I recently ordered a set of Maxxis Bighorn tires in 305/70/17. That metric size equates to 34x12.2", or roughly the same size as BFG 35x12.5" in reality (EDIT: After measuring the Maxxis against the BFG's, they are EXACTLY the same size). The tires won't be here for a few weeks since they are on back-order but in the mean time I needed to make room the new meats. My rig is already geared for 35's so that's not an issue but the 285's I've been running for a few years now barely fit at full compression as is.

We have a set of BFG muds in 35x12.5 on hand since that's what we run on the red Tacoma so we had tires to use for mock-up purposes. We decided to go ahead and clearance the inner and outer fenders for when the new tires arrive. Having done similar work to the Tacoma we knew this project would take us at least a full day for the front alone and we estimated about the same for the rear but having never done the rear of a stock bodied 4Runner before we couldn't be sure we wouldn't run into a snag along the way.

We did the work over Thanksgiving weekend and it came out great. There is still a little bit of finishing work to do on the rear but I'll have to wait for the rain to let up to get to that. The end result looks factory clean and will let me run a full 35x12.5" at full compression and the only even slight rubbing is on the frame-rails at full-lock steering (regardless of suspension position) and also slightly on the firewall at full-lock steer AND full compression which is a situation that will rarely if ever occur.

Here's a link to the pics and a brief write-up. There are no final pics yet because like I said the tires are back-ordered and I still need to paint the rear fender lip but you can see the basics of the project in good detail. This is a time consuming but relatively simple modification that is of tremendous benefit.

Tools needed:

4" angle grinder
Welder (TIG or MIG)
Various common hand tools

Supplies needed:

6-8) 4" Cut-off wheels
1) 4" Flap Disc
1) 1-1/2 x 2' piece of sheetmetal, ~3/32" or thicker depending on preference.
1) 10' length of 3/16" steel rod
1) Can rubberized undercarriage coating spray (Bondo and Dupli Color brands are good)
1) Can primer
1) Can semi-gloss black spray paint
1) Roll masking tape
1) 10' roll universal door edge trim
1) Tube clear silicone sealant
1) 14oz. can of body filler
1) Package sand paper, various grit levels

 

Sean - perfect timing. I'm going to need to do something similar very soon. Nice writeup!

 

Great writeup and pictures! 5 stars!

 

thanks for the positive feedback guys, the rain actually broke and I am working on finishing up as we speak. Look for final pics soon.

BTW, I also updated some of the captions with more detailed info.

 

what he said.

 

It's nice now that our 3rd gen trucks are getting a little older we don't have to cringe so hard when cutting into the sheetmetal. That made the job a bit easier

 

My sheetmetal looks better since I cut into it.

Nice job!

 

That's usually the case but sometimes it's hard to convince yourself of that beforehand.

When the angle grinder or sawzall comes out you're like :cry: but then after it's more like

 

Are you back up in Santa Cruz?!

That looks great. I wish I would have the patience to cut my fenders ... and lower my truck

Can't wait to hear about the final result!

 

I am still in SB but I was up there for the holiday.

 

haha your truck is SO TALL..

 

im running 305/70/16's, and i thought they were equivalent to 33's?

 

I am running 17" rims and with metric sizing that's where things can get confusing. With an American sized tire the first two numbers describe the outside dimensions of the tire (diameter/width) while the third number describes the rim diameter. There is no measurement for the height of the sidewall however.

With a metric tire the first number describes the width of the tire and the second number describes what percentage the sidewall height is relative to the tire width (in this case 305/70 = 70% of 305mm) . So by changing the rim diameter (and not changing the numbered size of the tire) you are changing the overall tire diameter. If a 305/70/16 equals a true 33" diameter tire than a 305/70/17 will equal a true 34" tire and a 305/70/18 will equal a true 35" diameter tire. BFG American "35-inch" tires measure out to a hair over 34" FWIW.

EDIT: I am finishing up the job right now and should have some pictures up later today. Also I decided on rims and I'm going with a set of 5 American Racing (forged) Sidewinders with OMF beadlocks. The tires just showed up in the mail but the rims will take a while to get beadlocked. I'll post pics when it's all done.

 

It's all relative dude...

I look at my truck and it looks like its sitting at stock height. I drive around town and stock F-350's and such are sitting level with me!

 

yea dude i noticed that too...it seems like everyday that goes by, the 4runner gets smaller and smaller....

 

Okay well I finally got the wheels and tires in and got a chance to mount them up and go wheeling.


First off bead locks are great because you can mount your own tires at home with only a torque wrench. It took me about 2 hours to get all 5 tires mounted. I took them to get balanced but in the end they were so well balanced that that was a waste of money, barely any weights were used.


We took the truck out for some wheeling outside of Bend Oregon, we found this area with a huge rut running down the crack between two hills. After a slippery sidehill I had to drop into the lower part of the ditch diagonally and then climb up the steep hill to the top where I had to jockey the truck around to get a good line to cross back over the ditch to the top of the hill.




This was the hardest part as the front driver side wheel had to go straight up a 3' high vertical wall. The truck handled it great. I bashed both bumpers into the rocks but both were unscathed.


The ARB did it's job as did the new meats, they grip like mad and thus far haven't chunked at all. As an added bonus they look great with an aggressive tread pattern and side lugs.


After that we ventured deeper into the forest for some snow wheeling. There was about a foot of fresh on top of some hard pack which was perfect for roosting around.

 

are true beadlocks legal in CA? cause here in PA theyre not legal for street use.. just wondering

 

X1000000000000

 

They are not DOT legal I believe however these here rims are just "street locks" officer.

 

ahh... i love that look