TRD Off Road - Suspension is stiff

No, not at all from the experience of lots of light truck and 4x4 ownership. We tested several versions of the 4th gen and we do have a long bed. The long bed definitely rides better in all circumstances, and mine being work oriented, I would not want springs or shock damping any or much different.

 

Yes, I know. It’s 91F outside right now. 37 ballon’s to 39 or 40 pretty easily right now.

 

My Toyota APP warning comes on only if below 28

 

You'll find a lot of people discount this on this forum, maybe their roads are perfectly smooth or something or they just are completely oblivious. I don't think it is entirely a suspension issue, my theory is I think it is due to the frame stiffness of these trucks and their new "Dejima" process. I tested multiple trims hoping it was just suspension and that I could swap shocks out later down the road, it made some difference but not enough. My tester had the tires inflated way too high, so I lowered them to spec and again found that it hadn't helped nearly enough.

I noticed this when I first tested the Tundras and how terribly they transmitted all the small imperfections into the cabin, and I had hoped that the lighter duty suspension of the Tacomas would help. They do ride a bit better than the Tundras and the seats are far better, but you still feel every little imperfection.

I love almost everything else about these trucks, and so am waiting to test a 4Runner in the hopes that maybe those are better riding and a candidate for my next daily.

 

Oddly enough, the trim I found the transmit the least amount of small imperfections was the leaf-sprung SR trim. Maybe the soft road tires helped?
I don't want to blame the coil sprung multilink setup because done properly they should ride far superior to a leaf setup. Ram has had trucks that ride like cars for well over a decade with the multilink setup and all the big SUVs have gone to it.

 

I've been driving trucks as part of my daily driver and work (on and off road) for fifty years.

I've never driven a truck–including my other three generations of Tacomas–that can handle washboard like this one does.

I think the OR suspension is remarkable.

 

How much weight beyond stock is on your rear shocks? I’m curious what your topper plus other stuff weigh.

 

The Smartcap weighs 160 pounds. Sometimes I run a load, sometimes I don't; either way, I find it an amazing ride off the pavement.

And that's with 10-ply tires.

 

Thanks. I’m surprised the topper is that light. I know when I have 3-4 bags of fertilizer in the bed, it definitely rides better.

 

Very well said

 

Allow me a moment to clarify a few points.

- This is not tire related. (All tires are sitting at about 30 psi cold).
- I am an experienced driver. including performance/racing driving & instructing.
- As a result, my butt is a bit more sensitive to the nuances of what the vehicle is doing...perhaps to a fault.

What I am feeling:

Bilstein, in my experience traditionally makes great road handling suspension components. Even the aftermarket components tend to lean towards road handling vs plush heavy off road absorption. The stock TRD Off Road suspension, feels like this. Not as soft as a traditional plush off road (say Bronco, etc)...and leans a bit more for on-road.

My experience has been in ICON 2.5's extended travel coilovers and OME BP-51's. Both setups were built into my last 2016 4Runner build. Both were very well dialed in, with the BP-51's taking the cake for on-road & off-road sweetness. While I am loving my 4G Taco, I do miss my 4Runner.

I'd love to hear from those who have taken the plunge into aftermarket and the comparison. I will run this suspension for good while, but totally plan on developing the build to suit my tastes.

My 2 cents.

 

If you think the Toyota OR Suspension is stiff go test drive a Ranger off road. This truck floats like a Cadillac over the terrain compared to the Ranger. It's like driving a cloud.
A full day of off roading in the Ranger was an Ab / Core work out as you got tossed around the cab like the inflatable dancing noodle people at a car dealership. And that was MAJORLY aired down.

Is it possible to upgrade the stock Toyota Suspension? You betcha! Feel free to do it. But there are a LOT worse out there rolling off the show room floor.

 

Could not have said it better and I too get best MPG at 34F and 32R (unloaded) with no impact to ride quality.

 

@CJBiggs I think I agree overall. The 4G OR suspension is "soft" in the sense that it doesn't resist suspension movement, but at the same time it's not what I'd call plush. I had Ironman Foam Cell Pros on my 3G Taco and those were even stiffer on the road, but on really rough oilfield dirt roads you could bomb down them at 55+ and it just soaked up the bumps and whoops like they weren't even there. Before the upgrade, I blew both rear shocks with the stock 3G Bilsteins in just 20 minutes of spirited driving on those roads.

Might do those Ironmans again on my 4G.

 

I would agree. The V6 version is better with the extra weight, but yes...it was stiffer and rather rough on harsh bumps.

 

I think you can adjust the threshold in the dash settings.

 

I'm pretty happy with the way my '25 TRD OR rides. It's more firm than my previous '23 TRD OR. However, I thought the stock '23 TRD OR was too soft, induced too much body roll and had too much nose dive when stopping. I went to 5100's on the '23 and preferred the firmer experience because it reduced body roll, etc.

I find the '25 TRD OR has a nice balanced ride experience with only slightly more body roll than the '23 (with 5100's) but the '25 has a softer ride and no noticeable nose dive when stopping.

 

It’s going to feel different if u are coming from a 4Runner … the suspension on a truck is different compared to a suv do to weight . Proper tire pressure makes a world of difference

 

My 2024 4Runner Off-road Premium definitely feels softer compared to my 2024 Tacoma Off-road.

The runner is still completely stock with the soft Dunlop tires. The Tacoma has KO3’s load E tires. Both are fine in my opinion.

 

There is no reason a truck's suspension should feel similar to an SUV's suspension. They have two different purposes and it would be poor engineering if they felt the same. An unladen truck should feel stiff. Fill the bed and that truck suspension will be doing what it was designed for and it'll feel completely different.