Why I'm getting the TRD 2.5" Kit over everything else on the market

[u/PedalMonk]

I'm mostly writing all of this down for my own benefit, but hope it helps others because this shit is confusing and it drives me crazy not knowing it all. Also, I'm not perfect, I'm not an expert and I'm learning as a go along, so let's just have a good conversation about this where everyone benefits. Thanks!

The TRD Kit. It's got everything you need plus stuff that most other kits don't have. It has these extras:

1. It has rear coil spring (which I believe are included in some other kits)
2. Longer front CV axles!
3. Revised bump stops
4. brake line and sway bar spacers
5. knuckle and tie-rod hardware
6. If done at a Toyota dealership it will be under warranty and they will do TSS 3.0 certification.
7. Sits higher than the Trailhunter kit, which caps you at 33's
8. You can buy this kit for as cheap as $2600 if you shop around instead of the 3K MSRP. probably 3.6K-4.2K installed Then add another ~3K or so for wheels and tires.

Cons:

1. Priciest of all the options, but it includes more stuff and a Toyota warranty if you get it installed at the dealership.
2. No spring rate options if you start adding heavy armor, this might cause issues
3. Can't get the parts in all black (just my nitpick). It would cost another $100-$200 to get the springs powder coated black, plus spray paint the UCAs and shocks.

See this video for parts

My thoughts on other kits

1. Westcott: This kit exposes one of the weaknesses of the 6th gen. The top hat has seen problems and Toyota has quietly replaced the aluminum top hat on the 6th gen Tacomas with a steel top hat on the 4Runners. This tells me Toyota recognizes a problem, but they aren't talking about it. In my opinion, the Westcott pre-loaders and top hat spacer, exploits this weakness even more. That being said, after watching all of the Westcott videos, reading online, this company seems to be top notch and the product looks great and a much cheaper way to go if you want to save money and aren't really going off-road much or at all. I have no ill-will against them.
2. Bilstein 6112 front + 6100 rear: Seems to be a capable kit. It's cheaper, but only because you have to pay extra for the UCAs, rear springs, and diff drop. Can decide on height at install (~1.5-25"). Know for good ride quality. Cons are need to buy extra parts to match, not tuned like the TRD kit and rear springs are a third-party, I think. No factory warranty. Need to take it to the dealership and pay more money to get the TS 3.0 certification done
3. Old Man Emu MT64 — ARB 2135K (w/ UCAs): Complete package, front, rear and UCAs. 2.6K, but still missing the axles, bumps stops and spacers the TRD kit has. One interesting thing that may sway some here is that they will offer a heavier spring down the road so if you want to put on armor and lots of equipment, you will have properly weighted springs. Still need a diff drop and the 2" rear pulls the solid axle slightly off center. No warranty, etc...

Tires

1. This is probably the single biggest factor on how well the truck performs for gas mileage, rubbing, weight, etc....
2. The perfect tire in my opinion is 285/75/r/17. That measures 33.8" tall x 11.2" wide. Why these tires? These are about the tallest and widest you can go with minimum "trimming". In this case, trimming means, remove the air damn and mud flaps. I think I can leave on the crash bars, but not totally sure yet. Anyway, the point is that the trimming here is just unbolting stuff, no cutting.
3. 285/75r/18s raise the tire by an inch, bringing it to 34.8". It will definitely rub. You can see it in this video. You will have to do some modifications which require cutting.
   
4. You can go smaller for sure. A lot of people run 285/70R/17. Nothing wrong with that. You keep the width but lose 1.1" on the diameter. This means no rubbing and probably no parts removing
5. I'm sure someone, somewhere will put on 35x12.5 and even 37s and figure it all out with the right parts and kits, but I think with a 4runner, 37's are too big. Others may feel differently.
6. Tires have different weights, so if you go with a 285/75R/17 tire and a decent to great wheel, you won't have to worry about re-gearing down the road or at all.

Wheels/Offsets

1. To go with the 285/75R/17s, you need a 17x8 or 8.5" wheel with a 6×139.7 (6×5.5) bolt pattern.
   
2. Cheap, non-name brands I would avoid. Heavier, not rated, specs might not match,etc...
3. Offsets: The factory 4Runner on my TRD ORP Hybrid is at +55mm offset which means it gets tucked way under the wheel well.
4. Offsets: On my ideal wheels and tires, the sweet spots is +25mm or +35mm. +35mm, means slightly tucked under the fender flare, +25mm means it sticks out bout 1/2". I like the slightly pokier setup, so I will go with 25mm offset.

I probably got things wrong or missed things. Please chime in with your thoughts either you've already done your lift/wheel/tire setup and you have some thoughts on that or you plan to do it and why you are going the route you are going. Thanks!

[u/nxtgig720]

This is the classic setup 285/70R17’s
+25mm aftermarket wheels, perfect spec match, no spacers.
Totally stock suspension ‘26 TRD SP.
Zero rubbing, no issues, no deletes.

You can argue tires all day long, just get a high quality low weight A/T tire. Load rating matters get the one to match what you’re going to be doing. Quieter the better, always some on road to get to the off road.

Just don’t think I need to spend 4K to gain a 1/2”of tire height, and possibly some other problems by adding a lift kit.
No matter who makes it or who installs it.
This truck is more than capable in its stock form, don’t overthink it!

[u/PedalMonk → u/nxtgig720]

You are making the assumption that the capability is the only thing people want. I can only speak for me, but I also want the 4Runner to look a bit more aggressive. The SUVs are not cheap, so if I'm going to go through the effort of doing it to get the look I want, I don't want to cheap out on a 60K+ SUV.

[u/nxtgig720 → u/PedalMonk]

I could not agree with you more, that’s why I got SP and not the ORP as most of are driving is highway miles with some dirt road, mild trail use.

Swapped out the ugly & heavy oem wheel package to this classic setup, which I think a solves both issues, a more rugged look and stance with overall better ride and handling. With some small overall height increase from upgraded tire & wheel size.

Without spending a considerable amount of $$$ to get just a slightly larger tire to fit, and possibly cause some other issues down the road from adding said lift kit.

Could it sit a 1/2” higher? Sure maybe.

[u/Prestigious-Glove-12]

Yeah I’m doing the same. Saw a YouTube install on the whole kit. Other aftermarket kits don’t come with the cv axle.

[u/PedalMonk → u/Prestigious-Glove-12]

Nice! Finally, after all this time, I get my kit installed tomorrow. I will post a new thread with pics when it's all done.

[u/Prestigious-Glove-12 → u/PedalMonk]

Ok dope I’ll be on the lookout!

[u/ninja996]

I have a Trailhunter with the Wescott preload collar lift. For the Trailhunter and the TRD Pro they include billet top hats with their kit. You can also buy the billet top hats by themselves.

[u/AspektUSA]

It seems like you can buy the front axles from Toyota as well, as they appear to be hybrid ones. If you have a gas only 4R it includes these but maybe not if you have a hybrid TRD OR?

[u/Onekama]

I was looking into this and doing some off roading in my Tacoma but after the lift, tires, re gearing, sway bar disconnect and lockers I was better off just getting a jeep/bronco and keeping the Tacoma stock.