Builds My 200 Series: Built the long way (1 Viewer)

[aznxfactor]

What's up everyone!

First I must say thanks to all the members here that post and share their information on 200 series here. I wouldn't have gain so much valuable information to help make my build out possible. I've learned so much information that allowed me to move in the direction of my build. Thanks to everyone again!

Nuff of the sappy stuff let's get right to it. I will be posting pics with details of my thoughts.

I call it built the long way for various reasons:
1. Lots of awesome strategies and ways from all you guys and gal's build layout.

2. I had too many projects. I built my lc200 last as while I was gathering information on lc200 over the years, I was able to build my gx470 and my 2011 tundra. So I guess I saved the best for last.

3. Last but not least rational! This is built the long way because I just cant justify or have enough rationale to dump 3k, 5k, 10k, to 20k plus at one time for any of my builds. We all know that modding our lovely 200s can add up quickly by ways of suspension, tires, overland etc. I honestly couldn't justify doing it all at the same time or at large chunks at a time. Besides the other builds, I also became a 1st time father, had to buy a house, life etc. So I had to devise of a buying strategy that didnt make my lady kill me. Haha.

Here we go.
I have a 2016 lc200 in black. 1st owner (bought it as a demo) and it's an amazing vehicle. Biggest reason I bought the lc200 was to knock it off my bucket list at age 34. Originally I was planning on driving to Dallas to buy a white 2010 with 65k but my dealership closed me on a good deal. Haha.

Took it to hidden falls to see what it can do bone stock. Since it's a Toyota, it's built tough for sure!

My first mod and the only mod I had for a couple years was swapping out my OEM wheels to TRD Pro Tundra wheels with 275/70/18 Michelin ATX. These were probably the least aggressive wheels out there but I've used them on my v8 4th 4x4 that I traded for the lc200 so I was comfortable with what it could do and back then I was on a way tighter budget.

Handled like a champ but of course had to take very strategic angles. Got some pics to show and tell.

Below is my early 4runner days. Stock with aftermarket 18s. Haha

 

[aznxfactor]

So for the longest time I kept my lc200 this way. As some of you may know, I constantly ask questions all the time for input because for us Americans let's face it, unless you're from Australia there just isn't a lot of major builders and support for us in the USA. A lot here is the US is from knowledgeable expert mechanics, welders and enthusiasts that started posting here which is awesome. Tons of useful knowledge and creativity as well. Some of you know I work for a Toyota dealership in sales and the things I've learned from you guys really helped my career in product knowledge. People all over the dealership ask for my input on putting together a lift. All knowledge gained from here, t4r, tundrasolutions, and fjcruiserforums.

I was able to find a set of white knuckle sliders that sits in my garage now.

Ill be honest having those sliders didnt get me excited to put them on since I have to drill a hole in the ladder frame. However I got lucky to find a ARB summit bar for a pretty sweet price. And honestly I was up in the air about it until I sent my fiance a pic from ARB website...

Her next reply was, "if you dont get that added on, we might as well break up! That S#!+ looks badass!" Damn well I guess I'm going to put it on now. Haha. So the journey goes. I got it to be painted to be color matched with my 0218 black.

So from Silver

To Black.

I was stoked and nervous at the same time. Stoked because it will match and look like all the ARB and TJM YouTube videos of the company 200 series. I was also nervous because I wasn't sure about putting it on. My baby's front face was about to be rhinoplastied with a new nose. Haha. So I was all over the place.

So now with the bumper finished, it was a matter of time for putting it on. Before putting it on and listening to you guys, I had to get my suspension upgraded...

 

[aznxfactor]

Suspension:
This topic is probably the most in depth topics on here. Very small amount of options for companies in the US which also allowed creativity as well. From what I've gathered:

OME
Icon
King
Ironman
Fox
Tough dog
Tundra ifs
Tundra Bilstein 6112 with creativity from the rear if you want to match the bilstein.

