TRDPro Bilstein Shocks+springs and 2011 Trail /w KDSS question

[niadh0]

Dear all, please help me out with this.

I have a 2011 Trail with KDSS (Canadian). Recently found an amazing deal for the full TRDPro Bilstein Shocks+springs kit. Someone upgraded their T4R-TRDP with aftermarket stuff and listed the suspension kit on FB. I didn't do much research in advance and got the kit anyway. So questions are...

(1) would this kit fit my 11-TE /w KDSS? do I need any additional parts to make it fit? Any special instruction I have to follow to install (myself or the garage)? I want to keep the KDSS intact and still add this TRDPro suspension kit.

(2) Any shop/garage your recommend in the Toronto, Canada area that specialize on this type of upgrade?

(3) the ad from Toyota says that the front will/could be lifted by 2.5" and rear by 2". I am not really sure if this is possible with the TRD springs. I want at least 1.5" or 2.0" list in the front even if I keep the rear at the stock height. Would I need any spacers / lift kit? Not planning any tire upgrades (already have TRD wheels with stock size tires)

In your response please try to hit most points. Thank you very much.

 

[sandcrawler]

Dear all, please help me out with this.

I have a 2011 Trail with KDSS (Canadian). Recently found an amazing deal for the full TRDPro Bilstein Shocks+springs kit. Someone upgraded their T4R-TRDP with aftermarket stuff and listed the suspension kit on FB. I didn't do much research in advance and got the kit anyway.

...

In your response please try to hit most points. Thank you very much.

hi. i see you're not getting any help here.

i appreciate your honesty re: having done zero research up-front, though i can't help but wonder if preemptively admonishing people to "hit most points" in their response rubbed folks the wrong way. you're effectively asking total strangers to be thorough right on the heels of admitting that you didn't care to conduct yourself that way.

that said, here's my take on this...

(1) would this kit fit my 11-TE /w KDSS? do I need any additional parts to make it fit? Any special instruction I have to follow to install (myself or the garage)? I want to keep the KDSS intact and still add this TRDPro suspension kit.

the TRD Pro suspension will "fit" any 4Runner trim level. you don't "need" additional parts, per se. with KDSS, you VERY MUCH NEED to follow special instructions to install. in short: you DO NOT want to open/bleed the KDSS hydraulic lines. more on this below...

(2) Any shop/garage your recommend in the Toronto, Canada area that specialize on this type of upgrade?

i can't help you here, except to say that i would vet the ever-living holy hell out of whomever i hired to install it to be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN they know what they're doing working around KDSS.

please see here: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/154230-how-lift-installation-kdss-equipped-vehicles.html

(3) the ad from Toyota says that the front will/could be lifted by 2.5" and rear by 2". I am not really sure if this is possible with the TRD springs. I want at least 1.5" or 2.0" list in the front even if I keep the rear at the stock height. Would I need any spacers / lift kit? Not planning any tire upgrades (already have TRD wheels with stock size tires)

i don't know what "ad from Toyota" you're citing here, but you should know it's completely incorrect.

the TRD Pro kit lifts the front by just 1" and doesn't lift the rear at all—that's it.

if you want to lift the front any more than 1" using the TRD Pro parts, take a look at the Toytec kit which will allow you to do that. note that it does come with new Superflex coils for a lift in the rear too.

the factory rake on the 4Runner is 2" lower in the front, so keep this in mind when determining how you want to dial in your setup.

before you go jumping in, please take some time to search and browse the forum. there's a ton of information available, and the more you know in advance the better the position you'll be in when you ultimately decide what to do.

best of luck.
:cheers:

 

[niadh0]

Thank you Sandcrawler. I really appreciate your input.

Today I also came across the "How To: Lift Installation (on KDSS equipped vehicles)" thread you suggested via "5th Gen 4Runner Lift Buyers Guide" thread. But you are correct I should have done the research and piece together the answers instead of looking for an easy way out. My intention was to get the advise from a single source to begin with and then look at individual posts for all open questions/suggestions.

Your answer help in clearing two things. TRD-Kit compatibility with 11TE /w KDSS and the height question - which was the most puzzling to me. Now i understand that that the kit would work just fine as long as I find experienced hands who specialize on KDSS. As for the height, the front will gain 1 inch from the TRD kit, while the rear will stay at the stock height (preferred). If I need additional lift in the front (.5 to 1 inch additional preferred to completely level it) then I would need to look for appropriate spacers to go with the TRDPro stuff.

This now leaves me with one question: does the lifted/levelled front create any issues in the over all truck handling / rollover-safety? Perhaps I will dig around the forums.

Thanks again. I will post a followup once I have the kit and installed.

 

[sandcrawler]

Thank you Sandcrawler. I really appreciate your input.

Today I also came across the "How To: Lift Installation (on KDSS equipped vehicles)" thread you suggested via "5th Gen 4Runner Lift Buyers Guide" thread. But you are correct I should have done the research and piece together the answers instead of looking for an easy way out. My intention was to get the advise from a single source to begin with and then look at individual posts for all open questions/suggestions.

