Need advice on adding some extra height

[Pro4-runner]

I'm not really familiar with lifts and what is what. I'm kind of a hands on learner and I tired of searching the Internet to try and learn for myself what I can ask you guys and actually get sound advice. I have a trd pro and I just want to add another inch or so of clearance. What is the best method without having to spend thousands on a stage 5 icon lift or something like this. I'm not familiar with spacers and if they would cause more of a headache than it's worth I would just as soon keep it stock height. Any opinions or comments are appreciated

(And here come all the pro bro comments)

 

[DAGNABIT]

:frusty:


at least you wheel your Pro

 

[Pro4-runner]

That's what I bought it for ha it's not a trophy that is just going to sit in my driveway. Just to clarify my main intention on the extra clearance is for deep ruts. I live in south Mississippi so there aren't many rocks or hills around here

 

[NORTHERN]

Sell you Pro Bro , get a SR5 and install ICON7 with your savings

 

[WakeDreams]

That's what I bought it for ha it's not a trophy that is just going to sit in my driveway. Just to clarify my main intention on the extra clearance is for deep ruts. I live in south Mississippi so there aren't many rocks or hills around here

Your stock clearance height is aprox 8 3/4 inches at the differential, give or take a millimeter. If you are looking for more clearance ground to diff, you need to do one of the following, increase your tire height, raise the lift the suspension or the height of your wheels. If you did a spacer lift or anything like that, the clearance height is not impacted only the body height is. So in short, a spacer would lift the height of the body of the truck from the ground to the fender but the height at the differential will be the same and you wouldn't accomplish your goal that way. Hope this helps.

 

[Koddo]

You just have to bite the bullet and spend a couple grand for 2-3 inch lift. If you bought a PRO you shouldn't have any issue spending a couple extra grand for a lift. That's my 2 cents. Any other option is half assing it and you would be better off putting that money into a good lift then pissing it away on some half measure....which you may or may not be happy with.

I've never been offroad in Mississippi, but 2-3 inch lift would be the sweet spot to lift to here in AZ. I see some gnarly ruts so I'm guessing 2-3 lift would be ideal. Stock front ground clearance on these 4 runners, especially ones equipped with KDSS is not outstanding by any means. I recently made a thread asking how much ground clearance the common 2-3 inchs net with 275/285 tires. I never did get an actual measurement from someone, but I deduced that you would probably have around 10.5-11 inches. I however did get plenty of answers from people who obviously don't offroad much.....

 

[KVA]

Taller tires will give you more height, but I realize that is not what you are looking for.

Unfortunately you would be looking for shocks that are adjustable in the front with the addition of taller rear springs. Not necessarily a cheap way to go.

Don't believe they even sell spacers in the way you are speaking of...and haven't heard of any body lift kits (cheap or otherwise) outside of the one that the guy in Japan made fit.

Others might have ideas...

I don't think you will really have any issues stock with ruts.

 

[Mistaken]

The cheapest route would be spacers. Seems like a simple install as well.

 

[Pro4-runner]

Ok thanks guys and to be honest the pro wasn't that much more expensive than a trail in the long run. I got mine for 3k under sticker. I guess I'll just go with the biggest tired I can squeeze whenever I need some new ones and look at investing in a hidden winch for now. It's the ruts that are the issue as much as the bottomless soup mud that causes me to bottom out. I know better tires would make a huge difference just can't justify that money at the moment.

 

[bloodninja]

You can buy a full OME (ARB) 3" lift kit, including struts and coils, for around $900. You'll want aftermarket UCAs to maintain correct alignment so the handling isn't poor. Inexpensive options are available, like LightRacing's UCA. I picked up Total Chaos UCAs on Labor Day for $650 shipped, which I thought was a pretty good deal.

 

[YotaDan]

Doesn't the Pro already come with 60MM Bilsteins up front, and 5160 equivalent out back?

 

[DEERUNNER]

If you did a spacer lift or anything like that, the clearance height is not impacted only the body height is. So in short, a spacer would lift the height of the body of the truck from the ground to the fender but the height at the differential will be the same and you wouldn't accomplish your goal that way.

