If you had $5000?

[4RunninRoman]

Alright i tried this once but maybe this thread might help a little more.

I plan on dropping 5k into my 4runner. ive saved my hard earned money and its finally time for mods.

the runner is completely stock. i want as many oppinions on what they would do with the money. ( in terms of working on theyre t4r, not blowing it all on a good night in vegas.)

SO PLEASE! any and all sugestions, give me some ideas to work with.

( i will be wheeling it and also my daily driver. so maybe that info will help a little bit as well.)

Thanks for lookin guys.

 

[Big John]

Lift, tires, gears, armor.

 

[SoCal]

Some more info on your 4Runner might be helpful - e-locker? transmission, etc.

If you are planning on putting that much money all at once then think about the bigger ticket items. The smaller things like sliders, lights, radios can be pieced together through holidays and bonuses at work. Bigger things like lift, tires, lockers, bumpers are harder to get for a B-day gift.

If you are looking for a bumper check out Outdoor Logic's group buy going on until Saturday. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/77892-group-buy-outdoorlogic-3rd-gen-front-bumper.html

Have fun spending money and working on your 4Runner

 

[Pikeman]

Toytec Ultimate lift-$1000
Regear (with ARB's)-$1000 ($3000)
Tires-$700-$1200
Full Skids $600-$700
Bumpers- $500-$1000 each end
Sliders- $200-$500.

Mix and match how you like. I am a firm believer in wheel as long as you can Open/Open and once you master your skills and find limits of Truck then add lockers. My build order was Sliders/Lift/tires/bumpers. I am still waiting for skids and regear. I feel Armor is one of the first mods anyone should do and sometimes wish I had done skids earlier.

 

[puppetz007]

Get pikeman's bumper! I think they need a few more to get the bigger discount.

I'd go lift, then front bumper and sliders, new tires, roof rack. Or I could be smart and pay off my runner with the 5 grand.

 

[fightman80]

Pikeman's got a good list there!

The only thing I would change.....instead of the Toytec Ultimate lift, I would get some LC 8 Wrap coils, some LC shocks, and then pay for the Toytec Coilovers for the front (with the Diff Drop off course).

 

[Gerdo]

Lift, tires, gears, armor.

Toytec Ultimate lift-$1000
Regear (with ARB's)-$1000 ($3000)
Tires-$700-$1200
Full Skids $600-$700
Bumpers- $500-$1000 each end
Sliders- $200-$500.

Mix and match how you like. I am a firm believer in wheel as long as you can Open/Open and once you master your skills and find limits of Truck then add lockers. My build order was Sliders/Lift/tires/bumpers. I am still waiting for skids and regear. I feel Armor is one of the first mods anyone should do and sometimes wish I had done skids earlier.

Exactly true.
Great point on running Open/Open to build skill.

 

[nacho]

If you don't already know what you want and have to ask here, then maybe you should just hang on to your wad. You'll probably need it for gas in the near future when it's 5 bucks a gal.

 

[SilverBullet01]

If you don't already know what you want and have to ask here, then maybe you should just hang on to your wad. You'll probably need it for gas in the near future when it's 5 bucks a gal.

hes just asking for advice, and thats what this forum is based on.

to stay on topic, i think everyone is right on getting the bigger ticket items with what you have. since its also your daily driver, if you wanted to do a sound system all at the same time you could do that as well. maybe a nice alarm setup to protect your investments?

 

[4RunninRoman]

Hey guys i really appreciate all the responses.

I was thinking black steel rims, wrapped in nitto tera grapplers.
now if i went up to 32s would i have to re-gear?

also was looking into a lift, but where do i buy LC springs? ive done a little poking around on the website and couldnt really find a ton of info on them.

is theyre in common maintenace things i should look into as well?

small audio system and alarm system is already going into the budget.

Right now im full of questions and uncertanty. Hoping hearing some more ideas maybe get a list.

considering it is un-godly cold here in Kansas city its hard to get out and work on the Truck.

Hoping for some more answers, and maybe some good options and places to buy everything.

 

[Nelsonmd]

If you don't already know what you want and have to ask here, then maybe you should just hang on to your wad. You'll probably need it for gas in the near future when it's 5 bucks a gal.

hes just asking for advice, and thats what this forum is based on.

to stay on topic, i think everyone is right on getting the bigger ticket items with what you have. since its also your daily driver, if you wanted to do a sound system all at the same time you could do that as well. maybe a nice alarm setup to protect your investments?

Yeah, he's asking for advice, but I think Nacho provided some really good advice. Take the time to figure out what is right for you and not what is just cool and you will be happier in the long run.

What kind of wheeling are you wanting to do, and what are you most likely to do (they may be different)? Do you want to do rock crawling? Mudding? Snow? Expedition-style trips? I don't really know what they have around KC, but the type of wheeling you are most likely to do might have an affect on what order you do mods.

Also, this is something that I have had to think about, since it is your DD as well, keep in mind the effect your mods will have on you daily commute, for example, I wouldn't want to regear higher because I have a highway commute, and higher gear ratio would kill my mpg's. I also wouldn't want to get big expensive tires, then ride them on my commute.

