To lift the body or to not lift the body, that is the question

[kishanSR5]

So I guess like the title suggests I'm looking into getting a body lift but my next few mods will become more expensive if I do it. After I get my tax return back I'm going to place an order for a cbi hybrid front bumper but if I were to do a 2" body lift I'd have to pay an additional $50 or so to get it built to accommodate the body lift. Future plans for my truck include a cbi hybrid bumper front and rear, cbi sliders, 4.88 gears with a Detroit mechanical locker, fuel rims and 33" toyo open country mud terrains. Originally I was going to stick with no body lift and just run 33's. But seeing so many trucks on 35's makes me want to run them.
So my question is: Should I do the 2" body lift to run the 35's and pay extra for the front and rear bumpers? Or should I just leave out the body lift, save some money and run 33's ?

 

[3rzrunner]

depends on how you use it..

35's will hurt the handling, hurt the mileage, hurt the ride but will help SLIGHTLY over a 33 off road.

if it was my money and my truck I would stick with the 33's

EDIT: I see that your truck is a 2wd, now that I see that, 35's on a 2wd is just a waste.

 

[BrandonF]

You have a 2wd. ALL of the mods you listed would be a waste. Even with a locker, you just won't be able to compete with 4x4 trucks with low range gearing.

Unless you want to do a 4wd swap, which some members on here have done, save your money and just buy a 4wd 4runner and start modifying that.

Ask yourself, do you want to go wheeling with 35's and expensive plate bumpers and get out-wheeled by bone stock 4x4 trucks? Because you will.


And regarding the bodylift, I'm firmly against them. A truck that actually gets wheeled should be kept as low as possible. A small suspension lift to get extra articulation and some fender trimming is all you need. This is also why I've avoided getting any sort of roof rack.

 

[kishanSR5]

depends on how you use it..

35's will hurt the handling, hurt the mileage, hurt the ride but will help SLIGHTLY over a 33 off road.

if it was my money and my truck I would stick with the 33's

EDIT: I see that your truck is a 2wd, now that I see that, 35's on a 2wd is just a waste.

Hmm yeah see that is the downside of my truck, sigh.. 2wd. I do wheel my truck when I can, goin mudding with some buddies and I plan on going on some decent trails which I can handle, but what about doing it partially for looks? I know 90% of the drop bracket lifted trucks running 35's are pavement princesses so would it be so bad to do it for looks? Mine is definitely not a pavement princess nor is it a hardcore off-roader. It's more like a daily driven truck that I like to get dirty when I can. I know Brian757 here has a 2wd with 35's and his truck looks pretty sick.

 

[UnderFire]

Do what you want to do to your truck, people will give you shit about it being a 2WD, but if you don't care, why does it matter what they think?

 

[kishanSR5]

You have a 2wd. ALL of the mods you listed would be a waste. Even with a locker, you just won't be able to compete with 4x4 trucks with low range gearing.

Unless you want to do a 4wd swap, which some members on here have done, save your money and just buy a 4wd 4runner and start modifying that.

Ask yourself, do you want to go wheeling with 35's and expensive plate bumpers and get out-wheeled by bone stock 4x4 trucks? Because you will.


And regarding the bodylift, I'm firmly against them. A truck that actually gets wheeled should be kept as low as possible. A small suspension lift to get extra articulation and some fender trimming is all you need. This is also why I've avoided getting any sort of roof rack.

Yeah I understand that my truck is 2wd. And doing things to it in terms of keeping up with a 4wd is a waste. But I would like to try and get the most out of my 2wd. My truck isn't a hardcore off-roader or a pavement princess by any means. I get it dirty when I can, mainly I like to go mudding.

I know there are some 2wds there that are lifted, armored and they wheel within their limits. I'm definitely not going to go to Moab with my truck as it is so, I want to run 35's more for the looks aspect while driving the rig more than for the advantages offroad. And i do understand that it is more expensive to go that route.

I wish I wouldn't have to do a body lift to run 35's. I also feel like suspension lifts should be the only lift that should be used in order to increase a vehicles ride height/ground clearance. But would it be such a bad thing to do it for the looks since my truck is only 2wd?

 

[kishanSR5]

Do what you want to do to your truck, people will give you shit about it being a 2WD, but if you don't care, why does it matter what they think?

In the end I will do what I want haha. I'm just trying to gather opinions, mainly from people who have done what I am trying to accomplish. I'm also trying to not waste twice the amount of money lol.

 

[Troutsrunner]

Waste of a whole lot of money. Go prerunner instead. This forum is lame. I'm out.

 

[KidVermicious]

Everybody gets to drive their own truck. I don't know why you're more interested in having a truck that LOOKS badass (lifted armored 2wd) than having a truck that IS badass, but if a 2wd 4runner on 35s is what floats your boat, do it. It's your truck and everybody else's opinion is irrelevant.

I will say, I'd trim to fit 35s instead of a body lift. I'd run one if I had too, but I'd check out other options first.

 

[fourfive]

Do what you want to do to your truck, people will give you shit about it being a 2WD, but if you don't care, why does it matter what they think?

Couldn't agree more. While it's always nice to know that a mod I do to my trunk can enhance it's function, most of the mods I have done or plan to do is for a particular look I want.

So my question is: Should I do the 2" body lift to run the 35's and pay extra for the front and rear bumpers? Or should I just leave out the body lift, save some money and run 33's ?

