Why Modify a TRD Pro?

[Engineer]

I think we need [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] to decide what is an accessory, modification and upfitting.....I need them all

For the definition of poser, we already have [MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION] , mall crawling at its best :lol:

A few things to chew on

*99% of us have made changes to our 4runners that we do not need
*If you paid over MSRP for a 4runner you paid to much
*The 2 most "mechanically different" 4runner models are the limited with AWD Transfer case and Trail/Off-road with KDSS
*All 5th gen 4runners are 98.234567% identical
*As long as he is not asking for finanical aid from his fellow citizens now or in the future how one man spends his money is no ones business but his.

 

[Snow-Jet-MK5]

In the end its not about what you drive, but how you use it. #ALL4runnersmatter

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[LawnDart]

For the definition of poser, we already have [MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION] , mall crawling at its best :lol:

Takes truck to an all out Baja trip and beats the truck harder than 99.9 of this forum...still accused of being a mallcrawler. Sigh.

 

[KEWW Pro]

I'd like to quote and reply to everything but that will get VERY long winded...

What I am really grateful for is the fact that this thread could have been a spilled can of beans but everyone thus far has replied with such... I don't know, professionalism, respect, honesty...? That is great so thank you!

I think as [MENTION=118321]Jetboy[/MENTION] stated, I am admittedly the new weekly guy. I had been lurking for quite a few months but got active and dug deeper now with my purchase underway. In all that time, and not having a 4Runner in the driveway of any trim package, I was looking from the outside in, and based my opinion and knowledge from the second hand, and an amazing 1600 mile test drive in the SR5. What I gathered and based my purchase decision on was that even as well as the SR5 performed, I bought what Toyota was selling as the biggest baddest model they sell... I mean for the last 2 years the T4R catalog has dedicated 4 1/2 pages strictly to the Pro trim. So yes, marketing and sales techniques do work. And the package looks and runs great. With more education I can see that there were different options that could have saved me some cash but cost me time all to end up at the same point, with a kick a$$ 4Runner.

I know I will be happy with the trim package I got and the accessories I will toss onto it. I appreciate ALL of the insight provided by everyone and I think as a whole my question (s) were answered more than sufficiently.

Fast forward a year or so from now with more education from all of you and personal experience, I might decide to sell today's model considering the Trim package premium could still exist (not counting on it as nothing is certain) and then pick a trim package that best suits my actual wants/needs and build from there.


Again, thank you all. It was nice to see all of the pros and cons and ideas and thoughts and well mannered opinions shared in a single thread. My head may finally stop spinning sorting through the depth of information on this site. For a vehicle with such a low production run prior to the past few years it is amazing just how many active members are so passionately in love with their vehicles. Living in the shadow of the Jeep Plant in Toledo I cannot WAIT to start cruising around in my 4Runner.
[MENTION=96008]Engineer[/MENTION] great things to chew on
[MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION] I will go to the mall with you any time - really enjoyed your build thread, glad you made it safe-ish out of Baja
[MENTION=93405]Snow-Jet-MK5[/MENTION] I always told my friends with "fast cars"...after the fact...It does not matter how fast your car CAN go, It matters how fast YOU are willing to go in it. Yours is the 4x4 version of that quote.

 

[Snow-Jet-MK5]

Takes truck to an all out Baja trip and beats the truck harder than 99.9 of this forum...still accused of being a mallcrawler. Sigh.

Lol. I guess with that being said if your car has License Plates and is registered than you are a "Mall Crawler"

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[Engineer]

Takes truck to an all out Baja trip and beats the truck harder than 99.9 of this forum...still accused of being a mallcrawler. Sigh.

It will never be enough - green text next time

 

[greatape]

Takes truck to an all out Baja trip and beats the truck harder than 99.9 of this forum...still accused of being a mallcrawler. Sigh.

Lol..great Stats! Merica!

 

[fogcitysurfer]

I'd like to quote and reply to everything but that will get VERY long winded...

What I am really grateful for is the fact that this thread could have been a spilled can of beans but everyone thus far has replied with such... I don't know, professionalism, respect, honesty...? That is great so thank you!

