Metal Tech TE with Total Chaos long travel and other goodies
- Thread starter Dlak
- Start date
MT4X4
New member
After have gone through multiple suspension set ups on our FJ Cruiser we have found this to be the best set up. Initially we had a basic 3" lift from Sway Away with Total Chaos upper control arms which was a great set up for the year that we ran with it. In September of '09 Total Chaos came out with their 2" long travel kit and we immediately jumped on it yearning for extra suspension travel out of the front. Coming from a FJ40 Land Cruiser back ground of dealing with solid axles we weren't too sure how well the long travel ifs would work for rock crawling and we were very much surprised. Not only does it work well for trail use but driving fast off road the suspension truly starts to floats. It worked so well the rear end couldn't keep up with the front.
Late 2010 we came up with the long travel rear set up that is found on our FJ Cruiser and is now installed on our 4Runner. It gives the same amount of travel as the TC 2" LT kit, which is ~11" of travel. Now we can easily drive down a desert road at 50+ mph and both ends are floating through all the bumps with zero issues. It also keeps our FJC firmly planted on the ground when attempting difficult trails.
As for the reason why we are adding the spindle gussets and cam tabs is because the factory parts are too weak for hard abuse. The factory cam tabs have a small little ear that keeps the tab in place and under enough stress the ears will fold flat which will knock your alignment out every time you go wheeling. For the spindle they pretty much bend if you sneeze at them. We have gone through 3 spindles two of them even had the old style spindle gussets from TC, we started separating the gusset material from so much stress.
For suspension we chose to work with Radflo for our 4Runner because we believe they make a great product for a good price. Glen has been in the business for over 20 years and he manufacturers everything in house. We worked with him to develop shocks for the FZJ80 and 100 series Land Cruiser and now for the 4Runner. We will be rounding out the Radflo line on our website so we can offer complete suspension kits for the 4th and 5th Gen 4Runner and FJ Cruiser. We are in the process of having rear springs made for us to bundle with the Radflo suspension products. We are also developing a complete aftermarket link system that is going to allow maximum travel out of the axle before the links contact the axle housing.
The 4.56 gears we choose to do for the simple reason of keeping the 4Runner happy with engine rpm's. When you put larger tires on any vehicle it takes more revolutions for the tire to spin which equates to reduced engine rpm's. This in turn makes for poor power going uphills and reduced acceleration. With the 4.56 gears the engine rpm's will return close to stock and will drive just like it did from the factory. The ARB air locker for the front is give us maximum traction when we need it. The A-Trac works well but it does have it's limitations when you need both tires turning going up an obstacle.
We may put an Atlas transfer case in the 4Runner as well but that has yet to be decided. Our FJ Cruiser has a 4 speed Atlas transfer case and it works awesome. Allows us to have complete control when attempting challenging obstacles.
Here is a video of us at the 2011 FJ Cruiser Summit on Poughkeepsie Gulch at the very top. The year prior in 2010 we fell into the crack and ended up sustaining body damage from the rock wall. This time we made it through... barely though. At the very last bit you'll see the passenger side rear tire is literally being held up by the Walker Evan's bead lock ring. We shaved at least 5 ounces of aluminum off.
Metaltech The Ledge on Poughkeepsie Gulch - YouTube
harper7
Senior Member
Great Info!
I will definitely be checking out and hopefully discussing your suspension in more detail at the FJ Summit.The LT kits will probably be my next mods I'm saving up for.Very interested in what you come up with for front and rear bumpers also.
I have a 3rd member and clamshell already built by Chase at ECGS sitting on my workbench with 4:56's and F&R ARB lockers I'll be swapping out this weekend. Right now I'm running 33" GY MT/R's but probably stepping up to 34's(305/70/17's) soon to keep the gearing more inline with stock.
I will definitely be checking out and hopefully discussing your suspension in more detail at the FJ Summit.The LT kits will probably be my next mods I'm saving up for.Very interested in what you come up with for front and rear bumpers also.
I have a 3rd member and clamshell already built by Chase at ECGS sitting on my workbench with 4:56's and F&R ARB lockers I'll be swapping out this weekend. Right now I'm running 33" GY MT/R's but probably stepping up to 34's(305/70/17's) soon to keep the gearing more inline with stock.
2010riddle
New member
You picked the right color for here in Oregon (GO BEAVS!). Have any plans on putting sliders into production in the near future?
helocat
New member
The bolt heads on the Walker Evans rims were providing traction for forward movement as the truck hung off the rock by the lip of the bead lock! One of those could never plan to try to stage it moments in off roading we have experienced with our late model Toyota.
Nice you will love the gears! Also air lockers are easy to get hooked on. I pulled the e-lockers out of our FZJ80 truck and put in ARB air lockers. (faster, and the early e-lockers not like the ones we have now can not take cycling on/off/on/off)
Both LT and I are Beavers, I even grew up in Corvallis. So yes GO BEAVS!
Yes full line of body armor is in development at Metal-tech 4x4. We have not one but two different slider options we are working on for the GenV 4R's.
Mark
SOcalTRAIL
New member
Nice job Metal Tech!
