Fortuner Sportivo Suspension Upgrade

[Sakeopete]

I have a 2008 Fortuner TRD with 87k kms the shocks are due for replacement. Can anyone give me a recommendation for replacement shocks or is there a suspension upgrade kit available ? Searching the internet I see Rancho 9000 often mentioned but not for the sportivo.

Thanks

[fredob43]

Toyota Sportivo have there own upgraded shorter shocks as standard. They are not the same as the normal Fortuner. As the Spivo has lowered springs and sports suspension. So I think you will have to go for those.

Sorry to say that have never seen any other make that does them. So looks like it's the Toyota Spivo ones or nothing.

80th Km seems a very short time for them to be buggered I have done 88+ on my 2009 one and they look like new no leaks or excesive responce problems.

Edited April 26, 2016 by fredob43

[Sakeopete]

My shocks are leaking a tiny amount the dealer recommended I change them.

[Kwasaki]

Cockpit outlets try them.

[rakman]

Clean your shocks well so they are clean and dry, then drive down a dusty road for a while, then recheck to see if there is any oil leaking.

It is an old trick to get people to change shocks by putting a little oil at the top and tell the customer the shocks need to be replaced.

The TRD shocks (in the US) are Bilstein that last quite a lot longer than 88km

[SantiSuk]

My 2009 Sportivo has done 180k km and no issues yet. If it is just the leak issue and no obvious handling/ride problems I suggest you follow rakman's clean-up advice above (or take to another dealer after cleaning up and running for a few k km and see if they detect any issues).

[siamcrut]

http://www.vvp4x4.com/find/TOYOTA/Fortuner/

[Pib]

Gosh, my 2009 Fortuner has 162Km on it and the shocks are still fine. Either the OP is riding daily on the railroad tracks or his dealer is BSing him....kinda like the old scam of your tires are now over 3 years old and need replacement.

[IMHO]

Heat is usually the killer of shocks, and heat usually comes from driving in offorad/bumpy conditions. If you read South African or Australian off-roading websites, it seems like the first thing everyone does when buying their 4x4 is replace the OEM shocks with something that won't meltdown out in the jungle.

How long someone gets out of them appears to be a simple question of the conditions of where one drives.

[JaseTheBass]

Gosh, my 2009 Fortuner has 162Km on it and the shocks are still fine. Either the OP is riding daily on the railroad tracks or his dealer is BSing him....kinda like the old scam of your tires are now over 3 years old and need replacement.

Indeed. Who needs tyres that grip?

[Don Mega]

Gosh, my 2009 Fortuner has 162Km on it and the shocks are still fine. Either the OP is riding daily on the railroad tracks or his dealer is BSing him....kinda like the old scam of your tires are now over 3 years old and need replacement.

Indeed. Who needs tyres that grip?

Old hard tyres make good smoke.

[IMHO]

Gosh, my 2009 Fortuner has 162Km on it and the shocks are still fine. Either the OP is riding daily on the railroad tracks or his dealer is BSing him....kinda like the old scam of your tires are now over 3 years old and need replacement.

Indeed. Who needs tyres that grip?

Old hard tyres make good smoke.

With those side pipes, he doesn't need to do a burnout to burn his tires, LOL.

[neverdie]

Gosh, my 2009 Fortuner has 162Km on it and the shocks are still fine. Either the OP is riding daily on the railroad tracks or his dealer is BSing him....kinda like the old scam of your tires are now over 3 years old and need replacement.

I'd go out on a limb here a suggest that 95% of shocks with that sort of mileage on them would be far from ideal condition, especially given the state of many local roads.

Shocks arnt expensive and you might. Surprise yourself with what you've been missing when they are replaced. Problem being, they gradually deteriorate and you adjust as they do.

OME shocks that come on new cars are pretty ordinary to start with, IMO.

[Scouse Twoccer]

Gosh, my 2009 Fortuner has 162Km on it and the shocks are still fine. Either the OP is riding daily on the railroad tracks or his dealer is BSing him....kinda like the old scam of your tires are now over 3 years old and need replacement.

Indeed. Who needs tyres that grip?

