NPTITim's Build Thread

[NPTITim]

I am doing some mod's to my truck so I wanted to start a build thread in case it might help anyone considering going down the same road, I know I was on the fence about some things so I will give my feedback here.

First let me say what you won't find here:
This isn't a how to as most of my stuff is installed for me and I am not very mechanically inclined.
I do not do a lot of off-roading so the purpose of my mods is not for that.

I am writing this because I believe I am similar to the silent majority of 4Runner owners - those that like their truck, are thinking about doing something a little bit different to set it apart, but generally use their truck for daily driving and still want it to handle well in those situations. I will show some pics to show how you things turned out and then give you a review of those things as I go along so you can better make your own decisions moving forward. Honestly a veteran of mods or those very familiar with various aspects of their car may not get a lot out of this particular thread.

To start, I have a 2010 Black T4R SR5 4x4, I bought it about a month ago (2013) when it had 14K miles. I was lucky to find one with such low miles, although given its low miles it really hadn't been taken care of very well by the owners.

In terms of my driving history, this is my 3rd T4R, I had a 90 something that I bought when it was pretty old and I had that for a few years, then I got a 02 in 2005 (3rd gen) with about 50k miles and drove it for the last 8 years. I put a brushguard and BFG AT tires on it (stock size) and I really liked that car. I have also owned a Honda Accord (90) and C5 corvette (99). I learned to drive on my Dad's explorer and I think that helped shape my preference for SUV's.

My very first 2 mods were pretty simple. A lot of people are going the black out route but I wanted to do something different. My last 2 T4R's had been black, I almost bought a silver one, so I wanted a bit more chrome, not less. I ordered a chrome aero strip for the hood. Honestly when I got this I thought I was getting a chrome bug shield but this just sticks to your hood, you can't see it when you driving the car.

I got this thing:
AVS® 622025 - Toyota 4Runner 2010-2012 Large Chrome Aeroskin Hood Shield

It was easy to install, took about 10 minutes.

I also ordered the ATS chrome running boards and the bracket for the installation

ATS® C310-CU70P - Toyota 4Runner 2010 70" E2 Series Chrome Running Boards (Limited / SR5 / Trail)

I had someone else install the running board (Merchant's), no drilling required, only thing I didn't like was the covering for the brackets didn't go all the way up, I might end up wrapping them in electrical tape or something to black them out.

 

[NPTITim]

The aeroskin hood is fine, personally I think it looks cool and I like seeing it when I walk toward the car facing the front. I don't think it actually does anything functionally (like protect the hood) but I don't know for sure. I am planning on getting a shrockworks bumper so I am curious to see how it will look with that.

I like the running boards. The most annoying thing to me was they seemed to lower the car visually. Functionally they work well, I have 3 little kids so I needed to have something. They seem sturdy and I didn't love the look of the stock running boards. In hindsight I might have gone with the Shrockworks sliders since they only cost a little bit more, they look cool in my opinion and they still appear to be functional as a slider and as a step (plus they might block door dings), these are just a step. I do like they how added to the silver/black look which I am going for.

 

[NPTITim]

The next mods were the big ones, I lifted the truck and put new tires on it.

For the lift I was torn what to choose, I was mainly debating between basic spacers, the FJ Ready lift kit, or the toyotec ultimate lift. I didn't mind the stock ride but it did feel a little loose and kind of 'boaty'. In the end I went with the most expensive option of the 3 and choose the toyotec ultimate lift with UCA's, which I had heard was good if you added oversized tires. It seemed like a few people had started with the spacers and then upgraded later which I didn't want to do, so I just went with the big one right off the bat. Probably didn't need to for my needs but I talked myself into it.

I also wasn't sure what tire to get. Even though I don't really off-road I really like the look of an aggressive tire and a lifted truck, honestly I was luke warm on the look of the 5h gen T4R until I saw pics of one lifted with bigger tires and then I knew that was what I wanted. I don't drive in crazy weather but we usually get about 2 weeks of some snow and I like to be able to get around in that if I want to. I had liked the BFG AT's on my previous 4runner but they are not rated for significant snow. The duratracs seemed to be commonly recommended, they had a look I liked and they seemed to last decently well (at least 40k) so that is what I decided on.

Here are some pics with the tires side by side to stock and then actually mounted on the truck with the lift

 

[NPTITim]

Here are a few more pics, I am including some next to my 3rd gen (all stock including stock tire size, just BFG AT's and a brushguard) just for comparison sake

 

[NPTITim]

Here is my immediate reaction to the lift:

I like it, I think it looks pretty cool. I love seeing the red shocks above the wheels. I call my car the Black Bull and my son said that was the blood of the bull.
I measured the car in my garage before and after, using the part of the body of the car just above the center of the wheel as my gauge:
Before
Right Front - 35"
Right Rear - 36.75"
Left Front - 34.25"
Left Rear - 36.25"
(my gas tank was nearly full which I suspect was the main culprit in the difference)

After
Right Front - 39.5
Right Rear - 40"
Left Front - 39"
Left Rear - 39.75"
(gas tank almost the same amount)

So the front went up about 4.5", the back went up about 3". I wasn't going for level, I like a little bit of a rake. I assume the shocks will settle a bit and also I will be added a SW Bumper which will likely weigh down the front just a bit.

