There was this thread a while back that some dude was talking about people throwing around unfounded/biased opinions on stuff like lockrights vs ARB's, budget builds vs non budget builds, etc...it was kinda funny, you should see if you can find it, it was a good read.

I will avoid the budget/non budget argument since I apparently LIKE masterbation...

When you have a mostly stock truck, it is really tough to guage what you should be doing. I am a big fan of the "wheel it, learn why you need what you think you want, and modify it to do what you can't do currently" argument.
Telling someone to get a locker for the IFS front end and a lift for the IFS front end is great...until they realize that they DO need an SAS and that is all money that you can't really get back. Sure you can sell it, etc, but you don't make as much back as you paid. Was it worth it to spend the money and time to do that to the front end only to cut it off? I would say no. However on the other side of the coin, what if you say, "definitely SAS it, it is worth it" then the person never wheels hard trails?

If you are wondering whether or not you would like to SAS, spend money on stuff for your truck that DOESN'T affect the front end like sliders, tires, a rear locker, bumpers, maybe even a crawler if you feel the need, and wheel the piss out of it. Once you have wheeled it for a while, look at it and decide if you want/need the SAS or not.

 

Yeah, it was a damn good read!


Hey, who doesn't?

 

I don't. Cause in the end you've just ˟˟˟˟˟˟ed yourself.

 

More words of wisdom...I almost want to put that in my sig. So very true.

 

Having wheeled both SFA and IFS, I agree with Heath:

It doesn't get any more complicated than that, as far as I am concerned.

 

Right on! I have a double locked IFS truck and I've gotten myself into trouble a couple of times. Enough that I've had to do fiberglass repairs on my WilderNest. I have no interest in destroying my truck completely, so an SFA isn't interesting to me. My reason for posting is mainly to point out that while it might seem like a lot of people are doing SAS, there are tons more people who don't post and are just out wheeling their trucks. Drive it as it is and if you break the IFS, then maybe consider a SAS. Toyota's IFS is just fine and plenty rugged, if a bit travel limited, particularly in torsion form. If anything, taking it easy and learning to wheel with IFS will make you a much better driver in the end anyway. A stock IFS Toyota with a level headed driver and a good spotter will get through some serious stuff.

 

33" tires, nothing broken.....You don't want to SAS.

When you go to a SAS, you are really committing yourself to working on your rig by yourself, so you really need to know what your doing, as well as have the skills to fix things by yourself when they break. SASing a rig is not easy, and takes a considerable amount of time and money to get it done right. On the later models, it becomes even more complicated with the electronics. I'm consulting others on their 3rd gen SAS jobs, and its not an easy task.

When you start breaking multiple axles, running 35+ tires and are hitting trails such as Pritchett, having a SAS will give you peace of mind on the trail and ensure that you can get home. I have broken stronger ORS half shafts with very little stress put on them. It really comes down to how many axles you are breaking, and if you have the skills to do the work yourself. If you don't, I would not venture into that just yet.

 

I agree with all this but what do electronics have to do with a SAS? I dont recall touching anything electronic at all. Brakes, power steering, driveshafts and suspension should be about it..not rocket science

 

 

It would probably be cheaper to buy a already SASed "unit"
The problem is we become attached to these "little" yotas and spend more money than we should. It would be cheaper if we bought someone else's project that was 3/4's done. My advice would be: A.Wheel what you got.
or B.Find a trail rig.
If you dd your rig and you have half a brain you won't have nearly the fun in it as you would a dedicated trail rig. The fun factor explodes when you get the dedicated trail rig,if something happens you still have a rid eto work.
Hope this helps.

 

gotta agree there. My rig is a daily driver. I commute about 90 miles a day. This has made me take the more costly route, and overbuild the components I have on it for redundancy. If I had a dedicated trail rig, I wouldn't worry so much about breaking parts. But, since I don't have any money trees in my yard, I have to deal with what I have, and make the best of it.

 

Same here, I'm still working on my sas and it's my only vehicle. Luckily I have friends that let me borrow their vehicles to fetch parts, and I live across the street from where I work. I've been spending a lot more money than planned, to overbuild so that when it's finished I don't have any huge part failures....

But it's still worth it!

 

Yeah it is. I just adjusted my suspension again, and I think I may have the lowest 4Runner on the block with 37" tires. I'll have to get out there and do some measurements, but its pretty darn low.

 

PICS?!?!?!

you must've dropped it a TON. That is sweet. But you seriously cannot leave us hanging without pics. That isn't cool.

 

It felt a little strange when I got the plasma out and started cutting, you definitely can't go back!

 

Yeah, I'll have some pretty quick here. I've been home all week sick. My allergies have turned into asthma, which is affecting my oxygen to my body. Not fun at all. So, in my rest time, I've been working on updating my website. I'll get some pics up pretty quick here. Actually, instead of hi-jacking this thread, maybe I'll just update my Profile thread.

 

Here ya go Axle. I updated my entire site, and I have comparison pictures. I started a new thread to show it.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...0#post50514280

 

Hmm...

Alot of people have very good points. Although I'd like to point one out from a futuristic angle. What would you like your rig to be able to do in the future? If all you do is light trails, sand, muddin and don't need the flex of a SFA then by all means, beaf up your IFS and roll with it. Nobody's saying an IFS can't be a wheeler. But, if your goal is to continue improving your wheeling experiences and to be able to eventually go up the gnarly stuff, well, I may suggest going for the SAS now. Get it out of the way. A SFA isn't all about who can flex more, or which looks cooler. Yes a SFA will will flex more, but that's the point....you have both tires on the ground for twice as much traction. Or you have both tires on the ground...one on top of a rock, the other way down squished between to others. Again, you have the traction of both tires, and you're grounded. The guy's I go wheelin with I have never seen either of them with a tire off the ground going through trails.

I think a good question you just have to ask yourself is "What do I ultimately want my rig to be able to do?"





I'm partial to the SFA. I have an IFS right now too, but you can bet your butt the minute I have money for a good SAS setup, it'll be out of there.

 

Just my .02. But you can wheel the IFS really hard. The guys I wheel with all have solid axles on there Jeeps and Sami's and have a hard time believing that I am able to keep up with my IFS. I believe a little lift, decent tire's, and atleast a rear locker you can go places, alot of places. Of coarse I don't worry about body damage, and the truck is my daily driver.
Like someone else said, decide how hard you want to wheel it and then go from there. I have broken my share of gears and cv's, but I just find the guys that are selling there IFS stuff and pick up my replacement parts dirt cheap.