TowndawgR50

The Lokka is doing great. Just as good as the day I installed it. It's taken my rig through some incredibly challenging trails and never really gave me any reason for regret. Having driven HawaIrish's fully air locked rig, my Lokka equipped rig and a stock rig, an airlocker is hands down the best performance for trail use but may not be what everyone needs. A proper line choice, good spotter and quality tires will get an open differential truck through a lot of challenging terrain. The Lokka is the best bang for your buck if you want a huge gain in trail performance on a budget but comes at the cost of a substantial change in the driving requirements and limited street use. When it snows here I use 4WD on the street and highways without issue but that's the only time it sees use on pavement as my hubs stay unlocked and the truck in 2WD the rest of the year Still need to install my super packed LSD. I think HawaIrish set it up for 200-ish ft lbs? When compared to the OEM LSD it should be very nice improvement. It's been shelved with the 4:1 t-case gearset, 4.6 diff gears and my rear disc brake setup. I plan to get those installed for the next trail run in Colorado. Moab trip was a perfect example of where air lockers reign supreme but I'd wager the front Lokka and rear super packed LSD would have done well.

x2 on the OME springs. They are a great spring that sells well for those not wanting more than 2" of lift. I had OME MD rear springs for a long time and paired them with a set of Bilstein's. Fantastic for hauling heavier loads like camp gear and dogs. With the assistance of a set of Airlift spring helpers they handled our 18ft toy hauler superbly. With no load they were well mannered and kept the truck tight on the road without being harsh. Definitely recommend them if you're looking for a heavier duty 2" rear spring. Cant really go wrong with ARB products. Installed with spacers and airlift spring helpers not long after I got the truck:

The R50 in question was supposedly an LE rig but it had an SE interior with manual cloth seats, and tan no less, lending to the boring theme. The poor, painfully long run-ons of attempted humor aside- he also seemed to continue comparing a first gen lifted 4runner to a stock R50 Pathfinder. If i had to compare like for like when talking about a 3rd generation 4Runner and R50 Pathfinder they both use the same nasty fake wood plastic trim, both had a great v6 ( Toyota 3.4 180hp vs Nissan 3.5 249hp) and both had potential for the person looking to modify their vehicles. I personally think the LE leather interior more on the Pathfinder but to each their own. As for the exterior- they both get ho-hum ratings in the looks department, though I will say the 3.5 QX4 gets top marks out of all 3 options in my book. Doubly so with the simple addition of a lift and meaty tires. The T-cases on LE model R50's had the AWD system which makes it far more capable as a road vehicle than the 4Runner ever could be, and still able to shift into 4L to tackle challenging obstacles. That said I think the 4Runners came with rear differential locks on some models. Clearly with the off road enthusiast in mind. Our LSD's are pretty useless and yet many people have been able to take stock Pathfinders through some very rugged and demanding situations. I will say the quality of his video production isn't terrible...so there is that.

Try using an image hosting site like flickr or imgur. There is a guide here:

Lets change that!

After a long period of R&D followed by successful installs on the initial test group, who have racked up considerable mileage, hardware is starting to make its way out into the world now and we felt it was time to make a thread dedicated to our Pines to Spines SFD kit. This will be the official thread where you'll find a showcase of the rigs that are running our hardware and testimonials from them should they choose to participate in the discussion. Both 3" & 4" kits include: - 2x P2S Strut spacers - 2x engine spacers - 4x subframe spacers - 1x panhard bar drop bracket - 1x steering extension with universal joints - brand new fasteners (OEM hardware is retained) You will need to purchase or fabricate- - Longer brake lines - power steering hardline support bracket - extended sway bar end links - a missing link Note- OEM fitment skid plates will not be able to be retained. You will need to fabricate or purchase a SFD specific set. If you're interested in a kit please DM both @TowndawgR50 & @hawairish in the same message ( you can add multiple recipients to a DM) and we'll get back to you as soon as possible with availability and pricing. @02_Pathy @Ravens794 @Stpickens @Rockit

Welcome! I dig the build. Jealous of the aluminum front bumper option you guys had available down there. Is the rig a diesel or petrol? Looking forward to seeing more of it out and about.

I received mine the other day and I'm very pleased. I'd agree that the color is close enough that when coupled with the OEM privacy glass that creates a darker interior environment it's not obviously different. The part quality is great. Not a single complaint yet. Getting wiring up there will definitely be a chore. I suspect I may need to split the leads between the A-pillars but I'll see how it goes when I cross that bridge.

Doesn't have to be a daily to encourage them to develop parts for it. Ironman has a wide range of products for various makes and models outside the USA. The R50 sold well internationally with many of them still being modified and used for recreational purposes. With the exception of engine options they don't change much from region to region so I think there's a chance we could see some offerings even if they aren't as plentiful as others available to the USDM Toyota or Subaru crowd.

With the latest news of someone within the company picking up an R50 maybe it'll encourage them to open up more offerings specific to our platform. We can only hope, right? Let's play nice and encourage them diplomatically. Maybe someone can inform them about the power valve issue and throttle body coolant leak that fries ECU's without frightening them off...

I agree with @RainGoat If they're on order wait on it. I only know of a couple others that have used them and they have yet to complain. The guy from the video was asked by Ironman directly for a hub to fender measurement from before and after which he opted to not provide. The FSM provides the factory specifications for ride height so even though he never took measurements before installing the springs he could have referenced the FSM material and then provided a post-lift measurements, just as they asked. We don't know what conversation took place prior to the video but I'd think if you provided them with OEM literature paired with before and after measurements, including photos, they would be obligated to fix the situation with a refund or replacement pair of springs.

I have Bilstein 5160 shocks in the rear. I tend to keep a pretty good clip on washboard and rough terrain and these perform very well. My rear end doesn't float like it used to with the 5100 series and the road characteristics are sporty and responsive. If you already have the KYB shocks I'd run with those and if you find that you need or want more performance then change at a later point in time. I don't recall what the OEM spec compressed and extended lengths are but I'm sure you can find them posted.