Builds A "Sensible" Build - 2024 Land Cruiser 1958 (4 Viewers)

[westla4x4]

6 Months of ownership now. 10k miles @ 16.5mpg (manually calculated). Not nearly as good as I was hoping but still 1.6x my old Land Rover LR4. Needs a slight lift... maybe.

 

[joseywales]

So the question of the day is: Would you buy it again today with what you know now?

 

[westla4x4]

So the question of the day is: Would you buy it again today with what you know now?

100%. In the world of full time 4wd SUV’s, it has the best combination of on-road comfort, off-road performance and efficiency.

 

[westla4x4]

Feeling like the Achilles' heal of the truck is the ground clearance. So I'm armoring up while I contemplate lift options... First step was the radius arm skids from Asfir 4x4 as this seemed like the second most frequent hit point after the front skid.

I'm a fan of the Asfir product and had some on my previous 4x4 (Land Rover LR4). Problem is that I had thick steel transmission / gas tank skids on my Land Rover and ended up getting an average of around 10 mpg with all the extra underbody protection I added to the truck. These are aluminum and weigh 6lbs... Also ordered the Toyota OEM trans and read differential skids as a lot of the parts websites are having major sales...

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

 

[Jeremy556]

Being pedantic: technically not radius arms, as they are separate upper and lower arms. The LCA mounts are a major weak point on the 150 as well, and one of the first things to get torn apart in rocks. Not sure how effective this front mount protector will be, I think it should encompass the LCA main bolt, as that is where the most damage occurs.

 

[doc5339]

Steel might be heavier, however, it deforms less than aluminum and slides rather than gouging and sticking at least on rocks. When thick aluminum deforms, it is often harder to beat back into shape compared to steel. Astir products look very cool though I am not a fan.

 

[sakhaltours]

Did a couple things:
- removed front air dams

Super-grateful that you're sharing this info; I'm just starting down a similar path (going from 2013 LR4 base to a new 2025 1958 LC).

Question: Any downside to removing the front air dams? I don't like them but have been warned that removing them (on other vehicles) can negatively affect road noise and engine cooling efficiency. Any thoughts on how it's gone on a new LC?

 

[BobJingles]

I haven’t noticed any issue with removal of the air dams. Don't see how these ones would affect engine cooling given the location, either way, no issues with mine @ 10k miles. May negatively effect mpg and noise but imagine it’s negligible and I haven’t noticed a difference. I’m currently at 19.4mpg with 60-40 hwy/city driving.

 

[westla4x4]

Super-grateful that you're sharing this info; I'm just starting down a similar path (going from 2013 LR4 base to a new 2025 1958 LC).

Question: Any downside to removing the front air dams? I don't like them but have been warned that removing them (on other vehicles) can negatively affect road noise and engine cooling efficiency. Any thoughts on how it's gone on a new LC?

No issues to speak of... no perceptible difference in MPG, etc. I think once you start throwing things like KO2's on the rig, removing air dams doesn't make a massive difference in efficiency.

 

[westla4x4]

Scored the OEM Toyota transmission and rear differential skid plates with a steep discount and free shipping... yeah I'm sure "insert your favorite aftermarket supplier" makes it better, but these are cost effective and well, factory supplied... which is a huge novelty coming from a Land Rover platform. Transmission skid install was quick and painless, other than trying to get the bolts off of the front skid plate which was way over tightened (thanks to my local dealership for that on the last oil change). Rear differential skid plate install will be the next project.

 

[Pauly]

Pressed steel plates are very strong. as I see it, they’re perfect unless you are rock crawling. I like the fact that they are lightweight and if I do somehow damage them, I can replace them.

 

[westla4x4]

Installed the OEM Toyota rear differential skid plate this afternoon... Wasn't as bad as I thought but two main take aways:
1. The instructions are concerned with getting the brackets around the brake line, but the real challenge was getting them around the rear anti-sway bar. The instructions thusly made it seem like you had to clear the brake line first when the order was indeed the opposite.
2. The orientation of the brackets wasn't well described in the instructions, but not too tough to figure it all out...

All in all, happy with how it turned out and well needed as I already had a couple marks on the bottom of the differential from trail use. Scooped a light lift this weekend on Memorial Day sale, curious to see how that'll turn out.... stay tuned.

 

[TNCruiserFan]

Installed the OEM Toyota rear differential skid plate this afternoon... Wasn't as bad as I thought but two main take aways:
1. The instructions are concerned with getting the brackets around the brake line, but the real challenge was getting them around the rear anti-sway bar. The instructions thusly made it seem like you had to clear the brake line first when the order was indeed the opposite.
2. The orientation of the brackets wasn't well described in the instructions, but not too tough to figure it all out...

All in all, happy with how it turned out and well needed as I already had a couple marks on the bottom of the differential from trail use. Scooped a light lift this weekend on Memorial Day sale, curious to see how that'll turn out.... stay tuned.

I see a couple of ramps and a floor jack in these pics. Have you been able to do your undercarriage work with those or have you need anything else regarding lift/access?