Any half decent tyres should still be gripping well after their third birthday.

[JaseTheBass]

Gosh, my 2009 Fortuner has 162Km on it and the shocks are still fine. Either the OP is riding daily on the railroad tracks or his dealer is BSing him....kinda like the old scam of your tires are now over 3 years old and need replacement.

Indeed. Who needs tyres that grip?

Any half decent tyres should still be gripping well after their third birthday.

That may be true, but a large number of people on here will be talking about Bridgestones as they're fitted to a lot of Thai made cars as standard. And they're noticably less grippy into the 3rd year.

[fredob43]

Gosh, my 2009 Fortuner has 162Km on it and the shocks are still fine. Either the OP is riding daily on the railroad tracks or his dealer is BSing him....kinda like the old scam of your tires are now over 3 years old and need replacement.

Indeed. Who needs tyres that grip?

Any half decent tyres should still be gripping well after their third birthday.

That may be true, but a large number of people on here will be talking about Bridgestones as they're fitted to a lot of Thai made cars as standard. And they're noticably less grippy into the 3rd year.

Have to disagree with you there.

Had Bridgestone on my Spivo they were still first rate in both dry and wet after 80th & 6 years. Also had more than half the tread left.

Only change them because 1 had had a puncher so the did the lot.

I would have used Bridgestone again but at 46th for 4 and the fact that they didn't have in stock, went for Nitto at 29th for 4. They glad to say are also great grip wise.

Nitto are crap in the snow allegedly, but learning to live with that as you do.

Edited May 2, 2016 by fredob43

[Pib]

Yea, I'm now at around 3 yrs, 3 months and 65Km with the Bridgestones on my Fortuner. They are are wearing evenly (I do rotate all four every 10-15K), ride smooth at high speed and don't squeal on turns which is usually a sign of getting hard/drying out, got plenty of thread left, grip just fine, etc. I know the "Change Tires Every 3 Years Brigade" will probably disagree.

Below is what the Bridgestone Tire Maintenance, Safety, and Warranty Manual says:

Tire Service Life

Make sure your tires, including the spare, continue to be regularly inspected after 5 years of service to determine

if they can continue in service. Regardless of the tire’s condition or tread depth, it is recommended that tires more

than 10 years old be taken out of service and replaced with new tires. REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR FULLSIZE

OR TEMPORARY SPARE, ALSO. A spare tire over 10 years old may look like a new tire, but it should be

replaced. See “Tire Manufacture Date,” the next section in this manual.

The 10 year period after the date of production is not an or of actual service life for any individual tire. Some

tires will need to be replaced before 10 years due to conditions such as punctures, impact damage, improper infl ation,

overloading, tread wear or other conditions involving use or misuse of the tire. If a tire is worn out or otherwise

unserviceable from damage or conditions of use, it should be replaced regardless of when it was produced or placed

in service.

[JaseTheBass]

My Bridgestones screeched like mad after only 2 years. The Michelins made a huge improvement.

[fredob43]

Yea, I'm now at around 3 yrs, 3 months and 65Km with the Bridgestones on my Fortuner. They are are wearing evenly (I do rotate all four every 10-15K), ride smooth at high speed and don't squeal on turns which is usually a sign of getting hard/drying out, got plenty of thread left, grip just fine, etc. I know the "Change Tires Every 3 Years Brigade" will probably disagree.

Below is what the Bridgestone Tire Maintenance, Safety, and Warranty Manual says:

Tire Service Life

Make sure your tires, including the spare, continue to be regularly inspected after 5 years of service to determine

if they can continue in service. Regardless of the tire’s condition or tread depth, it is recommended that tires more

than 10 years old be taken out of service and replaced with new tires. REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR FULLSIZE

OR TEMPORARY SPARE, ALSO. A spare tire over 10 years old may look like a new tire, but it should be

replaced. See “Tire Manufacture Date,” the next section in this manual.

The 10 year period after the date of production is not an or of actual service life for any individual tire. Some

tires will need to be replaced before 10 years due to conditions such as punctures, impact damage, improper infl ation,

overloading, tread wear or other conditions involving use or misuse of the tire. If a tire is worn out or otherwise

unserviceable from damage or conditions of use, it should be replaced regardless of when it was produced or placed

in service.

