TLDR: Hello, I'm Cedar, just bought a LC, I want a mild lift, and I’m having trouble figuring out which springs to choose.
Hello all, my name is Cedar, and I’ve been lurking for a few months, just bought my first LC, a 2001 with 177,000 miles in very nice condition. It passed a thorough 90 minute inspection at a good garage, and had an encouraging carfax, so I think it is starting from a good place. Of course I’m changing all the fluids ASAP. So far we’ve taken it skiing a couple of times, and taken a couple of side-trips on some snowy FS roads. It was very slick and proved too much for the various cross-overs and lesser SUVs we saw stuck and spinning their wheels!
I’d like to lay out my plan for my new LC, and get a sanity check. I don’t want to make any silly mistakes selecting components. I intend to do all the work myself except the locker.
Motivation:
Last summer I twice went on multi-day adventure motorcycle trips into the National forests near Seattle. We rented a 4Runner, and my wife and two boys came along. My wife drove the truck, and my buddy and I were on our motorcycles. Much to my delight, my wife and boys had a blast, and we decided to buy a truck instead of rent. We don’t currently have a large vehicle, so we wanted a truck that could play also play the part of the “minivan” when relatives are in town, but would let us indulge in our dirt fun too. First we were looking at 4runners, but we wanted something with three rows, and we couldn’t afford a new 3 row 4runner. We started looking at Land Cruisers, which I’d always liked, and were surprised at their reasonable cost for older ones, and impressed at their capability. We had worked that rental 4runner pretty hard, lightly scraped the bottom, and both front and rear bumpers a few times while we explored a section of the Naches Jeep trail, so we decided to get the LC and lightly upgrade it.
Goal:
Maintain good on-road manners while increasing dirt capability, with bang for the buck being an important consideration. My improvements budget is about $5K, but I'm doing most of my own wrenching. I want to be able to go to some pretty tricky spots, even if I have to pick my way sometimes. On-road it will mostly be driven with a load of kids and relatives, but not much luggage. Kids are light, so lightly loaded on road. Off-pavement, maybe 250lb of gear, and 450lb of people. For the really tricky parts, passengers will be kicked out of the truck. Here is what I want to do:
The Plan:
Tires (ordered): BFG KO2 285/75R16. Got 5 tires, with installation, for $955 from costco, which seemed like a good deal.
Suspension: This is where I have the most uncertainty. From what I’ve read, it seem like you lift the rear with new springs, then crank and/or replace torsion bars to match the height, all the while selecting appropriate spring rates and shocks.
For shocks, I’m leaning toward the Fox 2.0 Performance Series IFP which gets good reviews and is $500 for all four corners. I’m also interested in the Ironman Foam Cell for about $100 more. People seem to love or hate OME shocks, so I guess I’m leaning against taking the risk that I’ll be a hater. Haven’t seen many negative reports about the Ironman or Fox, but maybe I didn’t look hard enough.
Springs are tricky. I want a medium or stock load spring that raises me 1”, and is tad more stiff than stock, but I see conflicting information. For example, Slee and the OME website disagree about how much lift each spring provides. I went to the OME website and used their suspension parts picker, specifying no/light bumper.
Spring 2860 Slee says it is a medium load for 2.5” lift, OME website says 0.4”
Spring 2866 Slee says it is a heavy load for 1.5” lift, OME says negative(!) 0.4”
Could the fact that the Slee kits are “leveling” be the key to my confusion? I’d like to maintain the best on-road manners, and I assume that means leaving rake as Toyota intended it. Am I wrong? Please, god, someone just tell me what spring to buy!
Questions:
Is it reasonable to raise suspension 1” without a diff drop?
Is it reasonable to use stock torsion bars with an 80lb bumper, truck not driven very aggressively in the rough stuff?
What rear spring should I select for a 1” lift and medium load?
What are the downsides of “leveling” the truck, as opposed to maintaining the rake?
Do I need an alignment after raising the truck 1”? I know the current alignment is in-spec.
Bumper: Leaning toward the Dissent with no bars because of its light weight, good approach angle, and low profile looks.
Rear Locker: Leaning toward the TJM. I know ARB has a great reputation, but $$$. TJM rear is only $600 TJM Equipped PRO LOCKER 100 SER IFS 8” IFS W/ 50mm BEARING 30-Spline and I mostly see people saying good things about it. Would probably pair with this ARB air compressor: ARB LOCKER ON-BOARD HIGH PERFORMANCE 12 VOLT AIR COMPRESSOR CKMA12 OFFROAD 4X4 | eBay unless someone suggested something as good, but thriftier.
Question: Do places like Just Differentials or Torfab frown on customers supplying their own parts?
Rear Bumper: Not yet. But if anyone has suggestions for something with good clearance, light and strong, but without all the swingouts and accessories, I’m all ears. For now, our trips are short enough that we don’t need to carry a bunch of crap on the back of the truck, and I don’t like how swing outs block access to the back and are heavy.
Sliders: Probably the Metaltech. I like the rear fender bump out and the integrated step. But honestly, without seeing them, it is pretty hard to shop for sliders. If anyone has strong recommendations, I’m all ears.
Question: What is the difference between the Metaltech and the OPOR? Both are sold by Metaltech and they look very similar.
