CraZyRunner

I was just wondering about how many people on here has the sas conversion. Also about how much did it cost for you? And is it worth the money?

6lug

everybody on here is going to tell you that if you have to ask, you dont need a SAS. I dont have one, but would love to. Good Luck.

tc

I would run the IFS until IT becomes the limitation of what you can wheel - which is probably not going to happen for ost of us. Once you go SAS, you are looking at dramatically reducing the performance of the truck on the road. To make it worth it, you will be running 35's-40's, locked both ends, probably a crawler,...

The truck in the 5th and 8th pix from the top is IFS with 32's and ARB's.
http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25650

I took the 8th pic standing with my feet about 1' over the spotter (who is 6'-1") head. The truck was darn near vertical!

Swissdrums

Are you rock crawling?

If not, then there is no need. I would prefer a pre-runner style anyway.
If your not satisfied w/ ur IFS and you want something better but dont do hardcore rock crawling, then get the total chaos Ifs thing or the Camburg Ifs systems.

Ric

AMEN

irott

Toyota's IFS is one of the strongest built, but as with everything else used in offroading, it can only take so much.

Lockers and tires are much more important for offroading than flex. Its all about the traction.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Lots of SAS stuff on here. You can more than ample reading and insight by using the fantastic "search" feature and typing in "SAS". Happy reading.

irott

Also an SAS can take care of that pesky clearance problem when swaping in diesels and V8s.

JHupp

Not to try to discredit you or anything, but how is an SA up front dramatically reducing on road performance? I know that the truck will be taller with a lift, but you would assume wider rims, and tires to give it some stability. Also if the gearing is correct it shouldnt be bad either. For work, I had an f150 IFS and now an f250 SA up front and in the rear. It honestly doesnt ride much worse than the 150 on road,(no where near a car, but still not bad). I have stock springs up front, and they are fairly stiff, with it being a 3/4 ton truck and all. I have also driven older broncos, which we use as beaters on my buddy's farm, and they hold up fine for the run into town, they usually have 6" typical lift. With so many full size pickups and Wranglers being SA up front, is it really that bad on road if done right(gears, wider stance, etc.) I would gladly use my 250 as a daily driver, if gas werent so expensive. Just wondering, I often miss a lot of stuff, I am still new to all of this.

Elvota

I recently put a SAS in my 4Runner, swapping the rear coils to leafs at the same time.

It does ride more "aggresively" on the street. A bit stiffer, more truck like. Personally, I like it and expected the new ride with the swap. PLus, I don't get cut off anymore and merging is easier.

Works much better than IFS off road at low speed. Very bullet proof and lots of articualtion. Lockers help a lot with IFS, lockers with SAS is just another level. A very good level.

Other SAS pluses: you can change your oil without having everything pour over your front diff, you can drop your oil pan, you can get to many engine accesories that were hard to even reach with IFS, the fuel filter has no torsion bars in the way and your dog can walk easily under the truck.

Basically, a SAS is a lot of work and costs a good deal of money. You'll have to add for re-gearing, locker(s), armor, bigger tires, less MPG etc... which all add up. I am very glad I did mine. I learned a ton, have a truck that I built and can go many more places without effort. By the time I start to struggle off road now, I am really in some heavy stuff.

I will agree with other comments, wheel your IFS until it limits where you can go, or you get tired of repairing it should it start to fail. That is what I did my my '90 IFS Toy pickup before this one. Also take a look at how often and where you want to use the truck.

.... and search "SAS" everywhere. I researched the project for over a year. There is a lot to learn.

tc

Sorry, I probably wasn't real clear about what I meant. Once you commit to SAS, IMHO, you need to build it to run the trails that will require the extra flex - trails that you couldn't do with IFS (Billings/21 Road, Buena Vista Carnage, Upper Helldorado). I recommend that people considering SAS should really be looking if you need to build a buggy.

The difference is not so much from the solid axle itself (although the increase in unsprung weight is significant), but all the stuff you do at the same time to progress to this level of trail difficulty - big tires, soft/flexy springs & shocks, lift, gears, crawler, rollcage, etc. For 4Runners, you need to plan what you're going to do with the glass - the trails we're talking about are hungry for rear glass.

I am certainly no SFA expert, however, I have had the opportunity to compare two otherwise identical 4Runners. Mine is a HELLUVA lot better on the road that Lysmachia's, hers is a helluva lot better off road. That's not say hers is bad on the road, but it definitely requires 100% attention all the time.

I had a long travel setup on my last truck...Man I miss that thing...

anthony1

iTrader: (1)

Like some have said, SAS is not for everyone. Cost? It depends on you resources. You can hire someone to do it, it'll be about 1000 or more plus parts. The more resourseful you are, the cheaper it'll be. Is it worth it? .....The first time you go out with the conversion, it is.

Having said that, only you can tell if it's the right thing for you. Find someone with SAS in your area and go for a ride in it. Maybe drive it a little if they let you. That'll help you to see if that's what you want. Most people have another mode of transportation for work.

Most people that have done SAS will tell you that they didn't say "I want to go 4wheeling...let's do SAS". They wheel with what they have, learn as they go, and do mods to get there. I think the learning process is priceless.

Robinhood150

Yeah, but lysmachia still got the relatively stock links in the rear, thus her continuous complaints about being tippy. That's a known problem with keeping the links and not going either leafs or custom links. I don't think hers is a good baseline to judge.

Elvota

I will say, I went with leafs in the back of my 4Runner because I didn't want the coils/ factory link set-up that high for various reasons. My setup handles very well in regards to body roll on road, and is much simpler with a ton off flex offroad.

Only have to buy the leaves and spring hangers to convert the back. But there is a lot of labor to remove all the factory coil spring components. The bulk of the cost was for the front end.

tc

Point well made, Robinhood, but that's just that much more work to add to the "while you're at it" list.

Personally, I think MOST of her current tippy problems are due to the completely dearched POS AllPro springs in the front.

TRD Runner

I plan on doing a SAS hopefully soon. I had concerns about the rear coils on mine to keep a 4 link rear or swap to leafs. If I keep the 4 link I'll have to run new link bars cause I plan on going up a few more inches(about 7"). would it still be better to go to leafs or stay with the 4 link???

6lug

tc...you say it adds a lot of unsprung weight to add a front axle....is it not comparable to the IFS you just removed?

tc

Maybe I have my terminology backwards ... always confusing sprung/unsprung. LOL

I mean the moving parts "below" the springs that will have to respond to bumps. In a solid axle, you have the whole thing - including the diff and driveshaft - moving. In an IFS, you just have the control arms and CV joints - the diff is connecte to the frame. The solid axle weighs a HELLUVA lot more than the control arms and CV joints!

masterwacker

I am in the midst of rebuilding my axle and will have the swap doen in the next week or so, sky front and marlin rear. All together parts total is about $2800. Keep in mind that I work at 4wheel parts so I can get a lot of stuff cheap. tc said right... wheel with what you have until it isn't enough then mod, whatever that might be is entirely up to you