Help Needed (millionth guy to buy a non-kdss lift kit for a 4Runner with kdss)

Edit: Much of this is very wrong, I have X-REAS, not KDSS (time to find a new mechanic), I'll leave this here because I'm still lifting the car and I still would like advice on if 5100's will give me enough clearance.

First time owner here, first time modifying a vehicle too.
Long story, but I'd appreciate any advice and help y'all can offer. So I'm the dumbass in this situation, but I don't think I'm entirely at fault. I bought my 4runner (2022 TRD Sport) in May of 2022 when there wasn't a car on any lot in the east coast, much less a 4runner. I love it but there have been plenty of little things that don't line up with what people say about their 4runners on the internet because I, apparently, am one of eight people who own a TRD Sport.

So I had no idea what KDSS was, or that it came on my 4runner. I decided I wanted to make the car look a little more aggressive because the stock TRD Sport isn't exactly intimidating. So after looking many places, I landed on Custom Offsets, who I have heard nothing but wonderful things about. I got a great deal on wheels (Wicked W909) and spent a little bit more on tires as I was concerned with longevity (Toyo OC AT/III). As of now, I don't do any driving that a stock 4runner can't handle, I just want to have a cool car for my last year of college. So I bought the run-of-the-mill, spacers and rear struts Rough Country 3-inch kit that I'm sure a million other pavement princess 4runners have on them. Little did I know, this kit does not work on a KDSS 4runner. There are plenty of things on Custom Offsets that say "doesn't fit KDSS or XREAS suspensions." Well the listing (which I should hope is fixed by now) for the RC 3" kit says "doesn't fit XREAS suspensions." In the full vehicle fitment list they actually explicitly say that this kit fits a 2022 4Runner TRD Sport. To me, that was enough, especially combined with all the other times you have to answer questions to check and make sure that everything will fit before placing your order. -- I never even knew I had a special suspension or that this kit didn't fit it.

So here's my dilemma right now -- I'm at a pivotal point. I have these wheels and tires that I love (295/55/R20 (approx 33" tires on 20" wheels.)) Will they physically fit on my 4runner right now without touching anything they aren't supposed to? Absolutely. Will the car be able to turn? No. Not only do I want to lift it, but I have to lift it. But, the next cheapest lift kit on Custom Offsets that actually fits my vehicle (ToyTec) is over $2000 and would require more in labor as well. I bought all this on the condition that my final final total all things included was under $4K, so I don't really want to buy that kit. I can bail and just send the wheels and tires back too since I purchased them on the condition that this lift kit with incorrect fitment information would work on my car. But I want to find a way to get these wheels and tires on my car since sending them back would waste a lot of my time and a lot of Custom Offset's money.

I've done thorough research and seen everything y'all and the folks on the other forum have said about either Bilstein 5100's or the 5160/6112 setup. Unless one of y'all has a very good suggestion for another setup that will fix my problem, I think I'm deciding between the Bilsteins. I'm a little paranoid about fitment so I just want to make certain of a few things. If I order two Bilstein 5100 Front Shocks (24-196499), and two Bilstein 5100 Rear Shocks (33-313146), I'd be able to show up to the offroad shop with them and they would be able to fit them on, and that's all they would need? And just to triple-check that we're talking about the same thing, the subtotal for all four of those on Custom Offsets is $546.00. If I can buy that, and they can put it on, and the wheels and tires will fit under the car, and only rub at full turn (295/55/R20), then I'll go with that. Of course then everyone says to just get the 5160/6112 setup because its so much better. And if I could only spend the $1400 on that then I might do it if its worth it or if it is the only thing that will fit my wheels and tires. But then everyone would say to upgrade the UCA's or the vehicle will lean. I don't think I have the money to do the 5160/6112 setup with the UCA's, that'd be just over $2K and probably a lot more in labor. Remember, money and price-for-performance are very much objects for me in this consideration.

Is it ridiculous that I'd worry about the 5100's not lifting high enough? Will the tires obviously fit and I'm just freaking out?
How does rubbing at full turn effect tire life?
Is it, in your opinion, worth it to save the money by buying the 5100's instead of the 5160/6112 setup?
If I buy the 5160/6112 setup, how much of a concern would it be to not buy new UCA's from Bilstein as well? I don't really care about the lean as long as I can't feel it while sitting still. But does not having upgraded UCA's effect daily driving performance, safety, or longevity?

Sorry to bother you all with such a long post, I'm very anxious about this and all the threads I've seen on forums already are just a little too far removed from my situation to feel like the advice there will perfectly translate.

Thank you very much for your advice.

 

You don’t have KDSS, you have X-REAS (Cross-Linked Relative Absorber System) suspension.

 

Holy shit you're right. I didn't believe you at first, I had just listened to what the guy at the garage said. I looked up pics of KDSS and X-REAS and sure enough, I have the latter. Well thanks for saving me plenty of time and effort... I guess its time to find a new mechanic.

 

I’m surprised others more knowledgeable than me haven’t jumped in. From what I know/read X-REAS is reasonably straight forward to convert to a conventional shock/spring which would work in your favor.

 

A lot of what you're going to face with whatever suspension you go with will be due to the tires you chose. Those are considerably different than the stock tires, at almost 2" wider, and over an inch taller:



Lift alone, as has been mentioned ad nauseum on this forum, does not accommodate different sized tires. Wheel offset and the ability to realign the front wheels (which is where UCAs come into play) to move the tires in the wheel well will do more to fit tires, or cutting and grinding the things that rub. I've not seen anyone try to fit that size tire on a 4R in recent memory. Do you happen to know the offset of the wheels you got, and are you dead set on that size tire? 2 inches wider is going to be hard to accommodate. You may have to rethink your plans if you don't want to go down a long road of trying things, only to find out they may not work.

 

https://youtu.be/LAYGdcKSA3o?si=_1deFOLt7PGG7WRb

 

The offset is -24

thanks

 

ah, thanks for this, sounds like my plan needs some rethinking...

 

I stumbled upon this guy when researching for my new suspension setup, and I feel like he knows his stuff.

 

Yeah. You just rip that shit outta there.