- Joined
- Mar 26, 2024
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- Location
- Sacramento, CA
- Website
- trail4runner.com
Went wheeling with my buddy Nick (Martech Engineering) the other day out on Prison Hill in Nevada, and really got to see how the 4Runner did through some pretty gnarly lines.
Prison Hill offers something for everyone. There are easy little overland trails and then gnarly off-shoot buggy lines where even the most insane builds can roll or backflip if pushed hard enough. I followed Nick in his new straight axle-swapped 1st Gen Tacoma. For any of the guys out there looking to SAS your older or newer gen Toyotas, for that matter, Nick is the go-to option for SAS kits on Toyotas. Hit up https://martecnv.com/.
In any case, I followed Nick through quite a few lines. Everything from big off-camber rock lines to flex sections, steep granite rock climbs that require high clearance approach/departure angles, and even some big 3-4' rock drops that absolutley destroyed the rear bumper on the 6th Gen. I was on sliders all day, belly skids all day, the 4Runner got hung up on the crossmember through just about every line, the differential was getting hung up on a ton of lines, and just overall the 4Runner was seriously feeling like it was lacking ground clearance in a major way. I understand I was following a SAS'd Tacoma with Toyota mini truck axles on 40s, but there was some stuff out there that seemed very simple... where the 4Runner just didn't have the ground clearance, travel, or approach/departure to get through it. These were all lines that my mid travel 5th Gen on 35" tires would walk through. The 6th Gen 4Runner, on the other hand, was just dragging on everything all day.
What's really interesting is how much the rear bumper on the 6G crumpled under pressure. I've wheeled 5th Gens harder than this on 35" tires and stock bumpers, and the stock bumper on a 5G holds up WAYYY better than the 6G. I've never seen a 5G rear bumper crumple this far in from just dragging it around. Can't even imagine what this rear bumper would look like after the Rubicon. lol
Spending the day out there also gave me a really good understanding of just how much heavier the 6G feels than the 5G. It's a boat for sure, longer wheel base, bigger body, more weight all the way around, which caused the body to roll and sway quite a bit after bumping it and cresting the peaks of some rock climbs.
The power on the 4Runner is what took it through most of the lines, though. The torque on this new 6G is pretty impressive. I ended up bumping it through a ton of lines, just because the lack of ground clearance kept causing me to get hung up.
I think with some higher clearance bumpers, higher clearance rock sliders, 74W portal axles, and some 37" M/Ts... this 4Runner will actually do very well.
The 6th Gen has a lot of potential and this build is about to change a lot over the coming weeks. Some additional ground clearance and better approach/departure will take this 6G to another level.
We have a trip planned for the Rubicon in the next 3-4 weeks. Get ready, this shit is about to get rowdy.
Some photos from the day:
Prison Hill offers something for everyone. There are easy little overland trails and then gnarly off-shoot buggy lines where even the most insane builds can roll or backflip if pushed hard enough. I followed Nick in his new straight axle-swapped 1st Gen Tacoma. For any of the guys out there looking to SAS your older or newer gen Toyotas, for that matter, Nick is the go-to option for SAS kits on Toyotas. Hit up https://martecnv.com/.
In any case, I followed Nick through quite a few lines. Everything from big off-camber rock lines to flex sections, steep granite rock climbs that require high clearance approach/departure angles, and even some big 3-4' rock drops that absolutley destroyed the rear bumper on the 6th Gen. I was on sliders all day, belly skids all day, the 4Runner got hung up on the crossmember through just about every line, the differential was getting hung up on a ton of lines, and just overall the 4Runner was seriously feeling like it was lacking ground clearance in a major way. I understand I was following a SAS'd Tacoma with Toyota mini truck axles on 40s, but there was some stuff out there that seemed very simple... where the 4Runner just didn't have the ground clearance, travel, or approach/departure to get through it. These were all lines that my mid travel 5th Gen on 35" tires would walk through. The 6th Gen 4Runner, on the other hand, was just dragging on everything all day.
What's really interesting is how much the rear bumper on the 6G crumpled under pressure. I've wheeled 5th Gens harder than this on 35" tires and stock bumpers, and the stock bumper on a 5G holds up WAYYY better than the 6G. I've never seen a 5G rear bumper crumple this far in from just dragging it around. Can't even imagine what this rear bumper would look like after the Rubicon. lol
Spending the day out there also gave me a really good understanding of just how much heavier the 6G feels than the 5G. It's a boat for sure, longer wheel base, bigger body, more weight all the way around, which caused the body to roll and sway quite a bit after bumping it and cresting the peaks of some rock climbs.
The power on the 4Runner is what took it through most of the lines, though. The torque on this new 6G is pretty impressive. I ended up bumping it through a ton of lines, just because the lack of ground clearance kept causing me to get hung up.
I think with some higher clearance bumpers, higher clearance rock sliders, 74W portal axles, and some 37" M/Ts... this 4Runner will actually do very well.
The 6th Gen has a lot of potential and this build is about to change a lot over the coming weeks. Some additional ground clearance and better approach/departure will take this 6G to another level.
We have a trip planned for the Rubicon in the next 3-4 weeks. Get ready, this shit is about to get rowdy.
Some photos from the day:
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