looking for lift kit. 91 4runner

[jayzus]

i got a 91 4runner 4x4 auto tranny.. and im looking to buy a lift kit.. any got some advice on where to look?

[elripster]

How high? What type of wheeling are you looking to do? You might search a bit but in summary

Free: Adjust torsion bars (1-1.5") Rear will sag, can fit 32's.
Cheap: Coil Spacers, Ball Joint Spacers, Body lift (1-2" susp, + 1-2" body) Can fit 33's.
Rather expensive: Bracket type of lift (4") can fit 33's or somewhat bigger.
Very expensive Solid axle swap 5+" (or less/more depends on lots of things)
Very expensive: Long travel a-arm kit.

As always, lockers make the biggest difference off road.

Frank

[slosurfer]

Yep, what he said.

First let us know what you need the lift for and type of wheeling, etc... Also, what size ture are you looking to run and what stance are you looking for (and I'm not talking about a Senator Craig "wide stance" :lol:)

[Robinhood4x4]

Hi Jesus, I got your PM, but I've been a bit busy lately. Basically, what the rest of the guys said. We need to know more info.

Welcome to UY.

[jayzus]

hmm yea.. ive heard about the lockers before.. well im looking to be running on some rather wide wheels.. since my rims are kinda wide and i dont have the money to get new rims and tires. although its probably cheaper.

[elripster]

Those rims look really offset. Clearly you don't want to mash the fenders. Do they tires hit now on compression? I have to be honest, you might consider selling them and getting something that doesn't stick out quite so far. It's not that you can work with it, but they will limit tire size and may or may not have other issues. I haven't used rims that stick out that far before.

Typically you want to size rims for the way you want to build the truck as opposed to building the truck to the rims.

Frank

[jayzus]

would you have any clue what size of rims i should look for with the right width also. cause i have had people tell me the same thing. and i do need to look into that.

[olharleyman]

would you have any clue what size of rims i should look for with the right width also. cause i have had people tell me the same thing. and i do need to look into that.

I have a 90 4runner and a 4" lift with 15 x 8 rims with 3.75 backspace and it looks right with 12.5 inch tires and no issues with turning or sticking out to far. Check my avtar you can see the look it gives if not let me know and I will post a couple shots so you can get an idea of how it looks.

By the way theres a dealer on e-bay called RIM-ZONE they sell American Racing wheels with the right bs and width 90 bucks apiece or 5 for 350

[jayzus]

olharley hey can u tell me the name of the seller.. im really interested in buying the rims. i tried searching for RIM-ZONE but i couldnt find that dealer. can u give me alittle more infor please?

[Robinhood4x4]

Hey Jesus, you still haven't answered the questions we need answered to help you.

1. Is the lift for show or for wheeling (either one is fine).
2. If this is for wheeling, what kind of wheeling?
3. What's the biggest tire you're trying to fit?

By the way, toyota's aren't the greatest for mudding, not enough power. They're better in the rocks.

[elripster]

Answering those questions would also help guide you in purchasing rims. I had 15X12.5' with 3.75" backspacing on my 89 4runner and they look/worked will with 33X12.5 tires. I have stock rims on my current truck and they are working well. Stock is very cheap, where the others are not so. I could foresee going with a taller but not so wide tire and keeping the stock rims. That requires less lift which is good.


Frank

[Cebby]

Answering those questions would also help guide you in purchasing rims. I had 15X12.5' with 3.75" backspacing on my 89 4runner and they look/worked will with 33X12.5 tires. I have stock rims on my current truck and they are working well. Stock is very cheap, where the others are not so. I could foresee going with a taller but not so wide tire and keeping the stock rims. That requires less lift which is good.


Frank


Frank - you ran 12.5"w wheels with 12.5"w tires? That's a little unusual. While most 12.5" wide tires recommend a 10"w wheel, most have good results with 8"w wheels.

[elripster]

Oops, typo big time, 8" wheels, 12.5" tires.

Yeah, 12.5" wide wheels would not be good.

Frank

[jayzus]

Well i came across a good deal on some American racing rimes.. 15x8 im thinking thats what im gonna be running.. the car wont all be for show.. little of both.. show and wheeling. so i hope i get the best set up , just bought an HID conversion kit for my head lights.. ill post pictures later. when they come in. also in the process of buying a two peice cold air intake.. with a k&N filter. post pics on that too when they come in

[04 Rocko Taco]

Jayzus, you have a really hard time answering questions huh? Go back and re-read Steve's post.
3 questions....they are numbered 1-3...

try sitting down thinking them out and answering all three..... in order, maybe even number them so we can help you out, otherwise your just blabbing on and on and not getting any of the real information you need.