Huh? That would be true if you are discussing a body lift accomplished with spacers. But not a lift that used spacers placed into the suspension, front or rear.

 

[KVA]

Doesn't the Pro already come with 60MM Bilsteins up front, and 5160 equivalent out back?

Believe so but I understood that they aren't adjustable up front and you still need taller springs in the rear...

 

[meltdown]

Huh? That would be true if you are discussing a body lift accomplished with spacers. But not a lift that used spacers placed into the suspension, front or rear.

4Runner's have a solid rear axle. If you don't increase the tire size, the differential will still be at the same height as stock. Doesn't matter how big of a suspension lift you put on it. The front is independent, so a suspension lift will increase clearance there. Where the OP is located, I'm willing to bet that he drags the diff more than anything.

 

[DEERUNNER]

4Runner's have a solid rear axle. If you don't increase the tire size, the differential will still be at the same height as stock. Doesn't matter how big of a suspension lift you put on it. The front is independent, so a suspension lift will increase clearance there. Where the OP is located, I'm willing to bet that he drags the diff more than anything.

True that is, for the rear. Thanks for clarifying what you meant.

 

[Jdavera]

My two cents:
New suspension is definitely better, height, travel, flex. But I'm in the same situation you are. As other mentioned you will gain height, specially for the rear diff. only with bigger tires. In my limited off-road experience I notice that most of the challenging obstacles are some kind of "step" (in my area) and therefore approach, break over and departure angle are your limitations.

I believe that suspension spacers (Toytec, Daystar, etc) will also help you increase these angles.

After few trip off-roading you can see in the picture that the cross member, lower link support and tank skid are taking all the damage.

I installed a 3/4" spacer (Toytec) in the front mostly for leveling but also gained approach angle.

I'm in the list for the RCI group buy in order to get some armor, but in a future I'm going to install suspension spacer in order to accommodate 285 tires.

 

[WakeDreams]

My bad, I guess I could have been more clear. To me adding spacers is what I would call leveling the truck. Lifting it would be larger tires and a suspension lift for additional clearance at the diff. It's easy to see the confusion of my comment now, my bad.

 

[David_S]

Perhaps Bilstein 6112 or King OEM repalcements

How about a set of Bilstein 6112 Adjustable Coil-Overs? There is a bit of debate on the forum about whether these are truly an upgrade over the stock TRD pro suspension, but crucially these are adjustable height. Also if I recall correctly, the spring rate is softer than stock SR5/Trail and the compression is firmer. But I do not know how it compares to the TRD Pro stock suspension.

The King Shocks OEM Replacements also may be tempting. You can get both Height adjustment and Compression adjustment with these.

Obviously I have no experience with either of these! I'm in a similar boat as you. I'd love to get 1inch lift in the front, after adding a bumper/winch, roof rack. So I think I may be getting a set of the aforementioned adjustable coil-overs and custom springs made (higher spring rate).

King is really cool to talk with, they can help you get the right set-up.

Search thru the 5th Gen forum on these options, you'll find a ton of info and hearsay.

King Link -
King Shocks Direct bolt-on performance shock kits for Toyota trucks and SUV?s from King Shocks « King Off-Road OEM Bolt-On Shocks : kingshocks.com


http://www.toyota-4runner.org/total-automotive-performance/190841-bilstein-6112s-stock-now-shipping-total-automotive-performance-toyota-4runner-gb.html

 

[oljedi11950]

I'm not really familiar with lifts and what is what. I'm kind of a hands on learner and I tired of searching the Internet to try and learn for myself what I can ask you guys and actually get sound advice. I have a trd pro and I just want to add another inch or so of clearance. What is the best method without having to spend thousands on a stage 5 icon lift or something like this. I'm not familiar with spacers and if they would cause more of a headache than it's worth I would just as soon keep it stock height. Any opinions or comments are appreciated

(And here come all the pro bro comments)

As they say "Keep it stupid simple" Biltsiens 51s or the new 6112s ! :jump::blabla: