Questions about Shocks, MPG Gauge, & Map Lights

[KnightFiyah]

Hey everybody,

I'm back at modding the 4Runner now that I'm not swamped with as much schoolwork as before. I've got a google document full of things I want to replace/check/fix/mod. A few of the things that I'm trying to get some advice/2nd opinions on are as follows:

1) Rear shocks / Suspension
I've already replaced the front struts with Bilstein shocks with very mild ride improvement. I definitely need to replace the rear shocks as well. My question is would replacing the rear shocks end up changing my car's ability to handle bumps dramatically more than replacing the front ones did? Because if not I might just end up going with OEM or less pricey shocks instead.

2) MPG gauge
I've seen a fair number of people using the ScanGauge to track their MPGs which I'm very interested in seeing as I'm definitely doing the ISR mod and considering doing the Deckplate mod as well as replacing spark plugs, wires, as well as a few other things. Would you guys recommend it?

3) Map Lights
I've tried replacing the bulbs already. I still can't get them to work at all. Has anyone had success fixing the same type of issue?

Thanks in advance everybody.

 

[Roc Doc]

Hey everybody,

I'm back at modding the 4Runner now that I'm not swamped with as much schoolwork as before. I've got a google document full of things I want to replace/check/fix/mod. A few of the things that I'm trying to get some advice/2nd opinions on are as follows:

1) Rear shocks / Suspension
I've already replaced the front struts with Bilstein shocks with very mild ride improvement. I definitely need to replace the rear shocks as well. My question is would replacing the rear shocks end up changing my car's ability to handle bumps dramatically more than replacing the front ones did? Because if not I might just end up going with OEM or less pricey shocks instead.

2) MPG gauge
I've seen a fair number of people using the ScanGauge to track their MPGs which I'm very interested in seeing as I'm definitely doing the ISR mod and considering doing the Deckplate mod as well as replacing spark plugs, wires, as well as a few other things. Would you guys recommend it?

3) Map Lights
I've tried replacing the bulbs already. I still can't get them to work at all. Has anyone had success fixing the same type of issue?

Thanks in advance everybody.

1. Remember, shock absorbers are only there to control the oscillation of the springs. If a shock has too much compression damping it will raise the effective rate of the springs and make the ride choppy. I would go with Bilstein 5100's in the back, as I think they're the best bang for the buck. Also tires have a HUGE impact on the ride quality. I have 265/75-16 Toyos and since they are E rated they tend to have stiff sidewalls. I run them at 30psi because of this.

2. A Scan Guage II is a good investment, I have them in all my vehicles.

3. I have a Streamlight Strion in the glovebox for this. You could have a bad switch up top, or a blown fuse, or a pack rat ate your wiring, or it was in a flood, or Toyota forgot to run the wires, or you got a batch of bad bulbs...sorry, you'll have to do some trouble shooting with a light or meter.

 

[KnightFiyah]

1. Remember, shock absorbers are only there to control the oscillation of the springs. If a shock has too much compression damping it will raise the effective rate of the springs and make the ride choppy. I would go with Bilstein 5100's in the back, as I think they're the best bang for the buck. Also tires have a HUGE impact on the ride quality. I have 265/75-16 Toyos and since they are E rated they tend to have stiff sidewalls. I run them at 30psi because of this.

2. A Scan Guage II is a good investment, I have them in all my vehicles.

3. I have a Streamlight Strion in the glovebox for this. You could have a bad switch up top, or a blown fuse, or a pack rat ate your wiring, or it was in a flood, or Toyota forgot to run the wires, or you got a batch of bad bulbs...sorry, you'll have to do some trouble shooting with a light or meter.

1) So, to be sure I have a clear understanding, you're saying the rear could affect the overall suspension if they are lagging/slacking compared to my front shocks? And I assume you're talking about the regular 5100s here and not the ride-adjustable ones correct?

2) Wonderful. I'll definitely snag one.

3) Shoot. I was hoping this was one of those "ah yeah we've all had that, you fix it by doing this" kind of problems but I guess not. Yeah I'll have to come back to this later then.

Thanks Roc.