The 3rd gens I've seen with the 2-3" body lifts on 35s look pretty badass. I say go for it if it is something you really want and know the additional mods that may be needed to accommodate the 35s. I am also looking into doing a 2-3" body lift with 35s. I may do a body lift & test fit 295/75/16 to see how how much rubbing/clearance I have before bumping up to 35s...still looking into all my options tho. As far as having a 2wd...it's allgood, it may not have all the capabilities of a 4wd but sometimes you gotta work with what you got. Even if the body lift and 35s aren't "necessary", if you like it you should go ahead and do it if it's in your budget.

 

[Mynameistommy510]

Not a total waste of money. You'll be happy with your 4Runner. If you're installing all this stuff on your truck, you may find doing a 4wd conversion on your own as a possibility.
Then again, I like to day dream about all the future mod plans until my money disappears.
Don't ever plan on a 4wd conversion? Go with the body lift, you'll be happy with the extra room to fit your tires.
You named a lot of expensive mods and if this is just a post on venting your dreams, this is not the place to do it.

 

[white_n_slow]

Personally, I would skip the lift, bumpers and the whole deal. I would also ditch the brush guard (aka damage multiplier).

I think your truck is pretty much the epitome of what a 2wd truck should be: tough enough, but not trying to overcompensate. Maybe invest in an Aussie locker since you live in the land of no snow. That will go a long way in keeping you from getting stuck.

You're just going to look like even more of a tool when you get your lifted big-tired rig stuck in a mud puddle on the side of the road (I know that sounds kinda mean, but really no offense intended).

 

[kishanSR5]

Not a total waste of money. You'll be happy with your 4Runner. If you're installing all this stuff on your truck, you may find doing a 4wd conversion on your own as a possibility.
Then again, I like to day dream about all the future mod plans until my money disappears.
Don't ever plan on a 4wd conversion? Go with the body lift, you'll be happy with the extra room to fit your tires.
You named a lot of expensive mods and if this is just a post on venting your dreams, this is not the place to do it.

Realistically I won't be able to do a 4wd conversion until I have another daily driver, which wont be for awhileee haha. This wasn't a post to vent my dreams, I plan on doing all of the things I have listed this summer. I have an internship this summer working for toyota in the quality division of their manufacturing plant in Kentucky, so let's just say mod money will be available haha.

 

[kishanSR5]

Couldn't agree more. While it's always nice to know that a mod I do to my trunk can enhance it's function, most of the mods I have done or plan to do is for a particular look I want.




The 3rd gens I've seen with the 2-3" body lifts on 35s look pretty badass. I say go for it if it is something you really want and know the additional mods that may be needed to accommodate the 35s. I am also looking into doing a 2-3" body lift with 35s. I may do a body lift & test fit 295/75/16 to see how how much rubbing/clearance I have before bumping up to 35s...still looking into all my options tho. As far as having a 2wd...it's allgood, it may not have all the capabilities of a 4wd but sometimes you gotta work with what you got. Even if the body lift and 35s aren't "necessary", if you like it you should go ahead and do it if it's in your budget.

Yeah I'm just trying to work with what I've got and to make it into something that I'm proud of at the end of the day. I've had the privilege to see one 4Runner with a large body lift and suspension lift and it looked pretty sick imo. There are also plenty of prerunner tacomas with 6" lifts and 35's but I guess that's a different scenarios since they have drop bracket lifts.

 

[Mynameistommy510]

Realistically I won't be able to do a 4wd conversion until I have another daily driver, which wont be for awhileee haha. This wasn't a post to vent my dreams, I plan on doing all of the things I have listed this summer. I have an internship this summer working for toyota in the quality division of their manufacturing plant in Kentucky, so let's just say mod money will be available haha.

Wow that's awesome. Again it's your car, do what you want with it.

 

[kishanSR5]

Personally, I would skip the lift, bumpers and the whole deal. I would also ditch the brush guard (aka damage multiplier).

I think your truck is pretty much the epitome of what a 2wd truck should be: tough enough, but not trying to overcompensate. Maybe invest in an Aussie locker since you live in the land of no snow. That will go a long way in keeping you from getting stuck.

You're just going to look like even more of a tool when you get your lifted big-tired rig stuck in a mud puddle on the side of the road (I know that sounds kinda mean, but really no offense intended).

The whole point of getting a cbi is to ditch the brush guard haha. I literally have just a brush guard up front, not even a front bumper anymore lol. And yeah I a 2wd truck can only be so tough and capable. I want to put a Detroit locker in the rear just to make it more capable while keeping it dailyable.

And haha none taken. Although I will say that I'm pretty surprised with what my truck is capable of in its current form. I find the "pin it and steer" method to work pretty well for me haha.

 

[fourfive]

If you end up doing a body lift and 35s before i do be sure to throw up some pics!

 

[kishanSR5]

If you end up doing a body lift and 35s before i do be sure to throw up some pics!

Haha sure thing man! I'll probably be ordering the BL with tomorrow's paycheck, and soon after my cbi hybrid. I'm gonna end up driving around with tiny 31's for awhile till I can afford my 35's lol.

 

[D Farms]

I say get a big ol body lift, 35s, then later put some tundra 5100s up front with tundra coils on the bottom perch. it may raise the front a bit but youll have the prerunner look, and thats what you have so its fitting. with aired down 35s you practically dont need 4wd.

 

[kishanSR5]

I say get a big ol body lift, 35s, then later put some tundra 5100s up front with tundra coils on the bottom perch. it may raise the front a bit but youll have the prerunner look, and thats what you have so its fitting. with aired down 35s you practically dont need 4wd.

Haha I'm already lifted 3" all around. 3" toytec/eibach lift springs in the front, OME 890's in the rear and tundra 5100's all around. I love the ride but yeah I think I'll be ordering the BL with tomorrow's paycheck and will get some 35's this summer