50 Inspiring Lifted 4Runners

Tips for Lifting Your 4Runner

We asked some of the above vehicle owners share some tips and things you need to consider before lifting your 4runner. You can check it out below:

1. Cam Wish (@forged_runner)

When you lift a 4runner it alters the geometry of the rear panhard bar causing your rear axle to not sit properly. This makes for a bad ride on and off the road. Typically your panhard bar should almost be fully level but when lifted it cause a drastic angle. This can be fixed by having an eimkieth pan hard correction kit installed. Adjustable bars are also an option but they aren’t as nice as the correction kit imo. This does not need to be done with every lift but it is highly recommended.

Things to Consider After you lift:

• Wheels and tires can be daunting to figure out. “What size tire will fit on my lift?” “Will wheel offset be an issue?” “Will I rub?” All valid question that at this point you can find clear concise answers to online. A good place to look is always the company you’ve gotten your lift from.
• “Where am I most likely to rub when I upsized my tires after a lift?” Rubbing is a common problem people including myself encounter after a lift. For a 5th gen 4runner the key spots to think about are your body mounts, your pinch welds, and your mud flaps. The body mount is the most common part that needs altering to prevent rubbing. Most local skilled fabricators can cut and recap the Toyota body mount to help tires clear with no rub.
• Random noises and creaking. Your 4runner is no longer oem spec so it won’t sound oem. You’ll sometimes hear a squeak or a clicking sound which is completely normal and usually goes away or maintains the same sound.
• Your ride will be 100% up to what kind of lift you get. Don’t expect a spacer lift to ride like king coilovers. Not all lifts are equal so don’t expect them to be. Most lifts will have you ride slightly stiffer than oem so goodbye Cadillac feel. One way I found to make my ride smoother was removing my front sway bar. I added some body roll but it made it so I didn’t feel every bump in the road.

2. Big Rich (@bigtextrd)

Biggest Mistake to Avoid? I'd say probably the biggest mistake is a cheap strut tower spacer. Ie extended strut mount. It increases the angle of the upper control arm and changes the amount of travel you get out of your suspension. People also forget to align there vehicles afterwards. People also need to remember that alignment machines are set with factory suspension specs. If you take the car to a regular everyday shop, they might not have the experience to align the car properly after your lift.

Few things to consider:

• What kind of lift do you want. Westcott Designs pre load lift with new shock collars or full blow coil overs
• Quality of product. You get what you pay for. Do your research.
• With or without upper control arms
• Bigger tires?
• Quality mechanic for install or DIY
• Gooooood Alignment
• Willingness to cut up your 50k 4runner

3. Brandon (@yotasurf)

• Keep the lift size conservative better to spend the money on a good quality Suspension lift than cheap out.
• Invest in good tires with the lift, you don't need to go biggest size to compete, keep it modest.
• When lifting its always a good idea to upgrade "uca" upper control arms usually adjustable ones to dial your alignment in afterwards. Most folks seem to like spc uca.
• Upgrade those stock bumpstops to something aftermarket like Timbren, duro or Sumoprings. It makes a world of difference compared to the rock hard stock ones.

4. Kyle Jones (@drjones.t4r)

One of the biggest oversights for me was the amount of additional stress and wear that will be put on other stock suspension components, such as CV axles, tierods, and ball joints. If your vehicle is quite a bit older, like mine is, then go ahead and plan on replacing these parts when you lift it or shortly afterwards.

When picking out your lift kit, think about how much you actually offroad. If you have the money to spare, ignore this step and do what you want, but for those who need to save money where they can, this is for y’all. If you only off-road a handful of times a year and it’s also your daily driver, I’d recommend a kit in the $500-$1,000 range like Bilstein, Dobinson, or Old Man Emu. Kits in this price range are quality and will perform off-road while maintaining on road comfort and control.

If you offroad several times a month, then it will be worth it for you to fork over the extra cash to get a higher quality kit like King, Fox, or even some of Bilstein and Dobinson’s higher end products. These products are more purpose built for off-road use so while there is a big difference offroad in performance, it does sacrifice some on road mannerisms. That being said, it’s worth every penny if you intend on using it.

Finally, I would suggest researching your vehicle and potentially upgrading other suspension components such as control arms, trailing arms panhard bars, and such. The larger the lift the more components you have to extend, such as brake lines, AC lines, power steering, wiring harnesses, and so on, so that’s another factor to consider.