SteveD0603

Been a member for a while, but new to posting. I have a '97 4WD SR5 4Runner that I need to refresh the lift on and I'm in need of some advice. My funds are fairly limited. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Current set-up:
Good set of Sway-A-Way Racerunners with Tundra valving and updated longer coils set at about 2 to 2.5 inches of lift. Keeping these.
Downey springs and worn out Bilsteins out back that I need to replace (too soft).
Diff. drop installed already.
Longer ss brake line ready to install, as well.
Front & rear urethane sway bar bushing kits (not on yet).
Steering rack urethane bushings

Sonoran Steel recommended OME 890's and N86 shocks, along with the adjustable trac bar and Daystar bump stops. Anyone have this OME combination? I want a nice, fairly stiff suspension and I don't have a heavy bumper and don't always carry a load, but do sometimes.

Some alternatives & extras I'm thinking on:
Sonoran's weld-on drop bracket for the pan hard bar vs the adjustable trac bar.
Spring cones supplied with my factory rear suspension recall from a few years ago in place of the Daystar rear bump stop kit.
Thanks for any help in advance!

MTL_4runner

Steve, you PM'd me, but I thought I would post the answer since it may help others going through the same thing later.

I decided to go with an all OME setup so when choosing the springs, I was told on Yotatech at the time that the 881's and 890s would be a good combo if you wanted to sit fairly level. The problem is that in reality the combo only sits level with a spacer up front. Now I use mine about 95% as a daily driver and so I was worried about the issues with CV angles. So I decided to not use any spacers up front because I also didn't want to be forced to use a diff drop either. So the 881's up front gave me about 1.25" over stock (fender to ground was at 36.25") after settling. Now in the rear I started with OME 890's but even after settling they still gave me more rake than I wanted and I was worried too much rake would affect my gas mileage. The 890's gave me about 2.5" over stock (fender to ground was about 37.5" after settling) or about 1.25" of rake front to back. I had two options; first, raise the front to match the rear or second, vice versa. Since I didn't want to deal with CVs, I was still running stock P265/70R16 tires, I didn't want to have to purchase anything to keep the geometry on the panhard bar correct and the cost for parts to raise the front was getting to be alot higher than just buying new rear springs, I chose to just lower the rear. With the 890's and a stock panhard setup, you could visibly see that the wheel on the driver's side stuck out to the side farther than the passenger side, but with the 906's it is barely noticeable even when using a plumb bob.

So I started looking at the next lowest spring from OME and what I came up with was the OME906 coil. I have since installed them and they are perfect for what I wanted. They gave me about 1.5" over stock (fender to ground was now 36.5" after settling) and my rake was reduced to only 0.25-0.5" which actually did give me back 99.9% of my stock gas mileage. So the long and the short of it is if you want a very mild lift (the amount of lift you'll get will vary depending on what year 4runner you have since different years had different starting ride heights and also some years overlap so you just need to measure yours to ensure where you stand) go with the 906's, but if you're looking to go up in tire sizes, I'd suggest the OME890 would be a better choice.

Stock ride heights:
96-98 = 35"
99 = 36"
00-02 = 34"

Given what you mention above (stiff suspension, already have a diff drop, longer brake line, etc) I would go ahead and get the 890's and the N86 shocks because you won't need to crank the SAWs up too badly to sit pretty level. You should definately do something with the panhard in the rear (bracket or lengthened bar will fix the issue). Leave the rubber cones in the springs (or you'll lose height) and just cut off 2 of the "pucks" and run some airbags if you need to carry any decent weight in the rear.

SteveD0603

Hey Jamie, I really appreciate the excellent reply here! This is exactly the advice I've been looking for! It cleared up a lot for me. I do have a couple of questions though. First, what are the "pucks"? Is that the rubber on the stock bump stops? I had actually done that before I got the suspension recall done. They put new ones on that seem OK, though. SHould I still cut them or buy the expensive one Steve sells? Also, I immediately came home and installed my lift after getting the recall done. I just wanted the updated parts in case I ever sold the truck. So, I have no idea how the cones go in the springs. Can't remember whether they fit on top or on bottom. Pretty elementary, I know. But that was several years ago. Hind site tells me I should have left them in with the Downey springs! Oh yeah, do you not think the 890s will be stiff enough for loads without airbags?

Thanks again. This is awesome!

MTL_4runner

No problem and here's a pic to answer your questions on the stock cone bumpers. When I say "pucks" I just mean sections of the conical bumpers. You can't run airbags with the bumpers at full height, usually you need to cut 2 of them off to give the airbags enough room to work properly.



Last, I don't know how much weight you're carrying so I'd only install the airbags (they go inside the rear coil springs) if you're carrying over 400-500lbs on a regular basis. I'd install the new suspension first and then let everything settle.....once it all reaches final ride height you can decide if you need airbags or not.

SteveD0603

OK, got it about the "pucks". Very rarely would I ever carry that kind of weight, so sounds like the 890's are gonna work just fine. Thanks again for all this awesome information Jamie! Great pics, too! I checked the thread on suspension for newbies last night, but I could not have had the questions for my situation answered like this in that thread. This is just what the doctor ordered! I'm a transplant from 4X4Wire. Seems like everybody has shifted over to this forum. Not much activity on that one theses days, it seems.

MTL_4runner

No prob at all Steve, just post up some pics when you get the stuff installed. We like the before, after and install pics, but any of the above would be great to see.

SteveD0603

Okay, will do Jamie!