KDSS(TE) vs Non KDSS (SR5)

1engineer said:
There is no aftermarket solution to emulating KDSS. You can either improve off road performance or on road performance with aftermarket components but not both. That is what KDSS offers.
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I don't know about that...my old Tacoma embarrassed some nice cars in the twisties. Body roll can be controlled with spring rate, and also wider stance. I'm not going to long travel a 4runner, but maybe a mid travel setup would meet my needs. I dunno. Headed to the dealer to test drive one.



I'm currently driving a 25 year old FJ80. Even the base model has to be better than this ol thing!

 
tacosupreme said:
I don't know about that...my old Tacoma embarrassed some nice cars in the twisties. Body roll can be controlled with spring rate, and also wider stance....
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You asked a question and now you want to argue?
If you understand just a little about KDSS then you would know that it uses the sway bar to firm up the on road ride and off road below 12 mph it relaxes the sway bar fulcrum to allow more articulation. Did your truck do that? Automatically?

That's the difference between KDSS and all the aftermarket stuff. Plus it's a $1500 option and you get a rear locker.
 
1engineer said:
You asked a question and now you want to argue?
If you understand just a little about KDSS then you would know that it uses the sway bar to firm up the on road ride and off road below 12 mph it relaxes the sway bar fulcrum to allow more articulation. Did your truck do that? Automatically?

That's the difference between KDSS and all the aftermarket stuff. Plus it's a $1500 option and you get a rear locker.
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Just got back from test driving both versions. I couldn't tell much of a difference, and I pushed them hard enough to induce understeer in some 25 mph corners. I was impressed with the 4wd lever in the trail, it seemed to shift into 4hi very nicely. The motor sucks though, it didn't feel any faster than my worn out FJ80. The salesman said he heard rumor of a possible diesel version for '17. If that's true, I would consider one of those but I think I'm done with 4runner shopping for now. Back to the 'ol beat up FJ80 and lurking in the 4runner news threads.
 
tacosupreme said:
Just got back from test driving both versions. I couldn't tell much of a difference, and I pushed them hard enough to induce understeer in some 25 mph corners. I was impressed with the 4wd lever in the trail, it seemed to shift into 4hi very nicely. The motor sucks though, it didn't feel any faster than my worn out FJ80. The salesman said he heard rumor of a possible diesel version for '17. If that's true, I would consider one of those but I think I'm done with 4runner shopping for now. Back to the 'ol beat up FJ80 and lurking in the 4runner news threads.
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No diesel. Ever.
 
Sorry to revive an old thread but I think this may be the best place to post this without starting a new thread. I have yet to pull the trigger on a new T4R. What would you guys say are the best ways when test driving a kdss and non kdss truck to get the best feel for what they are both doing to aid in the decision making process of which to go with?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 
niteghost said:
Sorry to revive an old thread but I think this may be the best place to post this without starting a new thread. I have yet to pull the trigger on a new T4R. What would you guys say are the best ways when test driving a kdss and non kdss truck to get the best feel for what they are both doing to aid in the decision making process of which to go with?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
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You will notice it in the turns, drive the kdss vs non kdss hard in the corners and you will feel the kdss is a bit more planted and tight I used to have a non-kdss and now have the kdss and I'm loving it right now.
 
SEP said:
You will notice it in the turns, drive the kdss vs non kdss hard in the corners and you will feel the kdss is a bit more planted and tight I used to have a non-kdss and now have the kdss and I'm loving it right now.
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Great, I will definitely try this.

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Potential buyers should test drive all three suspension choices.

I test drove:

TE w/o KDSS: drove and handled like a camry. Nothing wrong with that, just nothing exciting to write home about.

TE w KDSS: It put a smile on my face in the corners/turns. Did not put a smile on my face on rough surfaces. The ride can only be described as firm in anything but smooth roads.

Limitd w/ XREAS: This also put a smile on my face. It corners extremely well, and had a plush ride to boot. However, the styling isn't my cup of tea.

I ended up purchasing the TE w/ KDSS, just because it puts a smile on my face, and it suits my lifestyle and driving style more.

Very close second was the Limited. Loved XREAS, don't like the body styling. I'd probably still be driving my tundra.

third place: I'd still be driving my 2012 tundra.

Now if Toyota made a 4runner w/ fulltime AWD, in the normal 4runner body styling with a utilitarian interior, without having to step up into the limited trim or lexus models. I would be all over it.
 
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mrblah said:
Potential buyers should test drive all three suspension choices.

I test drove:

TE w/o KDSS: drove and handled like a camry. Nothing wrong with that, just nothing exciting to write home about.

TE w KDSS: It put a smile on my face in the corners/turns. Did not put a smile on my face on rough surfaces. The ride can only be described as firm in anything but smooth roads.

Limitd w/ XREAS: This also put a smile on my face. It corners extremely well, and had a plush ride to boot. However, the styling isn't my cup of tea.

I ended up purchasing the TE w/ KDSS, just because it puts a smile on my face, and it suits my lifestyle and driving style more.

Very close second was the Limited. Loved XREAS, don't like the body styling. I'd probably still be driving my tundra.

third place: I'd still be driving my 2012 tundra.

Now if Toyota made a 4runner w/ fulltime AWD, in the normal 4runner body styling with a utilitarian interior, without having to step up into the limited trim or lexus models. I would be all over it.
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better tires will help a lot for rough surfaces. On stuff like full on washboarding you can still tell you have a thick sway bar until you air down, but after i got rid of the factory tires normal rough roads are fine.

