On the Level

Ever since its introduction in 1985, the Toyota 4Runner has rapidly gained in popularity among sport utility buyers. With legendary Toyota reliability and ergonomics, the 4Runner has enjoyed fairly decent sales success through the current model year.

While the initial models were fitted with leaf springs at the rear, Toyota opted to soften up the ride in 1990 by adopting a coil spring, multi-link rear suspension system on the 4Runner. While this softened the ride, the new setup did little for handling and seemed to magnify body roll during hard cornering.

To reduce body roll and improve handling, Toyota slightly lowered the rear ride height on '90 to '95 model 4Runners, so the rear actually sits a tad lower than the front on both 4x2 and 4x4 models. The change in ride height, and the addition of a factory sway bar out back, did help reduce body roll but gave the truck a tail-down attitude. When packed with cargo, people, or loaded down with a trailer, the tail-down attitude becomes worse and eventually affects front-to-rear weight distribution and handling.

The easiest remedy to fix the body roll problem would be to install a larger sway bar at the rear, which physically limits suspension travel. Unfortunately, on 4x4 models, limiting suspension travel reduces off-road performance.

Performance Products of Van Nuys, California, has developed an effective solution to level the ride height on '90 to '95 Toyota 4Runners while improving on-road handling and enhancing off-road performance. The heart of its leveling system are 1-inch progressive-rate coil springs for the rear. These German-made coils provide an approximate 1-inch lift to the rear of the truck without sacrificing ride quality. In fact, the progressive nature of the springs provide a stock-like ride, but under load, the spring rate increases, eliminating body roll and improving handling. The springs are direct replacements for the stock coils; the kit comes complete with a brake proportioning rod relocation bracket to accommodate the added lift.

To complement its leveling system, Performance Products recommends upgrading the stock shocks to performance shock absorbers that offer more roll control and damping. The company offers buyers several choices in this department, including the new Edelbrock IAS shocks and the tried-and-true Bilstein gas shocks. For this installation, Performance Products opted to bolt on a set of four Bilstein nitrogen-charged gas shocks on our '95 4Runner. Performance Products even offers upgraded front torsion bars for the 4Runner for better wheel control with oversize tires.

Installation of the leveling kit and shocks took less than two hours at Performance Products' Van Nuys installation center. The end result was a level 4Runner with improved ride and handling over stock.

If you're in the market to dramatically improve ride and handling on your '90 to '95 Toyota 4Runner, and take the factory-induced sag out of the rear end without breaking the bank, look into Performance Products' 4Runner leveling kit.