What mods for a 4th gen with a $3k budget

[fortworthmatt]

I am in the market for a 4th gen 4Runner and looking mainly for the lowest mileage, best condition vehicle with records that I can find in the $12-15k price range. I am leaning towards the V8 as the one in my Sequoia went 180k miles with 0 problems before I traded it in on the wife's truck. I have been reading the forums for a few weeks now and still not sure what to do first as I dont know what my off road needs will be. First of all this will be my daily driver for 60 mile rountrip commute in the DFW area, so lots of traffic. Secondly, and the main reason for the 4Runner, is that now that my 2 girls are getting a little older I want to start going camping, off-roading, and doing family friendly off road vacations. I won't be rock crawling or mudding but want a very capable weekeng off roader that still won't sacrifice my daily work commute.
I will have about a $3k budget for upgrades as soon as I find the right vehicle and would think that I would start with a lift and better wheel/tires but after reading about all the different kinds of lifts I am a little confused on the route to go. I don't want to have to upgrade twice and want a very reliable/maintenance free application. I know you get this all the time but I would really value some input here in where to start and how much off roading I can really do with just a lift and better wheels and what the next best mods to get after that. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[S p a r k y]

Questions:
Will you be doing the installs? Makes a diff in $
Idea on tire size you want? 32" (265/70/17 or 265/65/18) 33" (285/70/17 or 285/65/18) common sizes, there are others.

You could spend all $3k in lift alone, or tires/wheels alone. Which I would not suggest atleast for your needs.

If doing work yourself. I would suggest some FJ/Moog springs and Billstein 5100 shocks. set the front at 2.5 up front. Rear you can do a spacer or some other springs. Its a great setup for daily driving and can do what you need for adventures. with some 32" tires and even wheels. I would think doing your own work you could do that for $3k and probably have some $ over for other stuff.

 

[pparrett]

That is almost the exact criteria I had for my build. I didn't have any "need" for a full lift (and its my daily driver) so I went with the Daystar Budget Boost Leveling kit. That puts a small spacer in just the front. You can do it yourself no problem.

So far these have had the biggest impact and all are in your price range. The rack and tires will be most of the budget.

-Daystar Leveling Lift
-BFG 265/70/17 Tires
-Spidertrax 1.25 all around
-Aftermarket Headlight Housings
-HID bulbs and Balasts
-BajaRack

 

[fortworthmatt]

Thanks. I will be doing all the work myself unless there are special tools involved that I can't rent. I have read that armor is really the first step and then lockers but I am not sure I will be doing that extreme of off-roading. But then again, like anything good, once you start it tends to go farther than you intially thought.

 

[verman84]

Another thing to consider is that if you purchase the vehicle from a dealership you can usually negotiate things into the price of the vehicle, tires should be an easy one whereas a private seller won't do any of those things.

When I bought mine earlier this year the truck (2008 v6 sr5 4x4) started at 16k. The tires had some life left but were cracking around the sidewalls and the brakes had a pulse in them. I brought this to the attention of the salesman and negotiated new tires/pads/rotors into the price of the vehicle. By the end I had them at 14k with all new BFG Long Trail TA tires, new pads and rotors installed out the door as well as changing fluids/oil/filter/air filter/etc.

This last trip I was going through some decent puddles/mud/sand and a few steep inclines and the long trails handled it like it was nothing. I wish I had gone with the Rugged Terrains but they didn't have them in stock and I would have had to wait longer to pick up the truck. This is a daily driver which spends the majority of its time in the city. The occasional times I do get out camping/hunting I'm mostly on quasi developed tracks. No rock crawling or super aggressive stuff.

My next investment is going to be an FJ/Bilstein 5100 lift for a slightly higher ride height. Like I said its a daily city driver so I don't want to kill my fuel economy but I wouldn't mind something a little taller for the trails.

Maybe you should just go with the lift/tires and keep the rest of the cash for an emergency fund if something goes wrong. Also, when you're upgrading your tires, keep your spare in mind as well.

 

[philskeeter]

If I were in your shoes I'd go for the fj/5100 suspension swap either on .85" setting in front to level it or 2.5" on front and a daystar 1.5" spacer in the back to give it a higher stance. that could be done within $500. Then I'd set $1000 aside for a set of 275/70/17 tires(because if you go to 285/70 you'll need wheel spacers to fit them and that seems to not be worth it for you plus it wouldn't be worth it if mpg are an issue). Then I'd get a roof rack made by whitson metalworks for around $800. Then I'd get some skids from RCI(probably just the front to start out with-steel is 200ish and aluminum is 300ish). That's how I'd start my 3k off. But after all that I'd spend another 2k over another year or two adding on to those add-ons

 

[YetiX]

If I were in your shoes I'd go for the fj/5100 suspension swap either on .85" setting in front to level it or 2.5" on front and a daystar 1.5" spacer in the back to give it a higher stance. that could be done within $500. Then I'd set $1000 aside for a set of 275/70/17 tires(because if you go to 285/70 you'll need wheel spacers to fit them and that seems to not be worth it for you plus it wouldn't be worth it if mpg are an issue). Then I'd get a roof rack made by whitson metalworks for around $800. Then I'd get some skids from RCI(probably just the front to start out with-steel is 200ish and aluminum is 300ish). That's how I'd start my 3k off. But after all that I'd spend another 2k over another year or two adding on to those add-ons

I'm basically in the same boat as the OP, so these responses are great. I've pretty much settled on doing the FJ springs with 5100's in the front, but have had zero luck finding a set of used FJ front springs. Where are people finding used FJ springs??

After that comes the Baja rack...

 

[McRib06]

If I were a nice gentleman such as yourself, I would just send your extra money to me......it will be spent wisely.

