Modifications you regret

[ayeyothisiskyle]

What snorkel did you have? Did you not have to drill into the a pillar? The ones I've seen involved drilling into that a pillar. A fender is replaceable, that a pillar is for life.

Most people run snorkels with double stacked double sided tape to mount that A-pillar mount.

 

[dot_tom]

What snorkel did you have? Did you not have to drill into the a pillar? The ones I've seen involved drilling into that a pillar. A fender is replaceable, that a pillar is for life.

ARB Safari snorkel. I knew from the get-go I did not want to commit to drilling the A-pillar so I used 3M double sided tape for the bracket. Worked just fine. Allowed me to remove the snorkel, trade fender, and be back to normal. I highly recommend that route.

 

[shrub1]

My buddy had ICON on his 4th gen 4R. Always had problems with leaking seals. Replaced them three times! When I opened Overland Warehouse and developed the Radflo design for 4R's he switched over and never had problem in years of tough off-roading. He sold and bought a Tacoma but the 4R is still running around with the Radflos. ICON is all about the Bling factor and a bazillion "stages".

Yep.
Lesson learned.

 

[tristero]

Toytec lift.

I wish I had spent more on an Icon or Fox setup years ago.

:iagree:

And not a regretful mod, but regret of not modding—not wrapping my headlights in 3M. The OEMs are toasted beyond repair. Retrospectively, a hood wrap would have also been a good idea.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

My big regretted mod was the tail as turn mod. The dual reverse lights was nice, but I didn't drive at night enough to really need it. Also I wasn't a fan of the blinking red brake lights as a turn signal. I have a constant fear of being rear ended, so I removed it and opted for a nice bright amber turn signal for safety's sake. People are too busy staring at their phones and I wanted to give as much notice as possible for people behind me that I would be turning.

 

[Kyngfish]

The misinformation on this forum is astounding. Adding more preload to coilovers just changes the ride height. It doesn't make the ride harsh unless you lift too high and run out of down travel to soak up dips, or the spring hits solid length before the shock bottoms out on bumps, neither of which will happen on a 4Runner, even with a plate bumper.

Not 100% true, the spring rates on a spring aren't linear, the amount of force exerted to compress it changes depending on how compressed the spring is. I don't remember the exact ratio, and I'm sure it varies on the spring type. When you compress the spring beyond the recommended preload, you're changing the characteristics.

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

My big regretted mod was the tail as turn mod. The dual reverse lights was nice, but I didn't drive at night enough to really need it. Also I wasn't a fan of the blinking red brake lights as a turn signal. I have a constant fear of being rear ended, so I removed it and opted for a nice bright amber turn signal for safety's sake. People are too busy staring at their phones and I wanted to give as much notice as possible for people behind me that I would be turning.

I never understood that turn as tail mod or even modern american car design integrating turn signals USING a brake light. Instead of 3 brake lights, its two with one blinking. I always liked amber turn signals because its a light with a specific purpose. Red should be only for braking. Amber for turning/hazards, white for reverse.

The other peeve of mine is when people tint their tail lights. Why would anyone want to REDUCE the visibility of their safety lights. I understand people put it on for aesthetics, but 83% of people who tint their tail lights in a survey I just made up drive like a-holes already.

 

[Volke]

Not 100% true, the spring rates on a spring aren't linear, the amount of force exerted to compress it changes depending on how compressed the spring is. I don't remember the exact ratio, and I'm sure it varies on the spring type. When you compress the spring beyond the recommended preload, you're changing the characteristics.

The statement you quoted is 100% true.

The spring force vs displacement curve is 100% irrelevant to the discussion because the spring is compressed the exact same amount when it's supporting the vehicle weight regardless if you have coilovers adjusted to 0 or 3" of lift. Preload only changes the length of the spring before it has the vehicle weight on it.

The only exception to this is, and the only scenario that qualifies as too much preload is if you add so much preload that the vehicle rides at full droop as the ride height. Literally nobody on this forum has ever done that.

Go back and look at the mathematical proof in one of my earlier posts.

Now please drop this and let the thread stay on topic. I'm quite interested in mods people regret because there are some I've been wanting to do myself, and it's nice to hear about people's experience with them.

 

[the_fornicator]

I'm not sure if I regret going with bilstein 5100s and toyotec springs. Part of me thinks I should have just went with a full and proper setup vs the budget build. Mind you, I know my unit is a mallcrawler so even the 5100s are completely for aesthetics lol

But in combination with the 285s, I'm getting some rubbing now so, with that, a part of me wishes I would have went with a 3" lift or get aftermarket UCAs while everything was getting assembled so I wouldn't have to pay for labour twice... or just have gone with 275s vs 285s. With that said, some people with aftermarket UCAs and 285s are still rubbing so it's not a guarantee that I'll stop rubbing after dumping another $1500 into the 4runner on aftermarket UCAs.

I'm hesitant to do the body mount chop since that will completely axe any warranty (no modifications are to be done to the frame). Since there's only 6500 kms on the unit, I dure do have a lot of warranty left that i'd be throwing away.

So, I'm just a little confused at this point. With the current set up, my caster angle is at like 0.9 and 1.0 degrees. dude had to set it like that in order to get the camber as close to 0 as possible.