I think as [MENTION=118321]Jetboy[/MENTION] stated, I am admittedly the new weekly guy. I had been lurking for quite a few months but got active and dug deeper now with my purchase underway. In all that time, and not having a 4Runner in the driveway of any trim package, I was looking from the outside in, and based my opinion and knowledge from the second hand, and an amazing 1600 mile test drive in the SR5. What I gathered and based my purchase decision on was that even as well as the SR5 performed, I bought what Toyota was selling as the biggest baddest model they sell... I mean for the last 2 years the T4R catalog has dedicated 4 1/2 pages strictly to the Pro trim. So yes, marketing and sales techniques do work. And the package looks and runs great. With more education I can see that there were different options that could have saved me some cash but cost me time all to end up at the same point, with a kick a$$ 4Runner.

I know I will be happy with the trim package I got and the accessories I will toss onto it. I appreciate ALL of the insight provided by everyone and I think as a whole my question (s) were answered more than sufficiently.

Fast forward a year or so from now with more education from all of you and personal experience, I might decide to sell today's model considering the Trim package premium could still exist (not counting on it as nothing is certain) and then pick a trim package that best suits my actual wants/needs and build from there.


Again, thank you all. It was nice to see all of the pros and cons and ideas and thoughts and well mannered opinions shared in a single thread. My head may finally stop spinning sorting through the depth of information on this site. For a vehicle with such a low production run prior to the past few years it is amazing just how many active members are so passionately in love with their vehicles. Living in the shadow of the Jeep Plant in Toledo I cannot WAIT to start cruising around in my 4Runner.

[MENTION=96008]Engineer[/MENTION] great things to chew on
[MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION] I will go to the mall with you any time - really enjoyed your build thread, glad you made it safe-ish out of Baja
[MENTION=93405]Snow-Jet-MK5[/MENTION] I always told my friends with "fast cars"...after the fact...It does not matter how fast your car CAN go, It matters how fast YOU are willing to go in it. Yours is the 4x4 version of that quote.

Enjoy it! Its a great vehicle no matter what trim you get. I even had the original "mall crawler" 4th Gen and managed to get a lot of fun use out of it. Before the Pro model came around, the 4th Gen took the brunt of the abuse on here, but its all good. Enjoy what you have and enjoy the 4runner family and wealth of knowledge on here.

 

[b407driver]

So many pieces of information on suspension 'upgrades' that so often are confounding to new members/owners; I get it.

• On one hand you have people saying that 5100s are a good upgrade to an SR5/Trail, especially since they are 'adjustable'.
  
• Then another crowd states that the 6112/5160 combo, is a great upgrade, due to both the increased diameter and adjustability, while the long-travel crowd poo-poos the suspension as being pedestrian (which it admittedly is, compared to an ICON setup).
  
• Finally, we get to the lowly 'desert-running' TRD suspension, wickedly-overpriced, flashily-colored, with supposedly no adjustment.
  
• All long, we have the spacer nay-sayers occasionally interjecting that spacer lifts are bogus.

-------------------->

All that information can be incredibly confusing to someone new to the world of 4Runners and offroading. I get that. The amusing part about some of the issues noted above is that adding a spring seat spacer is functionally no different than raising the 'lift adjustment' of a 5100/6112 (assuming, of course, the shock length/travel are correctly designed to accommodate it).

The TRD suspension (not 'Pro', as it is readily available for purchase at the parts counter) has two adjustment settings, to accommodate the stock lean due to design/CG due to fuel weight. Toytec makes a 1" spring seat spacer that is functionally the same as raising a 6112 to an additional 1" of height, assuming, again, that the length of the shock is designed to accept that lift. [I've never seen it here, so if anyone can point to the actual production travel/lengths of both the TRD front and Bilstein 6112 front shocks, post it up, I'd love to see it (I'd guess Toytec has that info, at least for the TRD shock).]

All of that completely ignores the KDSS issue(s!), which get argued about routinely around here. Let's leave that one be.

Anyway, there is always something better to upgrade to whether one has a realistic need or not, and whether we like it or not 99% of the 4Runners here live on the highway 99% of the time; whether street ride matters to you more or less than appearance, only you can answer.

There's lots of great info on this site, but it can be hard to wade through the chaff sometimes. I learned a lot in the months of reading I did prior to buying my 4Runner and actually joining to be able to post here, and I have to admit those first few weeks were an eye-opener.

What I am really grateful for is the fact that this thread could have been a spilled can of beans but everyone thus far has replied with such... I don't know, professionalism, respect, honesty...? That is great so thank you!