 

[Unner]

Hey everybody,

I'm back at modding the 4Runner now that I'm not swamped with as much schoolwork as before. I've got a google document full of things I want to replace/check/fix/mod. A few of the things that I'm trying to get some advice/2nd opinions on are as follows:

1) Rear shocks / Suspension
I've already replaced the front struts with Bilstein shocks with very mild ride improvement. I definitely need to replace the rear shocks as well. My question is would replacing the rear shocks end up changing my car's ability to handle bumps dramatically more than replacing the front ones did? Because if not I might just end up going with OEM or less pricey shocks instead.

2) MPG gauge
I've seen a fair number of people using the ScanGauge to track their MPGs which I'm very interested in seeing as I'm definitely doing the ISR mod and considering doing the Deckplate mod as well as replacing spark plugs, wires, as well as a few other things. Would you guys recommend it?

3) Map Lights
I've tried replacing the bulbs already. I still can't get them to work at all. Has anyone had success fixing the same type of issue?

Thanks in advance everybody.

Is all your rear suspension original? If so you almost definitely need new springs too. New shocks won't help the ride out if your springs are shot and sagging. Bilstein shocks are commonly used, although I've never run them my dad's second gen Tacoma rides good with them.

I have a scangauge, I like it. Another option is UltraGauge, but those don't monitor transmission temp, or at least they used to not. Spark plugs and wires isn't a mod, it's maintenance. If the plugs haven't been done in the last 30k go ahead and change them. Wires last longer, but if they're original it doesn't hurt to change them either. ISR mod will make the truck louder with a small gain maybe, probably not enough to make a real difference, deckplate doesn't make sense to me. Why would I want a large exposed hole in my airbox?

Not sure about the map lights, sounds like a wiring or bulb issue.

Good luck! Lots of information on this forum!

 

[gamefreakgc]

Hey everybody,

I'm back at modding the 4Runner now that I'm not swamped with as much schoolwork as before. I've got a google document full of things I want to replace/check/fix/mod. A few of the things that I'm trying to get some advice/2nd opinions on are as follows:

1) Rear shocks / Suspension
I've already replaced the front struts with Bilstein shocks with very mild ride improvement. I definitely need to replace the rear shocks as well. My question is would replacing the rear shocks end up changing my car's ability to handle bumps dramatically more than replacing the front ones did? Because if not I might just end up going with OEM or less pricey shocks instead.

2) MPG gauge
I've seen a fair number of people using the ScanGauge to track their MPGs which I'm very interested in seeing as I'm definitely doing the ISR mod and considering doing the Deckplate mod as well as replacing spark plugs, wires, as well as a few other things. Would you guys recommend it?

3) Map Lights
I've tried replacing the bulbs already. I still can't get them to work at all. Has anyone had success fixing the same type of issue?

Thanks in advance everybody.

1. If you are going for lift, I have little to offer here since I don't own a lifted vehicle. If you going for smooth ride and decent off-road performance, you can't beat the stock rear shocks. They cost around $50 each.

2. You can always check your MPG's when you fill up at the pump. Divide your total miles driven on that tank by the number of gallons you put in and there's your MPG. Been doing that for years with no fancy equipment. Check out Fuelly.com if you want a place to track and compare your vehicle's MPGs.

3. Sounds like you have a blown fuse. Check the fuses behind the little panel inside the vehicle.

 

[KnightFiyah]

Is all your rear suspension original? If so you almost definitely need new springs too. New shocks won't help the ride out if your springs are shot and sagging. Bilstein shocks are commonly used, although I've never run them my dad's second gen Tacoma rides good with them.

I have a scangauge, I like it. Another option is UltraGauge, but those don't monitor transmission temp, or at least they used to not. Spark plugs and wires isn't a mod, it's maintenance. If the plugs haven't been done in the last 30k go ahead and change them. Wires last longer, but if they're original it doesn't hurt to change them either. ISR mod will make the truck louder with a small gain maybe, probably not enough to make a real difference, deckplate doesn't make sense to me. Why would I want a large exposed hole in my airbox?

Not sure about the map lights, sounds like a wiring or bulb issue.

Good luck! Lots of information on this forum!

1) As far as I know the rear suspension is original. Yeah I was thinking new springs too.

2) Sweet. I'll just go with Scangauge since I've seen enough good reviews of it.

Yeah I didn't mean to clump in spark plugs and wires with the other mods or give that impression, I know they're maintenance haha. Yeah I decided I wanted to do the ISR mod simply to test it out, but I agree I'm still not convinced on going forward with the deckplate mod. I read plenty of posts about both and even the dyno testing showed minimal gains for both ISR and the Deckplate mods.