This was probably the toughest part because:
1. I knew I didnt want OME. I had it on my fjz80 and it was awesome but I wanted something more for my lc200.
2. Icon, kings, and fox are probably the most renowned for suspension however 3-5k just for suspension alone was something I couldn't justify as I was not an over lander (yet) and just couldn't justify going that way cost wise.
3. Tundra ISF to me seems to be an awesome route if you had leaking boots so you might as well go that route if you have a high miles cruiser since you might as well get tundra uca, lca, boots, etc any way. Plus you can actually put the tundra trd pro stock on which is the 8112. Since my cruiser was low miles, I just couldn't justify it cost wise.

So the best option for me came from talking here with @kreiken and the Ironman 4x4 cellfoam pro. Did a super stalkerish research on YouTube digging up all kinds of videos about it. I was convinced it was the best bang for the buck option. Plus #ironman4x4america was offering a sweet deal on it with free shipping. Since the bull bar was sitting inside my lc200 for a couple weeks now, I decided to pull the trigger after talking to them. They arrived pretty quick too.

For the record I got the setup and didnt get any UCA as all of you guys recommended. I know, I know, I'm crazy not to since the tires and everything lift wise for this lc200 must be very technical which is 100 percent true. However there was a reason for this in my case:
1. Splurge spending
2. I was running 275/70/18 tires
3. I noticed on a lot of the aussie company 200 buildouts that they didn't have upgraded uca. If you watch ARB "meet mr grey" video it shows what looks like OEM uca with the OME lift. There is also a 4wd video with the aussie talking about key things for overland 200 builds talking about dual battery, snorkel, etc. It looked like factory uca on a lift as well.
Honestly 1 and 2 was the biggest however 3 made me feel better inside about not forking another $800 immediately. Haha.

So after a week at my buddy's shop 5 Star Auto. These were the results:
Before

After

Way beefier suspension for sure.

This thing to me was AWESOME! My family and I (minus extending higher to put my daughter in her carseat now) was stoked! This thing was a bad freaking mama jamma!

 

[aznxfactor]

Some more pics after hand washing it myself. Honestly this was the 1st time I've ever hand washed my cruiser. I normally go through the car wash but I had to and i loved it. I also wanted a tan too so that gave me a great reason to wash my car. Haha.
Before wash

After wash

All my toys in one shot

My gx was my main off roader until now. I know I need to cover the fog light to prevent moisture... :*(

 

[aznxfactor]

I do notice that with the bumper that the weight does impact the engine manners. I notice that "eco mode" is hard to sustain as you gotta put more juice on the pedal to drive it like I'm used to driving it. Loss of power was something I was going to be aware of and it's there but it's ok.

Some additional things that I've purchased and will be talking about soon:

Tires
ARB TRED Pro Max
AFE drop in filter (oiled)
Tyger Roof Rack.

 

[UCrazyKid]

Seriously nicely done. I love the RC-F as well. I've got an IS-F to complement my mildly built LX570.
I'd like to do those wheels on my LX

 

[rwbmedusa]

lookin good!

 

[LC200K9]

Very nice man. I hope soon to build the courage to make a set up like that one day.

 

[aznxfactor]

Seriously nicely done. I love the RC-F as well. I've got an IS-F to complement my mildly built LX570.
I'd like to do those wheels on my LX

Thanks a lot! I was originally looking at an IS-F as well before pulling the trigger on a RC-F. A used IS-F was close in price to a certified RC-F so I bumped myself up.

The trd pro tundra wheels are awesome in that they are very easy to clean and doesnt hold dirt and debris.

 

[KingMidas38]

Great build so far! Sub'ed for updates.

 

[aznxfactor]

So my next addition was tires. As you guys all know, the tires is critical on how your 200 can look, handle, and feel. It's also one of the most complicated areas that we deal with due to the right size and unfortunately the KDSS being very limited on how big we can put tires on. Originally I was deciding on either 285/70/18 or 305/65/18 as both was being ran on by a lot of members here. Also the 285 was a 33.99 inch tire and the 305/65/18 was a 33.58 inch tire plus they look amazing on them as well.

