trd6209

Looking at buying an 05 SR5 Sport 4WD on tuesday. I've been told that there is virtually no difference between the 04 and 05 but the cosmetic change to the grille. I see that the Xreas suspension is hard to change because there isn't any replacement so I won't be able to lift it very easily, but that's not too much of a consideration for me since I already have a 92 4WD that I can play with. I am just looking for some insights from others who maybe had wished that they knew something about it before they bought it. Anyone out there got an opinion?

DealMaker

Huge difference if you're looking at the V8's. The '05's have VVTI, which will give you 30-40 more horsepower, about 10 ft lbs. more torque, and supposably better MPG, though Toyota hasn't published any MPG figures. I decided to forego the wait for the '05's and bought mine 3 months ago when the dealers were blowing the '04's out.

kickaha

I wish I knew that there were so few aftermarket vendors for the 4Runner. There might be some hope now that the new Tacoma has come out and is mostly built on a 4Runner frame and suspension. I think the aftermarket market is missing a huge opportunity here.

r0cky

there are ways to lift out there, but at the moment you could only lift via spacers since you have XREAS. that said, the vvti looks like an awesome improvement (though even with the 03-04, the engine has a great amount of power) ...

kickaha

Well, I have a Nitrous Enterprises 4" lift in my living room waiting for me to get off my butt and install it. BTW, those are some "HUGE" rear spacers. If it weren't for NE, I would have probably already sold the thing. It's just depressing that other trucks have a boatload of products out within the first 6 months and the 4th-gen 4Runner still has barely anything after 2 years. Makes me wonder about the future of available mods for this truck.

Still though, I think that with about 120,000 vehicles a year sold, there might just be a market out there for an enterprising company. "Go where the other's aren't". The competition doesn't care about this market, so it's wide open for somone.

r0cky

oh man, Michael, just wait till you see what we have in store ...

EDGE

You want aftermarket buy an Explorer you wanna be different and cool sit back and relax eat some cheese and just be patient

kickaha

I want a capable off road vehicle that's not too big, not too small, and priced just right. I don't care if it's aftermarket or not. Nothing stock fits the bill. Nothing by Ford fits the bill. The 4Runner seems like a perfect mid-sized platform. It's just a little odd that so few manufacturers are jumping on it.