Toyota change the tyres round on my Spivo every 20th. Cant see the point as having permanent 4x4 they all ware evenly.

They never squeal even on sticking a large right foot down exiting a u/turn. Thought they might after I had the Engine tweaked but No. That goes for the Nitto as well. But it could be the 4x4 set up helping with that though.

[Pib]

Toyota change the tyres round on my Spivo every 20th. Cant see the point as having permanent 4x4 they all ware evenly.

Tire rotation is a good thing....having 4 wheel drive is really not a player because front tires will wear differently than rear tires...actually each tire will just wear differently over time whether you have a 4 wheel or 2 wheel drive vehicle because of variation in vehicle weight, front wheels being used for steering, road conditions, and just a variety of factors. Various tire rotation patterns a person can go with and some people will get downright religious over a favored rotation pattern.

When I first got my new Fortuner in 2009 I went with the 5 wheel rotation pattern recommend in its owner's manual which also used the full sized spare tire & identical rim. Once those factory tires (which were Michelins) wore out after about 5 years (plenty of thread left after 95K kilometers but they dried out and started giving a bumpy/hard ride when going faster than 80KmH). Put a set of 2013 Bridgestone tires on...a new set (rims and tires) that had just come off a new 2013 Fortuner (the guy had swapped out the tires & rims within a week of buying the new 2013 Fortuner for a new set of mags/low profile tires...pimping his ride out so to speak). Gosh, putting those 2013 Fortuner rims on my 2009 Fortuner made it look almost identical to a 2013...and I got such a great deal on the tires and rims.

Now since I kept an original Fortuner 2009 Michelin tire & rim for the spare tire I no longer included it in the rotation pattern because the tire is old and the rim is different...but still fine as a spare that I have never had to use.

For weeks I researched the pros and cons of various rotation patterns...I finally settled on below cross pattern...if I remember right I got it from a Australian Bridgestone website which include pros and cons of various rotations patterns but I can't find the site anymore...all I kept was a snapshot of the pattern. Have done 2 or 3 rotations using this pattern so far...tires are wearing evenly. Below I also include the recommended pattern from the Bridgestone Tire book I quoted earlier regarding the recommendation on how often to change tires. And with any tire rotation you decide on which includes reversing the direction of tire rotation just be sure the tires are spec'ed to rotate/turn/run either direction....the great majority of modern day tires can, but years back many were designed to only rotate in one direction (of course excluding those times when you are going in reverse/backing-up). I expect when you get right down to it any rotation pattern works good...better than never or infrequently rotating your tires...the key is just to do a rotation!

Cross Pattern...From a Bridgestone Australia website if I remember right

From Bridgestone Tire Manual

[fredob43]

Toyota change the tyres round on my Spivo every 20th. Cant see the point as having permanent 4x4 they all ware evenly.

Tire rotation is a good thing....having 4 wheel drive is really not a player because front tires will wear differently than rear tires...actually each tire will just wear differently over time whether you have a 4 wheel or 2 wheel drive vehicle because of variation in vehicle weight, front wheels being used for steering, road conditions, and just a variety of factors. Various tire rotation patterns a person can go with and some people will get downright religious over a favored rotation pattern.

When I first got my new Fortuner in 2009 I went with the 5 wheel rotation pattern recommend in its owner's manual which also used the full sized spare tire & identical rim. Once those factory tires (which were Michelins) wore out after about 5 years (plenty of thread left after 95K kilometers but they dried out and started giving a bumpy/hard ride when going faster than 80KmH). Put a set of 2013 Bridgestone tires on...a new set (rims and tires) that had just come off a new 2013 Fortuner (the guy had swapped out the tires & rims within a week of buying the new 2013 Fortuner for a new set of mags/low profile tires...pimping his ride out so to speak). Gosh, putting those 2013 Fortuner rims on my 2009 Fortuner made it look almost identical to a 2013...and I got such a great deal on the tires and rims.