I would have to agree, it seems like the back row of the class has been pretty reserved lately. Refreshing.

.

 

[Throwback]

The amusing part about some of the issues noted above is that adding a spring seat spacer is functionally no different than raising the 'lift adjustment' of a 5100/6112 (assuming, of course, the shock length/travel are correctly designed to accommodate it).

That's a gem of knowledge when you put it that concisely.

Going further one could say that a strut-top spacer is an even better quality lift than a 5100 since it keeps the OEM suspension spring rate and dampening, but allows a slightly taller stance.

 

[AdmiralAugbar]

It will never be enough - green text next time

I thought your sarcasm was super obvious... I worry about some people's comprehension. :bash:

 

[jrandom]

All of that completely ignores the KDSS issue(s!), which get argued about routinely around here. Let's leave that one be.

Why even bring that up if you want to leave it be? lol less than 6 people have had "issues", yet you continue to perpetuate the myth. More people have had "issues" with the rear TRD shocks than people have had issues with KDSS.

 

[RUNTHAT]

Why even bring that up if you want to leave it be? lol less than 6 people have had "issues", yet you continue to perpetuate the myth. More people have had "issues" with the rear TRD shocks than people have had issues with KDSS.

Some people don't understand that the "issues" and anecdotes thrown around on this forum, don't actually represent the reliability of any component on the T4R. People are so quick to throw out the 99% on-road vs 1% off-road in justifying mods; when this forum probably represents less than 1% of the thousands of 5th gens sold each year. All I'm saying is that 10 people with KDSS "issues" or 20 people with rear shock issues, do not represent the whole. opcorn:

 

[propain]

Takes truck to an all out Baja trip and beats the truck harder than 99.9 of this forum...still accused of being a mallcrawler. Sigh.

Come on dont lie, we all know you stopped at the Baja Mall hehe.. Just kidding.

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[propain]

For the definition of poser, we already have [MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION] , mall crawling at its best [emoji38]

Your joking right?



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[LawnDart]

Come on dont lie, we all know you stopped at the Baja Mall hehe.. Just kidding.

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I really and truly can't wait to show you what we did, when the episode comes out on September 3rd. The stuff the raptors did will get the most airtime, obviously, but everything they did...we did as well.

I can't imagine trying to keep up with the raptors on stock or mid-travel. It just would have destroyed the truck in the process.

To keep things on topic, I think I'm the poster boy for taking a TRD Pro and basically gutting it and making it something more.

Ultimately, very few stock vehicles tick every box as the owner's tastes and needs evolve. If your needs never evolve...goddamn you must be boring.

 

[propain]

I really and truly can't wait to show you what we did, when the episode comes out on September 3rd. The stuff the raptors did will get the most airtime, obviously, but everything they did...we did as well.

I can't imagine trying to keep up with the raptors on stock or mid-travel. It just would have destroyed the truck in the process.

To keep things on topic, I think I'm the poster boy for taking a TRD Pro and basically gutting it and making it something more.

Ultimately, very few stock vehicles tick every box as the owner's tastes and needs evolve. If your needs never evolve...goddamn you must be boring.

Ignore the jealous trolls. Your rig is awesome.

Cant wait to see the vid's etc from Baja. Id get a raptor as a 2nd rig, but I need to retire some day [emoji41] from what I been hearing toyota is getting out of the 4x4 game.

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[propain]

To answer why modify the pro. As your truck evoles you need to update things like suspension. I installed a front bumper and winch, which is too heavy for the stock trd pro suspension, so im installing new bp-51 5th Gen suspension. Trd pro is good as stock, but once you start adding mods you need to upgrade or.youll be breaking shit and the rig wont rid well.

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[b407driver]

Why even bring that up if you want to leave it be? lol less than 6 people have had "issues", yet you continue to perpetuate the myth. More people have had "issues" with the rear TRD shocks than people have had issues with KDSS.

I wasn't perpetuating any myth, nor was I referencing the statistically non-existent KDSS 'problems' that you refer to. I was merely pointing out the fact that the pros/cons of KDSS are argued about incessantly around here; I'm sorry if my usage of the word 'issues' wasn't clear enough to ascertain without further explanation.

.

 

[jrandom]

Indeed it is.

I'm sorry if my usage of the word 'issues' wasn't clear enough to ascertain without further explanation.

Apology accepted. :thumb3: :flipoff: :biggrin1: