Hi Everyone.
I've been lurking for a while, but just now decided to go ahead and join. A year ago, I gave up on new cars and decided to buy a 2002 Sequoia Ltd. 4x4. The beast had 145,000 miles on the clock and I probably overpaid a little at 9,000 bucks...but after being a gearhead as long as I have, it was pretty obvious that, in spite of its age, it had been well maintained (timing belt at 95,000 miles, regular oil changes, etc.). A good compression test sealed the deal for me.
We've managed to put 35,000 miles on it in a year and, with the exception of a radiator that failed spectacularly (apparently toyota does everything well EXCEPT radiators) on the way to my in-laws' for Thanksgiving, the truck has been pretty rock-solid.
Its getting to the point now, however, that the shocks and struts are letting her get a little squirrely when she hits rough pavement at highway speeds...so here is what I'm pondering.
I've been wanting to do a mild expedition-type build on this thing because I'd like to take a trip out west with the Family before my daughter graduates from High School. I'd like to head out though some of the back country byways out west and, maybe do some slightly more demanding offroading camping.
I learned from back in my Jeep Bobtail days, that a well thought-out setup is will be better than a huge tire/high lift for about 96% of conditions...especially when on-road manners are something you also need.
I was thinking about going up about 2-3 inches through the use of Toy Tec spacers and springs and Bilstein shocks and doing the corresponding differential drop. Then using steel wheels ('cause they're cheap) and slightly larger tires.
What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone have experience with a setup like this and, if so, does it sacrifice a lot of on-road drivability (this car is primarily driven by my wife)?
Thanks everyone for your help and patience with someone who is probably asking the same question that has been asked 10,000 times before.
I've been lurking for a while, but just now decided to go ahead and join. A year ago, I gave up on new cars and decided to buy a 2002 Sequoia Ltd. 4x4. The beast had 145,000 miles on the clock and I probably overpaid a little at 9,000 bucks...but after being a gearhead as long as I have, it was pretty obvious that, in spite of its age, it had been well maintained (timing belt at 95,000 miles, regular oil changes, etc.). A good compression test sealed the deal for me.
We've managed to put 35,000 miles on it in a year and, with the exception of a radiator that failed spectacularly (apparently toyota does everything well EXCEPT radiators) on the way to my in-laws' for Thanksgiving, the truck has been pretty rock-solid.
Its getting to the point now, however, that the shocks and struts are letting her get a little squirrely when she hits rough pavement at highway speeds...so here is what I'm pondering.
I've been wanting to do a mild expedition-type build on this thing because I'd like to take a trip out west with the Family before my daughter graduates from High School. I'd like to head out though some of the back country byways out west and, maybe do some slightly more demanding offroading camping.
I learned from back in my Jeep Bobtail days, that a well thought-out setup is will be better than a huge tire/high lift for about 96% of conditions...especially when on-road manners are something you also need.
I was thinking about going up about 2-3 inches through the use of Toy Tec spacers and springs and Bilstein shocks and doing the corresponding differential drop. Then using steel wheels ('cause they're cheap) and slightly larger tires.
What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone have experience with a setup like this and, if so, does it sacrifice a lot of on-road drivability (this car is primarily driven by my wife)?
Thanks everyone for your help and patience with someone who is probably asking the same question that has been asked 10,000 times before.
