Duc Hunter

Over on toyota120 there are a few (they are probably here too) folks who have or are building to run 35?s. I was one of those people but I will be scaling back my expectations as I do not wheel in rocks etc enough, and my rig is my daily driver and on the street 95% of the time. Since moving to the south east from northern CA my wheeling terrain has changed too, which all needs to be taken into account. I do not have much experience with 3rd gens so this is from a 4th gen perspective. Keep in mind also that I was very close to selling my 4Runner and getting into an FJC, but backed out at the last minute because my 4Runner is more comfy, a rear bumper is now available, has a V8???? Also, my philosophy on building a rig is simple, build it as low as you can to accommodate the tires you NEED to not drag your under body parts everywhere on the trails you run often. My old FJ40 had 35? swampers, a leaf over and ran Rubicon regularly. I also built it in 1988 and it made Rubicon easy. It was one of the lowest cruisers I ever saw at the Rubithon event to run 35?s without rubbing, and that was often and advantage.

I LOVE my 4th gen, I like my girlfriends 3rd too. Both are great vehicles, so this is like splitting hairs, keep that in mind. I love the comfort and interior room in my rig better, esp. between my shoulders/head and the side windows of the rig. I also love my V8, and even though I have gone to 33? tires to-date, I do not lack for power. For 33? tires you can run spacers, like I have had for a long time, or real suspension lift with springs like the OME lift I am about to put in. Why switch? I am adding front and rear bumpers and need more weight carrying capacity after adding that weight and have found that spacer lifts do not work as well off-road as a spring lift. Even with 33? tires some report a little rubbing at full tweak. To your question, yes 4th gens can lift 3.5-4? in the suspension up front without hurting the cv angles. Also remember we start out lower than a 3rd gen, so in the end we do not wind up that much taller. To go over 33? we 4th gen?rs are doing body lifts up to 1.5?. This, and trimming the front body mount a-la FJC?s and bumpers (I would add after market bumpers) we can fit 34? tires. 35? tires are tough simply because the wheel wells are not open enough front-to-back to accommodate them well at full tweak. What is the point of a bigger tire if you need to extend your bump stops 2 inches to prevent it from going up into the wheel well and rubbing your body? IMHO ther is none. Apparently FJC?s have wheel wells large enough to fit 35?s without cutting the body as much as a 4Runnner. This may also be a little different with the 06- 4Runners as they went to more round wheel wells that may be bigger. I don?t know though, just a thought.

For suspension, to do it ?right? and get as close the 35? as you can I would recommend an OME lift (about 3.5 inches) from Slee Offroad so they pre-assemble them for you (~$1,000 out the door), a 1.5? body lift, front bumper of your choice (I have a shrockworks), the CBI rear bumper (only one available at this point), new upper control arms to keep your handling nice and tight like stock, cut the front body mount a-la an FJC and you will be as close as you can be. If you NEED 35? tires for your wheeling you would also want to get sliders, Bud Built skids for everything including your gas tank, a winch etc. You will have gone up from 30? tires to 35? tires though, so again if you are dong wheeling that NEEDS 35? tires you will want to do new diff gears (4.56 is all that is offered and perfect)?.while you are in there you should do an ARB airlocker too. When I look at this list though, much of it can be said for the 3rd gen as well, I believe.

All of this said most of the guys REALLY wheeling 4th gen?s have had great success with their 33? tires, and that greatly reduces the challenge of building a rig, vs. the effort of fitting 35? tires. You sacrifice what, 1 inch of ground clearance with a 33? over a 35?? A 3rd gen faces many of the same challenges (bumpers, body lift, gearing when going to 35? tires etc) and lacks the V8 option, less towing capacity, has less room in side, has fewer/older gen electronic aids. Don?t fool yourself, 03- 4Runners are vastly improved for the better over the 3rd gens for off-road application (and FJC?s even more than the 4th gen 4Runners). I see a 3rd gens advantages as being cheaper to purchase used, giving you more $$$ for improvements, they are smaller which can be an advantage at times, there seem to be more parts out there for them etc.

For me I always want to start with the newest vehicle with the best base I can as I tend to keep vehicles a long time. With more interior room, a quieter interior, a V8, a larger towing capacity, much larger brakes (mine is a limited).....and now that a rear bumper is available my choice would still be a 4th gen. I hope this helps a little?

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04 4Runner Limited V8, NV, SR, GY, RF, HP, P9, Z1, E5, XM Radio, BlueTooth Wireless, NE lift (4" ft, 3.5" rear), 285/70/17 (had 265/70's), SpiderTrax Spacers, K&N FIPK, Magnaflow CAT-Back