OK just installed mine today, and it was a PITA.

Here is my initial feedback after a 15 mile test drive covering highway, twisties, rough pavement and speed bumps.

The front is really well balanced and feels great. Soaks up bumps and rough pavement like it doesn't even exists. The rear still needs a bit of work with the current combo of coil, shock and coil spacer. There are also a few other items that is a pita and needs to resolved for the rear.

I used the same shocks and coils as James. I have the V8 so I had to compensate for the extra weight up front. I added a trim packer and a Toytec top spacer. It seems to have worked well. In the rear exactly the same setup as James.

I still need alignment, but so far it seems I got about 3.25" lift in the front and 2.75" lift in the back. I will validate these once the wheel alignment is done and I have put on few more miles on them.

Will post some pics tomorrow.

 

can't wait to see the pics!

i was really impressed when i installed the coilovers that the ride felt soooo much nicer than when i had the spacer lifts. i'm glad this OME lift seems to be improving the ride for you guys as well!

 

The rear is designed for weight so it is firm when empty. I don't mind it, feels fine to me empty actually and I want control and comfort while loaded for trips. Andries seems to have a stronger reaction to it than I did.

However, if you plan to run empty more often than not, you can also get the
N141 rear shocks which are softer than the N142

There's a couple very minor issues but I think they will all be sorted before anyone else gets OME in hand, and nothing earthshattering. I'm in contact with ARB and Slee. Andries and I are going back and forth with Slee as well as each other to get the details sorted.

Andries got the same height as me by adding the spacer/trim packer so there's your V8 combo Good work tracking down that toytec spacer man, I had never heard of them.

So we are both at about 3" front 2.75" rear lift

 

My front is higher by a fraction of an inch I think

Yeah i saw toytec on TTORA, and i liked their spacers

 

OK, I think Andries went a little HULK with the wrench which is why his rear is riding a bit harsh right now!

 

You guys are really establishing some new real estate here for 4th Gen Runners. Gotta give it to ya.

Hey, thus far you have roughly the same max lift as a 3rd Gen, why can't we push it further?

After all, our cv's are sent out from the factory in what appears to be accomodating to a larger (than 3rd Gen) lift. We could always drop the diff. Whats your opinions on this with what you already have? Are your CV's already strained or what?


How about the driveshafts, do they seem okay with the additional stretch?

I wanna go higher, maybe closer to 4.5+ with a BL I could squeeze in some 36 x 14's. At least thats my idea for now.

Thanks for the work and for any feedback.


Doug M.

 

36 x 14 ?!! My 35 x 12s rubbed on the upper arms and the frame of the truck ... and believe me, we cut out as much as was safely possible!

 

Not quite, will speak with Slee this coming week to see how we can work out the rear a bit. I think we will get therear sorted out soon. The driver side was a bit tight, but not the passenger side. Will test some more tonight and get my wheel alignment done tomorrow.

 

Hey Rock, I'm thinking about running spacers on a 3" or less bs on the wheel.

The BL should eliminate any cladding rub, but some A arms will prolly be needed.

I still want to know what the new measurements are through the center of the hub too, (fender to ground) if you guys could post that it would be very insightful.

Thanks,

Doug M.

 

Doug,

Thx for the comp. SUre you can push more than what we are doing. However our aim was to get sufficient lift and a good ride and flex. My aim is to run 33" MTRs comfortably. SHouldn't be too difficult. I would say the front can run 3.5", maybe 4" with current components (A-ARMS etc adn stil maintain reliability, flex and give a good ride (4" might be pushing it GT can chip in here). The 4th Gen doesn't need a diff drop for 3" or more lift, like 3rd gen did as the CV angles were a lot lower from the factory. (Basically we got cheated out of 2" from the factory ) I'll post pics in a little while, so you can see the CVs.

Reasonably 33" is what you can do without going tribal with a grinder . SOme people have done 35" tires but I have not seen them perform offroad and in hard conditions so I dont know. My assessment from what I have seen is that you will probably need a suspension bracket drop or long travel kit to get 35" and make it work real well in severe conditions. The rear will also need some work. WIth a BL and some triming and creative setup you might do 34" tires. Remember bigger tires add a lot more strain on the CVs in the front. Ask guys breaking axles with 35" offroad, you migth want to see if you can get upgraded front axles and CVs (again read long travel kit, which is not availible for 4th Gen yet to my knowlwedge).

OME is not the way to go for 35" wheels on the 4th Gen.

 

Yes, it is a conundrum. Seems it can handle a bigger lift, but not the tires to go along with it w/o major hacking. From the 285-not-fitting-in-the-spare location to the wheelwells not accomodating the bigger meat. The fronts will probably open up somewhat (hopefully) with the new ARB bumper if/when it comes out. The rear wells with be a more complex issue, I believe.

 

Thanks for the input, you made a lot of good points....

I may just end up learning how to drive instead of creating a monster.

Doug M.

 

With my 265/70/17 Revos (which is smaller by almost a 1/4" than the same size MTRs) I have a bit over 37" in the front and a bit less than 39" in the back now. More improtant for us were to find something that will not sag as much as stock when loaded with weight in the rear. Stock would easily sag 2" when it was loaded for a trip, which is a pain with the gas tank offroad.

 

hey james and andries,

great work on pioneering 4th gen suspension mods james, can't wait to see it in person

bob

 

Yeah no 33" tires for me till I can figure out what to do with the spare. No way is it going on the roof or in the cargo area, and no way do I run without a spare.

Probably depnd on what people want to do. I like trips like DV, butnext time I would like to run more challenging trails. Lots of similar trails in Cali, AZ, etc. I'm not planning on doing rock crawling extravaganzas or mud bogging extremes.

 

Sorry for not being more clear on the rear wheel well or spare clearance issue, but I am removing the bumpers entirely and going with a solid tube set up amd custom tire carrier, maybe uncderneath if possible. So the crap won't be in the way.

I'm looking at June for completion of my ride...... unless you guys push the envelope further of course.

Damn, I can't tell you how happpy I am for the YT and other members pushing for more from Toy Motors and achieving it. I am more and more thinking the 4th Gen is as good of a set up as TM has made, minus the solid axle of course (hmmm, also thinking about an SAS).

Thanks again,

Doug M.

 

My 35s didn't rub on the cladding or the front fender ... I cut all of that stuff out of there and reshaped the cladding. The width was the only issue.

 

Doug, where are you getting the bumpers?

 

Alan Podvin out in CO, he built the UTE back with the water jetted protection on the 98 cruza (from IH8MUD.com). He's a frickin' artist, Slee's boys know him well.

DM.

 

Alans wife Susan is currently running 35's with no problem on a set up that he created. He's got the 4th Gen there for measurements and comparison. I tell you, he works unlike anyone else, maybe sometimes off the wall, but he gets it done the right way.

I am curious about the measurements because I'm at 40.25 in the rear and 39.0 in the front sitting on 285/70/17's (33's almost). I am still running the XREAS too btw, with no NE crap.

DM.

PS:Theres also a few more surprises in the works for our 4th Gen babies.