[ru153]

Hi

I own a Toyota Fortuner 4x4 MT. It is around 6 months old and have driven it for around 8K kms till now.

I experience a lot of discomfort in driving it even on tarmac and find the ride to be bumpy. Was thinking if replacing the shocks would improve the ride quality.

While speaking to a few people, came across the Bilstein B6. I did not see any thread on anyone's experience after changing the shock absorbers for the Fortuner.

The B6 for Fortuner comes at around 60K+ for front and rear.
Need inputs on whether changing the shock absorbers would give me a visible improvement in ride quality. Does it increase traction on the road? Do the other driving modes such as LL work equally well with a new set of shock absorbers?

[GTO]

The Fortuner's bumpy ride & poor braking are indeed two major disadvantages of the SUV.

Simplest way to improve ride quality : Downsize to 15" (my choice) or 16" wheels. The enhanced sidewall will totally transform your ride quality. Choose good tyres and you shouldn't give away any useful grip / handling. Related Thread

Red Rooster (Bangalore) has a TEIN kit for the Fortuner. Stop by their place and ask for a test-drive...they should be able to arrange for a demo drive. This will be an expensive option though.

[karan561]

Downsizing to 16"er will be more ideal as globally some countries get Fortuner in 265/70 R16 setup too

Originally Posted by ru153

Hi

I own a Toyota Fortuner 4x4 MT. It is around 6 months old and have driven it for around 8K kms till now.

I experience a lot of discomfort in driving it even on tarmac and find the ride to be bumpy. Was thinking if replacing the shocks would improve the ride quality.

What is the tire pressure you are running ? I have tried 29 psi (1 psi less than OE Specified) and it does give me a more planted feel.

Let us know.

[Akshay1234]

Lower your tyre pressure as karan has suggested. Toyota recommended pressure is extremely high at 33 or 34. Try 29psi, this will improve it somewhat.

The next thing you can do is to get a more comfort oriented set of tyres, like the Michelin Latitude Cross. Those will increase the comfort to some extent. But again the set of 4 will cost around 60k.

For shocks like you said the Bilstein is a good bet. It will increase the comfort to some extent. But since you are in Bangalore you have Red Rooster over there. Try out their Fortuner with the Tein suspension too.

Downsizing to 16" is an option, but I don't know about 15s, they may not clear the brakes, etc.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Lower your tyre pressure as karan has suggested. Toyota recommended pressure is extremely high at 33 or 34. Try 29psi, this will improve it somewhat..

What is your source???

Toyota recommended tyre pressure for the Fortuner is 30 psi for all 4 wheels.

[Sahil]

+1 for the tyre pressure. I keep mine at 29 for the past 3 years now and this has caused no visible side effects. Although has noticeably improved ride quality. The ride quality is defiantly yet bumpy, don't expect too much. A suspension change might be a good investment as you probably will keep the car for a few years.

[dadu]

If this is how the Fortuner is Built, this is how it will run. Dont expect miracles, reducing the tyre pressure will also reduce the mileage and put additional stress on the sidewalls due to flexing (thats what is actually giving you the ride comfort).

[Sankar]

According to my BIL the tein suspension seems to make a difference in handling making it more high speed highway friendly reducing the roll. He got the tein installed in his fortuner alongwith racechip and bmc filter from toyota dealer.

[getsurya]

Hi Sankar,


Any cost estimates and measures for us?

Will be interesting to know the parameters of difference in performance!

[n.devdath]

I had contacted Red Rooster and they do NOT have a TD Fortuner with TEIN with them.
What they have is a TD Scorpio.

Also, the TEIN that is being offered comes in two variants.

The basic variant which doesnt have any adjustments costs 85k INR and the premium version which continuously adjusts the settings costs 145k INR.

Both these come with a 2 year warranty.

[ru153]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

n.devdath is right. Red rooster did not have the TD for Tein in T-Fort. The adjustable variant with TEIN is for INR 1.4 lakhs, which was way out of my budget.

I finalized on Bilstein and got it fitted last week. It costs around 70K. Changed to a BMC air filter as well.

The handling is definitely better and so is the ride comfort especially on potholes and speed-breakers. The bumpiness is reduced.
I haven't driven it yet on very high speed yet. Will do that this weekend and give you the feedback.

[getsurya]

Great ru153!


Any pictures to see the parts replaced? Also, eagerly waiting for your long drive feedback for Fortuner with Bilsteins.

Thank you!

[jkdas]

@ sankar; was it an old gen Fortuner?
My friend did drive one fitted withe the kit and he was very happy with the comfort. It was around 1.2lac 4-5 months back and it came with the control.

[Sankar]

Jk, its the new model. I'll be visiting them tomorrow and i'll try to get some pics of the goodies if the vehicle is there.

[getsurya]

Sankar,

That will be great if you have pictures and more information on this front.

I am looking at this option actively.