Now since I kept an original Fortuner 2009 Michelin tire & rim for the spare tire I no longer included it in the rotation pattern because the tire is old and the rim is different...but still fine as a spare that I have never had to use.

For weeks I researched the pros and cons of various rotation patterns...I finally settled on below cross pattern...if I remember right I got it from a Australian Bridgestone website which include pros and cons of various rotations patterns but I can't find the site anymore...all I kept was a snapshot of the pattern. Have done 2 or 3 rotations using this pattern so far...tires are wearing evenly. Below I also include the recommended pattern from the Bridgestone Tire book I quoted earlier regarding the recommendation on how often to change tires. And with any tire rotation you decide on which includes reversing the direction of tire rotation just be sure the tires are spec'ed to rotate/turn/run either direction....the great majority of modern day tires can, but years back many were designed to only rotate in one direction (of course excluding those times when you are going in reverse/backing-up). I expect when you get right down to it any rotation pattern works good...better than never or infrequently rotating your tires...the key is just to do a rotation!

Cross Pattern...From a Bridgestone Australia website if I remember right

TireRotation.JPG

From Bridgestone Tire Manual

Capture.JPG

Thanks for the info, I don't have a lot of choice anyway as Toyota do it automatically. Bit of a bugger for me as have a pressure/temp sensor's in every wheel, and once changed it throws it all over the place. They still work but the in car gauge then tells me for EG the front tyre is now the back when it's not.

Not the end of the world at least I still know that one of them needs topping.

[Pib]

Thanks for the info, I don't have a lot of choice anyway as Toyota do it automatically. Bit of a bugger for me as have a pressure/temp sensor's in every wheel, and once changed it throws it all over the place. They still work but the in car gauge then tells me for EG the front tyre is now the back when it's not.

Not the end of the world at least I still know that one of them needs topping.

If you don't tell them the rotation pattern you want to use, they will use whatever pattern they been trained/told to use by Toyota. However, when checking in for your periodic maintenance you can always tell/show them the pattern you want. That's what I do...I hand them a piece of paper showing the pattern...they annotated the work order and attached the pattern to the work order. But I really wouldn't worry too much about which pattern might win the best-of-best contest; the important thing is just do do a rotation as all the patterns work well I expect...definitely better than not rotating your tires.

And here's something else to watch out for...the Toyota dealership/shop may not use the rotation pattern shown in your owners manual for a 5 wheel rotation which includes a full size spare with matching rim. If your vehicle came with 5 matching tires & rims if you want to get max mileage from that entire set of tires you need to include the 5th/spare tire in the rotation pattern....I think it obvious you'll get more mileage out of using 5 tires in a rotation pattern than only using 4 tires.

One time when I still had the original factory tires on my Fortuner which included the 5th matching spare tire I told the dealership I wanted a tire rotation also and even pointed to the 5 tire rotation pattern shown in the owners manual, but as I watched them do the maintenance in the customer waiting lounge I noticed they were not including the spare tire in the rotation. I pointed that out to the customer service rep in the lounge and he went out to the maintenance bay to talk to the techs and point out the rotation pattern attached to the work order...after about a minute of conversion they were then looking at the maintenance manual rotation pattern, taking off the spare to use it in the pattern, and I could tell grumbling as they had to redo the 4 wheel pattern they had just finished. Then the rep came back to the lounge and apologized.

[fredob43]

Thanks for the info, I don't have a lot of choice anyway as Toyota do it automatically. Bit of a bugger for me as have a pressure/temp sensor's in every wheel, and once changed it throws it all over the place. They still work but the in car gauge then tells me for EG the front tyre is now the back when it's not.

Not the end of the world at least I still know that one of them needs topping.

If you don't tell them the rotation pattern you want to use, they will use whatever pattern they been trained/told to use by Toyota. However, when checking in for your periodic maintenance you can always tell/show them the pattern you want. That's what I do...I hand them a piece of paper showing the pattern...they annotated the work order and attached the pattern to the work order. But I really wouldn't worry too much about which pattern might win the best-of-best contest; the important thing is just do do a rotation as all the patterns work well I expect...definitely better than not rotating your tires.

