When I first got my 4Runner back in late 2016, I immediately wanted to start messing with it. Coming from a lifted Jeep, and a modded out EVO VIII, I knew it wouldn’t take long to start down this rabbit hole. Let me tell you it can be an endless rabbit hole if you let it be too.
In this post I will be going over every mod I have done to my 4Runner. I will also go over some that aren’t on the 4Runner anymore, and why I took them off. Hopefully this will give you an idea of some of the mistakes I have made along the way, and help you choose the right mods to fit your needs.
Table of Contents
Interior Mods on my Toyota 4Runner
Katskin Leather $2,200
We chose to go this route instead of buying the premium trim level mostly because we didn’t want the sunroof. I felt it cut into my headroom too much as I am 6’3″. We were able to pick the color and any customization we wanted. They stitched TRD Pro into the seat backs. (The salesman added the pro and I didn’t notice until it was too late). This has really been a great option for us and is holding up really well. I also feel like it is nicer leather than the softex Toyota offers. With heated seats added to it we were able to roll that all into the purchase price of the 4Runner.
Window Tint – Free
This happened almost right after I got the 4Runner as it was in getting the leather installed. It was free only because I met the guy that sells the tint to the shop that was doing the leather. Not sure if this is classified as interior or exterior. I went with 20% on the front windows to match the rear as much as I could. I also got the 6″ stripe on the windshield, but I need a new windshield, so it will be gone soon.
Dash Cam $150
I got a Grdian dash cam due to the amount of driving I do to get to work and back. Being in the trucking industry and seeing all the stuff we had caught on camera in the trucks made me want to cover my behind. I got the Nova 2 channel front and rear camera, and run a 128 gig memory card in it. I grabbed this camera as they were just announcing it. I waited months for it to come in, but I got a pretty good deal on it at the time. I think normal price on it now is $150.
ICS Fab Dash Mount $120
I opted for the optional USB power outlet on the mount due to us using so many things all the time. This was not something I really loved, but with so many things on the dash of the 4Runner, I needed a way to secure them all. This ended up being the perfect option. It does block the clock a little bit for me, but I can live. This way I have a secure mount for my Ham radio, my Garmin inReach mini, and a cell phone mount.
Ram Mounts
I use Ram Mounts to secure absolutely everything in my vehicle. They are simply amazing. For my phone I use the X-grip. Couldn’t be happier with a cell phone mount.
Garmin inReach Mini $349
This was a birthday present to me, but I felt this would come in handy if we were ever in a situation that warranted a rescue. The mini is rally small, and can hook to your phone or tablet so you can do everything on there. This will come with a monthly subscription fee, but I feel that the piece of mind it brings is well worth the price of admission.
Yeasu FTM 400 XDR $569
I originally got into Ham radio simply because I had a lot of down time on my hands at work. This gave me ample time to study for the test. Once I passed the test I ran out and got a radio. Thinking this would be a great way to communicate on the trails I was ready to go. This may be the least used thing I have on or in my 4Runner to be honest. It’s still fun to listen in once in a while though. I listened to the weather channel this morning on my way to work as we are expected to get 2-4 FEET of snow in the Denver area this weekend (3.12.21).
Seat Jackers $120
Honestly here I was duped by an instagram add. I thought I could get the little Molle panel that goes with it and use it for my gun holster. I was wrong. I do keep an element fire extinguisher on it though. It takes a while to get used to the way you sit with these installed, and could probably pass on them if I had it to do over again.
Husky Weather Beater Floor Mats $180
Good floor mats are a must have in Colorado. I went with these after reading on the forums how much people like them. They have been great, but I think you can get the same level of protection with other brands. Basically choose one that you like or is easy to get and run with it.
Teton Workshop Shift Knob $115
I upgraded to the TRD shift knob originally as I couldn’t find any aftermarket ones that I liked. Most looked like they were way out of place in the cabin of the 4Runner. Once I saw this one I just had to have it. Its very well made and feels solid. He is getting close to coming out with a knob for the 4wd shifter too.