This is where my build took a curve ball. I wanted to delay or space out another significant amount of money into my 200 right at the moment after the lift, bumper, rack, and recovery gear. For me it was the UCA on top of the combination of whatever tires I selected. Tires for those 2 options are running at at sale price $325+. Set of 5 tires, UCA, install balance & rotation that would easily be over $2800. So I wanted something that was a good value for the money that also gave me decent tire size. I already have on 275/70/18 on my 200 before the lift so I could go with that. It's technically a 33.1 inch tire as well. So I started digging and went with tire called Milestar Patagonia MT 275/70/18. Here is a couple reasons why I went with these tires:

1. Price: $158 a tire for 275/70/18 is amazing. 4 new tires installed for less than $800 definitely buys me time for splurging again on UCA, winch, and bigger tires down the road.
2. Reviews: I did research a lot of review from other forums and youtube. Not a lot of mudders did these reviews. Lots of jeeps forums and youtubers with jeeps did. And they love them.
3. Design. For a very inexpensive tire the tread looks very aggressive. I love the way they look.

Honestly 1 and 3 was enough but once I read and saw the reviews on youtube and jeep forums, I had nothing to lose. Plus it's a 33.55 inch tire from what discount tires post. Skinny but tall, which is ok for now. Here is the result:

Below is a pic of the UCA spacing between the tire. It's with the old tire but allows you to see the importance of uca when it comes to bigger tires.

Overall thoughts:
These are actually great overall tires. I know the cliche saying that you pay for what you get however these tires for the money is quite the value:
1. Quite ride on the road and freeway. I'm running 37 psi and may go up to 45 psi for daily driving. No loud humming or really anything that you would notice if your music volume was at 3. It's that quiet.

2. The tread pattern is sick! I love the tread pattern as it looks super aggressive and really makes the 200 look way better than the Michelin atx that was on its last life.

3. Value. 33.5 inch tire for 158 each that's aggressive looking. Plus it's a mud tire for that low at discount tire.

The only con for me was that it was a 275/70/18. You can see that it does sit inside and I would have loved the bigger track stance with the other bigger options. I'll probably run spacers to help with that. Any input on how wide spacers I'll need?

It's really too early to determine the overall durability of the tire but the overall impression is great. Plus they do make bigger sizes as well which is something that I would consider down the road. I'll keep you guys updated every 5k miles as well.

 

[aznxfactor]

Very nice man. I hope soon to build the courage to make a set up like that one day.

Thank you for the kind gesture. It's definitely doable if you use time and patience like I did. I waited for sales, group buys, etc. This way I bought the stuff and put it on in time as we both know it's very easy to dump a lot of money real quick into these things. Haha.

 

[gaijin]

1. Quite ride on the road and freeway. I'm running 37 psi and may go up to 45 psi for daily driving. No loud humming or really anything that you would notice if your music volume was at 3. It's that quiet.

FYI, the Recommended Cold Tire Inflation Pressure for the Milestar Patagonia MT LT275/70R18 on your LC200 is 41psi F/R.

At 37psi you are underinflated and at 45psi you would be overinflated.

HTH

 

[aznxfactor]

FYI, the Recommended Cold Tire Inflation Pressure for the Milestar Patagonia MT LT275/70R18 on your LC200 is 41psi F/R.

At 37psi you are underinflated and at 45psi you would be overinflated.

HTH

Ok thanks for that. I'll put it at 41 psi.

 

[aznxfactor]

Added on the Tyger roof rack.

I'll be posting up my pics shortly on our trip to hidden falls adventure park. Met with a fellow mudder and a GXOR TX member as well.