And here's something else to watch out for...the Toyota dealership/shop may not use the rotation pattern shown in your owners manual for a 5 wheel rotation which includes a full size spare with matching rim. If your vehicle came with 5 matching tires & rims if you want to get max mileage from that entire set of tires you need to include the 5th/spare tire in the rotation pattern....I think it obvious you'll get more mileage out of using 5 tires in a rotation pattern than only using 4 tires.

One time when I still had the original factory tires on my Fortuner which included the 5th matching spare tire I told the dealership I wanted a tire rotation also and even pointed to the 5 tire rotation pattern shown in the owners manual, but as I watched them do the maintenance in the customer waiting lounge I noticed they were not including the spare tire in the rotation. I pointed that out to the customer service rep in the lounge and he went out to the maintenance bay to talk to the techs and point out the rotation pattern attached to the work order...after about a minute of conversion they were then looking at the maintenance manual rotation pattern, taking off the spare to use it in the pattern, and I could tell grumbling as they had to redo the 4 wheel pattern they had just finished. Then the rep came back to the lounge and apologized.

I don't have a matching spare the Spivo never came with one.

When they change them they use the N/S rear to the F offside system.

That's what throws my pressure set up out.

Regards lasting when I changed my tyres at 80th they still had over 60% life left, well tread wise.

I always stand with/under the car when it's serviced. I don't trust any bugger.

As my technical Thai is at best rubbish it's a case of pointing at what needs or I want doing. At times I'm sure they think I'm just a crazy Farang wanting things done well before they need doing. EG I have the 10th service at 5th.

Will be changing the timing belt on the next service. The lump will have done 90th by then & 7 years old, yes I know it doesn't need it till 150th but the way I drive it would be about 14 years old by then. And no T/belt is going to last that long.

Toyota head office technical Peeps recommend change at 7 years. (It's not in the English book) before anyone asks, I phoned and asked.

N/B the prop has to be greased every 10th but unless you ask they never do it as it's not on any Toyota service chart.

I have it done every service.

Maybe crazy but it's my money and as it's a cheap as chips anyway I don't care.

[Pib]

Will be changing the timing belt on the next service. The lump will have done 90th by then & 7 years old, yes I know it doesn't need it till 150th but the way I drive it would be about 14 years old by then. And no T/belt is going to last that long.

Toyota head office technical Peeps recommend change at 7 years. (It's not in the English book) before anyone asks, I phoned and asked.

Had the timing belt changed on my 2009 Fortuner at the 150Km point which also turned out to be at the 6 years of use point.

Here's my timing belt story: Link

[fredob43]

Will be changing the timing belt on the next service. The lump will have done 90th by then & 7 years old, yes I know it doesn't need it till 150th but the way I drive it would be about 14 years old by then. And no T/belt is going to last that long.

Toyota head office technical Peeps recommend change at 7 years. (It's not in the English book) before anyone asks, I phoned and asked.

Had the timing belt changed on my 2009 Fortuner at the 150Km point which also turned out to be at the 6 years of use point.

Here's my timing belt story: Link

Read your link. Thanks for that, I was quoted at 3,000bt from my local Toyota dealers for full change.

Again peanuts for peace of mind.

Will be having it sorted when I return from England in a few weeks time.

Please don't ask if I'm having a good time here.

[fredob43]

Just put a pair of KYB Super Red gas shocks on the Vigo rear.............

I hope they settle down cos they have taken over the suspension, it ain't doing anifink........

Some times it's better to stick with the manufactures set up???. The only thing I would do to a Vigo would be fit a horizontal shock. Stops the back from tramping, as they do.

[Pib]

How can they settle down? Did you adjust them? Hopefully they are not leaking. Maybe you are just getting use to the new ride feeling.

[fredob43]

How can they settle down? Did you adjust them? Hopefully they are not leaking. Maybe you are just getting use to the new ride feeling.

Non adjustable, but they have settled down..They ain't leaking, new ride feal ain't good, except on really bad surfaces, which l reckon they are designed for. Well the ride is designed to be an off road 4x4....

If things don't improve, or I cannot get on with the difference, l will take them off and fit stock items..

Few hundred KG of cement in the rear might help. Just a thought.