Spod Bantam $900
I needed something to control all my different electrical things. I really liked the Spod from the Jeep days, and thought it would be a good option for the 4Runner. I opted for the one with the HD switch panel over the touch screen. This has been a great system for me. I did however was my engine bay one day and it got wet. I had to send it in for repairs as my lights were going crazy.
I ended up doing the Bantam X upgrade, which protects the internals a little better. This gives me 8 switches to use. You run all connections to the box under the hood, and one ethernet cable into the cab. Super simple install, and it makes installing lights and other accessories very very easy. I have the switch panel mounted on a ram mount in the lower dash under the radio.
Gentex Rearview Mirror with Homelink $130
Being as I didn’t get the premium edition of the 4Runner, I did not have a garage door opener incorporated into the 4Runner. I go very tired of carrying an extra opener. I picked this up off Amazon and ran the wires to an ignition fuse under the dash. Works like a charm every time. Plus there are fewer things floating around the cockpit.
Grayman Tactical Seatback Molle Panels $99
With 2 little kids constantly kicking the backs of my seats with their dirty shoes, I was looking for something to protect them. Yes I could have gone with a simple cover, but that just wasn’t cool enough for me. These have worked really well, but again I was sold on an ad on social media, and feel these are WAY overpriced for what you get.
Arclight LED Interior Lights $130
I needed brighter dome lights so I started researching. Arclights came up a few times, so I decided to jump on them. I got the front and middle lights with the red and white switch. I usually run the red, because they don’t mess with your eyes at night. The great thing about the red lights when you are out camping is that they don’t attract the bugs like the white light does. If you run the white light on these they are incredibly bright. You may even be able to see them from the moon.
Rago Fabrication Rear Molle Panels with Shelf $700
To get the whole meal deal with the rear window Molle Panels with shelf you will be into it around $700. I can’t emphasize enough how much these have helped me stay organized in the back though. These keep all the little things I carry off the floor and nicely tucked away. I probably wouldn’t carry half of the stuff if I didn’t have these. For some of you that might be the idea, but I like knowing I have a med kit and other random things that I might need in the back. I talk a ton about vehicle organization with the Molle Panels in this post.
OEM Audio+ Sound System Upgrade $2,100
If you like your tunes, or in my case kids bop music to sound top notch, then this is the upgrade for you. I didn’t get the premium sound system in my 4Runner, so I didn’t have a subwoofer. Coming from years of having vehicles with good stereos in them it was only a matter of time before I went down this road.
The system is 100% plug and play and sounds amazing. No it won’t shake the windows in the entire neighborhood, but the 8″ sub definitely puts out some good bass. You can opt for a dual sub setup as well, but I don’t feel I need any more than what I have already. This system will replace all the speakers in your 4Runner and add an amp. I went for the dedicated sub amp as well just to get a little more oomph out of it. When that bass drops though…
Sound Deadening $160
This made the biggest difference in how the stereo sounded in my mind. Even with the stock speakers in the door the bass hit harder after I put the sound deadening in. I did the doors and the floor of the 4Runner. On the doors, I did the outer skin as well as covered just inside the door panel. This in essence means I have 2 layers of sound deadening in the doors. Doing the floor took some time, as you will need to pull your entire interior to do it. I basically did this in sections so I didn’t have to strip the whole thing out. Word of warning if you decide to tackle this one, There is a styrofoam piece inside the front doors with a bolt in it. Once you take the bolt out it is also double sided taped to the door.
This mod was actually a lot more expensive for me as I sliced my thumb open pulling that foam part out. I needed 4 stitches in my thumb knuckle from where it caught the inner skeleton of the door. Just be careful. I used the Noico 80mm from amazon. @ packs was more than enough to do all doors and the floor throughout the 4Runner. it also cut down on road noise, but my Nitto Ridge Graplers have gotten rather noisy over the years.
JDMCAR Glovebox Organizer $20
This is one of those things you don’t realize you need until you have it. I had a bottomless pit of stuff that my wife stuffed into the glovebox. One day I decided to give this a whirl. It has helped keep my glovebox in order. This has come in handy more since the pandemic as I keep a stash of disposable masks in my glovebox. It is so easy to keep those in a separate section for me or anyone else in the vehicle.
Exterior Mods for my Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition
iKamper Skyccamp 2.0 $3,900
We researched a lot of camping options before we settled on the iKamper. This tent has been amazing. We have an entire post dedicated to this tent. If you are in the market for a rooftop tent, just do yourself a favor and get this one. We have made a few changes to things in it, but you can read all about it in our post here.
Gobi Stealth Rack No-Rise $1750
This was probably my second big mod. I talked the wife into letting me do this one instead of paying movers to move our house. I placed the order for this rack and waited. The lead time on a Gobi Rack at the time was 12-16 weeks. I waited 22 weeks. I’m local to where these are made, so I had them install the rack. It took them about 30 mins to install, and they threw in heavy duty struts for the rear hatch.
Mind you in 2016 to 2017 the rack options out there weren’t nearly what they are today. I still think this is one of the best looking racks alone. Having the no-rise option in my mind looks so much better as I never planned on putting a light bar on the roof. Keep in mind that the no-rise option is a custom order option. I do believe you will have to ask specifically for this. They make all racks to order so expect to wait for it.
Method 702 wheels $265 ea
I started out with the TRD Pro wheels, which I loved. I think the black on white looks great, and was really happy with my setup. Then everyone and their mom got black wheels. Trying to change it up a bit I decided to go for some bronze wheels. I had bronze wheels on my EVO VIII and thought it looked great. Why not try again? The 702 wheel is part of Method’s trail series that has ridges inside to help hold the tire. This isn’t a bead lock, but just extra grip. I have had zero trouble dropping down to 18 psi while off-roading.
Nitto Ridge Grappler 285/70/17 $890 set
When I got these tires they were all the craze. They look great for sure, but they have worn uneven, and are loud as hell now with about 60,000 miles on them. There is still plenty of tread on them. I will end up buying another set ONLY because I have a brand new tire as a spare. This will make it so I only need to buy 3. IF I didn’t have the spare I thing I would be looking at the Falken Wildpeak AT3W. These tires have really caught my attention and have the deepest tread on the market. Guess I can find out after I blow through another set of Ridge Grapplers. This time I will get a road force balance though.
Icon Coil-Overs with CDCV adjusters $1905
When my truck had about 4,000 miles on it I put on the Bilstein 6112 suspension in the front and 5160 in the rear. This was a great setup until I went to switch the springs to a heavier spring for my front bumper. Thats when I found all the bolts rusted into the shocks. I ended up cutting the shocks out. I decided it was a perfect time to upgrade to a full blown coil-over.
These icons have been amazing. The ride is super plush while giving me the ability to adjust everything from ride height to firmness. I realize these are Icon’s top of the line shock, but let me tell you they have been worth it. I also have the matching rear shocks and the 3″ icon overland springs in the back. This setup has my 4Runner sitting exactly where I want it to be.
Total Chaos Upper Control Arms $795
When going to a 3″ or over lift you will need new upper control arms to get your alignment specs back in place. I went with Total Chaos because at the time they were the best. I will be replacing the uniball with the icon delta joint when it comes off of backorder. I think these will prevent a lot of the noise I hear. My uniballs have about 60k miles on them.
Kustom54 Lighting AB6 $1750
I was really wanting that custom look in a headlight that also improved on lighting performance. I found Kustom54lighting.com. These guys will let you choose whatever you want to be done to a set of lights. I went with flat black housing, etched TRD lens, and demon eyes. The light output from the morimoto Bi-LED is actually really good. If you opt to get the AB6 like I did I recommend keeping your stock lights as I have had to send mine in for repairs a few times due to the running light strip failing. I really wish he could find a better LED strip to use for them. he has fixed them for free every time though and cover shipping both ways.
Unique Style Racing Blackout Taillights $299
With black headlights in finally, I really needed to blackout the taillights. (Yes I am OCD about dumb stuff like that). At the time there weren’t too many options. As much as I wanted a set of Kustom54 taillights, I din’t want to drop $900 on a set. I found the Unique Style Racing ones. These are just like the stock taillights, but the chrome parts are black. To combat the chrome for the turn signal section, I bought the lamin-x tinted film to put over that section. The LED turn signal bulbs I have are plenty bright through the tint, and it gives me that blacked out look in the back.
Last LED Turnsignal Bulbs $55
Wanting to upgrade to LED turn signals, but don’t want the hyper flash? Get these! You will not need to install resistors with these LED bulbs, and you will not get the hyper flash what so ever. I was skeptical at first, but they have worked flawlessly. They are also super bright, which is great for me with a tinted strip over my rear turn signals, and flat black painted reflectors in my front turn signals.
C4 Sliders w/ Steps and DOM tubing Upgrade $975
When I ordered mine they had 2 different metal options. Now I see they only come with the upgraded DOM (Drawn over Mandrel) tubing. This is a better option as they are stronger anyways. I added the steps plates for my 2 little ones to be able to get into the 4Runner without falling through the sliders. I love the look of these sliders more than any others on the market. They are angled sliders but the steps are flat, which is an ingenious design if you ask me. These do not come powder coated, so you will need to account for that in the price of the sliders.
C4 Fabrication Lo-Pro front Bumper w/ Mid-Height Bull Bar $849
I wanted the ability to add a winch to the front of the 4Runner at some point in the future, but liked the look of the stock front end. This was a great option for me, while still saving on some weight of a full width front bumper. I had a full width on the Jeep, and while it was awesome, it ended up rock chipped and rusting after years. Not that this won’t get rock chipped, it is less noticeable.
If you have a new 4Runner with the TSS sensor in the front, the mid-height bull bar will block it. You can also opt for the high clearance fenders, which I may be going for at some point in the near future. This will give you a better approach angle for those tough trails. You will need to get this bumper powder coated once it shows up at your door. C4 does not offer powder coating at this point in time.
Baja Designs 30″ S8 Amber $849
In my C4 front bumper I opted for the 30″ light bar cut out. I decided to to go for the Baja Designs light bar. These light bars are some of the brightest on the market today with the LEDs being driven at 100%. A single row light bar from Baja Designs is as bright or brighter than most other companies dual row light bars. I went for an amber colored one to combat severe weather. The amber will cut through the fog and snow better than white light will.
Rigid Industries 360 SAE Foglights $500
If you get the Rigid fit kit and everything you will be right around the $500 mark. Before the fit kit was released I managed to get the factory housing to fit the Rigid 360 lights. To be honest it worked and looked just as good as the rigid adjustable housing. You could save yourself $129 and go this route. There have been studies that show these put out the most light for a street legal fog light. This is why I went with these. I do like the color of the Baja Designs yellow better, but didn’t love their solution to the SEA fogs.
Rigid Industries SR-M $250
I have a pair of these in the midnight series underneath my rear bumper and ties into my reverse lights. This is for extra light when backing up. I tapped into the reverse circuit at the 7-way trailer plug. These come on only when I shift into reverse, and add just the right amount of light for backing up in the dark. They bolt into existing bolts on either side of the trailer hitch.
Spare Tire Skid Plate $195
This is another one of those things I got sucked into while searching the forums in the wee hours of the morning. This is a high density plastic plate that bolts to the bottom of the spare tire to protect it form scrapes. This plastic will slide off rocks very Easily. I got the black one, and the creator delivered it to my house himself as he was semi local to me. I did see the aluminum version which was very nice, but I like the stealthy look to the black.
Raptor Lights $119
After trying out several different versions of Raptor lights on my 4Runner, I finally found ones that I think I will stick with. My first setup was 3 bolt lights from SuperbrightLEDs.com. These were great for a while. They were bright, and low profile. You could hardly tell they were there when off. I started looking for something different as they started fading a little after about 4 years.
