Tire & wheel recommendations for 2001 LC (1 Viewer)

[tienchieh]

Hi, I'm new and this is my first post. I was lucky that I got my hands on a 2001 LC with only 63,000 miles on it. It came from the sister of my best childhood friend. The vehicle is running perfectly and I'm in love with it. I had replaced the radio system since as the original system sounds horrible. Recently, I'm thinking about to do a 3" suspension lift along with some new tires & wheels. I want to put on some bigger tires & wheels but I'm a bit confused about the offset they talked about. So, with your personal experience, what recommendations(size and mfg) you have for me to finish this project? Thanks in advance!!

Tienchieh

 

[JunkCrzr89]

I'm thinking about to do a 3" suspension lift

Don’t do it. The vehicle will ride like a stagecoach.

So, with your personal experience, what recommendations(size and mfg) you have for me to finish this project?

Depends on intended usage.

 

[tienchieh]

I’m planning to move to Colorado next year. I’m a fly fisherman and intend to visit some of the Alpine lakes in CO and some off-road driving is required to get there, hence, the intended lift and tires & wheels.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Lift and tire/wheel changeover isn't needed for probably 95% of fishing access trails I know of, stock LC will do just great getting there and you won't mess with a great stock ride and quiet/long lasting all terrain tires. That said, lift and tires/wheels for appearance because you want to, I get it. Tons of pictures in the stickie threads to give you ideas as well as many threads already on aftermarket wheel options, including using Tundra wheels.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

I’m planning to move to Colorado next year. I’m a fly fisherman and intend to visit some of the Alpine lakes in CO and some off-road driving is required to get there, hence, the intended lift and tires & wheels.

I live in Colorado and do all you mentioned and more without a lift and with 285/75r16 tires wrapped around the factory forged wheels. The 100 is incredibly capable in stock form.

 

[skymast]

Big commit when you do a lift like that. In my opinion, when you go that route you really need to go all the way with bumpers, sliders, etc, etc to get a good look.

And, as others mentioned, you will end up out in the wilderness, fly fishing next to someone with a stock LC!

 

[Patassa]

Hi, I'm new and this is my first post. I was lucky that I got my hands on a 2001 LC with only 63,000 miles on it. It came from the sister of my best childhood friend. The vehicle is running perfectly and I'm in love with it. I had replaced the radio system since as the original system sounds horrible. Recently, I'm thinking about to do a 3" suspension lift along with some new tires & wheels. I want to put on some bigger tires & wheels but I'm a bit confused about the offset they talked about. So, with your personal experience, what recommendations(size and mfg) you have for me to finish this project? Thanks in advance!!

Tienchieh

3" is too much, you'll have issues with the front upper control arms(alignment), and the CV angles.
You could do a 1.5-2" pretty easy with new rear springs from Old Man Emu or Iron man 4x4 and crank your torsion bars. I'd suggest a diff drop kit even at 2" though, no need to put additional stress on the CVs if you don't have to.


If you remove your running boards and buy 33" tires, you will do quite a bit to give it a lifted look without doing any suspension work though. Honestly I'd start with that and see if you're happy. Just those two will radically change the look of the cruiser while adding a little ground clearance and a ton of new body clearance without screwing up your ride quality.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

I’m planning to move to Colorado next year. I’m a fly fisherman and intend to visit some of the Alpine lakes in CO and some off-road driving is required to get there, hence, the intended lift and tires & wheels.

I'm with the guys here on this one. It's so tempting to want to jump into a lift, big ol' tires, etc., but I've learned that 99.9% of the time it's not needed for your application. I do a lot of hunting and backcountry activities, so driving forest roads for access to hunting/hiking/fishing spots is my primary off-road use.

I've learned that a big priority for such use is how it handles the washboard, potholes, rocky forest roads, rather than its ability to conquer the Rubicon Trail. For this purpose, I prioritized 16" wheels allowing bigger sidewalls that can be aired down and soften the drive. The stock suspension is great and if you research on here about AHC, is more than capable and probably preferred for your use case. The approach angles and ride height stock, with 285/75/16 tires is fantastic, especially with the optional AHC Hi lift when needed.