[jayzus]

ha.. ok ok i got this.. lol
Questions:

1. Is the lift for show or for wheeling (either one is fine).
A. alittle of both, mostly somewhat show
2. If this is for wheeling, what kind of wheeling?
A. not all that much.. just enough to where i put my tires to good use
3. What's the biggest tire you're trying to fit?
A. biggest tire.. 33's

[04 Rocko Taco]

See now we are getting somewhere.

CHEAP - If your not going to wheel it much and are not overly concerned with extra travel and flex, just put a 2-3" Body Lift on it and call it a day.

MEDIUM - Coil Spacers. They are not frowned on as much as the Body Lifts, but won't net you much travel or flex either, but do technically count as a suspension lift.

BETTER MEDIUM - OME Springs and Shocks. They make a great lift and will give you some better flex and a little more travel.

EXSPENSIVE - Coilovers. Hella great lift, hella grea travel, hella great flex.

EX$PEN$IVE $$ - Long Travel that SOB. You can search around for this stuff, but Im not going to mention much because I think its WAY out of what you are looking for.

Personally, I would look at coil spacers, or OME's if I was going to wheel say...30% of the time. If more than 70% of your driving is on the street, look at Body Lifts, and the Spacer Lifts.

[Robinhood4x4]

Nah, he's got a 91. No coilovers and no spacers. The equivalent to spacers are to crank the t-bars.

[Robinhood4x4]

Jesus, for your purposes I'd go with cranking the tbars, a 1.5" spacer lift in the rear and a 1-2 inch body lift.

For a little better off road performance, you could go with the sdori ball joint spacers and the downey 1.5" HD coils for the rear and no body lift.

Both of those options will fit 33x12.5, although the second option will require a little pounding of the sheetmetal for clearance.

The next step up would be a 4" bracket style lift like Superlift etc. That will fit 35" tires.

[jayzus]

ok if i was to get some OME shocks and springs.. that would be like getting the whole suspension lift right.. because i can get a coil spacer. or a 1.5" body lift.. but eventually i want to be able to go way offroad and be worry free. also i dont think ill be getting tires bigger than 33's so i want something good but not all hardcore

[Robinhood4x4]

Slow down dude. Re-read what I said. You don't have coil overs.

By the way, a suspension lift helps but doesn't give nearly the performance gains that lockers do. But lockers aren't sexy because nobody will know you have them unless you actually go off road.

[elripster]

How much do you want to spend? You'll need to save money to regear with 33's.

If show is what you are after, get a 4" bracket style lift with 33's. It will look good. Having had that style of lift I wouldn't wheel very hard with it but it will make your truck tall.

Frank

[jayzus]

well .. i do need to get some lockers because last time i got stuck .. 2 of my 4 tires were spinning and a girl found that pretty funny. considering we were stuck!

[elripster]

Ok, well lets start with you want 33's.

You don't need much lift at all. If you go with narrower 33's like 9.5" wide you could fit them on stock rims with no lift. Otherwise, a small body lift combined with a 1-2" suspension lift is good.

You need to search on lockers. There are different kinds with different price tags. Each has benefits and draw backs. It would take too long to retype it all here.

If you have the auto, you'll need 5.71 gears for 33's, if you have a 5 speed, 4.88's will be fine.

How much dough are you looking to drop? Gears/lockers, which need to be done at the same time, are a good chunk of change. Get some quotes form local shops.

Frank

[jayzus]

awsome.. i dont really know what the ratios in numbers mean with the 4.88, yes i do have an auto trany. there is acutally a place called extreme offroad near by. i will go by and get some price tags for gears,lockers, lift kits. and body lift.

[Robinhood4x4]

If you go with narrower 33's like 9.5" wide you could fit them on stock rims with no lift.

If you have the auto, you'll need 5.71 gears for 33's, if you have a 5 speed, 4.88's will be fine.


When I had IFS I just cranked my tbars a little and didn't have any rubbing with my 33x10.5. And if he's not really going to take it off road much, I bet they'd work fine with no lift.

I think you mean 5.29s with 33s, that gets you back to stock ratios and it's what I normally recommend for autos.

[jayzus]

Well im looking into getting the American Racing rims. 15x8 and then from there choose the best tire. how would i crank up my Tbars?

[elripster]

I would personally go with 5.71's with the auto. The stock gears in trucks with 31's was 4.88's for the auto tranny. 5.29s would work well for 32's and 5.71's for 33's. Otherwise, OD will be hard to hold.

The 5 speed OD is .85:1 where the auto is .71:1. That's a 20% difference. If 4.88's work well for the 5 speed, 5.71's is as good as it is going to get for the auto at around a 17% difference. 3$ lower would actually be even better but is not of course practical.


Frank