80 Guy Has Question About 100-Series Highway Manners

[harrydunn]

Am I allowed on this side of the fence? I love my locked '93 and it drives just like it should but as many can attest, lacks great highway manners in wind, or in general really, relatively speaking to newer vehicles. Looking for an 03-07 Hundo and was curious if any of those owners could chime in about the highway manners of their rigs in calm and wind. Not looking to start a debate at all or cause any ill-will to those 80 owners who's rigs drive like a new (insert luxury sedan model here) in the wind (in their own mind). :-O

Thanks.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

It's a taller high profile vehicle, just like your 80, it will get buffeted around in wind. Not sure what you're expecting. As for non-windy days, great road trip vehicle. Search, plenty of threads on 80 folks moving to 100's.

 

[harrydunn]

I'm not expecting a low-profile sleek sports car sort of ride in the wind. Just asking for a little input. I've done my due diligence and searched and read a few posts. I've been around a while like yourself and know the drill. I feel like we are sometimes discouraged from posting anything unless we can prove we've read 8,000 posts on the matter first. Just trying to get along with everybody and have some nice dialogue as this is a social website. Thanks.

 

[TXLX100]

My LX is solid. Drives like a car or better on the highway. Much better than other big vehicles I've driven.

 

[harrydunn]

Thanks for the input, TX.

 

[costalcat]

My 03 is great windy or not. I drive a lifted 87 VW Syncro TDI as a comparison and it is night and day which you would expect. My point being that I know what wind can do with a lifted box at 70 MPH.

I do a lot of driving on I40 with the 100 and windy or not I am constantly impressed with how smooth she drives. I see you are looking at 03-07 which I would recommend due to the additional gear. Right now I have 185,000 on her and recently replaced shocks. I don't have a lift but I do have larger BFG's on there. Again great highway vehicle IMO

 

[harrydunn]

Great to hear. Yep, specifically looking for an '03 and up for the extra gear and the fact that a lot of the '98-'02 issues are hammered out--transmission, exhaust manifolds, starters. Skipping '04 as I don't want to mess around with the MFD problems. Cheap enough to fix I suppose, but I'd rather not have to rip my dash apart. I enjoy working on my 80 but the older I get, I find myself preferring to do other things, if possible. I can only imagine how your VW drives in high winds! Ha. I drive my brother's '13 Tundra every once in a while and I'm also looking at one of those. Great on the highway but really don't need a truck that large. That 5.7 engine though. What a beast.

 

[n55luvr]

I'll say that our 100 is quite a bit more stable than the Tahoe it replaced. Wind gusts seem to have a much smaller impact than in the Tahoe. Our LC can track straight for long distances on the highway, way better than our other newer vehicles actually.

We have a couple newer vehicles in the garage and 9 times out of 10 I take the 100 for daily driving. 100% of the time we take the LC for any trips that require the whole family.

Oh and your comment on skipping the 04 to avoid MFD issues... Spot on! I have an 04 and my MFD went out for a second time in 9 months. Horrible feeling and sucky situation to be in.

 

[harrydunn]

Thanks for chiming in. Wow. 2nd time? Did you send your original in for repair or is this a totally new 2nd unit?

 

[wolffo]

2003 with 121k lift and 295s
it wanders a bit and gets bullied by the crazy high winds out here in front range of Colorado
my 2005 tundra with lift is better
my 2002 4runner with lift is better
old 1999 4runner with lift was better

 

[Vasopressor]

I have a stock 06 LX470 and it is smooth on the highway and feels stable in the wind. The '06-'07 has a bit more horsepower and VVT-i which is a noticeable upgrade on the highway, in my opinion. Test drive a few and really get on it. Whichever you decide, it would be a big upgrade on the highway vs an fzj80.

 

[CanadianRockyCruiser]

We frequently drive into and across high winds coming down the foothill from the Rockies. The AHC is helpful in preventing any bouncing from gusts, particularly when in "Sport" mode..."Comfort" mode is a bit more bouncy in high wind situations.

 

[pkelly72]

i can remember the wind bothering my previous two 80's but I can't recall the wind bothering my previous 100 which was lifted or the 07' I have now

 

[REZARF]

100's drive like Cadillacs... only nicer.

 

[harrydunn]

I have a stock 06 LX470 and it is smooth on the highway and feels stable in the wind. The '06-'07 has a bit more horsepower and VVT-i which is a noticeable upgrade on the highway, in my opinion. Test drive a few and really get on it. Whichever you decide, it would be a big upgrade on the highway vs an fzj80.

Would love an '06-'07 for that very fact but likely will go '03 or '05 due to prices. Pretty big jump on 06-07 and I want to avoid AHC. I've been able to find quite a few 06's without it but seems like the majority of 07's have it.

 

[harrydunn]

i can remember the wind bothering my previous two 80's but I can't recall the wind bothering my previous 100 which was lifted or the 07' I have now

I hear ya. My brother and I drove his cherry LX450 from mid-Missouri across Kansas to Colorado in a nasty cross-headwind. You were dead tired after a day of fighting it.

 

[Catskills]

The weight makes a difference too, if you compare it to other suvs. My 4runner felt like a kite by comparison. I am driving my LC to MT this summer towing a raft trailer, and I can't wait. I doubt I'll have to grip the wheel with both hands when a semi passes me.

It was the smooth manners and power of my husband's LC that made me sell my modded 4R (which I swore to anyone who cared to listen that I would never part with). I started stealing his every chance I got and bugged him for 4 months until he relented and agreed I could sell the 4R to get one.

Do it. You won't regret it.

 

[n55luvr]

Thanks for chiming in. Wow. 2nd time? Did you send your original in for repair or is this a totally new 2nd unit?

Same guy is repairing it. Says he has a new repair technique. Charging me just a small fraction of the normal $300 charge. There are numerous companies out there doing the repair, all for around that $300 price.

A remanufactured Denso unit runs $1300 plus $500 core. I've seen used oem for $1800. Discount Toyota sites sell new oem for $3500 and my local Toyota dealer wants $5500.

If it happens again I'll probably go reman. While it's super annoying it's not something that would cause me to sell the truck.

 

[harrydunn]

Man, that's unfortunate. Too bad the '04 is somewhat tainted by such a tiny soldering problem. Easy to fix, however it sounds like! I suppose I could open my search up to include '04s. You've got to figure that some of them have already been fixed that are for sale.

 

[arcteryx]

I would not rule out a 04 because of the MFD if everything checks out. Numerous places will fix them, from a 1 year warranty to lifetime. Pulling it out is a 5 minute job, really easy.

The wheelbase is the same as an 80, but the road manners with IFS and the V8 are a big upgrade and the suspension is better to accommodate those crappy roads in CoMO (hated those roads when I lived there). Plus it's nice to go 75+ in a cruiser.