Modifications you regret

[sn_85]

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??

Was able to load a Husky Industrial Tool Chest from Home Depot in my cargo area today. Wouldn't have been able to do with drawers back there. I'd rather have a cargo platform with tie down locations that way you have flexibility to take things in and out. Weight is also a killer. Honestly unless you're building a dedicated overlanding rig drawers are overkill. I have recovery gear in one bag and tools in another bag. Easy enough to take in and out.

 

[jrandom]

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.

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.

Well, you came in looking for a quarrel with your very first post. Telling someone to go read something without understanding their statement.

Highlighted is what got everyone up in a bunch. Guaranteed.

While I may not know the dynamic properties of a spring in a mechanical sense (why I deleted my original post, which you decided to leave up, to prove a point, in netiquette == dick move). I do know how my truck drove without - 0.5" preload vs. with 2" preload (so do a lot of others), it is significantly different, it is far more firm. Whether that has to do with the spring being under more compression or whether the shocks valving is now affected by the difference in extension, well not an engineer to know exactly. Don't care, rides more firm, period. You dropping a blanket statement that it doesn't, well, you can see the effect.

Two things; There are a lot of smart people around here but always ELI5 (myself included) and share your knowledge, not your ego, particularly if you're a n00b. No one knows you. No one will want to either. Just sayin'. Whether you care or not you'll make more friends than enemies that way. This is supposed to be a community after all.

 

[Volke]

Well, you came in looking for a quarrel with your very first post. Telling someone to go read something without understanding their statement.

Highlighted is what got everyone up in a bunch. Guaranteed.

While I may not know the dynamic properties of a spring in a mechanical sense (why I deleted my original post, which you decided to leave up, to prove a point, in netiquette == dick move). I do know how my truck drove without - 0.5" preload vs. with 2" preload (so do a lot of others), it is significantly different, it is far more firm. Whether that has to do with the spring being under more compression or whether the shocks valving is now affected by the difference in extension, well not an engineer to know exactly. Don't care, rides more firm, period. You dropping a blanket statement that it doesn't, well, you can see the effect.

Two things; There are a lot of smart people around here but always ELI5 (myself included) and share your knowledge, not your ego, particularly if you're a n00b. No one knows you. No one will want to either. Just sayin'. Whether you care or not you'll make more friends than enemies that way. This is supposed to be a community after all.

Yes, my first post came off poorly. I immediately apologized in my second post and explained my intention.

Then you came in and accused me of spreading misinformation on a topic that you admit to not knowing a lot about. If it bothers you that much that I left a quote of your post up, I'll go back and delete it. It was just a perfect example of how misinformation gets spread around here, except in most cases, people don't go and delete their posts.

Your 4Runner may have indeed have driven with more perceived discomfort, but it had nothing to do with your spring's preload. That's all I'm trying to clarify here. Keep in mind that raising ride height on IFS does come with a lot of negative effects on suspension geometry and the new control arm and tie rod angles may introduce discomfort in their own way through bump steer and roll center effects.

If you don't believe me, call up Accutune or another company with experience tuning suspension on the T4R, tell them you have a Lo-Pro bumper, winch, air compressor or whatever else and you want to lift the front 3 inches. I guarantee that they will not tell you that a 650lb/700lb spring will ride less firm than a 600lb spring because it has less preload.

If you want to judge quality of information based on post count and you see nothing wrong with that, by all means go ahead. I may just be getting into trucks and 4Runners now because I've finally decided I need a off-road vehicle that can double as a tow for my track car occasionally, but I do have a lot of suspension experience from said track car, and I do enjoy learning how to tune and optimize things, and I've spent a lot of time actively learning about it.

 

[WhiteBoomer04]

Another early mod I did was mounting the 4ft fiberglass CB antenna to a fender mount, with spring. While off-roading, the antenna caught on a tree branch, bent back, then whipped forward and back. When it was released from the branch. Damn thing whipped back and put a dent in my A pillar. Muther-f

 

[DavidR1]

What a great thread, full of insight!!

Seems the biggest regrets are RTT, cheap suspension, and drawers. Also listed pretty heavily is several tires sizes, of which can be attributed to personal preference and terrain you cover.

Awesome stuff guys, this will certainly sway my decisions going forward.

 

[The Waco Kid]

What a great thread, full of insight!!

Seems the biggest regrets are RTT, cheap suspension, and drawers. Also listed pretty heavily is several tires sizes, of which can be attributed to personal preference and terrain you cover.

