Sonoran Steel lift install

[AZ4ME]

I wouldn't normally post about a lift install since there are already many posts on here about it, but I have not seen much on the Sonoran Steel lift kit and though others might like to see another option out there.

I had one of their lift kits on my 2000 4runner and liked it very much. When I got rid of that truck and bought my, new to me, 2011 4runner, I decided to try their 5th gen lift. One of the things I liked about this kit over some of the other ones is that it includes a rear adjustable panhard bar to re-center the rear axle after the lift.

I don't have any during install pics as we all know what that looks like from other lift install, so I'll just show you the after pics. The ride is so much better than the stock suspension. Overall, I'm very happy with the kit. I don't have any plans at this time to take the rig off pavement to test it out, as I have a separate vehicle for that. But I don't have any doubt that it would work very well off road. It does soak up the speed bumps coming into my neighborhood very well.

The wheels are 18x9 and the tires are 285/65/18.

 

[Mason]

I just quickly looked at their website. They are using Radflo's which I believe was the same suspension bits used by one of the previous forum sponsors. (I forget the company name, but people always said they were specifically tuned for the 4Runners.) I'm guessing these are as well?

The lift and wheels look good!

 

[Jeremy556]

I just quickly looked at their website. They are using Radflo's which I believe was the same suspension bits used by one of the previous forum sponsors. (I forget the company name, but people always said they were specifically tuned for the 4Runners.) I'm guessing these are as well?

The lift and wheels look good!

Pictures above are of Bilstein 5100s

 

[Mason]

Huh, looking at it closer they are Blistens. I went back to their website. Looks like they offer the Blistens and the Radflos. I need to study up on my suspension upgrades.:redface:

 

[eddiebx]

Huh, looking at it closer they are Blistens. I went back to their website. Looks like they offer the Blistens and the Radflos. I need to study up on my suspension upgrades.:redface:

Maybe you should also get some new glasses, the Bilstein brand and logo are plastered all over each and every shock depicted above, lol. :bounce:
[MENTION=91308]AZ4ME[/MENTION], any before and after measurements? BTW, it looks great!

 

[AZ4ME]

You do have the option to go with radflo for the shocks, but I opted for Bilstein's as the radflo's would have been overkill for me. The rear springs are radflo springs though.

I did take some before/after measurements. I'll post them later as I don't recall the numbers off hand.

 

[Jimmy_D]

Steve (the owner) is a good buddy of mine. I've wheeled with him on many, many occasions. If he tells you something you can take it to the bank. I'm running his rear Panhard Bar and LCA's on my TE 4-Runner. Moved them over from my FJ.

 

[FoCo-4Runner]

Lift looks good.

I bought his panhard bar for my upcoming lift. Very impressed with the construction and I love the bushing ends. Should work well keeping the rear end squeaks to a minimum.

 

[cbielat]

I just quickly looked at their website. They are using Radflo's which I believe was the same suspension bits used by one of the previous forum sponsors. (I forget the company name, but people always said they were specifically tuned for the 4Runners.) I'm guessing these are as well?

The lift and wheels look good!

Are you referring to Overland Warehouse? Radflo's are also fully adjustable where as this Bilstein set up (correct me if I'm wrong, 5100's) has three specific settings.

 

[sschaefer3]

Bilstein shock has 4 adjustment positions. Max front coil over lift height is 3 3/4". We are using a Genuine Toyota TRD Coil from a Tundra. It is a progressive spring, the top 3 wraps are very soft yielding a superior road ride and the lower 5 or so wraps are stiffer working the off road spectrum. The springs are quite expensive.

This is backwards of most coil overs as they run an inexpensive coil, (2 Eibachs are 50 bucks) and an expensive hand assembled shock. Our setup uses an expensive TRD progressive coil with custom retainers on a Bilstein 5100 shock. Which is not hand made and a production piece, but a nice shock none the less.

Neither way is wright or wrong, just different.

We did put a lot of effort in the 4th Gen 4Runner, FJC and 5th Gen 4Runner Trac/Panhard Bar. It is truly a very nice piece.

 

[Jimmy_D]

I should also mention that Steve can go downhill slower than anybody else on the planet. It's like watching someone descend in slow motion.

 

[gadgetguy1288]

What UCA's are used if you order the full kit?

