Suspension Upgrade & Tire Choice for 5th Gen 4Runner TRD Pro

[jondoe1482]

I've got a 2016 4Runner TRD Pro with over 50K miles on it, and tires are wearing out, looking at upgrading suspension and getting new tires. Right now, I've just got a Gobi Rack and steel sliders on it, but looking at probable additional add ons in the near future, including winch and front bumper, possible skids and rear bumper. Wanted to poll the audience for tire choice. Looks like I'm going Radflo suspension all around with SPC UCA's and 2" medium coils in the rear. I've got TRD Pro wheels and stock P265/70r17 (31.7x10.7", around 45 lbs) Nitto Grapplers at the moment. I'd like to fit a larger tire after the lift. However, the 285's are technically out of spec for these wheels and I'm not real keen on changing the wheels right now. I'd like to stick with all terrains as this is mostly a DD with occasional overland style camping trips loaded down with family and gear. I've narrowed it down to 2 options:
LT275/70r17 Falken Wild Peak AT3 (C load range, 114S C1 BSW , 32.4x10.8", 57.1 lbs) (this is one of the few AT's in this size with C load range)
LT255/80r17 Nitto Ridge Grappler (E load range, 121/118Q, 33.3x10", 55 lbs)

Kinda leaning towards the 255's, though I don't need an E load tire, as this gets me some extra height. A little worried about the road ride roughness, though I don't think it will be a big deal. I will have to do a body mount chop and some fender plastic trimming vs probably nothing with the 275's. What do yall think?

Thanks in advance

 

[Grendel Kahn]

Why are you going with Radflo over king, OME, etc? My wife has a 2018PRO and is looking to upgrade her suspension (I'm also looking for my Tundra) and has a similar set-up.

 

[jondoe1482]

Why are you going with Radflo over king, OME, etc? My wife has a 2018PRO and is looking to upgrade her suspension (I'm also looking for my Tundra) and has a similar set-up.

There's no definitive reason, but the shop I've been talking with recommends Radflo's over those other brands. I think all those options are good. Radflo sounds like they have better customer service (heard of some issues with Icon & King in this respect). The Radflo's are built in the US and supposed to have a great ride on & off-road, high-quality, rebuildable (can be a downside, waiting on rebuild time). They have seen more failures with the other brands. Road ride supposed to be more rough with Icon's digressive setup. I don't have any personal experience, so this is all hearsay. Just my personal decision process.

 

[Grendel Kahn]

There's no definitive reason, but the shop I've been talking with recommends Radflo's over those other brands. I think all those options are good. Radflo sounds like they have better customer service (heard of some issues with Icon & King in this respect). The Radflo's are built in the US and supposed to have a great ride on & off-road, high-quality, rebuildable (can be a downside, waiting on rebuild time). They have seen more failures with the other brands. Road ride supposed to be more rough with Icon's digressive setup. I don't have any personal experience, so this is all hearsay. Just my personal decision process.

Thanks for the response. I have heard little about them. I will have to look into them for the 4runner and Tundra.

 

[phsycle]

255’s will be fine but I wouldn’t go narrower than that, personally.

Do you need 33’s? Going bigger tires, adding all that armor, you’ll probably want to regear eventually. That’s a lot of weight to add.

I’d probably opt for the 275/70/17’s but I don’t know the trails you’ll be on. Wouldn’t even bother with a lift with that size, either.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Lift does not guarantee you can run a larger than stock size tire unless you limit uptravel, which would defeat the point of high Dollar suspension. I run a pretty pedestrian extended travel 2.5 IFP FOX suspension and 265/75R16 tires that don't quite rub at full stuff or steering lock. A 33" would require a cab mount chop to clear, so it's a budgetary priority issue. I previously ran 235/85R16 hoping I'd get around to doing the mod but they wore out before I could so I had to punt for another cycle instead of going 255/85R16 like I wanted. Honestly, at this point I'm starting to think sticking with the size I have now will make sense so I might never go to 33" tires.

BTW, when you make the step up to "good" suspension figure in periodic rebuilds. Depending on use it might be anywhere from 10K to 50K intervals where you have at least discharge, change the oil and recharge them. It's not a bad idea to do new seals then, too. It's more the time to do it than expensive.

 

[Tex68w]

You will likely need a BMC if running 33's, it really just depends on the actual tire size and wheel offset. My recommendations, avoid Icon suspension and if sticking with the stock TRD Pro wheels I'd suggest adding some wheel spacers. A narrower tire combined with a skinny wheel and a lift is going to narrow your track width from stock. Odds are you'll need the BMC if adding the wheel spacers so you might as well factor that in to the build.

I ran 275's on the stock TRD Pro wheels with a 1.5" lift both with and without wheel spacers and I just barely got by without a BMC. I was planning to move to a 2.5" lift and 285/75's prior to trading it in on a GX and the BMC and aftermarket wheels were going to be a necessity. The 255's would be my choice if you see yourself not being happy with the shorter 275's. I can tell you that while I tackled nearly everything I wanted with 275's I was always longing for a bigger tire. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Watt maker]

You’re going to probably end up with a million different opinions but I would go with the Ridge Grappler 255’s, the SPC upper arms and the shocks of your choice. I’ve personally never ran Radflo’s but I know a few who do and they seem to like them. The TRDP wheels are perfect for them. I would skip the spacers, it’s another potential failure point and they will most likely make the tires rub. The TRDP wheels stick out about a half inch further than the regular 5th gen wheels anyway. I run the Ridge Grapplers (285’s) and Icons on our 5th gen 4runner and that setup works really well. No complaints with either. I run 255’s on my 4th gen 4runner and they’re about the tallest you can run without trimming the cab mounts and possibly more modifications, plus it still fits in the stock spare tire location.