I tried the grill lights like what you get from Runnin4tacos, but they ended up being WAY too big in my opinion. You will get about a 4′ light strip, which I think is too much. I ended up landing on these from YotaLED.com. I want to find a better way to mount them then the zip ties, but you can’t even tell unless you are looking for it. They are maybe 2″ wide and in my opinion are the perfect size. I have them tapped into the ignition circuit along with the running lights of my headlights. I must say they look amazing with the AB6 running lights on.
Performance Mods for my 2016 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition
Magnuson Supercharger $5,500
I felt the need, the need for speed! Having had sports cars in the past, and having an opportunity to buy the supercharger kit, I jumped on it. My theory on cars is modding them makes me want to keep them longer. My wife will get new cars, while I keep modding the one I like. This kit will add about 80 RWHP and 100 ft/lbs of torque. This doesn’t make the 4Runner a race car, but it definitely gives it the power it should have had from the factory. I wrote an entire post about this mod. You can read it here.
URD Y-Pipe $585
I was looking to increase my fuel mileage while adding a few more ponies. This seemed to fit the bill perfectly, while also moving the stock Y-pipe to a better place for ground clearance. This will remove 2 of the stock catalytic converters, but the 2 you are removing are not monitored by the ECU. I have run this for about 3 years now with no ill side effects. The 4Runner seems to open up a little more on the high end and pull pretty good with the supercharger.
Sprint Booster $250
Being that the 4Runner is sluggish and under powered from the factory, I. was in search of a way to improve the feeling. This was the perfect choice. Sprint Booster is the originator of products like this. Now there are several companies that off the same type of thing. This one doesn’t seem to have the problems that some encounter with the Pedal Commander. This product seems to make it feel faster, even though it doesn’t actually make it faster. Makes driving the 4Runner much more enjoyable.
TRD Intake $200
Coming from years of import tuners I just had to have the TRD intake. I loved the way it added a little flare to the engine bay and also added a few extra ponies. More powah baby! While only adding about 7 HP and 12 ft/lbs of torque you likely won’t notice much of a difference, but the sound it makes when flooring it incredible. I run an AFE dry filter inside this as I’m not big on oiled filters. Side note that you can look up the individual parts to this kit and get it cheaper than ordering it as a kit. It should be almost half price. I think at the time I got the parts for around $150. The kit I think runs about $400.
Rotora Big Brake Kit $3,600
The 4Runner is rapidly approaching the need for a brake replacement. While I don’t have this yet, I did order it back in October. I should see it in the next couple weeks according to Rotora. I can’t wait to see these inside the wheels, and compare the improved braking performance. These will make the front brakes a 6 piston brake and the rear a 4 piston brake. They also come with slotted full floating 2 piece rotors, and braided stainless steel brake lines. I will do a full write up on these once they come in and I get them installed.
Ripp Speed Coil Packs $333
I have not received these yet, but they claim a 44% increase in coil spark power. This should help burn the fuel better in the cylinder, thus improving gas mileage and power. I will report back once I get them in.
ARB Twin Air Compressor $550
This my not be a performance mod, but I wasn’t sure where to add this one in. this makes it great and easy for airing up tires after off-roading. My buddy even said he wants me to install one on his truck for everyday use when his tires get low. This has been super handy when needed, and you can even run air lockers off this system with a couple add-ons. I also have the 1 gallon air tank installed with this to make airing up even faster. I can go from 18psi to 35 in about 10 mins with the in deflate 4 tire system.
Final Thoughts
This post is a little bit of an eye opener for me. While I love how my 4Runner sits and performs, I can now see the actual dollar amounts associated with having a truck of this caliber. Mind you I have no sponsors or deals with any companies. I paid for all these mods over the 5+ years of owning the vehicle. I have made some mistakes, but you live and learn. The mistakes really make you realize that getting the right mods out of the gate will save you money in the long run. What’s that saying, “buy once, Cry once?” It stands to be oh so true when it comes to the 4Runner.