Suspension lift confusion

[ODB775]

Hello all. I am a total rookie and need some advice. I would like to lift our 2014 4runner SR5 but am completely confused as to what manufacturer to go with.

I was told by the dealership that depending on the lift and who does the work, it would not void the warranty. I was quoted $4000 for a stage 1 ICON installed with 33" tires.

I plan on using the 4runner for trails here in Northern Nevada and the Sierra's but nothing too crazy since the vehicle is practically new. Down the road I would like to upgrade the lift to allow more articulation, but for now I want to keep it simple. I have priced the ICON stage one and have found a plethora of manufacturers that offer relatively the same lift for less money.

Anyways, before I pull the trigger on this I'd like to get some advice.

 

[STX4Runner]

My first advice is to shop around. The dealer is rarely the best value for labor like this. And it will absolutely not void your warranty to lift it, no matter who you use.

 

[1engineer]

Get you some good tires and ride around on those trails for several months. Keep reading here and you will eventually learn what you need.
Until you know your vehicle and what it can and cannot do how do you even know what you need? More importantly, how can you be sure what we tell you is good or bad? Price? Get some tires. Go on trails. Research build threads here.

 

[wfo9]

My first advice is to shop around. The dealer is rarely the best value for labor like this. And it will absolutely not void your warranty to lift it, no matter who you use.

You are partially correct. With Toyota it will absolutely void any warranty related to the suspension and some of the drive line. Chances are nothing in that area will need warranty, but if it did they would most likely blame the lift and not warranty the truck, Just read some of the threads here and you will understand. The general mentality is that Toyota's don't fail and if they do it probably means somebody outside of Toyota did something to cause it. And some things actually should be blamed on the lift. Say the CV axle went. They were not designed to run at that angle, so why should the warranty cover it. I'm OK with this. But if your drive shaft fails, they could also blame the lift, even though that is ridiculous.

Really nothing to worry much about though because that part of the truck is very solid and if it fails it probably is related to trail damage....

For your use I would look at Toytec and OME for an entry level lift. ICON is very nice, but it's a bit high priced for someone just looking to do entry level stuff. They are so darn easy to install you should consider learning to do it yourself. I understand it can be intimidating, but it's really simple stuff. If you do need a shop to do it, I'm almost sure someone besides the dealer can do a better job for less money.

So yes, shop around.

 

[Intruder]

Take it out on the trails completely stock before you lift it. You may figure out that you don't even need a lift or that better tires are all you need. If you don't plan on adding extra weight (skids, sliders, bumpers, etc.) you'd probably even be fine going with Bilsteins or something.

 

[ODB775]

Thank you for your input. I am definitely gonna look around for a better deal after I take it out bone stock. I'll follow up with what I find out and what the decision will be. Thanks again!

 

[3wbdriver]

Thank you for your input. I am definitely gonna look around for a better deal after I take it out bone stock. I'll follow up with what I find out and what the decision will be. Thanks again!

Definitely all good input. And it will give you more time the research which lift package you may actually want. This is a good guide started by one of our members several months ago. Varying prices and capabilities. I can tell you my 4 Bilstein 5100 setup cost me ~$500 to install and that included an alignment after. That'll give you a ballpark labor cost to go by.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/165065-5th-gen-4runner-lift-buyers-guide.html

And this is a good primer to determine what size tire you might want.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/156378-5th-gen-tire-fitment-guide.html#post1550444

 

[wfo9]

Thank you for your input. I am definitely gonna look around for a better deal after I take it out bone stock. I'll follow up with what I find out and what the decision will be. Thanks again!

It's a good idea to take it out and see what it can do before you start modifying it. Don't know your experience level, but go with some folks that know the trail and can guide you around based on your vehicles capabilities. And don't follow the guy in the jeep that is snickering.

I'm about 99.9999 % sure you will come back and want to put a lift and tires on the next day, but best to feel confident in your decision.

 

[4Rager]

I also live in Reno and take my stock 2014 TE on trails around here fairly often to go shooting or just for fun. There are a bunch of places you can go have a good time, as well as some routes that are out of our league(in stock form), yet I continue to be impressed by the stock capabilities. That being said, when my stock tires need replacement in the next year or so, I plan on going Icon with Light Racing UCA's, the extended travel coilovers with remote reservoirs, and Icon rear shocks and springs. If you get that stuff off of Metal Tech's website it actually comes out cheaper than the MSRP of the Stage 2 kit on Icon's site.

Anyway if you wanna meet up and go for a trail run sometime let me know. The stock tires are a huge limitation, so we'll have to wait for the mud to dry up. They're not bad when it's dry, but worthless in the mud as I discovered yesterday when I scared the shit out of myself and almost got stuck a few times.

 

[Okki]

Tires are really step 1 as most people already said here. That should be your first step. Sliders and skids may be next. I have no regrets about doing my lift last; for what i've done with the truck, I've not missed it.

The truck will outlast your confidence in the beginning anyway (unless you follow the beer laden jeep guy mentioned earlier).

Also keep in mind that a Toyota dealer may refuse to service your vehicle because of modifications you have made that may impact the service request (i.e. drive-shaft thump TSB may not be granted because your drive line geometry is different with the lift).

A shock replacement is something you may be comfortable doing yourself, but I had a quality shop do my whole suspension switch-out. For me the time saving, knowing it was done right the first time, etc was worth the money. Once you have settled on your game plan, ask other locals about what shop knows what they are doing. I drove 800 miles to get mine done... just saying...

Metaltech is where my parts came from and I waited for one of their big annual sales. That made a nice chunk of change difference, so keep an eye out for that. You can also check here in the for sale forum for people who are upgrading springs, shocks, etc and possibly source some gently used parts that way for a good price.

Okki

 

[Engineer]

Agree with all posted above. One more thought around tires. I would go with an in-between size like 275's so that if you choose to lift it 6m later you won't feel that your tires are small looking (purely cosmetics here, running stock tire size and lift won't hurt a damn thing BUT why lift if you are not going to run a larger tires size which is where your ground clearance comes from) Judging from your posts I would encourage you to not spend $4k on a suspension unless you have a much larger disposable income then most OR this is your expensive hobby. I have no regrets buying my rad flows and as I did the install myself it was about 1/2 the cost of your Icon quote but at the end of the day for those of us "hobby" off-roaders it really is a want thing not a need thing. A set of 5100's or OME kit will do you just fine Off-road and be 1/4 the cost.

Also with the "high end" shocks (Icon, RadFlow, King, Fox) note that you have to have them rebuilt every so often (depends on driving conditions etc but I would ball park 20-60k miles) and plan to do mine before they need it as I only have access to a lift and heated garage when I go visit family.

 

[Ammomac]

Take it out on the trails completely stock before you lift it. You may figure out that you don't even need a lift or that better tires are all you need. If you don't plan on adding extra weight (skids, sliders, bumpers, etc.) you'd probably even be fine going with Bilsteins or something.

word - much better to use as is and THEN if you have shortcomings you can address them but I would say that won't happen. these are EXTREMELY capable trucks as delivered. No reason at all to spend the $$ until its needed. Until then use that $$ for fuel to go places. :clap2: