Nose dive help?

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vardenafil

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Hi guys. First time poster. Short time lurker. I just bought a brand new 14 4runner. I have less than 500 miles on it. Im loving it so far. The only complaint that I have is that the truck seems to nose dive when I apply the brakes. It seems that the front suspension is too soft? Im looking for some sort of aftermarket solution to my problem. Im wondering if anybody has found a aftermarket coil that is significantly stiffer than the stock coils? If so what have you used? Im not really looking to lift the truck because its my wife daily driver. But if I have to lift it to get a better ride I will. Long as the lift is minimal. Thanks in advanced.
 
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Nose Dive

From your forum name the 4Runner is not the only thing with nose dive.

You will probably get flamed good for not doing a search, there are lots of posts about this..

I added Bilstein 5100s with the front set to 0.85. It helped the nose dive a lot but there is still some. If you go to the 1.75 setting the 4Runner will be level and a bit stiffer. But you may get tail sag with a load. Before the Bilsteins the rear was 2 inches higher than the front. After it's 1 inch. I also added 5100s to the rear and Air Lift bags. The rear Bilsteins stiffened the ride but help a lot off-road.
 

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I wonder how many people are confusing suspension issues with the fact that the t4r will apply the brakes harder and longer than you did when it thinks you're panic braking?

It's a very odd sensation to have the brakes go on really hard (or longer!) when you take a quick stab at them and I suspect that is what most people are feeling when they think there is abnormal dive in the front.
 
roadracer30 said:
I wonder how many people are confusing suspension issues with the fact that the t4r will apply the brakes harder and longer than you did when it thinks you're panic braking?

It's a very odd sensation to have the brakes go on really hard (or longer!) when you take a quick stab at them and I suspect that is what most people are feeling when they think there is abnormal dive in the front.
Click to expand...
No...
 
roadracer30 said:
"No.." what?

It definitely happens and the brake dive on the t4r is nothing of note compared to most trucks or suvs.
Click to expand...
No, that it's not braking issues. It most certainly is a suspension issue. I noticed it the first time I test drove a 2014 before I read about it on the forums. Even gently resting your foot on the brake will cause the nose to pitch down and jerk back up. That is NOT normal. And it's not because of the brakes.
 
vardenafil said:
Hi guys. First time poster. Short time lurker. I just bought a brand new 14 4runner. I have less than 500 miles on it. Im loving it so far. The only complaint that I have is that the truck seems to nose dive when I apply the brakes. It seems that the front suspension is too soft? Im looking for some sort of aftermarket solution to my problem. Im wondering if anybody has found a aftermarket coil that is significantly stiffer than the stock coils? If so what have you used? Im not really looking to lift the truck because its my wife daily driver. But if I have to lift it to get a better ride I will. Long as the lift is minimal. Thanks in advanced.
Click to expand...

lets see a picture..
 
TEQ.FZJ said:
No, that it's not braking issues. It most certainly is a suspension issue. I noticed it the first time I test drove a 2014 before I read about it on the forums. Even gently resting your foot on the brake will cause the nose to pitch down and jerk back up. That is NOT normal. And it's not because of the brakes.
Click to expand...

But it is normal. It's also because of one of the very reasons I fell in love with mine during the test drive. Those progressive springs are the very reason this beastie so easily and readily soaks up small bumps and railroad crossings without tossing you around in your seat. It's a taller than normal vehicle with a higher center of gravity, riding around on some initially softer springs. Sway bars can help with body roll, but they can't do anything for the fore/aft axis.

The only way to fix it is stiffer springs or stiffer shocks, or both in combination. The Bilsteins will help, but they won't make it go away without a stiffer spring. How do I know? I added the Bilstein 5100 kit last week on all 4 corners. It's still there. Not as pronounced, but still noticeable. And if you're going to put stiffer springs on the front you may as well do the rear at the same time. Because if you don't it will feel unbalanced between the 2 when you do go over a RR crossing or something similar.

