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-   -   Suspension upgrade & lift kit for the Toyota Fortuner (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-technical/170956-suspension-upgrade-lift-kit-toyota-fortuner.html)

Guys. I have just acquired a preowned 2012 Toyota Fortuner 4wd manual transmission vehicle.

I'm considering a suspension upgrade and have found 2 brands available - Ironman and Old Man Emu.
Please suggest which one is better suitable for the Fortuner.
I'm looking at the 2 inch lift kits.
1. Please enlighten me on the pros and cons of this.
2. Which is a better suspension to opt for.

I will be keeping the vehicle for about 8 - 10 years.
The vehicle will be used primarily for touring and offroading, including offroad in while touring.

Mods - I could not find a dedicated Toyota Fortuner suspension thread. Kindly merge if there is one.

Thanks.

Hi Jay,

When I had my landcruiser, I did some research on this mostly on Australian forums where these are their local brands and their vehicles go though a lot of abuse.

From What I have read, so far. Old Man Emu is the Gold standard when it comes to after market suspensions. There are of course low volume highly specialized suspension makers, but for the mass market, Old Man Emu seems to be the choice amongst the aussies.

+1 ^^^^

OME (better from what I have read) or Ironman. Check the South African 4x4 forums, lots of info. And those Fortuners do a lot of overlanding and offroading.

But, why do you think that the stock suspension is not good enough? It is certainly adequate.

I had thought of upgrading, but it has to be done right. I am still not sure whether I will have 100% peace of mind if I upgrade. I have read stories of one side sinking after a few months. My current attitude is 'why fix something that is not broken'. I do 1000+ km drives and offroad the next day. Till now the vehicle hasn't let me down.

Maybe I will change my mind later :-)

A close friend has an Ironman 2 inch lift kit with heavy duty rear shocks (to accommodate extra load of camping equipment) in his Fortuner, and is extremely happy about the same. Inspite of the 2 inch lift, with the new shocks the vehicle handles better than before.

Also, I know the Ironman dealer in India, is a good friend and a very reliable person. You can go back to him with any issues, and he'll make sure its dealt with.

The list kit for Ironman costs ~70-80k IIRC.

OME, is also supposed to be very good. But, I have no first hand experience.

If you just bought it, would suggest using her for a while before upgrading. The Fortuner in stock form is very competent in the rough. I wouldn't be comfortable lifting an SUV that is already too top-heavy. Investing in the right tyres will probably take you more places than a 2" lift.

In this post, you'll see full details on a lift kit:
Lifted Fortuner vs Stock:


And another option (though probably not what you're looking for):

I had opportunity to ride in a friends Fortuner with Iron man, stiffer one in front and medium in back (if i remember correct) and that car was awesome. Roll was reduced to bare minimum and ride over broken patches even at low speeds were just superb. Infact another friend who uses stock car (and abuses the car for it's bad ride) was all gaga after the ride.

This particular set up was done by Sam Kurian from Kearala (R&T Kottayam).

Edit: we took the drive just to test the comfort levels for regular use and high speed sprints, and not offroad. So my vote if for the upgrade. Wonder why Toyota can't manage to give this atleast as an upgrade option. The said vehicle had done more than 1 lakh kms and still felt tight as new.

Yes, from what ive read, a lot of folks on the forum tilt towards OME.

Niranjan. Im sure the stock suspension is quite capable. Im even happy with the touchscreen and the OEM music system, though it has considerable lag in touch response, but it works. Sound quality too is passable.
None of them are broken either. However, Im looking to upgrade from the OEM setup. Ive bent the footboards on my Safari beyond repair and im sure it will happen with the Fortuner too. The 2 inches of lift will only add to my peace of mind and to the vehicles capabilities.

Even ive read about the suspension sagging episode. I feel, the folks selling and installing the suspension are quite capable of doing a good install. What can be doubtful is whether the customer knows exactly what he/she wants and whether the dealer is able to understand this requirement and suggest accordingly.
Very often a confused customer(like me) who doesn't understand suspension setups very well, can endup with a mixed setup which may not be ideal. Thats why this post, to try and understand from experts here and from those who have installed these suspensions.

Dhanush, considering heavy duty rear shocks at the rear, how is the performance when the vehicle is unladen (without camping equipment), say with just driver and co passenger..?


GTO, Coming from the Safari, I dont find the Fortuner top heavy at all. I drove the Safari back to back after i got the Fortuner for a day and suddenly the Safari felt like a bob wagen. If I was to compare the two, the Fortuner in stock form has 50% less body roll than the Safari, thanks to a stiffer suspension setup.
I got the Fortuner with 4 new Yokohama Geo AT/s, which are much better than the stock Dunlops, so i dont intend changing them till they wear off.

Ive seen Maanuj's thread earlier and even awaiting feedback for my post on it.
The Bilsteins are quite expensive. I dont intend adding a performance chip either.

I will be doing a 4k kms road trip (including offroad) next week which will be enough to let me understand the Fortuners suspension properly.

Jaggu, thanks for the feedback. From what ive understood, correct me if im wrong, a mixed setup (medium and stiff) will affect the overall payload the vehicle is capable of. This is especially true if you go offroad with a full payload.
The stiffer front is to take the additional weight of a bullbar and a winch.
The Fortuners stock rear being more bumpy, why would one opt for a medium setup for the rear?

Set up i quoted was set up for more on road comfort and better offroad clearance. Payload was not a priority, and won't it be marginal difference?? Am not sure.

But it works, you have to travel in it to believe it. Felt more like a Crv than a fortuner. Stiffer front also helps in handling and avoiding the pitching while braking.

Unless you intend to install front and rear winch bumpers, expedition tank, carry, extra fuel tanks, etc, etc, go for the standard wight rating. Both websites have detailed information on the constant load rating for each type of suspension. If you go for anything other than standard weight rating without adding the extra weight, the ride will be be very bumpy..

A tad stiff at crawling speeds, but nothing to be worried of.

Twisties and extremely broken tarmac is where you will find the Ironman just amazing.

A little off track question, how much driven and how much did you pay for it ?

I would be interested in the Ironman kit - if someone can point me to a place in/near Mumbai...

You can get in touch with N1 Racing - Mumbai & they could help you with IronMan . also give ARB a thought as its good as well & i have been using it in my pajero sports

Hi Guys,
I'm also interested in installing the 2'' ironman lifts in my 2016 fortuner. Please guide me to a dealer/ shop who can fit this in Delhi/Punjab. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Search for Ace F355. He has ironman setup in his Fortuner.