 

[aznxfactor]

Took her out to hidden falls. She handled like a boss of course. Luckily my parents were in town and I convinced them to come out. We took my lc200 and my gx470. While both performed exceptionally well I was more hesitant on my lc200 as that's my baby and the gx470 has more experience.

Went out there with a fellow mudder with his 80 series and made a new off road friend from Facebook gxor-TX.

Here is some videos from Instagram.
I had to spot my dad in one of the videos. It was a great experience overall but he got me three deep tree scratches from the trip. Oh well. Haha.

 

[aznxfactor]

Just finished my next mod. I can definitely feel the extra +5hp!!!

 

[SQRRRL]

So my next addition was tires. As you guys all know, the tires is critical on how your 200 can look, handle, and feel. It's also one of the most complicated areas that we deal with due to the right size and unfortunately the KDSS being very limited on how big we can put tires on. Originally I was deciding on either 285/70/18 or 305/65/18 as both was being ran on by a lot of members here. Also the 285 was a 33.99 inch tire and the 305/65/18 was a 33.58 inch tire plus they look amazing on them as well.

This is where my build took a curve ball. I wanted to delay or space out another significant amount of money into my 200 right at the moment after the lift, bumper, rack, and recovery gear. For me it was the UCA on top of the combination of whatever tires I selected. Tires for those 2 options are running at at sale price $325+. Set of 5 tires, UCA, install balance & rotation that would easily be over $2800. So I wanted something that was a good value for the money that also gave me decent tire size. I already have on 275/70/18 on my 200 before the lift so I could go with that. It's technically a 33.1 inch tire as well. So I started digging and went with tire called Milestar Patagonia MT 275/70/18. Here is a couple reasons why I went with these tires:

1. Price: $158 a tire for 275/70/18 is amazing. 4 new tires installed for less than $800 definitely buys me time for splurging again on UCA, winch, and bigger tires down the road.
2. Reviews: I did research a lot of review from other forums and youtube. Not a lot of mudders did these reviews. Lots of jeeps forums and youtubers with jeeps did. And they love them.
3. Design. For a very inexpensive tire the tread looks very aggressive. I love the way they look.

Honestly 1 and 3 was enough but once I read and saw the reviews on youtube and jeep forums, I had nothing to lose. Plus it's a 33.55 inch tire from what discount tires post. Skinny but tall, which is ok for now. Here is the result:
View attachment 2037290
View attachment 2037291
Below is a pic of the UCA spacing between the tire. It's with the old tire but allows you to see the importance of uca when it comes to bigger tires.
View attachment 2037292

Overall thoughts:
These are actually great overall tires. I know the cliche saying that you pay for what you get however these tires for the money is quite the value:
1. Quite ride on the road and freeway. I'm running 37 psi and may go up to 45 psi for daily driving. No loud humming or really anything that you would notice if your music volume was at 3. It's that quiet.

2. The tread pattern is sick! I love the tread pattern as it looks super aggressive and really makes the 200 look way better than the Michelin atx that was on its last life.

3. Value. 33.5 inch tire for 158 each that's aggressive looking. Plus it's a mud tire for that low at discount tire.

The only con for me was that it was a 275/70/18. You can see that it does sit inside and I would have loved the bigger track stance with the other bigger options. I'll probably run spacers to help with that. Any input on how wide spacers I'll need?

It's really too early to determine the overall durability of the tire but the overall impression is great. Plus they do make bigger sizes as well which is something that I would consider down the road. I'll keep you guys updated every 5k miles as well.

How are the Milestar tires testing you?

 

[aznxfactor]

How are the Milestar tires testing you?

So far no complaints. They ride really good and they as quiet as nitto terra grapplers. I'm taking a road trip to south padre island from Austin tomorrow morning for vacation. So I'll have some good miles on them. For the price it's really eye opening since I've taken them rock crawling and daily driven my 200 a lot more lately. Now I get to see what it can do in the sands.

 

[SQRRRL]

Nice to hear. They got great reviews. Please keep us updated.