to lift, or not to lift . . .
- Thread starter gonzo
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Fuzion
New member
Makes sense it's been discussed in several threads. One summer a friend and i were delivering newspapers in my 3 gen and it felt pretty stupid. kind of like an overdone baja truck.
if you decide to sell. ill take them. i no longer have a need to tow. are they in coil or top out spacers.
if you decide to sell. ill take them. i no longer have a need to tow. are they in coil or top out spacers.
Colemanfu
New member
Now it comes down to personal pref so it's up to you.
I say lift it - if you spend more time unloaded it would look better more of the time. Won't sag that much should be about level under load.
If you put the lift in and don't like it you can take it out - it will be the 2nd time so you can do it faster.
Good luck.
Kind of went through the same thing. I added air bags - that could be your solution. But then I went to OME springs. I can like the jacked up look.
I say lift it - if you spend more time unloaded it would look better more of the time. Won't sag that much should be about level under load.
If you put the lift in and don't like it you can take it out - it will be the 2nd time so you can do it faster.
Good luck.
Kind of went through the same thing. I added air bags - that could be your solution. But then I went to OME springs. I can like the jacked up look.
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Even Steven
Guest
Lifting one inch will still leave your rear end higher than your front. Even with a full load, it shouldn't look like it's sagging in the rear.
If you think about it, even if it does sag, it will still look better the 99% of the time it is not loaded with gear.
If you think about it, even if it does sag, it will still look better the 99% of the time it is not loaded with gear.
It doesnt sound like he's running unloaded 99% of the time.gonzo said:
I can relate to your problem- my truck is just past level (sagging) when towing my boat. For that reason, Im adding airbags (Air Lift 1000). You cant go wrong for $75, and people here seem to have had good luck with them. Id say theyre a good investment for you with the loads and towing youre doing.
As for the lift, I say go for it. I plan on doing the same.
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Even Steven
Guest
Re: Re: to lift, or not to lift . . .
If any of you weekend warriors actually calculated how many miles were driven on your 4Runners under a heavy load (towing a boat, for example), I'm sure most of you would find that 99% of your driving isn't actually under a heavy load. Okay, maybe 95% for the guys who live and breathe camping/boating or whatever.
The point is that the vast majority of miles traveled in almost all SUVs are on the road without a heavy load.
TRBenj said:
If any of you weekend warriors actually calculated how many miles were driven on your 4Runners under a heavy load (towing a boat, for example), I'm sure most of you would find that 99% of your driving isn't actually under a heavy load. Okay, maybe 95% for the guys who live and breathe camping/boating or whatever.
The point is that the vast majority of miles traveled in almost all SUVs are on the road without a heavy load.
Re: Re: Re: to lift, or not to lift . . .
Gonzo, $75 is for the airbags themselves. I got mine at Summit. I havent done the install yet, but I expect it to be pretty straightforward. If you do a search, there are several members here who have done it.
That may be true, but thats not what we're discussing. Any time you have a large load or are towing, there will be some degree of sag in the rear (unless you have airbags). A lift that favors the front more (or a 1" leveling kit) will accentuate the sagging. Whether the engine is under a heavy load or not is not the issue- appearance, headlight aim, etc are all affected whether youre towing up a hill or coasting down the other side.Even Steven said:
Gonzo, $75 is for the airbags themselves. I got mine at Summit. I havent done the install yet, but I expect it to be pretty straightforward. If you do a search, there are several members here who have done it.
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Even Steven
Guest
Re: Re: Re: Re: to lift, or not to lift . . .
I think you're missing the point. Most 4Runners (or any other SUV) spends the vast majority of it's life NOT fully loaded. Therefore, those who worry about the rear sagging because of a mild front end spacer lift are really only worried about the way it might look a small percentage of the time.
Besides, a 1" lift still allows the rear to be higher than the front. A heavy load may level it out evenly. Any loaded vehicle will drop down in the rear, unless it is equipped with air bags or a rear air suspension. What's the big deal?
TRBenj said:
I think you're missing the point. Most 4Runners (or any other SUV) spends the vast majority of it's life NOT fully loaded. Therefore, those who worry about the rear sagging because of a mild front end spacer lift are really only worried about the way it might look a small percentage of the time.
Besides, a 1" lift still allows the rear to be higher than the front. A heavy load may level it out evenly. Any loaded vehicle will drop down in the rear, unless it is equipped with air bags or a rear air suspension. What's the big deal?
Road Warrior
New member
Do airbags 'murph' the coil springs?