I will be waiting anxiously to see what kind of travel number you guys are able to get out of the +2" LT kit. I was about to pull the trigger on that setup and was warned by multiple people that the inner fenders of the 5th Gen T4R wouldn't allow the LT kit to compress the full amount. Nicole at Total Chaos said it would work but you would have to prematurely limit the up travel, and not get the full advertised numbers... To me, it sounds like a job with a sawzall and a couple good sheet metal guys could solve that problem.
Are you gonna run dual front shocks and that bad boy?
Nice work, that is gonna be one helluva rig.
:cheers:
I will be waiting anxiously to see what kind of travel number you guys are able to get out of the +2" LT kit. I was about to pull the trigger on that setup and was warned by multiple people that the inner fenders of the 5th Gen T4R wouldn't allow the LT kit to compress the full amount. Nicole at Total Chaos said it would work but you would have to prematurely limit the up travel, and not get the full advertised numbers... To me, it sounds like a job with a sawzall and a couple good sheet metal guys could solve that problem.
Are you gonna run dual front shocks and that bad boy?
Nice work, that is gonna be one helluva rig.
:cheers:
What, if any, body modifications are you planning to do to fit a 34" tire in the wheel wells and spare tire area?
harper7
Senior Member
Body mount chop and I'll have plenty of room with my caster setting and front liners pulled forward.
Still just going to use the 33 inch spare I have. But if you look up under there without the spare tire,with a few modifications ,you can fit a bigger tire up there I do believe. A pizza cutter spare tire would be best for ground clearance though with the stock bumper.
I did put my 4:56's/lockers in Saturday and it's like I have a whole new truck and will stick with the 33's for now. "for now" being the key words.lol By far the best mod I've done yet on my 4Runner!It's a beast now!I took a bunch of pics of the install and will do a DIY write-up upon further review and I find the time.
Qjake
New member
Patiently waiting to see what you have in store for sliders. Just be quick about it!! :wink2:
limamike
New member
Seriously! Metal Tech has amazing customer service, so even if they put out a halfway decent product they'll kill their competition just because they respond to emails and phone calls!
Qjake
New member
Agreed and the reason why I haven't ordered from Bud just yet, I want to see what they come up with. I have a pretty good idea what they'll look like (someone say patent infringement).
Mark,
How about a teaser, pic/drawing, on your sliders??
helocat
New member
Dual shocks of course! The dual mount kit from TC is already on the truck. The custom built and valved Radflos are on deck as well. Remote res. front coil over and remote res. secondary for the front. The rear is matched to our rear long travel kit and also remote res.
As for final numbers off the front.... we have to finish the build. We do have to be careful at first not chopping away too much (so tempting to just go flying in there with the plasma cutter) . We do have to finish the front bumpers we have planned first. We may have to just limit the travel for a bit why we knock out the bumpers so they fit non-plasma cut Gen 5's. :wow: The production bumpers made to fit everyone's truck have to come first. Then we can work ours over a bit for what ever is the best thing needed for travel numbers. (always sacrificial sheet metal for travel if we can)
Trying to keep it as low as we can. We will have to see what the final numbers are. For the spare, we are building a full expedition style swing out tire system for the Gen 5's. The rear bumper will be later around Sept. Front and sliders come first.
Look forward to seeing your set up!
Thank you. We enjoy what we do.
Our Metal-tech 4x4 sliders for the truck will look very much like the other sliders we build. We will be offering the full step slider and our mini bump slider.
Full step, is a fully formed 3/16" steep plate laser cut and formed with 4 edges facing outward, with inner ribs like an aircraft wing. Very, very strong and powder coated inside and out. Both ends are ramped as well to engage obstacles:
The mini bump is the same as the step slider, it just has a small bump out in the back for added quarter panel protection.
Outpost Off Road will also have sliders made the old time tested and proven box and round tube. These are far less expensive to build (why its been used for years) so they will be a nice lower cost option that will be stocked by Metal-tech 4x4 in raw unfinished condition. We can add options on these, fill plates etc. since they are raw. Powder coating will be an option, but will add to a lead time.
Outpost Off Road sliders on a Taco:
kingpin748
New member
I'm sold. Sign me up for a pair of the Metal-Tech sliders. I like they way those look. Time for me to buy some new stuff for my 4Runner I'm not going to use.
MT4X4
New member
The suspension is now complete on our 4Runner. A lot of work involved getting the secondary shock hoops to work but I managed to get everything to fit without cutting any sheet metal. Will be taking the 4Runner off the lift today and start test driving the new suspension.
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SOcalTRAIL
New member
Lookin Good!
When I did the lower arm install on my build I had a slight issue with the lower arm pivots lining up with the mounting tabs on the truck... The poly bushings were really tight on the outsides and had probably close to a 100 thou. gap on the inside of both the front and rear mounting tabs, we ended up cutting some spacers to take up the gap. Wondering if you guys had the same experience or not?
When I did the lower arm install on my build I had a slight issue with the lower arm pivots lining up with the mounting tabs on the truck... The poly bushings were really tight on the outsides and had probably close to a 100 thou. gap on the inside of both the front and rear mounting tabs, we ended up cutting some spacers to take up the gap. Wondering if you guys had the same experience or not?
