Trucks and Guns

[Range]

Well since I joined back in 2005 I guess now is a good time to introduce myself, lol. Father had the 1st gen 4Runner, top came off in the summer, hard top went on in the winter and I was the coolest kid in high school. After that he got the 3rd gen and had it for about 8 years but was hit broadside by an X5 about two years ago. Now he's got the 4th gen, 2008 model. In 2005 I bought a 2003 4Runner with 10k miles on it and just absolutely love these machines. I can proudly say that I've grown up in a family of 4Runners. I know its a learning experience but I'd love to take advantage of the vast amount of desert here in Las Vegas, Nevada and finally use this car for what it is built for. My main hobbies are long distance shooting (which having such an amazing truck allows me to get to some hard to get to spots) Muay Thai and Boxing. Here's two extremely plain and non-exciting pictures of my bone ass stock 4Runner but over time I hope to create something with a "wow" factor.

The time has come for some modifications and after some extensive research both on this site and just using my Google-foo I've decided on what I want.

3" Lift:
Bilstein 5100 front and rear
ARB or OME springs in the rear
Spacers

Tires:
285x70x17 - Goodyear Duratracs, Toyo or really whatever has an aggressive look with great ride quality

Bumper:
Shrockworks front without loops. I'm hoping to get it in bare steel so I can color match it with my car which I think is called Stratosphere Blue

Skid Plates:
TBD - don't know if want Red, Orange, Steel or Black

Roof Rack:
TBD

Rims:
Good lord this process sucks. The color 4Runner I have is absolutely impossible to find rims for. To me a 4Runner is an off-roading truck. Putting chrome or Polished rims on it tends to pull the "brute" factor away so I like the machined look. The 2006 model and newer rims I like along with the 2011 FJ rims but I'd rather get something that has a larger back spacing so I don't have to run wheel spacers. Black rims won't work as well with the color combination but in my opinion it's a bit over used these days anyway so I'd like to do something different. Am I wrong about the wheel spacers? I know a lot of you guys have them and they don't seem to pose any problems but my only concern is the stress it places on the axels and with a 9 year old car at 110,000 miles I'd rather not put any more wear and tear on it than needed. I have my mind set on 17x8 or 17x9 with a backspacing of 4.5 - 5.0 to alleviate from rubbing issues but if you guys think otherwise let me know. I'm here to learn from you so any type of constructive criticism is appreciated.

 

[momo.75]

Welcome to T4R.ORG! Sounds like a good plan for the build. Since the spacers the guys are using are "hub centric" there really haven't been any issues, that I know of. The mani thing for me is that the wheels/tires don't look like they are tucked up under the truck. I like them in line with the outside of the fenders or even a little outside. It is mostly taste. The problem you will run into, depending on your tires, is that the further you push the wheels out, the more rubbing you will encounter when turning. Most of the rubbing can easily be fixed with some simple trimming and moving the wheel well liner. It is when it starts rubbing on the body mount that it gets more involved. You either have to trim the body mount or install control arms to adjust the caster. (I think that is right)

Anyway, glad to have you on the forum

 

[Range]

Nothing's ever easy is it? Thanks for the advice momo.75. I'm with you, I like the wheel wells to be filled out if not sticking out a little so it just gives the truck that aggressive look. I thought that the further out the wheels are the less rubbing there is especially with 285x70's? Guess I'm wrong dammit! I forgot to mention that I'll be removing the running boards and probably the front flaps if need be.

 

[momo.75]

JA did a good write up on wheel spacers and how to fix rubbing.

Toyota 4Runner Wheel Spacers

I moved my wheel well liners forward and trimmed a little of the bumper, like he shows. A lot of guys remove the front splash guards. I wanted to keep mine, so to make them work i trimmed a little more than half of the inside of my splash guards. They still work pretty good as far as keeping crud off my rocker panels and you really don't notice they are trimmed. I'll have to grab some pics when i get a chance.

 

[SOcalTRAIL]

Like lookin' pea shooter ya got there. AI AW or is it an 700 action in a AICS? I ran an AICS for about a year and switches over to a Manners T2-A, little bit easier for positional shooting for me. Any specs on that rifle?