pacific5th

I’ve been starting my research on what type of lift I want for my 1990 4Runner. I’ve been looking at 2inch kits. I keep coming back to the Old Man Emu set up. There seem to be two options.

First one one comes with shocks and is about $800
https://www.toyteclifts.com/ome-9095...5-4runner.html

Second one has no shocks and is $330 for this one I would get some Procomp ES9000 shocks. Found them for $165.
https://www.toyteclifts.com/ifs2-4rc...5-4runner.html.

With option two I would be saving some money. Anyone know if the shocks that come with option one are worth the money?

I also noticed a lot of talk about torsion bar replacement. Old Man Emu has there own for $215. Are they better then stock? How can I tell if I even need them?

As for tires I currently have KM2 235/75/15’s. I want something bigger when I lift it. I was looking at something in the 31/10.5/15 area as I have the 15inch rims. However I also have a set of brand new 17inch 4Runner rims a neighbor took off there new rig. I was thinking about about a set of 245/75/17’s in those. There about a inch taller then the 31’s and a inch narrower. Only about a 4lbs weight difference between the two with the 245 being heavier.

Thanks for for your input.

keycw

the old man emu torsion bars are bigger. 26mm if I remember, versus the oem which are like a 21 or 22 idk someone can correct me. the thicker bar isn't "better" other than is allows you to carry more weight. are you going to run a bumper? are your torsion bars shot? they don't usually go bad to be honest, unless they've been cranked out for a long time. I you can look through the thread in my signature and see my OME torsion bar install. its easy and they do ride well, even under a small crank. I have 4crawler BJS with a slight crank that comes out to about 3" of lift. as for tires, you didn't really ask a question. want bigger tires? run bigger tires. are you worried about having enough lift? or not enough power?

RJR

I broke a torsion bar in Utah a few years ago, so replaced both with the OME bars. My records show that the OME bars are 23 mm vs 22 mm stock. That doesn't sound like much difference, but stiffness is proportional to the 4th power of the diameter, so going from 22 mm to 23 mm theoretically increases stiffness by about 20%. That being said, I can't really tell much difference in the ride. If you ever plan to add a winch, the OME bars will be a good thing.

Your current tires are about 29" in diameter. If you jump to 31", or especially 32-33" tires, you'll probably want to think about re-gearing. 4runners that came stock with 31" tires had 4.56 gears. You probably have 4.10's.

If you like the look of the 17" wheels go for it, but in general I think more rubber and less metal (i.e, smaller rims) is better for off-roading, especially in rocks. Rubber survives contact with rocks better than metal rims.

keycw

if you get lucky you can find a second gen with factory 4.88s, which is what I did and just swapped the front and rear 3rds into my 87. i believe it has to be an oversized tire package auto v6 runner to have the 4.88 available, I just got lucky and found one being parted out. also your right on the bar size, idk where I was getting those numbers. stock is 22.8 vs 23.4 ome.

pacific5th

Thanks guys. I’m trying to do this right the first time, hence my questions and uncertainty. I’m still leaning towards a 2 inch lift and 245/75/17’s tire set up. My only concern about the tires/wheel combo is the 17 Toyota rims have a 15 offset where the stock 15’s are a 8. Not sure how much of issue that’s gonna be but I have found some 7-8mm spacers. I went to Les Schwab and checked out a set of tires in that size. We put them next to my 4Runner and they look really good. A nice balance between a 31 and 33inch tire. Also realized today I have 4.56 gears. On the freeway doing 70mph it was pushing 3500rpms’s. Looked up the gear code and saw that it was 4.56. Not sure why the last owner put 235’s on it but it needs a bigger tire.

Im gonna do some mechanical work first. Exhaust is getting done tomorrow then I’m gonna go get some CV axles. After that I’m gonna start on the lift and some suspension freshening up. Figured when I’m in there I mines well do the upper and lower ball joints. I think I’ll skip the torsion bars for now.

RJR

I have 255/75/17's on my '06, and like them a lot. That works out to almost exactly a 32 inch tire. The 245/75/17's would be more like 31.5".

With 4.56 gears, you are good to go with 31 or 32 inch tires.

tyvanwie

I would get the lift without the shocks, then buy some Fox's or bilstiens. OME shocks are decent, procomps are garbage imo.

pacific5th

Thanks for all the advice guys. In the end I have decided to just keep it pretty stock for now. Ordered up some Bilstein 4600’s, gonna do the CV’s and get a set of 31x10.5’s. Still haven’t quite made up my mind on a tire but am leaning towards the BFG AT’s. Costco has a sale going right now and I can get them right around $750. This is gonna be more of a occasional drive to work rig and have fun off road job. Not planing on rock crawling or hard core missing it. Just something to have fun with.