 

[4runnin4mylife]

I'm not sure if I regret going with bilstein 5100s and toyotec springs. Part of me thinks I should have just went with a full and proper setup vs the budget build. Mind you, I know my unit is a mallcrawler so even the 5100s are completely for aesthetics lol

But in combination with the 285s, I'm getting some rubbing now so, with that, a part of me wishes I would have went with a 3" lift or get aftermarket UCAs while everything was getting assembled so I wouldn't have to pay for labour twice... or just have gone with 275s vs 285s. With that said, some people with aftermarket UCAs and 285s are still rubbing so it's not a guarantee that I'll stop rubbing after dumping another $1500 into the 4runner on aftermarket UCAs.

I'm hesitant to do the body mount chop since that will completely axe any warranty (no modifications are to be done to the frame). Since there's only 6500 kms on the unit, I dure do have a lot of warranty left that i'd be throwing away.

So, I'm just a little confused at this point. With the current set up, my caster angle is at like 0.9 and 1.0 degrees. dude had to set it like that in order to get the camber as close to 0 as possible.

You don't have to pay $1500 to get aftermarket UCA's. There are a bunch of options way below that cost, even if you pay for labor. I recommend the JBA UCA's as that's what i have and what i can speak on. Other than that do some searches, stick to ball joint only UCA's for less maintenance since you're mall crawlin', and go from there!

 

[NCArcher]

My big regretted mod was the tail as turn mod. The dual reverse lights was nice, but I didn't drive at night enough to really need it. Also I wasn't a fan of the blinking red brake lights as a turn signal. I have a constant fear of being rear ended, so I removed it and opted for a nice bright amber turn signal for safety's sake. People are too busy staring at their phones and I wanted to give as much notice as possible for people behind me that I would be turning.

Tail as turn was one of my favorite mods. I back down my driveway every night when I get home from work and could barely see where I was going. If it was raining, forget it. The tail as turn has made a huge difference. If you dont need to backup over 10 feet at night, then it probably isnt needed.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

Tail as turn was one of my favorite mods. I back down my driveway every night when I get home from work and could barely see where I was going. If it was raining, forget it. The tail as turn has made a huge difference. If you dont need to backup over 10 feet at night, then it probably isnt needed.

I found that I didn't really back up in the dark that often, plus I got brighter reverse lights since then which made up some of the difference

 

[mrblah]

I found that I didn't really back up in the dark that often, plus I got brighter reverse lights since then which made up some of the difference

also bright ass license plate lights also help with reverse....

I agree with you, I rather have bright ass blinkers than bright ass reverse lights since most people don't pay attention on the road these days.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

also bright ass license plate lights also help with reverse....

I agree with you, I rather have bright ass blinkers than bright ass reverse lights since most people don't pay attention on the road these days.

I have permanent neck and nerve damage from an ******* rear-ending me. I fear people driving around me at all times

 

[Starsky]

Here's the "after" video from someone who spent a lot of money to go back to a a stock 4Runner...

YouTube

 

[Shadytype]

Great thread Shadytype!

I have found it interesting how many times drawers came up as a "regret".

Thanks for this. Just carried this over from another forum I am on.

I too am having an eye opening experience.... drawers seem like a slam dunk.... I crossed them off the list.

No one regrets the mall crawl permit sticker?

 

[4runnin4mylife]

Thanks for this. Just carried this over from another forum I am on.

I too am having an eye opening experience.... drawers seem like a slam dunk.... I crossed them off the list.

No one regrets the mall crawl permit sticker?

I had drawers next on my list actually and was very surprised by them being a regret to so many people that owned them too. I just figured it would be a good way to store you recovery gear and other miscellaneous items out of sight instead of just having items in separate bags sitting in the cargo area. That's how my items are stored now. I am guessing weight is the main reason for regret from the drawers??? Can any people that regret their drawers comment on reasons they don't like them??

 

[Bayou_Pro]

Not 100% true, the spring rates on a spring aren't linear, the amount of force exerted to compress it changes depending on how compressed the spring is. I don't remember the exact ratio, and I'm sure it varies on the spring type. When you compress the spring beyond the recommended preload, you're changing the characteristics.

You're correct in what you are saying but you are not going to win that argument with him. He's a mechanical engineer don't you know??? [emoji1787] No real world experience but if he read it in a book and watched a video s then he's got to be right.


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[mrblah]

I had drawers next on my list actually and was very surprised by them being a regret to so many people that owned them too. I just figured it would be a good way to store you recovery gear and other miscellaneous items out of sight instead of just having items in separate bags sitting in the cargo area. That's how my items are stored now. I am guessing weight is the main reason for regret from the drawers??? Can any people that regret their drawers comment on reasons they don't like them??

Weight and once they are bolted in they are a hinderance if u want to actually haul anything big in your cargo bay. They also rattle Or at least what I store in them. I rather use cargo boxes.

The weight is a big deal. Hard to move hard to store and causes suspension sag

 

[Volke]

You're correct in what you are saying but you are not going to win that argument with him. He's a mechanical engineer don't you know??? [emoji1787] No real world experience but if he read it in a book and watched a video s then he's got to be right.


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First, did you even read my reply to his comment? Yes, his statement is correct. The spring load vs length is not 100% linear all the way from free length to solid length(coil bind). I never said it was. However, it's not relevant to the coilover preload discussion because the compressed length of the spring with the vehicle weight on it stays the same when you adjust preload.

Second, there are springs in 95% of the products I'm responsible for, and I've been doing this professionally for the better half of a decade now.

Third, if you're going to continue to make comments on this, at least read the posts and make a concerted effort to post something useful instead of just blindly bashing. That's just being an a-hole. Seriously, go back, read my comments closely, and show me where I've said something incorrect.