Yesterday a group of us headed out to an area called Hidden Valley near Klamath Falls Oregon. We had a pretty good time. Lots of trails there with a mixture of rocks and deeeep ruts. I must say though that my front Bilstein shocks didn't care to much for the rocky sections. They were kinda bouncy but I guess ok but the Pro Comp ES6000 I had on my 3rd gen 4runner were much better in the rough stuff. Anyone have any recommendations on what to upgrade to? It has a 2in. Spacer lift that I would mind chucking in favor of some taller coils. I was thinking OME anyone running those on there '05+ Taco's.

 

I would guess the reason that it's so bouncy is because of the spacer lift. I had spacers on my old '99 Runner for a month or so and it definitely seemed much more prone to bouncing.

That's really all I have to offer, I just got my '07 Taco about 2 months ago and I have taken it off-road once, it was minor but there were definitely some rocks and I didn't notice any bouncing that seemed out of the ordinary.

Just my $.02,

Fink

 

Yeah it probably is the spacers huh. I didn't think 'bout that.

 

yeah, definitely the spacers. a friend of mine has spacers on his 98 4runner, and it's noticably "bouncier" than my 98 4runner w/o spacers. but you should go for the coil lift...just my 2 cents.

 

There were two reasons I swapped out the spacers for my coil lift on my Runner. One...CV's were bleeding grease daily. Two...the ride quality suffered quite a bit, more bouncy and just overall not as smooth.

Fink

 

I have new bilsteins on my stock 2000 4Runner and they SUCK...at least the front ones do....I do not even feel like I have shocks on the front anymore....I am ready to go back to the Tokicos that came on my Runner.

I drove a new Xterra that drove tons better than my 4Runner does now.

 

The Bilsteins are not the highest quality that the company has to offer. They are pretty much just for poseur factor.

 

I am editing this post because I misunderstood that 4Mogger was talking about the TRD Bilsteins.

 

Lots of people have complained about the TRD Bilsteins. Words like sloppy, spongy, bouncy and ty all come to mind. Indeed, you are going to see a bouncier ride with the spacer lift, but the Bilsteins certainly won't help.

I've got the OME N140S up front, and I like them a lot better. Much more control. Bilstein has some aftermarket shocks (5100's maybe?) that do pretty well as another option. Or you could go nuts and get a racing coilover.....

 

Jacket, do you have the OME coils too? Also is it your truck that has the soft canopy? If so what brand is it?

 

first time i've been on here in a while. anyway, ome's are definatley the way to go if u dont want to spend $1000 on donahoe coilovers. there are 3 different types of coils that we can use on the 05's that are from ome. i think they are all the same price. i got the 885 coils because i have a double cab, and they recommend it for the full 3 inch lift. 884's are mainly used on reg. cabs and access cabs. 886's are if ur gonna get a bumper and winch combo up front. i dont have any aftermarket struts or shocks in the back, but the ride isn't that bad to me, i am definatley in the market for new extended rear shocks, but they are very pricey.

 

Hmmm.... interesting I thought Bilsteins were supposed to be the shiznet for Toyota's... I had Rancho 5000s on my 87 and they were great, if a little firm... I'm going to be in the market for some new shocks for my 94 soon any ideas with regard to bilsteins?

 

I've got the OME 886's up front (replaced the 885's when I got the bumper and winch). The 885's rode better, and paired with the front Nitrochargers, it was a really nice setup. I've got an AAL in the back, so its a bit rough, even with the rear Nitrochargers.

The softop I have is the Bestop. I've been really happy with it so far. It's non-weight bearing, but works very well as a lightweight, (mostly) weatherproof topper that I can fold down or remove in minutes.

 

The complaints are with the Toyota Bilsteins, not Bilsteins in general. I think the aftermarket stuff is much better quality.

 

I can't speak for the Tacos...but the ones for the 4Runner (aftermarket) Suck! At least the fronts!

 

Which Bils did you get? BE5-2450 HD?

 

Yes...that's them, very bouncey, poor control, and dive into every turn. My OEM Tokicos....with 85K miles were better.

Sorry, you asked me once before and I never got back to you...

 

No problem. I replaced my shot OEM with the same. To me they gave better control with much less nose dive and lean, but the ride suffers on rutted stuff (hwy concrete and going slow on rutted dirt roads). I am thinking of going with a set of Trekmasters.

 

Let me know what you think about the Trekmasters. I use an independent Toyota mechanic who recommended KYB shocks for 4runners.

 

I thought people on here had bad experience with those but I guess it depends on model.