In terms of ride it did stiffen it up a bit but nothing major, just tighter. It isn't too harsh, less harsh than my vette was for sure. The lift is pretty noticeable when I get into the car and when I am driving around, you definitely feel higher which I like. It seems that almost no cars/trucks are this height without a lift themselves. I have only driven it about 100 miles so far. It did seem like on the highway the air got under the car just a little bit and I had to do more minor corrections with the steering wheel than normal. That could also be an alignment thing or something else, but that was my perception. My antenna (which is about 6" higher than the roof rack) hits the garage significantly when I go in and out now (it did not hit before) so I will have to look into modifying that. I will post more after driving it more, this is my first lifted ride.

 

[NPTITim]

My immediate review of the tires

After purchasing the lift and the tires I was a little worried maybe I went too aggressive and I would lose some drivability, I don't think so. Actually when I went to pick up my truck it was parked next to a Jeep Rubicon that had like 44" tires on it (which looked awesome) and I thought to myself I went too small but once I got the truck by itself I thought it looked good and in proportion the truck and the lift I got.

They seem to ride fine, again only about 100 miles if that on them so far. Looks wise I think they are pretty sweet. When I got to about 40 mph they started to make some noise, just audible over the normal radio with the windows closed. At first I was scared because it wasn't bad but I thought if they did this at 40 what they will sound like that at 80 mph? Luckily the noise didn't increase in proportion to the speed, they got a tiny bit louder but then at like 60 other noises (wind, other cars, whatever) seemed to take over and they were fine at 70-80 mph. With the windows up I didn't feel the need to increase my volume on the stereo over what I had with stock and I don't listen to the radio super loud (a stock setting of maybe 18-20, no party mode button pushed). I didn't try to open the windows and listen to them yet. The weather has been fine so I can't speak about them in poor conditions.

I do have a bit of a tire rub at/near full turn which is a little annoying. I asked the shop to take care of that, I had read that just trimming the fenders worked fine but they didn't do that, I am not 100% sure why, maybe that is something they usually don't do? They did offer to put some spacers in there for about $250 or give me a large steering stopper for about $100. They suggested I drive it for a while and they could add those things in later on if necessary. I felt the tire rub a few times during driving, pulling in/backing out of parking spaces mainly, but it wasn't super bad and they said it was minor rubbing. I will see if that annoyance increases over time.

So that is where I am right now. Future mods include a shrockworks bumper and a new front grill, the latter I am hoping my wife gets me for Christmas. I might order the bumper around the same time although I know there is a pretty long wait time for it. I am going to try to enjoy these mods for the moment.

 

[Ducmonsta]

I do have a bit of a tire rub at/near full turn which is a little annoying. I asked the shop to take care of that, I had read that just trimming the fenders worked fine but they didn't do that, I am not 100% sure why, maybe that is something they usually don't do? They did offer to put some spacers in there for about $250 or give me a large steering stopper for about $100. They suggested I drive it for a while and they could add those things in later on if necessary. I felt the tire rub a few times during driving, pulling in/backing out of parking spaces mainly, but it wasn't super bad and they said it was minor rubbing. I will see if that annoyance increases over time.

Please tell me this advice is not coming from my boys at High Tech. If so, I want names! That is not the way it should have been addressed.

 

[Canazes9]

Here is my immediate reaction to the lift:

I like it, I think it looks pretty cool. I love seeing the red shocks above the wheels. I call my car the Black Bull and my son said that was the blood of the bull.
I measured the car in my garage before and after, using the part of the body of the car just above the center of the wheel as my gauge:
Before
Right Front - 35"
Right Rear - 36.75"
Left Front - 34.25"
Left Rear - 36.25"
(my gas tank was nearly full which I suspect was the main culprit in the difference)

After
Right Front - 39.5
Right Rear - 40"
Left Front - 39"
Left Rear - 39.75"
(gas tank almost the same amount)

So the front went up about 4.5", the back went up about 3". I wasn't going for level, I like a little bit of a rake. I assume the shocks will settle a bit and also I will be added a SW Bumper which will likely weigh down the front just a bit.