The fact that both are reversible makes me want to at least try them out.

Thanks!

1. If you are going for lift, I have little to offer here since I don't own a lifted vehicle. If you going for smooth ride and decent off-road performance, you can't beat the stock rear shocks. They cost around $50 each.

2. You can always check your MPG's when you fill up at the pump. Divide your total miles driven on that tank by the number of gallons you put in and there's your MPG. Been doing that for years with no fancy equipment. Check out Fuelly.com if you want a place to track and compare your vehicle's MPGs.

3. Sounds like you have a blown fuse. Check the fuses behind the little panel inside the vehicle.

1) Now see that's interesting. I really want that smooth ride but why would you recommend stock over bilsteins? Obviously the pricing is better, but everything I've read online says "go bilstein" like it's the clear choice.

2) True that, also doesn't cost me $150 haha.

3) Good call, I'll do that.

 

[Unner]

1) As far as I know the rear suspension is original. Yeah I was thinking new springs too.

2) Sweet. I'll just go with Scangauge since I've seen enough good reviews of it.

Yeah I didn't mean to clump in spark plugs and wires with the other mods or give that impression, I know they're maintenance haha. Yeah I decided I wanted to do the ISR mod simply to test it out, but I agree I'm still not convinced on going forward with the deckplate mod. I read plenty of posts about both and even the dyno testing showed minimal gains for both ISR and the Deckplate mods.

The fact that both are reversible makes me want to at least try them out.

Thanks!

Yeah, they're both reversible so that's nice. Look into the TRD throttle body gasket and cleaning the throttle body while you do the plugs. And clean the MAF sensor too. It's easy to do and another one of those "1 HP upgrades". I've had people tell me that they changed their spark plugs before so their car has 10 more horsepower than it did from the factory...

 

[Roc Doc]

1) So, to be sure I have a clear understanding, you're saying the rear could affect the overall suspension if they are lagging/slacking compared to my front shocks? And I assume you're talking about the regular 5100s here and not the ride-adjustable ones correct?

The suspension is a system, and if the front has been upgraded, the rear should as well. If it's sagging that's springs, if it's bouncy that's shocks, you might need both. How many miles on the rig?

 

[phattyduck]

1) Now see that's interesting. I really want that smooth ride but why would you recommend stock over bilsteins? Obviously the pricing is better, but everything I've read online says "go bilstein" like it's the clear choice.

Stock height - stock shocks are good. Most don't come on here for stock though. Bilstein 4600's are another good choice for stock height and comfort. If you are lifting, there is a whole world of choices for different purposes and personal preferences (highway, high speed desert, mud, washboard dirt roads, heaving loads/towing, etc.).

If the rear springs are sagging, they let the suspension hit the overload bumpers (rubber cones inside the springs) or the bump stops (hard rubber stops on the frame) too often. If the ride height is still good, you don't need springs. If it is too low, you'll want springs to keep the suspension from bottoming during regular driving (though correctly valved shocks help with that too).

-Charlie

 

[gamefreakgc]

Stock height - stock shocks are good. Most don't come on here for stock though. Bilstein 4600's are another good choice for stock height and comfort. If you are lifting, there is a whole world of choices for different purposes and personal preferences (highway, high speed desert, mud, washboard dirt roads, heaving loads/towing, etc.).

If the rear springs are sagging, they let the suspension hit the overload bumpers (rubber cones inside the springs) or the bump stops (hard rubber stops on the frame) too often. If the ride height is still good, you don't need springs. If it is too low, you'll want springs to keep the suspension from bottoming during regular driving (though correctly valved shocks help with that too).

-Charlie

Yeah, the majority of posters on here have "build threads" or are looking for off-road improvements. The 3rd gen section is less of a maintenance/troubleshooting sort of forum and more of a modding/off-road forum. A lot of the comments are comparing Bilstein's to other aftermarket shocks like OME, Rancho, etc. and not to stock height Tokico's (Toyota's OEM supplier of shocks).

Personally, I went with KYB shocks since they are sort of a middle ground. Decent on the road behavoir but very nice off-road perfomance. Now to just drive off-road more often...

 

[KnightFiyah]

Thanks for all the help everyone.

I'll let you guys know what I end up going with as soon as I can afford to spend some extra cash on the 4Runner!