I've accepted it as a product of the vehicle. Any vehicle designed to do any kind of decent off roading is going to have compromised on road manners, or it will be very expensive because of the active suspension it will have to have (read Range Rover). Even the X-reas and KDSS systems are more to control body roll than nosedive (although X-reas may address nosedive to a degree).

I have never felt a loss of control during the few nosedives mine has done. I'm normally early off the gas and early and light on the brakes. I only see the nosedive under moderate to heavy braking which I try to avoid anyway. But I'm not about to tell anybody they should change their driving style. I have to change my own mindset just to drive through Houston because nobody is going to leave me the front gap I am comfortable with on open roads. And even after 30+ years of me working on her my wife still waits until what I think is the last second to hit her brakes.

Personally, after almost 40 years of driving I am absolutely amazed at how far suspension development has come. I am less amazed at the fact we haven't been able to figure out how to go farther on a given amount of gas. Just my thoughts. You can take em or leave em as you see fit.
 
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I purchased 2020 4Runner off-road premium with KDSS.I also did not like the nose dive and in-fact, I hated it. I upgraded my suspension to Bilstein 6112 (front) and Bilstein 5160 (rear). With this setup the nose dive appears to have reduced considerable compared to stock. I am happy with the ride quality and nose dive.

Of all the trims (including TRD PRO), I feel Limited trim has the least nose dive because of XREAS system.
 
I have 6112's up front set at the roughly equivalent stock height - there may be less than an inch of "lift" from them in my application.

Overall I feel the truck is more confident in braking with less nose dive. Sure, some is still present under heavy braking, however it's substantially better than it was stock.

It's a plus for me, but the ride is more firm now as a result of the Bilstein's front and rear. I find it a good compromise in terms of handling improvement vs ride quality change.
 
vardenafil said:
Hi guys. First time poster. Short time lurker. I just bought a brand new 14 4runner. I have less than 500 miles on it. Im loving it so far. The only complaint that I have is that the truck seems to nose dive when I apply the brakes....
Click to expand...

You have a 6 / 7 year old vehicle, that came with slightly "mushy" / "soft" suspension from the factory. Most of these posts are correct, the Bilstein 5100 will help, but... the rest of your suspension is still 6 / 7 years old.

The Eibach pro truck kit will give you a 1" lift on the rear and 2.75" lift in the front. It will firm up the ride reducing corner roll and brake dive WITHOUT making the ride overly harsh.

Read up on the differences between the Bilstein's and Eibach's (digressive vs progressive). The reader's digest version: Bilstein's are generally considered rougher around town (speed bumps / rough pavement) and better in off-roading extremes. Eibach's are generally considered slightly better around town (speed bumps / rough pavement) and not as good in off-roading extremes. Both work fine for general purpose off-roading.

Either solution is better then the 6 / 7 year old factory suspension if you a trying to firm up the ride.

G/L
 
CMTAZ said:
You have a 6 / 7 year old vehicle, that came with slightly "mushy" / "soft" suspension from the factory. Most of these posts are correct, the Bilstein 5100 will help, but... the rest of your suspension is still 6 / 7 years old.

The Eibach pro truck kit will give you a 1" lift on the rear and 2.75" lift in the front. It will firm up the ride reducing corner roll and brake dive WITHOUT making the ride overly harsh.

Read up on the differences between the Bilstein's and Eibach's (digressive vs progressive). The reader's digest version: Bilstein's are generally considered rougher around town (speed bumps / rough pavement) and better in off-roading extremes. Eibach's are generally considered slightly better around town (speed bumps / rough pavement) and not as good in off-roading extremes. Both work fine for general purpose off-roading.

Either solution is better then the 6 / 7 year old factory suspension if you a trying to firm up the ride.

G/L
Click to expand...

Let's assume he found a solution, since he posted this in 2014.
 
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