As for mods, everyone has posted some great stuff. My suggestion is to take your time finding what you want for a good price also read as much as you can on everything your interested in. This forum is full of knowledgable people (just look past most of the sarcasm).

YetiX, FJ Cruiser Forum is a great source. Things go quickly though.

 

[fortworthmatt]

It seems like a lot of people are doing the FJ springs or OME springs with Bilstien 5100s. Would it be worth it to just pony up and get Boss coilover kit for $1200 or is that over doing it? The only thing I would be a little concerned with if I did a coilover would be the axel angel and then having to get new uca's and it just starts to get real expensive.

 

[fortworthmatt]

And by the way, thank you very much for your input. I really appreciate the info.

 

[preacher35]

It seems like a lot of people are doing the FJ springs or OME springs with Bilstien 5100s. Would it be worth it to just pony up and get Boss coilover kit for $1200 or is that over doing it? The only thing I would be a little concerned with if I did a coilover would be the axel angel and then having to get new uca's and it just starts to get real expensive.

[MENTION=116542]fortworthmatt[/MENTION], WELCOME to T4R.org from another Texan! Pleasantries aside, what you spend on which mods is all relative to whatever your goal may be. It sounds like you are probably going to be doing some light off-roading in addition to daily driving. The Toytec BOSS kit is an excellent coil-over kit, but probably overkill for what you are looking to do. You have set a $2k-$3k budget for mods and the Boss kit will kill half of that (ASSUMING THAT YOU DO THE INSTALL YOURSELF). You will also have to have the alignment done and will require aftermarket upper control arms which is an additional $500.00, again assuming that you are installing all of these parts yourself. Take your time. Take your time looking for a well cared for Runner with low miles. Remember that if you purchase a V8, you're going to have to change the timing belt at 90k miles (which of course, you're going to want to change the water pump as well since you have to remove it anyway to get to the timing belt). This is going to eat up some of your budget if the seller has not already completed said task. Once you purchase your Runner, take your time going through the stickies at the TOP OF THIS 4TH GEN SUB-FORUM to get ideas about where you want to focus your funds and effort toward. There are hundreds of other really cool mods that you'll want: HID's; instrument cluster/HVAC panel LED swap, roof basket, wheels/tires, leather (if not already equipped), armor just to name a few. I, for one look forward to see what you do with whatever rig you end up purchasing.

And remember, if you have a question or need advice about a prospective 4Runner PRIOR TO PURCHASE, please do not hesitate to ask us!

 

[preacher35]

Also, take a few minutes to look at the 4Runners that are for sale in our classifieds section. You just might find a Runner that already has some mods completed. Most of the peeps on this forum take damned good care of their Runners. Heaven knows that I do!

 

[chitown40]

I would buy the truck, then decide if you need to mod it. From the sound of what you plan to do, the 4Runner will work just fine right out of the box. Wait to see if you get a truck with XREAS or RAS or just a standard suspension. See how it drives stock before you plan to dump money into it.

$3000 will go a long way for your kids' education if invested properly. Investing in a 4th gen 4Runner suspension or tires won't get you a good return.

Good luck.

R

 

[fortworthmatt]

Well luckily the kids college is already taken care of thanks to the Hazlewood Act here in TX. I think it's all good advice and probably need to not go to fast. Looking at some of these rigs just makes my mouth water but I don't really need all that and don't want to hurt my mpg too bad. The budget I have set is for the sell price of my daily commuter I will sell, that way I can jump into some mods as soon as I buy the 4Runner and my wife won't care. I just bought her a 2014 GMC Sierra crew cab so I can get some slack. I could go balls out but I will stick to a budget I am comfortable with. Thanks again guys and I am happy to be here.

 

[oljedi11950]

As preacher said due diligence 1st ! Make sure you don't spend it all on cosmetics then get hit with the real deal (hope not) . Most of us have done this many times mods that is , as one of my early 4r guides told me do it right do it once ! If not serious off-roader do a mild lift & tires think about gas mileage guys are always bit*tin about it & duh maybe I went to high IMO. Great tools in the intro posts on what to look for & what worked for all of them , lotta hard work went into these stickies use them . Just my 2cts Happy trails

 

[philskeeter]

I'm basically in the same boat as the OP, so these responses are great. I've pretty much settled on doing the FJ springs with 5100's in the front, but have had zero luck finding a set of used FJ front springs. Where are people finding used FJ springs??

After that comes the Baja rack...

Best chance IMO is to make an account on the fj forum and check there for them. They don't come over here alot. And to the op, is the 3k specifically for mods? It sounded like it was an agreed amount between you and the wife so I figured you have the money to take care of maintenance. If that wasn't the case, then sorry for teasing you with all of the things I mentioned hahahaha. And if you do a 3/2 lift then you will need new uca's but if you just do the fj coil spring with 5100's set to .85" up front then you won't need them so that's something to think about

 

[Good351]

For mild off road and camping i don't see a need for armor and lockers. I am about to put the finishing touches on my newly acquired 4runner that I will used for hunting, pulling a boat and commuting. I will have 2000 in add ons when done.

FJ front springs $60.
5100 set to 0 in front. $340 set.
TRD Pro wheels $800.
265/70 duratracs $720

I got about 1" of lift just from the fj springs. I didn't want to start down the road of new uca's so kept it close to level.

 

[fortworthmatt]

Again thanks for all the info. I read this forum while at work while I am on the phone all day and have been doing so for 2 weeks straight now I am almost contemplating going with a 3rd gen to have more money for mods. The more I read the more I think I would really like to do some serious off roading and overlanding. Having a family of four though seems like the 4th gen is going to be a better way to go for a better ride and creature comforts. It looks like the FJ/bilie combo combined with a daystar lift would get me alomst anywhere I want to go with a few more mods.