Toyotec 3" spacer kit - issues?

[1engineer]

[MENTION=66520]T4R_Finally[/MENTION] I agree with David and Eddie on this, given your description of wants, budget and willingness to get into the details of the setup, less is more. There are two big issues that are generally not fully addressed when this type of request for input come up.

1) Tire size, tire type (e.g. LT with aggressive, squared shoulder vs. P-metric with street-friendly rounded shoulder), wheel width, wheel offset, shocks, springs (or spacers) and UCAs are all part of a connected system, and therefore, each variable has heavy interaction with one another and the ultimate result. Most people on the forum have changed multiple variables at the same time (especially when lifting 3" in the front and wanting to minimize installation and alignment costs), so it's nearly impossible to isolate the overall result to a single variable. Reported rubbing even after a 3" lift on the front liner, mudflap or body mount will have less to do with the lift itself and more to do with the wheels, tire size and tire type. The same might apply to how the vehicle drives after the lift. Tires, proper alignment, etc. will again also impact how the vehicle drives.

2) Satisfaction with the change (s) is highly subjective. What may work for some, won't for you.

I get that you've ruled out changing the wheels. You want to fill in the wheel wells a bit with bigger tires (e.g. 285/70/17) and you also want a road-friendly tire. You want some lift while staying within $400 or so to make it happen, without having to also invest on new UCAs to get you back into spec alignment (namely caster). New UCA's is not only more cost upfront ($400 for the LRs), but you then have to deal with additional maintenance, possible squeaks, not to mention in the case of the LR's, various redesigns due to failures (I'm still not certain of the reliability of the design).

The other point worth bringing up regarding spacers, particularly 3" for the front, is that the stock springs are already intended for a smooth ride (i.e. soft, which is why many complain about nose dive under hard braking). When you jack up the front by another 3", you impact the overall vehicle dynamics, which is why many talk about having done a spacer lift at first, been reasonably happy with the results (confirmation bias), only to come back 6 months later to say they scrapped the spacers for an upgraded coilover lift.

I guess the bottom line is that with stock wheels and P-metric, road-friendly 285's, you'll only have minor rubbing on the front liner, which can be addressed with moving the liner forward (very easy to do, exactly what I did when I first bought the 4Runner). With the Bilstein 5100's in the front set to any of the available options, you'll go from leveling (.85"), to minor lift (1.75"), to a bit more lift (2.5"), while still staying within the minimum caster spec after alignment, so you don't have to worry about UCAs. You also get the benefit of upgraded shocks for the same cost of spacers. After you decide how much lift you really want in the front from the 5100s, you can then decide what to do with the rear to make it look right.

Sorry for the rant, but I've seen you post numerous threads now asking similar questions, and while I get that doing endless searching through the forum is not a lot of fun, you do need to invest some energy and effort and not just post for individual input via each thread.

This too.

 

[proquip]

This too.

[MENTION=66520]T4R_Finally[/MENTION] I did have one question, as a former 3rd gen owner, did you mind the slight reserve rake? 3rd gen 4Runners are pretty well known for it. If you didn't mind, I would suggest just going straight for the 1.75" setting on the Bilsteins and leaving the rear suspension alone. The 1.75" lift in the front will make the front and rear fenders look perfectly level. The frame will appear to have slight rear rake (.5" or so), but whether you see it or are sensitive to it is very subjective.

If however, you have a preference for the rear sitting higher than the front, then you'll either want to go with the .85" front setting and no lift in the rear, or the 2.5" lift in the front and 1.5" lift in the rear (which will require longer shocks). The 1.5" rear lift can be achieved with a 1.5" spacer (lifting the rear with spacers is more widely accepted, both because of the smaller amount of lift required, as well as the fact that the rear springs are already fairly firm) or 1.5" spring, like the SAWs I have.

 

[T4R_Finally]

Funny I came back to the board and see all these posts suggesting to do basically what I have decided. The old lady gave me the green light to take the running boards off. So I think I will do that and just get some bilsteins to put on the front and level it out a bit and stick with oem size tires.

Regardless of tire size, I was looking to stay with p metrics anyway. I won't tow anything more than a utility trailer with a golf cart loaded on it so I don't need or want heavy load rated tires.

With the bilsteins, I can always go higher later with other parts added. Would be nice to sit up a little higher but not at the expense of harshening the ride and never hearing the end of it from the wife.

Thanks for the advice from everyone in this and my other posts on the topic.

 

[T4R_Finally]

[MENTION=66520]T4R_Finally[/MENTION] I did have one question, as a former 3rd gen owner, did you mind the slight reserve rake? 3rd gen 4Runners are pretty well known for it. If you didn't mind, I would suggest just going straight for the 1.75" setting on the Bilsteins and leave the rear suspension alone. The 1.75" lift in the front will make the front and rear fenders look perfectly level. The frame will appear to have slight rear rake (.5" or so), but whether you see it or are sensitive to it is very subjective. If however, you have a strong preference to having the rear look like it's sitting higher than the front, then you'll either want to go with the .85" front setting and no lift in the rear, or the 2.5" lift in the front and 1.5" lift in the rear.

Not sure what you mean. I am not the original owner of my 3rd gen. It has slightly oversize tires on it and hardly any rake at all. Not sure what all has been done to it but I know it now has hd shocks on it all around.