I'm coming from a BMW on coilovers and low profile summer tires that had to go diagonally over speed bumps though, so my reference is pretty damn firm
 
I did the same exact thing with the same decisions. I also agree with you that if they made a full time 4wd on a Trail Premium body, i would be all over that. Also add in keyless entry/button start from the limited. =)


mrblah said:
Potential buyers should test drive all three suspension choices.

I test drove:

TE w/o KDSS: drove and handled like a camry. Nothing wrong with that, just nothing exciting to write home about.

TE w KDSS: It put a smile on my face in the corners/turns. Did not put a smile on my face on rough surfaces. The ride can only be described as firm in anything but smooth roads.

Limitd w/ XREAS: This also put a smile on my face. It corners extremely well, and had a plush ride to boot. However, the styling isn't my cup of tea.

I ended up purchasing the TE w/ KDSS, just because it puts a smile on my face, and it suits my lifestyle and driving style more.

Very close second was the Limited. Loved XREAS, don't like the body styling. I'd probably still be driving my tundra.

third place: I'd still be driving my 2012 tundra.

Now if Toyota made a 4runner w/ fulltime AWD, in the normal 4runner body styling with a utilitarian interior, without having to step up into the limited trim or lexus models. I would be all over it.
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e60ral said:
better tires will help a lot for rough surfaces. On stuff like full on washboarding you can still tell you have a thick sway bar until you air down, but after i got rid of the factory tires normal rough roads are fine.

I'm coming from a BMW on coilovers and low profile summer tires that had to go diagonally over speed bumps though, so my reference is pretty damn firm
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Honestly, coming from that, you'd be fine Trail with KDSS or perhaps like the ride on a Pro (but good luck finding a good deal on one).

I've driven all three and ended up going with a Trail with KDSS for my recent purchase.

I actually find the stock Trail with KDSS to be quite soft. For reference though, my other car is a VW Golf R with 19" wheels and 35 series summer performance tires on it and I came out of a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with an AEV 2.5" lift on 33" hybrid-mud tires. The Jeep was always firm with the stock Rubicon suspension and got VERY firm on the AEV lift.

The funny thing is that I actually am looking forward to putting an after market suspension on to firm up my 4Runner. Not something you see a lot of people around this forum wanting to do. Our relatively smooth roads in Arizona combined with the fact that I'll actually use an off road suspension at least 5 to 10 times a year though helps make the choice make more sense...

-Craig
 
AZ Craig said:
Honestly, coming from that, you'd be fine Trail with KDSS or perhaps like the ride on a Pro (but good luck finding a good deal on one).

I've driven all three and ended up going with a Trail with KDSS for my recent purchase.

I actually find the stock Trail with KDSS to be quite soft. For reference though, my other car is a VW Golf R with 19" wheels and 35 series summer performance tires on it and I came out of a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with an AEV 2.5" lift on 33" hybrid-mud tires. The Jeep was always firm with the stock Rubicon suspension and got VERY firm on the AEV lift.

The funny thing is that I actually am looking forward to putting an after market suspension on to firm up my 4Runner. Not something you see a lot of people around this forum wanting to do. Our relatively smooth roads in Arizona combined with the fact that I'll actually use an off road suspension at least 5 to 10 times a year though helps make the choice make more sense...

-Craig
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Check this article about KDSS. I love mine, especially lifted :cheers:

https://www.4x4australia.com.au/reviews/road-tests/1606/toyota-prado-kdss-test
 
I'm an odd ball I guess. I started out with a '14 w/KDSS then traded it for a '14 w/o. My use case is mainly moderate speed forest service road riding and the 20mph on gravel washboards for miles and miles through the mountains was brutal with KDSS.

I appreciated the additional articulation on slow crawls but that was a very small percentage of my use so it wasn't worth sacrificing the rest of the comfort.

I remember the day I traded the trucks and had them swap my KO2s to the new non-KDSS rig. I went straight out and the plush ride over bumps felt like I was driving a trophy truck in comparison.
 
I'm getting old, I used to be able to conversions in my head. Sure, I could guess it was 4" more or less. How much less?

100 mm = 3.93701 inches
 
Thai said:
Thanks for article.

“ On the Prado’s rear axle, KDSS increases wheel travel from 465mm to 565mm (more than 20 per cent).”
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johnbt said:
I'm getting old, I used to be able to conversions in my head. Sure, I could guess it was 4" more or less. How much less?

100 mm = 3.93701 inches
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Seriously that's awesome numbers! I just need to make sure I have room in my fenders to clear my 34s now
 
Looks to me in the pics the only reason the TE didnt make it up the ramp higher is because someone said your bumper is scraping on the ramp so he stopped. Stock rims.. Stock rubber. Weekend warrior at an event and had a couple beers for courage and said " what the hell!.. ill giver a try"..looks like he could have used one or two more.... and a guy holding the slider
Dude probably freaked and didn't get out to check that if he just road it a bit more he'd reach the plane of the ramp and his bumper would clear a bit and he'd be able to push it more.
Ofcourse he'd hit. He probably hit when he drove up before he hoped up on it and scraped the whole way till he decided "MY BABY!!!"
Just my 2 cents of nonsense
 
Welp. Everyone knew not to talk politics and so far with [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] gone everybody has been able to keep their crap together and not bring it on to this forum without moderator enforcement.

How about let's not train wreck this good thing we have going there dudes?

:focus:
 
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