Fox 2.0 Suspension Upgrade
I got a suspension upgrade for the 4Runner a while back, but this is another one from the archives that I’ve decided to share just now. When I first got this truck, I pretty much immediately installed an Eibach Stage 1 Pro-Lift Kit. I’ve had them on for close to two years before upgrading.
The Eibach kit rode fine. It’s a good value kit that is compliant on and off road, but it was time for a change. I had upsized my tires from a 285/70R18 to a 295/70R18 due to someone really needing my exact tires… Anyways, once I upsized, I started rubbing quite a bit. Around a quarter turn and onwards, the bigger tires would make contact with my cab mount. Although I had already done the cab mount cut previously, it wasn’t enough for the 295s. I ended up grinding away some more material off the plate, but it still wasn’t enough. I clearly needed a higher lift to help - however, that was only one part of the solution.
Big thanks to both Nick and Jackie for helping me out with this suspension upgrade. Nick lined up a deal which saw me getting a pair of rear Fox struts and was instrumental in helping me decide what suspension package to go with next. Jackie was at the shop that week and was kind enough to lend me a hand during the installation and was able to provide guidance when I needed it. Jackie has done a ton of these, so he really knew his way around the installation.
Pulled in the 4Runner to take some before photos of the ride height with the Eibach Stage 1 Pro-Kit installed. Excuse the dirtiness. Should have washed this before starting work on it, but then I wouldn’t have known what the road germs tasted like…
Not a bad height at all and I was pretty happy with how it sat - but as mentioned, with the larger tires I was rubbing quite a lot against the cab mount. The next step was to go taller and recorrect the caster to help with fitting the 34” tires.
The wheel and tire set up for the curious ones:
Wheels: TE37 Progressive 18×9 +0
Tires: Falken Wildpeak AT3/W 295/70R18
I also am using a 1.25” wheel spacer. The spacer definitely does not help with the rubbing as it increases the scrub/turning radius, but here I was hoping the new suspension lift would provide the correction I need even with the spacers compounding the issue.
I took some measurements beforehand. One for comparison and two, set the height of the new Fox front coilovers. From the floor to the bottom of the front fender arch reads approximately 37.5”.
Rear reading shows approximately 38.75” from the floor to fender arch. Pretty level with a slight front rake of 1.25” which I thought was perfect, aesthetically.
I guess another valid reason to upgrade suspension would be because your current struts are leaking - like a lot too 😂. Please excuse the crusty-ness. It’s a bit embarrassing showing the underside here cause it’s not in the best shape it could be, but the underside and frame will be something I will eventually address to refresh, come spring/summer.
This is probably why I originally hesitated to blog about this, lol.
Here is the rear side. Strut is also blown (all four corners are). While the Eibach Stage 1 Pro-Kit is a good value suspension lift with a limited lifetime warranty, I’ve just seen so many of them with leaking issues. Eibach would have covered these struts, but it’s just a hassle to go through warranty just to eventually have the replacements do the exact same thing a year later. I use the truck as a daily driver with the occasional light duty off-roading. This set has probably only seen ~ 15,000 kms prior to removing and they started leaking many kms before then.
The rear drive side is probably the crustiest section of my truck. The rear bumpstop rusted off earlier in the year, but it’s on my list to do. The gas tank skid plate is also rusted right through. I changed out the straps for the gas tank pretty early on during my ownership, but I’ll eventually have to get a new gas tank skid. That may be something I try to design and fabricate myself.
Eibach Stage 1 front coilover and the Fox 2.0, side by side. I was pretty decided on Fox once I had a ride in Nick and Kim’s old Lexus GX470 which had a similar set-up using Fox’s 2.5 series struts. I’ve been in trucks equipped with Dobinsons, Bilsteins, Kings, and Icon all alike, but I found that Fox’s just felt the most compliant. I simply found that they had the smoothest and plush road handling characteristics - important to me as the truck sees city roads 99% of the time. I also knew these would be able to handle anything I’d ever throw at them going off-road.
There of course are many factors in play, being all different trucks with different set ups, but I really wanted to replicate a similar ride quality to the GX470 which I found to be the most comfortable.
The rear struts and springs laid out. New vs old. For the rear springs I chose to stay a little more conservative with an Icon 2” lift rear spring. Nick was really pushing me to go 3”, and a part of me did want to follow suite, but I ultimately decided on 2” cause Viv and I are both short and we need to be getting into the truck still with relative ease.
I get size envy parking next to the taller Toyota trucks when I’m next to them at the Costco 😔.
I went with Dobinsons upper control arms. These tubular arms have 3 degrees of caster already built into the design of the balljoint angle which will allow the front caster to be adjusted back within spec. These also have a relatively inexpensive balljoint for when they need to be replaced.
Front suspension put back together with the truck back on the ground. I love how the Fox and Dobinson logos peak out from behind the tire. That way nobody at Costco needs to ask me about what lift I’m on - they can just look.
BEFORE
The same photo from above with the Eibach Pro-Lift kit.
AFTER
With the Fox suspension installed. What do you think? Does the increased height look like much in photos?
Measurements taken with the new suspension. Fronts now measure 39” from the ground to the fender arch.
The rears are just under 40”, call it 39.875”. Quite level and sitting close to the way I wanted it. Could use a bit more front rake, but I’m choosing to be happy with where they are since adjusting the front coilovers suck.
Shit still rubs. Much less, but it still rubs. It’s tolerable right now, but I will have to look into other options on how to make additional clearance. The steel around the cab mount is already pretty much as close as I can get it before cutting into the mount itself.
It is also about time I do the lower control arms as well since the bushings and ball joint are original (as far as I know) and the cam adjustment bolts are pretty seized. Maybe getting a bit more caster out of those bolts may give me enough. Now to bite the bullet and buy new OEM control arms, or try my luck at rebuilding an old set…
Verdict: The Fox suspension was everything I expected. Comfortable ride quality with great handling characteristics on and off road. These are not going to be as soft as an OEM spring and strut, but it’s still what I’d consider plush for a truck. It absorbs the bumps well and does rebound fast, but it’s not jarring.
Overall I’m pleased with my experience driving on them (close to a year since I’ve installed them now). One thing that I love too from Fox is how well the struts have held up, cosmetically. I did not treated the strut bodies, nor give them any special attention when washing the truck, and the finish on the aluminum bodies just hold up so well. They still look brand new today. I’ve seen other struts that have seen less duty on them, but look way worse. I’m not sure if it’s a coating issue or what, but Fox has got it right.
