FJ40 on a freeway?

[Weber Sarge]

In my area , driving below 70 on the Interstates is dangerous as hell - you'll get run over or some idiot will swerve to avoid you and take someone/everyone else out in the process , or just flat out run into you . I'm just keeping up most times at around 72-75 and it handles it just fine .

Driving the Sami at those speeds was flat scary - super soft springs , very long shocks and no sway bar on something that is very light equals a lot of wind movement from other vehicles , even cars . Yes , the little SOHC 4cyl will easily rev , mine was seriously altered (1.6L Tracker , stroker) to turn over 9k and did it regularly . It would flex and grip the road so well I could corner it at high speeds with one rear tire in the air thanks to the locker - probably didn't look real good and one State Trooper gave an opinion on that one day after work .

No way I'd rev an F engine of any sort past 4k , mine must be a lucky one as it's quite smooth at high revs - I've been around other F engines that felt like they would come apart at 2500 or less , just luck of the draw I guess . One probable difference in my Cruiser is the front axle has been cut/turned to 6* to pre-plan for a set of springs , someday . It steers exceptionally tight on the highway and has no wander at all , very planted feeling and responds well even at higher speeds . I also know well how to drive a lifted 4x4 and it's limits - been doing that over 25yrs . To a newbie , you'd better spend some time learning how to maneuver these things safely and not roll it , it's not a Porsche by any means . Street-legal tractor is the best name I've heard yet to describe a 40 ...

Sarge

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

I also know well how to drive a lifted 4x4 and it's limits - been doing that over 25yrs . To a newbie , you'd better spend some time learning how to maneuver these things safely and not roll it , it's not a Porsche by any means . Street-legal tractor is the best name I've heard yet to describe a 40 ...

Sarge

^^^ This is what worries me most. This is my first lifted 4x4, now with an auto-locker. I'm ultra paranoid of cornering - the lean is unnerving! For the amount of money I've spent just getting it on the road, I'd like to keep it on all 4 wheels wherever possible...although I now was to buy a samurai and try this 3-wheeling you speak of. Sounds fun!

 

[Mace]

Go slow and learn your trucks habits. The autolocker will do "odd" things in corners, and when you downshift. Get to know what happens and you'll be fine

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Go slow and learn your trucks habits. The autolocker will do "odd" things in corners, and when you downshift. Get to know what happens and you'll be fine

Yeah - my clutch/throw-out bearing are about toast too - meaning shifts are hard, which the locker responds to harshly. Getting my 40 from point A to point B is essentially an act of pure will. Needless to say, whether or not I can do 80 is the least of my concerns!

 

[cjgoode]

That add saying that factory 1960's fj40 could do 85 MPH all day long is a total crock. Anyone who has driven a stock fj40 with STOCK SIZE TIRES knows you would be lucky to get it up to 55 MPH going down hill. Larger tires make it easy, but not with stock ones.

 

[1911]

Jim's comment about the F series motors turning gas into noise is based on the stock cam profile. It's dead after about 2800 rpm. Replace it with a cam that can handle higher RPM's and you have a whole new ball game.

Yeah, but then of course you'd lose your torque peak way down at 1800 rpm, which is why the F/2F is such a great wheeling motor. Every four-cycle gasoline engine is a compromise; you have to pick where you want your torque and hp. The F motors were designed with the compromise weighted towards low-end torque and reliability.

 

[Mace]

To do 65 mph with stock 29" tires (and 4.11 gears) your motor would only have to be turning about 3K. Any properly functioning F series motor in a mechanically sound FJ40 can easily do that. My, bone stock FJ40 cruised at 65 routinely in Las Vegas back in the late 80's. If you have 3.70 gears, it drops the engine RPM down to about 2800. There is no reason to believe that a 40 cannot go over 55 if it's stock. Lots of them have, and do go faster than that.

I've never found that a modest RV cam hurt the "low end torque" of a cruiser motor. It's like saying that a V8 is a worse motor for a cruiser because it does not have as much low end torque, or that a set of headers ruins the low end torque of a F series motor. The extra power is pretty much all over the place with no major downsides.

The low compression and easy going of these motors absolutely does make them last forever but running any motor at it's limits will shorten it's lifespan. All of these things are just items to think about with the way you drive your truck.

If you are happy at 55, then be happy

 

[FJ404345]

Here on the island the rules are like this:

in the city a max speed 40 kms/h (24 mls/h)

Outside the city max speed 60 kms/h (37 mls/h) to 80 kms/h (49 mls/h) depending the road you are on.

There are no highways so in your FJ40 you don't have to feel embarrassed ever !!

Yes sometimes you can go faster then these speed limits to maybe maybe ...55, but that looks like you are in a hurry and that is weird here.

You guys are speed maniacs !

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Here on the island the rules are like this:

in the city a max speed 40 kms/h (24 mls/h)

Outside the city max speed 60 kms/h (37 mls/h) to 80 kms/h (49 mls/h) depending the road you are on.

There are no highways so in your FJ40 you don't have to feel embarrassed ever !!

Yes sometimes you can go faster then these speed limits to maybe maybe ...55, but that looks like you are in a hurry and that is weird here.

You guys are speed maniacs !

True dat!! I rode a bicycle for 4 years in Holland and I could cruise at 85km/hr (downhill).

