Toytec Ultimate w/ OME 906s Installed!

[T4RunnerSteve]

First off, I appreciate all the great info/input on this T4R.org -- I would have never taken on this installation if not for the great contributors on this forum.

I ended up going with the Toytec Ultimate Lift w/ the OME 906s and Bilstein 5125s. I wanted a setup that would yield about 2" of lift, not sag with towing and be easily upgradable in the future. Through different rear springs and some other accessories (adjustable panhard, extended brake lines and bump stops, diff drop) I could turn this into a 3.5" lift fairly easily (and only have to sell the OME 906s). So, here's where we started and ended up:

2002 Toyota 4Runner Sport Edition
---------------------------------
Before: averaged ~19.5" wheel center to lip of fender flare
After: 22" on the same measurement

AFTER PICS >>>

After installation I put Toyo Open Country A/T IIs on in the 265/75R16 size. The ride is awesome and I couldn't be happier overall. The only thing I am still getting used to is the amount of additional sidewall now -- I used to have the original Open Country A/Ts in the OEM 265/70R16 size w/ whitewalls out. Visually I would probably be happier with 17" wheels and/or whitewalls... but they don't sell the tire in this height for 17s. I just need to get used to it.

So, hopefully this post helps those who are thinking of the same / similar setup! I'll post more on the actual installation soon.

 

[T4RunnerSteve]

Living the rust belt here in CT, there was a fair amount of rust on the bolts that I needed to get loose. The front sway bar end links were seemingly impossible to get off without breaking / cutting them... so I did, and installed new ones. They needed new cushions anyway, so I am not too annoyed there. Two out of three of the bolts on top of the front shock tower were easy -- it's that one nearest the engine bay that is basically impossible to get off without cutting. So, out came the dremel and away went a few hours.

Another something to be careful with -- and I'll chalk this up to inexperience with torque specs -- is that I mixed up the torque #s on the lower shock bolt. The fronts are supposed to be 101 ft/lbs -- the rears -- 47 ft/lbs. When I tried to put 101 ft/lbs on the rear bolt I sheared it and then had to extract it. Shock tower bolts are 47 ft/lbs too. And speaking of torque -- I was unable to get the front differential loose despite a decent size impact wrench. So, I didn't install the diff drop -- at this height I don't think I really need it. These could be the famous last words when my CVs start spewing... time will tell.

The last thing to say here -- those adapters for the Bilstein 5125s in the rear... I didn't like the idea of installing them without bushings so I cut the bushings in half from the bottom of the old rear shocks and used those. I'm not certain that this was a good idea... again, time will tell... but they are silent over bumps. Getting to the top of the shock on the rear might be the most annoying thing in this whole installation. If I could weld I would probably do what Ripcord did and install the adapters on the outside of the frame. Someday, maybe.

Again, the ride is wonderful - I towed a trailer full of granite slabs and it didn't sag at all. That same trailer on my stock rear coils would have squatted the truck. I definitely recommend this setup to anyone interested in it for the same reasons I listed earlier. On-road and off-road it feels / handles excellent.

 

[rickashay]

Truck looks awesome! Nice mild lift, OEM wheels, bigger tires, Thundercloud Sport Edition awesomeness - great combo!

 

[Phx994Runner]

What did you do up front? Did you install a spacer or new springs, or ???

My son's '99 has the same OME 906 and yellow Bilsteins in the back, new Moog springs up front (slightly taller than the stock '99) with Pro-Comp's up front (wish we had done Bilsteins there, too).

I think it has the perfect back-to-front rake, about 1-1.5" higher in the back than the front. My son, however, wants to raise the front up because it looks to him like it "droops" - whatever.

 

[awpsome]

The toytec ultimate kit comes with toytec's coil-overs.
its a bilstein shock with their custom coilover kit on it. adjustable from 1" to 3.5" of lift.
its a full adjustable coilover kit in the front, top notch stuff

 

[T4RunnerSteve]

Thanks guys! Awpsome is spot on -- it's running the Bilstein / Eibach coilovers that Toytec sells. I have them pretty well dialed down... and they're surely overkill for a DD that does occasional offroading... but I wanted to set the truck up for camping and more offroading in the future. I'm thinking 17" wheels and 33" tires at that point -- and will be able to dial this lift up accordingly. I just wasn't ready to get into all the additional cost and work this go-around... including the loss of MPG going to those bigger tires. Adds up when you do 45 miles each weekday!

I will say that this lift and these new tires have made me fall in love with this truck all over again. With 165K miles I hope it's only just crossing over the hill! (have many plans for it in the future)

 

[quicksilvr]

Great info and pictures Steve! I have those exact same tires still sitting in my garage waiting to go on, and I'll be putting 906's in the rear of mine as well. It looks like a fantastic setup for looks and functionality. Like yourself, I drive 30-50 miles every workday, and I wanted a slightly aggresive, but very daily driver oriented setup for the tires and lift.

With only 165k on your rig, you've got lots of time to enjoy it! Just stay on top of the rust being there in CT...I'd spray a bunch of Fluid Film inside your frame rails, to keep them from getting rotted....especially the passenger side rail by the muffler. 202k and rolling strong on my rig....

 

[T4RunnerSteve]

Thanks quicksilvr! Good advice on the frame rails... I was thinking of also getting some POR 15 on the spots that have already started. I used that stuff on my entire trailer and love it -- great product!

 

[JRadical]

Steve, your rig looks great and is exactly what I'm going for. After a few years do you still have the same set up? Still like it? I used to live in Newtown before moving to Colorado, great town.