 

[sschaefer3]

Camburg.

 

[Wssboard18]

Great looking 4runner! Thanks for posting about this lift. I really like the idea of these coilovers. Sounds like they have one of the best street rides with off-road benefits as well. I am only looking for a 1.5" lift in front. I wonder what height the mid setting of these coilovers will give me?

 

[gadgetguy1288]

I had my mind pretty much set on the Toytec Ultimate lift, but now that I find this one I'm rethinking my decision. I'm assuming it offers the same amount of lift since its the same shocks, correct?

 

[sschaefer3]

Max Lift is 3 7/8", I would only recommend this height is you have a 3/16" plate bumper, with a winch and 3/16" skids.

On a truck with a stock bumper and no winch. I would recommend running 3" of front lift.

This is a very good compromise as the higher you lift, the less down travel you have, down travel is needed for the suspension to function correctly. 3" on the front of 5th gen 4Runners seems to balance all this nicely. These units hit the 3" mark and much more if that is what your after.

 

[iRide4Runner]

How does this kit stack up to the toytec ultimate setup?

 

[AZ4ME]

AZ4ME, any before and after measurements? BTW, it looks great!

On the before measurement, I had a .5" lean to the driver side both front and rear. My specs were about 2" lift on the rear passenger and 2.5" on the rear driver side and leveled it out side to side. On the front, I'm on the second adjustment ring down from the top and that gave me (post alignment) 3" on the passenger side and 3.25" on the driver side.

So right now I'm pretty even side to side and about 3/4" higher in the back to the front.

Great looking 4runner! Thanks for posting about this lift. I really like the idea of these coilovers. Sounds like they have one of the best street rides with off-road benefits as well. I am only looking for a 1.5" lift in front. I wonder what height the mid setting of these coilovers will give me?

I'm on the second rings down from the top and I got about 3" of lift in the front. The Sonoran Steel website says the bottom ring is about 1/2" of lift so I would guess the second ring up would give around 1.5 to 2" of lift.

 

[sschaefer3]

How does this kit stack up to the toytec ultimate setup?

Both kits use the exact same front shocks

Both kits use the exact same rear shocks

Both kits use USA made custom rear coils

One kit includes a rear trac/panhard bar one does not

One kit had a diff drop one does not


The main difference between the 2 kits is the front coils. One is progressive, one is not.

Just a note, I personally would not install a diff drop on anything but a 3rd Gen 4Runner or 1st Gen Tacoma. Why? Because the 4th and 5th gens with a 3" lift have LESS CV axle angle than a STOCK 2nd gen 4Runner. Go out in your town and find a 1990-1995 4Runner, Stock. The CV axle angels on that truck will be more than your lifted 5th gen. That 2nd gen probably has 200,000 on it and that owner never gave that CV angle a second though. The original IFS, 1986-1995 was called "High Trac" which meant the center of the truck had a lot of clearance, this was true at the time when you compared a straight axle on 28's versus the early IFS on 28's it had a lot more clearance.

 

[iRide4Runner]

Both kits use the exact same front shocks

Both kits use the exact same rear shocks

Both kits use USA made custom rear coils

One kit includes a rear trac/panhard bar one does not

One kit had a diff drop one does not


The main difference between the 2 kits is the front coils. One is progressive, one is not.

Just a note, I personally would not install a diff drop on anything but a 3rd Gen 4Runner or 1st Gen Tacoma. Why? Because the 4th and 5th gens with a 3" lift have LESS CV axle angle than a STOCK 2nd gen 4Runner. Go out in your town and find a 1990-1995 4Runner, Stock. The CV axle angels on that truck will be more than your lifted 5th gen. That 2nd gen probably has 200,000 on it and that owner never gave that CV angle a second though. The original IFS, 1986-1995 was called "High Trac" which meant the center of the truck had a lot of clearance, this was true at the time when you compared a straight axle on 28's versus the early IFS on 28's it had a lot more clearance.

Thanks for the info. Very interesting perspective on diff drops, never heard about that before. I'm sure that would have saved people a lot of headaches had they known that before. Hopefully some more people come across this thread, it seems like a lot of people just opt for the TT Ulti. when for roughly the same cost you could be getting a better product IMO. Good work!