I wouldn't really be rock crawling (at least right away), so I would probably go:
1. Tires
2. Lift
3. Bumper
4. Skids
5. Sliders

I might sub in a supercharger around 2 to 4. I noticed that didn't make Pikeman's list, but you would enjoy that every day, both DD and wheeling.

 

[fightman80]

I would buy a lift before buying tires....as you may decide to go bigger than 32 inch tires.

As for the LC coils, you can maybe see if Duhockey can hook you up with some. If not, dealerships can sell you some new ones, but you'll pay a good penny for those. Another option might be E-bay.....I've found all kinds of suspension parts there......actually....bought my Tundra coils and struts off of E-Bay!

 

[Nelsonmd]

I would buy a lift before buying tires....as you may decide to go bigger than 32 inch tires.

As for the LC coils, you can maybe see if Duhockey can hook you up with some. If not, dealerships can sell you some new ones, but you'll pay a good penny for those. Another option might be E-bay.....I've found all kinds of suspension parts there......actually....bought my Tundra coils and struts off of E-Bay!

If you really want to get the biggest tires you can, then yeah, go lift first. I said tires first, because I know that actually putting off-road tires on my stock suspension will get me alot more places than my 1/4 tread highway tires will now, and I believe in spending in steps so that I can see the new capability of my rig before spending more money on more capability. I might find I don't need more.

I also don't plan on going larger than 265/75 due to cost (unless I find some 285's that are cost neutral). I also am not going to do any hardcore stuff or rock crawling, so my goals are a little different.

 

[SCRunner12]

I would look into a supercharger and some gears if you are going to get 285's. It seems like most people are dissapointed in the power the 3.4 delivers and if it is a DD it would be nice to have that extra power all the time. Armor is great if you go out wheeling really often or going on some more difficult trails, but I would assume you would make it out maybe 4 times a month.
Out of the armor I would get sliders and skids first then look into bumpers. If you are going to remote places or really difficult terrain then a front bumper with a winch would be advisable.

Also I would look into some prevenative maintenance before the lift and tires. Ball joints and any other steering components that look like they are done.

So my list would go...
Prevenative maintenance (ball joints and any other steering components that need to be changed before you put on the lift)
Lift
Tires
Supercharger
Gears (if 285's)
Sliders
Skids
Bumpers

Now you will probably running out of money somewhere around Supercharger if you do it right (7th Injector). You might be able to squeeze in the gears and sliders, but it depends if you have an e locker already. I know my list will be maintenance, lift tires, sliders and we'll see from there.

 

[Hepar]

I would also keep in mind that if you get a limited or sport model (not sure if it holds true with the 96-98's, but I know it's true for the 99-02's) that it comes with bigger front brakes, so you have to make sure the wheel you get will have enough room to cover them.

 

[4RunninRoman]

WOW i have gotten so many great ideas, so.. LC springs, coil overs, super charger, and skids... where is a place i can buy this all?

is the super charger worth the money? im sure its runnin atleast around 2k right?

Im just trying to be smart about spending the money.

Much appreciated guys.

Hopefully ill be wheelin around in no time. :lookout:

 

[SCRunner12]

The supercharger is worth it if you like more power and depending on how many miles are on your engine. I had one on a Tacoma and it was a lot of fun to drive. They can really be tuned with extra items to create a good amount of extra power. You will lose some power from the lift, tires and armor, but you can gain some back with gears. It can get pricey if you want to go that route. You could just get a used SC and install it for about 1.5-2k. If you add the 7th injector, small pulleys and a variety of other items it will add up.

It is a luxury item though and not a necessary for wheeling. If you are fine with the loss of power then go with armor. You can piece together a lift for relative cheap if you want and save some money, but the Toytec Ultimate or Sonoran Steel 1.2 are great kits.

 

[runn4it]

I did my lift, tires, and removed the running boards first. Within that same week I installed a pretty nice alarm and upgraded the stereo a bit (I love my music). I know you said that was already in your budget. I'm with SilverBullet01 and say get a nice alarm to protect your investment as well. Another thing you might want to look at (as far as "protecting" your investment) is doing the rear bumper first. I went this route because the bumper on our trucks is not attached to the frame rather, it is attached to the body and if you get rear ended, chances are your truck might be totalled out by the insurance company. I know this from personal experience. If the damage is extensive enough, you will be looking at all your hard earned investments go down the drain. Or buy your truck back from the insurance company and use it, and all the new stuff you slapped on it, as a donor for a new Runner. Either way, it ends up being an expensive mistake and it could be avoided by beefing up that rear end first IMO....I'm a firm believer in wheeling without lockers for awhile (like what pikeman said) and get good at picking your lines and seeing what your truck can do with the stock drivetrain. Lockers aren't a MAJOR necessity right away. I would definitely look at the upgrades that will be protecting your truck first THEN all the fun goodies can come later...armor that bad-boy up, and that way you can be sure you still HAVE a truck to continue modding in the future...:keyboard:

 

[Gerdo]

Lets face it. A gas tank Skidplate is THE first and most important mod that should be done.

 

[NickF]

1. TRD Supercharger ($1500)
2. URD Kit for supercharger (1000)
3. OME Lift Kit + Diff Drop ($800)
4. 1.25" wheel spacers ($100)
5. Tundra Brake mod (?)
6. 285/75/16 Discoverer ST ($600)
7. Sliders ($300)