In terms of ride it did stiffen it up a bit but nothing major, just tighter. It isn't too harsh, less harsh than my vette was for sure. The lift is pretty noticeable when I get into the car and when I am driving around, you definitely feel higher which I like. It seems that almost no cars/trucks are this height without a lift themselves. I have only driven it about 100 miles so far. It did seem like on the highway the air got under the car just a little bit and I had to do more minor corrections with the steering wheel than normal. That could also be an alignment thing or something else, but that was my perception. My antenna (which is about 6" higher than the roof rack) hits the garage significantly when I go in and out now (it did not hit before) so I will have to look into modifying that. I will post more after driving it more, this is my first lifted ride.

4.5" lift in the front is a lot! What do your CV angles look like? Have you checked to make sure your CV boot fins aren't kissing?

David

 

[Ducmonsta]

[MENTION=26421]NPTITim[/MENTION]
I can't tell you how much I appreciate you for contacting my via PM about the situation. There are too many "he said, she said" conversations that happen over the interwebs. I knew you were asking about using the guys at High Tech for awhile. I really wish others would use some tact when bashing shops over internet forums. Especially when the story is usually one sided.

Anyway, I'll be contacting the boys within the next couple of days. It's very unusual that you're getting any kind of rub with factory wheels and 285s (I assume), and LR UCAs. Maybe it's just the fender liner? If that's the case, I'll make sure you get scheduled in for a wait job and have [MENTION=99235]Scott@Hightech[/MENTION] take care of you. Actually, I know Jeff (the other tech that goes to the Antman Camp) has done a bunch of these. I know, I showed him how.

As far as your measurements go, I think something is just not right about the measurements. A couple of reasons why...
1. if your truly have a 4.5" difference in height, there's NO WAY your tires are rubbing anything.
2. Toytec sends the coilovers pre-adjusted and I've personally never seen them adjusted that far out of whack. It's possible, but unlikely.

Thanks again for keeping High Tech anonymous about this situation. We'll get to the bottom of this together.

 

[NPTITim]

@Ducamonster - thanks for the post.

I don't know exactly what is rubbing, when I get about a quarter turn from full lock it starts to rub. I have just been avoiding that part of the range of motion at the moment. I could turn the wheels fully and take a pic from the bottom if that would be helpful?

I don't know what to tell you about the lift. I am quite confident those numbers are correct, I am including 2 pics of how I took the measurement in case there was anything unusual about that. I didn't take a pic of it stock but I wrote it down and the numbers all match so I think it is correct. I would assume they used the highest setting plus the increased height of the tires - you were correct, Goodyear Duratracs 285/70/17 is what I have. The amount of lift is pretty noticeable when I get into the car, I have to really stretch my leg up now to get in, not annoying just different than before.

In the first pic the black car doesn't show up well against the background so I put a yellow line where the car is to make it more clear.

Thanks for the assistance

 

[Ducmonsta]

Actually, your measurements make more sense now. You're including the height of the tires. I don't know why I didn't think of taking that into consideration since you were in the high 30s low 40s in your measurements. I'm at about 39" in the front with a winch bumper.

I'm betting its the front fender liner. I seriously doubt the tires are rubbing the body mount. And it appears you're not running any mudflaps, so that's out of the question. The fender liner mod is super easy. If you don't feel like tackling that yourself, I know the guys at the shop will do it. Not sure why it wasn't done if you requested it, but like I said, we'll get to the bottom of it.

 

[Morphyne]

Wow. Nice looking ride. Like the tires.

 

[NPTITim]

I was having some minor rubbing at full lock from the sway bar so I decided to have wheel spacers added, plus anything that emphasizes the tires is good in my opinion.

I also found that my traction control got way too sensitive after the lift so I had them do the zero point recalibration (which I learned about first on here), it has only been a few days but it seems to be driving much better. Here is a pic from the front and side, doesn't look quite as different as I thought it might but the tire rub is gone.

Next thing is up I need to shorten the antenna by about 4", if anyone has any ideas for that I am open to it. I don't want a shorty antenna and I primarily listen to the FM radio so reception is important to me.

 

[thebwlife]

Got to lose those steps!

 

[NPTITim]

Got the Bumper

The Shrockworks Bumper arrived (a bit ahead of schedule). I haven't posted on here in a while, I just had this installed yesterday so here are the first pics of it. One of my favorite things is that I can see the brush guard sitting in the drivers seat (not a lot of it, but just enough in the side to remind me it is there - see pic, left hand corner of the hood). I think I am all done with the mods now.

 

[joneseyyy]

Where are you located? Come say hi on the Mid Atlantic Overland Society on FB and meet some other local guys.

 

[NPTITim]

I am in Fairfax, I'll check out that group you suggested. I liked your webpage, I have a few other buddies around here that want to do more off road stuff. Thanks for the connect, if you have any events coming up let me know.

Tim

 

[joneseyyy]

Awesome, I live in Fair Oaks, right by the intersection of 50 and 66.

 

[NPTITim]

Then we are super neighbors, I am in Fair Lakes right across the street from Best Buy. I work in Tyson's. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you want to get together sometime