Awesome stuff guys, this will certainly sway my decisions going forward.

On the RTT discussion, it can be largely a fad, but I don't regret mine and I'm glad I went Hardshell. I intend on moving it to a trailer or picking up a small pop-up and leaving the RTT on the truck when we're carrying more than just my wife and I. I was thankful to come back to the truck after Hiking all day and have a nice mattress to sleep on. My wife appreciated the same, and the fact it's easier to keep bugs and dirt out of the tent.

We camp a lot, and it was worth the investment. Otherwise, an awning room or ground tent would be a much better move.

 

[chuffaluffigus]

On the RTT discussion, it can be largely a fad, but I don't regret mine and I'm glad I went Hardshell. I intend on moving it to a trailer or picking up a small pop-up and leaving the RTT on the truck when we're carrying more than just my wife and I. I was thankful to come back to the truck after Hiking all day and have a nice mattress to sleep on. My wife appreciated the same, and the fact it's easier to keep bugs and dirt out of the tent.

We camp a lot, and it was worth the investment. Otherwise, an awning room or ground tent would be a much better move.

Agreed.

I think the RTT thing is pretty simple. If you set up camp in a different place every night and like to sleep on a comfortable mattress, you'll likely be very happy with a RTT. They set up and tear down quickly, and all of your bedding stays inside. They're comfortable. They stay more clean. If you like to set up a stationary base camp and drive around to different trails to hike or wheel you'll likely get tired of breaking down your camp every single morning only to set it back up in the same exact place every night. Personally we love our RTT because it suits what we're trying to use it for. I do plan to add a very simple and affordable tear drop to our arsenal for more "basecamp" type trips at some point in the future, but in our mid 40s our ground tent days are over unless we're backpacking.

 

[jrandom]

Yes, my first post came off poorly.

Yep, first impressions. My bad for trying to be an ass back. I am old enough to know better and shouldn't have. Which is...

Then you came in and accused me of spreading misinformation on a topic that you admit to not knowing a lot about.

...exactly why I removed my post.

Your 4Runner may have indeed have driven with more perceived discomfort, but it had nothing to do with your spring's preload. That's all I'm trying to clarify here.

Right, ELI5 (Explain Like I'm Five, if you weren't familiar) You tell everyone they don't then you explain in engineers terms to non-engineers and what do you get?

If you don't believe me

Never said I didn't, quite contrary.

If you want to judge quality of information based on post count and you see nothing wrong with that, by all means go ahead.

Nope, quality is great, see your first post, that's all. New + jerkish = lame, no matter, welcome to the forum.

 

[drewsro]

Enough damn suspension preload talk. Start a new thread if you guys want to keep talking about that. Some of us actually want to read posts on topic.

 

[Simonpk]

regretting the 40% off TRD sale now - got the TRD oil cap (why did I do that?) - PTR35-00110 and it is too big in diameter to replace the stock one on my 2014 - what a waste of effort - how could this even go wrong?

 

[jmf_tracy]

op2:

 

[REDDY_KILOW4TT]

I've already sold off most of all the ones I regret, but...

-Rooftop tent
-285 tires
-NON-resi shocks
-Cheap lights
-Toggle switches for my lights/accessories

I'm currently experiencing the dilemma of upgrading my tires. I'm not sure if I should go with 275's or pay for a proper lift so I can run 285's.

Do you regret your 285's because they were too big or too small?

 

[jrandom]

I did want to post in topic, easily distracted.

I wish I would have bought Kings. I like my Fox setups adjustability, it makes more of a difference than I thought it would in both ranges. Fit and finish though, casings not so durable in the elements. It would be great in desert climate, not so much with anywhere using corrosives to abate ice. I have cleaned the rust scale from my CO’s threads every year but the first.

Second buying sliders powder coated, plain steel and rattle can is the only way to go. I knew better but again didn’t listen to myself.

Third wasting money on an Entune headunit, software updates ended years ago, no hope of carplay or android auto at this point.

 

[MAST4R]

Second buying sliders powder coated, plain steel and rattle can is the only way to go. I knew better but again didn’t listen to myself.

.

I agree for most sliders I have seen but I definitely do not regret getting powdercoated Shrock sliders. Looks like an OEM part.

Underneath, shows less than I thought it would plus spraying scratches is easy.

 

[sn_85]

I did want to post in topic, easily distracted.