I readily drive my Tundra at 85mph on I-10 east of El Paso - 85 is legal on a long stretch out there... and it's pretty straight and flat... gradual hills at times.

I drive 44 at 55mph because I can... and because it gives other drivers a good opportunity to slow down and stare.

Could I drive it faster? Of course!

Would I feel comfortable at 85mph? I don't think so... but, the question is moot... I don't believe 44 would ever reach 85... except on a long downhill... but, long downhills out here include hairpin curves... so, the 85mph would probably be 44's terminal velocity after I rolled it and went over a cliff.

 

[winnie]

to each their own, of course ... mine tells me its comfortable at 50-55 and that works for me ... its nice to relax and actually see the sights once in a while, even in the city ... I like the tractor vs truck analogy ...

 

[DSRTRDR]

Honestly, I can't understand how anyone could actually enjoy driving a 40 at 85mph...

there comes a time on a one-day trip between Phoenix and Moab (or the other direction) when you just want to get there fast

plus, it's fun knowing that you are able to pass the 80s on 37s uphill any day

commentary on the CB: "that blue 40 sure hauls ass" - "it's that big-ass flywheel"

 

[1911]

I readily drive my Tundra at 85mph on I-10 east of El Paso - 85 is legal on a long stretch out there...

All the way to the Crane/Ector County line, between Monahans and Odessa. I'm out there for my business a fair amount myself. That's why I drive my FJC out there instead of my 40 (I did drive the 40 that way once, and about got run over in the right lane).

 

[Solace in Solitude]

All the way to the Crane/Ector County line, between Monahans and Odessa. I'm out there for my business a fair amount myself. That's why I drive my FJC out there instead of my 40 (I did drive the 40 that way once, and about got run over in the right lane).

I'm guessing you weren't driving 85 at the time

 

[BroderickDover]

Thanks all for your response. I have rarely taken my 40 on the highway, only once truthfully for a few minuets due to poor navigation by my passenger

Its got a chevy 350, 4.11, and 35 inch tires. Im asking because im looking to try my luck with an overland trip out here in Texas, and all the good locations are far away from plano. I have no issue staying on frontage roads the entire time, but a few of the other drivers do.

i am simply just curious. i aswell have no tach, so i appreciate the link to the RPM calculator. i completely agree that it is all about responsibility, as well as knowing your vehicle. I have no doubt that driving a 40 on the highway is dangerous.... but lets be real, driving a 40 is dangerous in general

i think with the right precautions, like a team of rigs taking in slow TOGETHER, it may not be as bad.... but i guess i just need to test it out myself.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I think you are worrying yourself to death over this. No offense intended.

Whether I drive my Fj40 at 55mph or my Tundra at 85mph or my Tundra at 60mph, towing my Casita travel trailer, I always have to keep my eyes open (fore and aft) for idiots that insist on being in front of everyone else.

And... There are always RVs or guys towing huge three axle 5th wheels that are going slow enough that even I need to pass.

The slowest I've seen out here in Nevada are the gutless trash trucks that haul garbage to the land fill, on US93, just south of Alamo, NV. I've passed them a number of times, at 55mph, and they looked like they were parked. Made me feel quite superior in my low compression tractor

I lived in San Antonio area for 7 years and in the Austin area for almost 30 years and travelled to DFW many times, mainly on business and if you can comfortably drive your 40 in the DFW (airport) and Plano areas, you will be fine on ANY freeway ANYwhere.

Drive it and enjoy it and, if you drive it slower than the rest of the traffic, always be ready to flip on your hazards or tap your brakes, to wake up the driver rapidly coming up your tailpipe.

 

[BroderickDover]

thanks all, if you see me cruisin Texas anytime, WAVE!

 

[Tex40]

I've taken my 40 out on hwy 75 through Plano/Allen/McKinney at about 60-65 mph - I was more concerned about the other idiot drivers than my truck (especially though that construction in McKinney), that being said, ear plugs would have been nice. I'm running a 350 with 265/75/16 - roughly a 32" tire. I went through the other day and plugged all the holes in the firewall and it makes a surprising difference - especially below 45 mph.

 

[DSRTRDR]

thanks all, if you see me cruisin Texas anytime, WAVE!

dude, your truck will perform a hell of a lot better if you put the bezel upside down

 

[sggoat]

All the way to the Crane/Ector County line, between Monahans and Odessa. I'm out there for my business a fair amount myself. That's why I drive my FJC out there instead of my 40 (I did drive the 40 that way once, and about got run over in the right lane).

Just my .02, but I don't think there are many common autos out there on the freeway that could actually hurt a 40. You might lose you emblems, maybe a reflector, or even a tail light-most are plastic and aluminum
--George--"dam, what was that" Emily- looking up from reading her book(ipad_ "what"?. George--it sounded like we just hit something, or something hit us"--Emily--"I didn't hear a thing, are you ok? How long have we been driving, anyway? Can we stop soon, I need to go to the bathroom." George--" I think I see a car spinning around in the dust behind us, maybe we should stop and check". Emily-"George, didn't you just hear what I said, I need to stop soon, cars do that all the time,- they're probably stopping to take pictures. How long before we can stop?"

 

[Mace]

Other than smashing the frame, denting all corners, smashing the fenders, causing a rollover....