Suspension Options/FAQ

[Alex T4R]

I searched throughout the forum for answers, but i can't find an answer set in stone for which suspension is better and why one might be better then others. I have read through many builds thread and saw that people have different suspension setups. It seems like the Icon suspension is highly rated, but for someone who is not off roading a lot, do you still go with Icon suspension stage 1 because it is only couple hundred dollars more then Radflo or Ultimate toytec suspension. I was also wondering if we have a sticky thread like the 4th gen 4runners have a sticky thread specific for suspension options/FAQ, where you can find answers to many questions about suspension.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Jono.ful]

Comes down to personal opinion after you weigh your wants vs needs. You said yourself you've read through the forums; what do you think you want/need?

 

[Alex T4R]

Comes down to personal opinion after you weigh your wants vs needs. You said yourself you've read through the forums; what do you think you want/need?

At first i was set on Ultimate toytec or Radflo, but then i saw that Icons are only 300 dollars more, so now i'm thinking what to do. I want to get a setup which is going to last me long time and i won't regret it. On my previous 4th gen i got a daystar kit, because i rushed in to it and couple months later i regreted it.

 

[Mchang]

I was in the same boat as you on choosing a lift option. At first I was leaning towards a toytec ultimate but am now going with icon stage2 with icons tubular UCA. The reason I chose this route was because icons lift is able to be rebuilt. I'm looking at a lift as an investment and you can only receive as much as you put in.

 

[Jono.ful]

I was in the same boat as you on choosing a lift option. At first I was leaning towards a toytec ultimate but am now going with icon stage2 with icons tubular UCA. The reason I chose this route was because icons lift is able to be rebuilt. I'm looking at a lift as an investment and you can only receive as much as you put in.

Flawed logic. One could easily spend thousands on long travel suspension components only to never leave the pavement. The best option it to tailor your lift to what you actually (realistically) intend to do with your vehicle.

@OP: if all you want to accomplish is better handling and a mild lift, and plan to run stock size tires, then find yourself some stiffer springs and a taller shock. This can easily be accomplished for under $400. The 4R is capable off road without spending tons of cash. Even if you want to step up to 33"s, there are plenty of guys here who run them at stock height.

 

[Gstick]

Flawed logic. One could easily spend thousands on long travel suspension components only to never leave the pavement. The best option it to tailor your lift to what you actually (realistically) intend to do with your vehicle.

@OP: if all you want to accomplish is better handling and a mild lift, and plan to run stock size tires, then find yourself some stiffer springs and a taller shock. This can easily be accomplished for under $400. The 4R is capable off road without spending tons of cash. Even if you want to step up to 33"s, there are plenty of guys here who run them at stock height.

Not to change the topic on this thread but, I am looking for better handling and a mild suspension lift (2" MAX) I also plan on staying with the OEM 265/70/17 tire size. I was thinking of the Bilstein 5100's all the way around with the Toytec Superflex coils (2" lift) in the rear, but I have no idea what coil springs I would need in the front ?

 

[Alex T4R]

Good posts so far, but I was hoping to get more technical explanation is to why one is better then another instead of personal opinion. For example day star kit lifts your car and gives you some clearance for bigger tires, but it does not provide longer travel of shocks compare to after market systems such as toytec, radflo or icon and etc.
Thanks.

 

[1engineer]

One is NOT better than the other. It depends on intended use and everyone has a different idea on use. Throw in the fact that they range in price from $200 to $20,000 and you REALLY have a lot of choices. Some guys might want to get a long travel custom suspension with King shocks to mall crawl. Someone else will get a spacer lift and rock crawl because he only has a few hundred bucks to spend. Unfortunately some guys use no logic when it comes to mods. I was going to do a "Top 10 FAQ" that included suspensions but after talking to a few guys here it was deemed pointless as even if made a sticky the only ones that would read it were the people who already knew the answers.

 

[Jono.ful]

^this +10

Not to change the topic on this thread but, I am looking for better handling and a mild suspension lift (2" MAX) I also plan on staying with the OEM 265/70/17 tire size. I was thinking of the Bilstein 5100's all the way around with the Toytec Superflex coils (2" lift) in the rear, but I have no idea what coil springs I would need in the front ?

you'd be surprised how quickly stock size wheels and tires start to look too small with even 2" of lift, IMO at least. I like my Old Man Emu springs quite a lot. Once they settle and with no additional load (ie. bumper, winch etc), you'll find you get about 1.5-2" inches with the 5100's set to zero.

 

[phillyd2]

Stop on over some time if you want to drive my OW Radflo 2.5" set up.