I'd bet you'd be thrilled with just making sure your AHC is well tuned and going with a 285/75/16, then using the rest of the money for a roof rack or storage organization for your fly rods and gear.

Enjoy!

 

[tienchieh]

Thanks for all the responses! Honestly, I'm not that familiar with some of the technical terms you're referring to, but it seems that the consensus is to not doing the lift and go with bigger tires. I'll try to digest what you all were saying and decide from there. Meanwhile, please keep on commenting on this subject. I like to hear them all!!

 

[Manhattan]

This is like the 12th time I've posted this pic. Seriously. It just seems to answer so many questions - lift, tires, running boards, fender "flares"... For now, yeah - don't lift the truck. Maybe crank the Torsion Bars a little (or use that magic AHC button) and get some ATs.

These two 100s are the same year. Both are stock. Mine is the best color... I mean the one on the left.
TBs cranked 1", fender garnishes in the trash, running boards sold, and those ubiquitous 33s.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

I'd bet you'd be thrilled with just making sure your AHC is well tuned

OP has a 2001 LC, so no AHC.

 

[Patassa]

This is like the 12th time I've posted this pic. Seriously. It just seems to answer so many questions - lift, tires, running boards, fender "flares"... For now, yeah - don't lift the truck. Maybe crank the Torsion Bars a little (or use that magic AHC button) and get some ATs.

These two 100s are the same year. Both are stock. Mine is the best color... I mean the one on the left.
TBs cranked 1", fender garnishes in the trash, running boards sold, and those ubiquitous 33s.

View attachment 3158109

Precisely the picture I was trying to paint. Perfect, thanks.

 

[Spench]

It’s amazing where a stock Landcruiser can go. I’m not into hardcore rock crawling, though I occasionally get myself into a pickle anyway. About the toughest road I’ve done is Lippincott in Death Valley, there are tons of YouTube videos of people on this road to give you an idea of the difficulty, it’s probably on par with some of the roads you’d take to go fishing. I’ve done this trail in a stock 4Runner with no lift, factory wheels and BFG AT tires that were less than 50% tread. No damage, no problem. Last year I did it in a recently acquired LX470 with stock wheels and those lame Michelin tires everyone seems to put on them to try and improve the atrocious gas mileage. The trail was in pretty bad shape but no problem. The LX has the AHC so I did have the couple inch lift, which was nice but not essential.
I’ve since put on bigger tires and wheels, and the first thing I noticed was the loss of power. It takes more hp to get those things turning. There aren’t that many choices in wheels if you aren’t into the fake beadlock look. I got the 18” Method 701 wheels because I like the clean, simple look and put on 33” BFG ATs. This raises it up a little bit and it’ll go anywhere like that.
Lifted trucks look cool, but they don’t handle as well on the road, and most of us realistically spend far more time on road than off.

 

[hoser]

Recently, I'm thinking about to do a 3" suspension lift along with some new tires & wheels. I want to put on some bigger tires & wheels but I'm a bit confused about the offset they talked about. So, with your personal experience, what recommendations(size and mfg) you have for me to finish this project? Thanks in advance!!

For you, I'd suggest 30mm rear spring spacers, crank the front 30mm to match. 17" aftermarket wheels with 25-35mm offset. C-load LT tires in 33" diameter and you are set... sliders would be good too.

 

[krice118]

I’ll throw a wrench in the works. When I had my stock 16s (285 75 r16) I wanted tundra 18s. Now that I have tundra 18s I love the way 285 75R16 look

. I really like the on street driving of my 275 70 R18. It has a tighter turn radius than the 285 width as well as less sidewall so a little less body roll.

I don’t live in CO any more and do 99% street driving

 

[waynegro]

The forged BBS’s. Bonus points for HE bronze ones.