What? KDSS is designed to give the car on-road prowess while not compromising off-road capabilities.
Newbie Question - KDSS
- Thread starter coffenut
- Start date
What? KDSS is designed to give the car on-road prowess while not compromising off-road capabilities.
SpeedyKevin
New member
You get the benefit of a thicker sway bar on road! And not losing as much flex offroad below 13mph
LandCruiser
New member
Ehhh, not too sure about the on-road part. I have now wheel time in the XREAS, KDSS, and stock 4Runners and would say that the biggest upgrade that reduced the body roll and overall crappiness of the on-road manners was an ICON lift.
If you do drive an otherwise stock KDSS and non KDSS TE or ORP (or whatever the hell it's called now) back to back there is marginal difference in handling, specifically the body roll is less bad, but still bad.
I will say the 4Runner doesn't like spirited driving and will remind you of that repeatedly.
I love my KDSS off road, but have nothing to compare it to since I've never wheeled another 5th gen 4Runner.
That is incorrect. It improves on-road handling, AND improves axle articulation while off-road.
As the article you linked below also says.
The linked article said:
williamlv282
New member
I don't know why this keeps getting repeated. KDSS is proven across multiple vehicles and rarely has issues.
My 2015 has 75k miles and I have had zero issues with the KDSS system despite multiple suspension modifications and moderate off-road use.
This forum likes to parrot that KDSS is problematic but I think data would suggest otherwise.
KDSS is a huge upgrade for body roll on-road. At higher speeds off-road (20mph+ on dirt roads, logging trails) it can be too stiff and feel rough but when you're at lower speeds KDSS loosens up and is amazing off-road.
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smeerun
New member
Completely valid point. It seems to be said a lot on these forums without having too many examples of people actually having issues with KDSS. My stance is that because we do know that it is expensive to repair and that it is an optional component (and by that nature, not required), it does mean that one has to be prepared to fork out extra dough down the line should it fail. Sure it may never fail (and that would be awesome) but because it is not a required component when you purchase a 4Runner it is worth noting that it (like anything) may fail and is an expensive repair bill. I think that we just need to adjust our language around KDSS when talking about it "having problems"...
My rig is sitting at 102k miles and, to my knowledge as the third owner, there have been no issues thus far.
I absolutely love the ride and if I were to buy a brand new 4Runner tomorrow, I'd get KDSS no questions asked. It's fantastic off-road at low speeds and makes the street ride comfortable as hell.
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What are you trying to say? I'm well aware how KDSS works. It also allows for a big fat sway bar to improve on-road handling because of that fact that it allows the system to articulate off-road and essentially negate the sway bar.
sandcrawler
Senior Member
incorrect
Strange, I never see either of those vehicles when I'm driving off the pavement here in the Southwest. :shrug:
Thai
Elite Member
Big bend national park.
Attachments
Nice parking lot!
J/K, which BB roads did they drive?Perhaps I should have specified that I don't see those vehicles actually wheeling out on the trails. Then again, few 4Runners are driven in those conditions either! :lmao: And most of the places I go I hardly see anyone at all.
Also, I sometimes forget that not everyone has the same idea of what constitutes "wheeling." ;-)
Thai
Elite Member
Nice parking lot!
Perhaps I should have specified that I don't see those vehicles actually wheeling out on the trails. Then again, few 4Runners are driven in those conditions either! :lmao: And most of the places I go I hardly see anyone at all.
Also, I sometimes forget that not everyone has the same idea of what constitutes "wheeling." ;-)
We did all the trail at BB, including that stair thingy that i forgot the name of. It was easy tho.
And FYI, I have plenty of wheeling history.
SilverTEP
New member
KDSS is amazing, a lot of the times when you are getting to your off road spots you are going through windy mountain road. Having 0 roll, planted, even with a 3 inch lift feels super confident.. almost like a race car, which 4runner is not. Going down hill is even better.
Love my KDSS, i'm thinking about spacers in the back to return it to closer to normal, spacers in the front ruin clearance, not sure if the system is optimal with different heights..
It's like a smart disconnecting swaybar that's like a sports car swaybar beyuond 12 mph and nice and loose below.
KDSS is not the limiting factor here, it does connect with the back panhard bar if you have 'extended travel' I believe and there are solutions to this. 4wheeling is a game of inches, ironman does do spacers and a panhard bar with spacing for KDSS, I might consider it
Love my KDSS, i'm thinking about spacers in the back to return it to closer to normal, spacers in the front ruin clearance, not sure if the system is optimal with different heights..
It's like a smart disconnecting swaybar that's like a sports car swaybar beyuond 12 mph and nice and loose below.
KDSS is not the limiting factor here, it does connect with the back panhard bar if you have 'extended travel' I believe and there are solutions to this. 4wheeling is a game of inches, ironman does do spacers and a panhard bar with spacing for KDSS, I might consider it
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