critical as adding close to 800 pounds of weight to my truck. If you think a lift ruins your on road characteristics, adding steel does so much more--but an HD lift will help mitigate that since the springs are beefier.
Does a lift help in the snow? Shit no. Blizzaks. Get them on a separate set of rims and keep them in the garage. I have a set of four in my Gulf Breeze beach house.
Considerations...
-Without a custom roof rack, a lifted TE will be pushing what fits in parking and home garages--but it WILL fit.
-Lifts require maintenance, some much more than others. I got one that doesn't require you to dick with it every few miles since I can drive 20k a year on road (also see above as to why I got a road friendly lift)
-I tow and haul frequently. The beefier springs help CONSIDERABLY with how the truck behaves when it's under serious load, with that said, a lift won't turn a T4R into a tow vehicle
My 2 cents, TL;DR:
-I don't like spacer kits, research that on your own, but I think they're a waste of time and money when you buy a real lift later.
-You would be best served with a road friendly lift like mine or none at all
-Snow tires, get them, keep them in your garage
-Roadability will be affected adversely
-be aware of which components of your lift will require frequent rebuilds
-If you aren't mechanically inclined or don't have the tools to work on it, make sure you know at least one highly competent 4x4 shop that can troubleshoot and maintain your lift if it goes caca, because your local Yotamonger will just stare slackjawed at an Icon Stage 7 (unless you live in Colorado)
Is the ride the same?
It's not firm and punishing, but if you get out of a stock 4Runner you WILL notice a difference.
Did I get other stuff like a bumper, armor, sliders etc. Not at this time since my needs to go off road are not as critical as adding close to 800 pounds of weight to my truck. If you think a lift ruins your on road characteristics, adding steel does so much more--but an HD lift will help mitigate that since the springs are beefier.
Does a lift help in the snow? Shit no. Blizzaks. Get them on a separate set of rims and keep them in the garage. I have a set of four in my Gulf Breeze beach house.
Considerations...
-Without a custom roof rack, a lifted TE will be pushing what fits in parking and home garages--but it WILL fit.
-Lifts require maintenance, some much more than others. I got one that doesn't require you to dick with it every few miles since I can drive 20k a year on road (also see above as to why I got a road friendly lift)
-I tow and haul frequently. The beefier springs help CONSIDERABLY with how the truck behaves when it's under serious load, with that said, a lift won't turn a T4R into a tow vehicle
My 2 cents, TL;DR:
-I don't like spacer kits, research that on your own, but I think they're a waste of time and money when you buy a real lift later.
-You would be best served with a road friendly lift like mine or none at all
-Snow tires, get them, keep them in your garage
-Roadability will be affected adversely
-be aware of which components of your lift will require frequent rebuilds
-If you aren't mechanically inclined or don't have the tools to work on it, make sure you know at least one highly competent 4x4 shop that can troubleshoot and maintain your lift if it goes caca, because your local Yotamonger will just stare slackjawed at an Icon Stage 7 (unless you live in Colorado)
wadle5
New member
Although my Billies blew out with less than 20k miles on them of daily driving and less than 100 miles of mild terrain. . . but I'm sure I'm just an outlier. . . .:lookout:
