2021 Heritage build questions. (1 Viewer)

[163bc]

Hello to all. I have a new 2021 LC Heritage and am just getting started with my build. I am a 1st time LC owner after wanting one for years. I'm researching as much as i can and really want to make sure i get the build just right without going overboard on a bunch of stuff I don't need. So far I have done undercarriage and upper sheet metal rust preventative and Nuxudol undercarriage coating. IGL ceramic paint coating and window tint. Very pleased with those items so far. I'm ready to go on to the next step. I really like the ride and handling of the stock suspension and would like to keep it stock as much as possible. Wife will drive it occasionally so I'm not really looking to lift it if I can avoid it. I have already ordered Bud built skid plates and Sliders. I am also considering the following; and seeking advice and input from others with more experience.

OEM front spacers
Trail tailor hw mount w Warne 12K winch
OR
ARB Sahara front bumper w Warne 12K winch
Question here is about weight? Will bumper w winch be too much without needing suspension changes? Suggestions??

Prinsu roof rack or Gamiviti
Quiteness is biggest concern followed by long term durability.

Wheel spacers ?
Wider/taller or more aggressive tires?

Thank you all in advance

 

[CharlieS]

Welcome. They're great as they are delivered. Everything you do to them is a compromise from the nicely balance package Toyota provides. Many of us mess with it anyway to tweak it for out specific uses.

You didn't say what you will use if for. If for mall crawling and kids soccer practice duty, you've probably already gone too far with Budbuilt skid plates. If for hard core off-roading, you've got a long way to go. Saying what you plan to do with it will help people target their responses to your needs. There isn't a one size fits all (well, arguably stock is one size fits all).

Once you add steel bumpers, winches, etc, you will likely want to think about suspension upgrades.

Lots and lots of information has been posted on this site for the questions you've asked, I'd suggest spending some quality time in the FAQ and searching on topics that you are curious about.

 

[163bc]

Thanks for the reply. This site is a treasure trove of info and I have spent hours a day on it trying to educate myself. I've answered a bunch of questions already w that reading and research.

As for what I plan to do with it?? Well that depends on what situations I find myself in. I definitely won't be doing hard core 4 wheeling or at least I don't intend to but.... I work in the construction industry and while I don't plan to use the vehicle for work sometimes I may find I need to be on muddy or hard to access construction sites. I live in a rural area on my own farm and between that and helping run a much larger farm/ranch for a friend I have many thousands of acres of land that I can and sometimes need to get to, some of it pretty rough some can be very muddy and sloppy. I do have a P/U, UTV, or farm equipment for those purposes but...........sometimes I need to go where I need to go when I need to go there and get back which is the whole reason I bought a LC to start with. When all that is done if the wife wants me to take her into the city to a five star restaurant I'd like to be able to do that in my LC as well. So i guess the real answer is I need versatility.

I'm really on the fence with a winch. I already have one on my P/U and a tractor if things get bad but I have had a time or 2 thru the years that I was really glad I had a winch. It saved me a great deal of time and $$$$ more than once. There have also been more than a few times I needed one and didn't have it!! For those that already have a winch on their LCs I wonder how much it is actually used?? The other thing is I have a brand new Warn winch that didn't cost me a dime. Why not bolt it up??

Same with a roof rack. Most likely spend more time unused...but when you need it it is there.... Thanks again

 

[Madtiger]

With what you’re doing……BudBuilt skids are overkill and adds unnecessary weight…..esp if you gonna add bumpers and winch to stock suspension. BB sliders are good call though.

Maybe just keep the sliders and upgrade tires to something more meaty (AT tires are good start, or go all out for MTs)….and see if you need anything else. Because beyond these two mods, you will likely overload the stock suspension and then that adds to more stuff you need to buy.

BTW, unless you rock bash, there is nothing wrong with the stock skid plates!

 

[CharlieS]

Cool. Given your uses, the first thing I'd do is install some better tires, either in the stock size or even a little bigger. 33" is where the mud flap removal/heat moulding seems to start, so keep that in mind. I run bfg AT KO2s year round and am a huge fan. Opinions on tires vary widely around here though. Everything else is fairly optional. Since you have a free winch, the TT hidden winch mount is great (I just can't speak to how the stock suspension will do, since mine is upgraded). With my winch and hidden winch mount I have 100 lbs, and there is a bunch of heavy stuff that comes out to install it, so you're probably +50 or more pounds from stock with that mod alone. It is really unobtrusive, so I wouldn't worry about it from that perspective.

 

[163bc]

Forgot to mention i went with ALUMINUM skid plates front to back. 108 lbs total weight.

 

[radman]

Prinsu roof rack or Gamiviti
Quiteness is biggest concern followed by long term durability.

Prinsu wins in both of these categories. Prinsu is aluminum vs gamaviti steel. Lighter, no rust, lower profile, no wind fairing issues. Prinsu is completley quiet with the sunroof shade closed.

 

[Madtiger]

Cool. Given your uses, the first thing I'd do is install some better tires, either in the stock size or even a little bigger. 33" is where the mud flap removal/heat moulding seems to start, so keep that in mind. I run bfg AT KO2s year round and am a huge fan. Opinions on tires vary widely around here though. Everything else is fairly optional. Since you have a free winch, the TT hidden winch mount is great (I just can't speak to how the stock suspension will do, since mine is upgraded). With my winch and hidden winch mount I have 100 lbs, and there is a bunk of heavy stuff that comes out to install it, so you're probably +50 or more pounds from stock with that mid alone. It is really unobtrusive, so I wouldn't worry about it from that perspective.

I know that he cares about quietness…..but with the conditions that he might be in (muddy & sloppy), i am not even sure KO2 (or any other AT) will do well.

 

[highfructose]

If you want suspension to stay relatively stock, you should be looking at all aluminum everything...

look in the dissent thread for:
Bumpers
Skids
Sliders
Roof rack

 

[CharlieS]

I know that he cares about quietness…..but with the conditions that he might be in (muddy & sloppy), i am not even sure KO2 (or any other AT) will do well.

I am not a tire expert, just sharing what I use. I wouldn't begin to know what tires would work best, but I suspect mud terrains are too noisy for date night.

 

[afgman786]

I am not a tire expert, just sharing what I use. I wouldn't begin to know what tires would work best, but I suspect mud terrains are too noisy for date night.

Not all MTs are equal. I have been shocked by how relatively quiet KM3s are. Until I get up to 75+ they aren't loud enough to bother or really be noticed, my dad was even shocked when he wasn't hearing the typical MT noises.

 

[Madtiger]

I am not a tire expert, just sharing what I use. I wouldn't begin to know what tires would work best, but I suspect mud terrains are too noisy for date night.

And you know how much it pained me to type out that KO2 won’t work……being that i am the local KO2 fanboy according to some….

Not all MTs are equal. I have been shocked by how relatively quiet KM3s are. Until I get up to 75+ they aren't loud enough to bother or really be noticed, my dad was even shocked when he wasn't hearing the typical MT noises.

I had Firestone Destination MT and they were not bad. Firestone recently came out with MT-2 which may be even better in terms of quietness. And the nice thing about Firestone MTs is that they are fairly lightweight AND 3–ply sidewall.

 

[163bc]

no tire is really good in Northwestern Va. mud and clay. totally clogs up tire treads in 1 turn. I've tried about every truck tire you can think of thru the years. Best of any of em are only gonna be OK in this mud. Because of that ride quality is more important to me. If it works out that a good ride also has OK mud performance that's a winner.

 

[YieldHunter]

without going overboard on a bunch of stuff I don't need

Well... umm... this may not be the right place for you. Ha jokes, but def beware the slippery slope and the "enablers" here!

Having recently bought new and then designed a build that suited my needs, I'll share what I did and seemed to work well: 1) make honest list of what I want to achieve IN ORDER so I could later weigh cost/benefit, 2) go through ~30 build pages to see what people did and what feedback they and others gave, 3) emailed/called/messaged Mud members close by who I thought really kicked a$$ so I could actually go and see their rigs and get better sense for what I was really considering, 4) posted a pre-build thread so people could yell/complain/laugh and give me feedback on my plan (this was excellent, loved the feedback), 5) find a reputable shop I could partner with and make final decisions w/ someone I could trust.

Just my opinion on a good way to "lasso the universe" b/c it helped me get my arms around this project in a reasonable and manageable way.

 

[163bc]

Good advice from all. much appreciated. Yeildhunter my wish list is in the original post and I don't think I'll go much beyond that. I know the slope is slippery which is why I'm being very cautious as i proceed . I really like the stock looks and overall performance of the vehicle and don't want to venture too far from that.

I've been back and forth on the roof rack and have pretty much decided on Prinsu with overall weight being the deciding factor.

I'm going to keep thinking on the winch and mount. I think I'll come in at under 100 lbs. all in with the Warne and a trail tailor HWM. My local LC mech said i should be fine w factory suspension and that weight. Hoping the OEM spacers would help offset that but will research some more.

As for tires I'm leaning towards the KO2s at this point. I've had good luck and performance from them in other vehicles and the noise is too not bad. I have 18 inch rims on the Heritage and want to go with the largest size i can without causing rubbing.

Thank you all again for all the great info and keep it coming.

 

[CharlieS]

In case it is a useful data point: I have a Warn 12k Synthetic and a Trail Tailor Hidden Winch Mount and it is almost exactly 100 lbs (but when you install it you remove the heavy aluminum bumper support, foam and two steel frame horns with associated hardware).

 

[grinchy]

You expect to rarely use your winch. So why install all that weight? If you need a just in case winch alternative you can carry a couple bog outs.

 

[163bc]

In case it is a useful data point: I have a Warn 12k Synthetic and a Trail Tailor Hidden Winch Mount and it is almost exactly 100 lbs (but when you install it you remove the heavy aluminum bumper support, foam and two steel frame horns with associated hardware).


any idea what the net weight gain may be?

 

[radman]

any idea what the net weight gain may be?

Crash bar and horns weigh 35lbs.

 

[prharper]

no tire is really good in Northwestern Va. mud and clay. totally clogs up tire treads in 1 turn. I've tried about every truck tire you can think of thru the years. Best of any of em are only gonna be OK in this mud. Because of that ride quality is more important to me. If it works out that a good ride also has OK mud performance that's a winner.

hmmm. Sounds like you are located not too far from me? I'm in Loudoun County. I did a front bumper replacement, winch and bigger tires... Then upgraded suspension. Very happy with the ride. Pretty quiet on the highway and has performed great around here in mud and clay.

Would love to checkout all your accessible acreage with my 200 You can judge for yourself with what you think may work for you in the area.