Your answer help in clearing two things. TRD-Kit compatibility with 11TE /w KDSS and the height question - which was the most puzzling to me. Now i understand that that the kit would work just fine as long as I find experienced hands who specialize on KDSS. As for the height, the front will gain 1 inch from the TRD kit, while the rear will stay at the stock height (preferred). If I need additional lift in the front (.5 to 1 inch additional preferred to completely level it) then I would need to look for appropriate spacers to go with the TRDPro stuff.

This now leaves me with one question: does the lifted/levelled front create any issues in the over all truck handling / rollover-safety? Perhaps I will dig around the forums.

Thanks again. I will post a followup once I have the kit and installed.

there will be no reduction in your 4Runner's handling or rollover safety. plus, the shocks will actually ride better than stock. you'll be fine.

if you're happy leaving the rear end at stock height then i'd just install the front Pro coilovers as-is (no additional spacers) and leave the 1" rake as a hedge against going nose-high when you really load up the back. (easy to do with stock rear coils, in my experience.)

glad i was able to help. good luck with your install.

 

[Pkniland]

Dear all, please help me out with this.


(3) the ad from Toyota says that the front will/could be lifted by 2.5" and rear by 2". I am not really sure if this is possible with the TRD springs. I want at least 1.5" or 2.0" list in the front even if I keep the rear at the stock height. Would I need any spacers / lift kit? Not planning any tire upgrades (already have TRD wheels with stock size tires)
.

I think the 2.5" you might have seen is the shock body diameter, TRDP kit will get you 1-1.5" in the front, and nothing in the rear. The TRDP wheels have different specs that the trail wheels and I know some people are rubbing when they go with a bigger tire and TRDP wheels. If your not upgrading tires, then your good to go. When, not if, you want bigger bigger tires 275/70/17 is about as big as you could go without the possibility of rubbing.

 

[1engineer]

there will be no reduction in your 4Runner's handling or rollover safety. plus, the shocks will actually ride better than stock. you'll be fine.

if you're happy leaving the rear end at stock height then i'd just install the front Pro coilovers as-is (no additional spacers) and leave the 1" rake as a hedge against going nose-high when you really load up the back. (easy to do with stock rear coils, in my experience.)

glad i was able to help. good luck with your install.

I appreciate you helping this guy out but your quoted post is not quite correct. Any time you change the vehicle's center of gravity by lifting it or even carrying a load on the top you influence the handling and rollover safety, especially the curb trip rollover, which happens to a lot of higher CG vehicles like ours. The Ford Expedition rolls at 20 mph and ours is probably not much, if at all, better. Sure, it might not be much (or it might be a lot - it depends on several factors) but in that critical situation when you swerve to miss a moose or you swerve and hit a curb that changed CG could mean the difference between staying on all four wheels or ending up on your top.
Every person, especially a novice like this guy, should fully understand the consequences of modding a vehicle. :cheers:

 

[sandcrawler]

I appreciate you helping this guy out but your quoted post is not quite correct. Any time you change the vehicle's center of gravity by lifting it or even carrying a load on the top you influence the handling and rollover safety, especially the curb trip rollover, which happens to a lot of higher CG vehicles like ours. The Ford Expedition rolls at 20 mph and ours is probably not much, if at all, better. Sure, it might not be much (or it might be a lot - it depends on several factors) but in that critical situation when you swerve to miss a moose or you swerve and hit a curb that changed CG could mean the difference between staying on all four wheels or ending up on your top.
Every person, especially a novice like this guy, should fully understand the consequences of modding a vehicle. :cheers:

fair point; probably should've tempered it a bit. i drive mine like a granny... just missing the Beanie Babies spread out on the dashboard.
:cheers:

 

[niadh0]

Perfect. Thanks for the recommendations. I think I am going to keep it with TRDPro kit all around - instead of looking for 1" spacers to go on top of TRDFront. Better for loading the rear end (which I occasionally do.) It would be comparatively better for safety - height should match TRDPro trim in theory. That being said I also drive without a hint of aggression but I do get the point of sudden need for avoiding the moose situation Thanks.

 

[salong53]

I'll add to what [MENTION=29376]sandcrawler[/MENTION] said a little about the 2" forward rake. He's referring to the height from the top of the tire to the fender as a reference point; however, if you measure frame to ground (behind front wheel, in front of rear wheel), there's only about 1/4" to 3/4" of forward rake depending on load, fuel, etc... The TRD Pro front suspension should put the frame almost perfectly level.

 

[ty.goins]

It worked on a 16 TE w/KDSS handles great


2016 TR4 w/KDSS with mods and more to come....

 

[Gone2vegas]

OP did you get this done? Curious to see the after pics.

 

[TotalAutomotiveLV]

This is a great upgrade if it costs under 600 for the front and rear, any more than that the Bilstein 6112 is the way to go. Same shock, but more height settings on the 6112.

We would love to see some pics OP!

 

[ty.goins]

OP did you get this done? Curious to see the after pics.

 

[niadh0]

OP did you get this done? Curious to see the after pics.

Unfortunately the kit is still in my garage. On one hand I though of putting it out for sale as I didn't have time to take care of the install ... but now I am thinking why sale? so I may just install it after all. I will upload pics soon.