I wish I would have bought Kings. I like my Fox setups adjustability, it makes more of a difference than I thought it would in both ranges. Fit and finish though, casings not so durable in the elements. It would be great in desert climate, not so much with anywhere using corrosives to abate ice. I have cleaned the rust scale from my CO’s threads every year but the first.

Second buying sliders powder coated, plain steel and rattle can is the only way to go. I knew better but again didn’t listen to myself.

Third wasting money on an Entune headunit, software updates ended years ago, no hope of carplay or android auto at this point.

Recurring theme here, I should have gone with Kings!!!

I agree for most sliders I have seen but I definitely do not regret getting powdercoated Shrock sliders. Looks like an OEM part.

Underneath, shows less than I thought it would plus spraying scratches is easy.

Hard not to get the Shrockworks sliders powder coated. It's only a $65 option to get it done. Whereas most others will charge $150-$200 to powder coat and the same if you get it done locally.

 

[MAST4R]

Recurring theme here, I should have gone with Kings!!!
.

Which Fox do you have?

Why Kings over Radflo or Dobinsons IFP/MRR?

Curious. Been reading everything there is to read lately and talked to people, too.

 

[mrblah]

I think the general concensus is what works for someone else might not work for you.

SO before you decide to part ways with your hard earned money, realize that everything you do to your vehicle is all about compromise. You have to see what's important to you and weigh the pros and cons.

Cons of popular mods:

RTT: dead weight, can't park in garages. Off vehicle storage is a PITA, loss of mpg, wind noise.

Kings/ICON/Fox: maintenance costs can go through the roof.

Big tires: lose of MPG, transmission hunting.

Sliders/armor/winch: dead weight, suspension sag, loss of MPG

Light bars: can't use them on road unless you like Johnny law to notice you, theft magnet, wind noise.

Fridge: theft magnet, requires upgrade electrical/battery, dead weight

dual battery setup: dead weight, high initial costs.

CB/HAM setup: theft magnet, tuning, licensing, etc.

Drawers: loss of versatility, lack of off vehicle storage, dead weight, loss of mpg.

audio/stereo: high initial costs, loss of hearing at old age.

If you notice, most of the cons is added weight. IT all adds up. So don't be surprised if you end up with a 6,000 lb slug w/ 12mpg fuel efficiency.

 

[sn_85]

Which Fox do you have?

Why Kings over Radflo or Dobinsons IFP/MRR?

Curious. Been reading everything there is to read lately and talked to people, too.

I have Icons. Just don't like the digressive valving. It's pretty stiff on road. They are nice on bombing flat open roads though.

 

[MAST4R]

I have Icons. Just don't like the digressive valving. It's pretty stiff on road. They are nice on bombing flat open roads though.

Can you change it on your own? Do they sell shims?

 

[MAST4R]

I think the general concensus is what works for someone else might not work for you.

SO before you decide to part ways with your hard earned money, realize that everything you do to your vehicle is all about compromise. You have to see what's important to you and weigh the pros and cons.

Cons of popular mods:

RTT: dead weight, can't park in garages. Off vehicle storage is a PITA, loss of mpg, wind noise.

Kings/ICON/Fox: maintenance costs can go through the roof.

Big tires: lose of MPG, transmission hunting.

Sliders/armor/winch: dead weight, suspension sag, loss of MPG

Light bars: can't use them on road unless you like Johnny law to notice you, theft magnet, wind noise.

Fridge: theft magnet, requires upgrade electrical/battery, dead weight

dual battery setup: dead weight, high initial costs.

CB/HAM setup: theft magnet, tuning, licensing, etc.

Drawers: loss of versatility, lack of off vehicle storage, dead weight, loss of mpg.

audio/stereo: high initial costs, loss of hearing at old age.

If you notice, most of the cons is added weight. IT all adds up. So don't be surprised if you end up with a 6,000 lb slug w/ 12mpg fuel efficiency.

Good list!

Skids plates and sliders alone with decent weight AT tires have practically no effect on anything though. Maybe 1mpg. But yeah there is cost to anything.

For RTT, I can see the value in the desert. We do not and will not camp in the Sonoran desert (Utah is totally fine). This costs us some really nice opportunities. An RTT would be the solution to that but then the cost of RTT and the need to bother with storing it, etc, makes it easier for me to just wave off those camping opportunities and stick to day trips in the desert.

That's us. Others will see things differently.