I have to agree with Even Steven. Most people are usually unloaded.
I like the 1" front lift just to get rid of the nose dive look , other than that I'm happy. One thing is that I drive a lot and although a 2/1 0r 3/2 CF kits or the Daystar lit look awesome . just dont know how practical it would be for a 25k per year driver. I also really have never heard of long term lifts and how they and the truck holds up.
I am running 32" tires and gives me about 1/2 " of lift all around , in reality it goes off road where I need it to go without any problems at all.
It also is a concern of mine since I do pull a trailer about 2x per week ( approx. 1k lbs ) total. and it drops it down already to about level , maybe an inch higher in the back. With the front lift it will be level or rear down a little , there will be some headlight issues when loaded. If I was camping or boating with heavier weight on it I would bag the rear and not lift the front.
I like the 1" front lift just to get rid of the nose dive look , other than that I'm happy. One thing is that I drive a lot and although a 2/1 0r 3/2 CF kits or the Daystar lit look awesome . just dont know how practical it would be for a 25k per year driver. I also really have never heard of long term lifts and how they and the truck holds up.
I am running 32" tires and gives me about 1/2 " of lift all around , in reality it goes off road where I need it to go without any problems at all.
It also is a concern of mine since I do pull a trailer about 2x per week ( approx. 1k lbs ) total. and it drops it down already to about level , maybe an inch higher in the back. With the front lift it will be level or rear down a little , there will be some headlight issues when loaded. If I was camping or boating with heavier weight on it I would bag the rear and not lift the front.
boston_kevin
New member
DonnyB said:
If you remove the XREAS, you will get the same effect as lifting an SR5. The only difference then would be the front brake size. You cannot disable the XREAS on a Sport Edition, but you can use spacer lifts with the XREAS (in fact, this is the only lifting option to maintain the SE "advantage" over the SR5).
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: to lift, or not to lift . . .
When I haul my boat (under 4k lbs boat+trailer), it more than levels the truck out- it runs slightly nose high (I have stock suspension). A leveling lift would accentuate that pretty badly. $75 for airbags to keep the truck in the proper stance is money well spent, IMHO. It keeps the truck looking good and running safely (especially at night) while its doing what it was designed to do- tow and haul.
I think youre missing the point! While I agree that most people rarely load their SUV's heavily, the OP said that he trailers a boat every weekend in the summer and hauls heavy loads on a consistent basis throughout the year. Even though 20 weekends a year is only 11% of the time (40/365), I would hardly call that an insignificant percentage!
When I haul my boat (under 4k lbs boat+trailer), it more than levels the truck out- it runs slightly nose high (I have stock suspension). A leveling lift would accentuate that pretty badly. $75 for airbags to keep the truck in the proper stance is money well spent, IMHO. It keeps the truck looking good and running safely (especially at night) while its doing what it was designed to do- tow and haul.
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Even Steven
Guest
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: to lift, or not to lift . . .
Nothing wrong with using airbags, but I still don't agree with your 11% estimate. Not even close. The mileage driven with a boat hooked up is probably far less than 5%, even in his case of towing the boat "every weekend in the summer"
Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that the 4Runner spends MUCH more time unloaded than it does with a heavy trailer hooked up to the back. Therefore, it makes more sense to me to put a leveling lift on it so it looks good when it's not towing, which is the majority of the time. Besides, an SUV doesn't look bad if it's towing and the back is sitting a bit lower than usual. Hell, Ford Explorers look that way all the time, even without a load on the rear!
TRBenj said:
Nothing wrong with using airbags, but I still don't agree with your 11% estimate. Not even close. The mileage driven with a boat hooked up is probably far less than 5%, even in his case of towing the boat "every weekend in the summer"
Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that the 4Runner spends MUCH more time unloaded than it does with a heavy trailer hooked up to the back. Therefore, it makes more sense to me to put a leveling lift on it so it looks good when it's not towing, which is the majority of the time. Besides, an SUV doesn't look bad if it's towing and the back is sitting a bit lower than usual. Hell, Ford Explorers look that way all the time, even without a load on the rear!
Its possible that 5% may be closer if you base the calculation on mileage- though we dont know that for sure. Id still argue that even that is not an insignificant amount of time! Ive towed close to 3500 miles this year, by the way (and know others who do more)- so Im probably closer to 15%.Even Steven said:
Anyways, we're in agreement on the leveling kit- I wouldnt forego the kit just because the truck spends a lot of time loaded down. That just makes a strong case for airbags- the leveling of the headlights will be affected regardless of the lift when loaded.