Thanks in Advance for all your advice! I'm excited to join the LC community!
Hello all, my name is Cedar, and I’ve been lurking for a few months, just bought my first LC, a 2001 with 177,000 miles in very nice condition. It passed a thorough 90 minute inspection at a good garage, and had an encouraging carfax, so I think it is starting from a good place. Of course I’m changing all the fluids ASAP. So far we’ve taken it skiing a couple of times, and taken a couple of side-trips on some snowy FS roads. It was very slick and proved too much for the various cross-overs and lesser SUVs we saw stuck and spinning their wheels!
I’d like to lay out my plan for my new LC, and get a sanity check. I don’t want to make any silly mistakes selecting components. I intend to do all the work myself except the locker.
The trip that inspired us to buy a LC. My friend's bike taking a dirt nap.
Motivation:
Last summer I twice went on multi-day adventure motorcycle trips into the National forests near Seattle. We rented a 4Runner, and my wife and two boys came along. My wife drove the truck, and my buddy and I were on our motorcycles. Much to my delight, my wife and boys had a blast, and we decided to buy a truck instead of rent. We don’t currently have a large vehicle, so we wanted a truck that could play also play the part of the “minivan” when relatives are in town, but would let us indulge in our dirt fun too. First we were looking at 4runners, but we wanted something with three rows, and we couldn’t afford a new 3 row 4runner. We started looking at Land Cruisers, which I’d always liked, and were surprised at their reasonable cost for older ones, and impressed at their capability. We had worked that rental 4runner pretty hard, lightly scraped the bottom, and both front and rear bumpers a few times while we explored a section of the Naches Jeep trail, so we decided to get the LC and lightly upgrade it.
Stock except for removed running boards
Goal:
Maintain good on-road manners while increasing dirt capability, with bang for the buck being an important consideration. My improvements budget is about $5K, but I'm doing most of my own wrenching. I want to be able to go to some pretty tricky spots, even if I have to pick my way sometimes. On-road it will mostly be driven with a load of kids and relatives, but not much luggage. Kids are light, so lightly loaded on road. Off-pavement, maybe 250lb of gear, and 450lb of people. For the really tricky parts, passengers will be kicked out of the truck. Here is what I want to do:
- Raise 1” with tires.
- Raise 1” with suspension
- Sliders
- Front bumper (no winch for now)
- Rear air locker
- Rear Bumper???
The Fam
The Plan:
Tires (ordered): BFG KO2 285/75R16. Got 5 tires, with installation, for $955 from costco, which seemed like a good deal.
Suspension: This is where I have the most uncertainty. From what I’ve read, it seem like you lift the rear with new springs, then crank and/or replace torsion bars to match the height, all the while selecting appropriate spring rates and shocks.
For shocks, I’m leaning toward the Fox 2.0 Performance Series IFP which gets good reviews and is $500 for all four corners. I’m also interested in the Ironman Foam Cell for about $100 more. People seem to love or hate OME shocks, so I guess I’m leaning against taking the risk that I’ll be a hater. Haven’t seen many negative reports about the Ironman or Fox, but maybe I didn’t look hard enough.
Springs are tricky. I want a medium or stock load spring that raises me 1”, and is tad more stiff than stock, but I see conflicting information. For example, Slee and the OME website disagree about how much lift each spring provides. I went to the OME website and used their suspension parts picker, specifying no/light bumper.
Spring 2860 Slee says it is a medium load for 2.5” lift, OME website says 0.4”
Spring 2866 Slee says it is a heavy load for 1.5” lift, OME says negative(!) 0.4”
Could the fact that the Slee kits are “leveling” be the key to my confusion? I’d like to maintain the best on-road manners, and I assume that means leaving rake as Toyota intended it. Am I wrong? Please, god, someone just tell me what spring to buy!
Questions:
Is it reasonable to raise suspension 1” without a diff drop?
Is it reasonable to use stock torsion bars with an 80lb bumper, truck not driven very aggressively in the rough stuff?
What rear spring should I select for a 1” lift and medium load?
What are the downsides of “leveling” the truck, as opposed to maintaining the rake?
Do I need an alignment after raising the truck 1”? I know the current alignment is in-spec.
Bumper: Leaning toward the Dissent with no bars because of its light weight, good approach angle, and low profile looks.
Rear Locker: Leaning toward the TJM. I know ARB has a great reputation, but $$$. TJM rear is only $600 TJM Equipped PRO LOCKER 100 SER IFS 8” IFS W/ 50mm BEARING 30-Spline and I mostly see people saying good things about it. Would probably pair with this ARB air compressor: ARB LOCKER ON-BOARD HIGH PERFORMANCE 12 VOLT AIR COMPRESSOR CKMA12 OFFROAD 4X4 | eBay unless someone suggested something as good, but thriftier.
Question: Do places like Just Differentials or Torfab frown on customers supplying their own parts?
Rear Bumper: Not yet. But if anyone has suggestions for something with good clearance, light and strong, but without all the swingouts and accessories, I’m all ears. For now, our trips are short enough that we don’t need to carry a bunch of crap on the back of the truck, and I don’t like how swing outs block access to the back and are heavy.
Sliders: Probably the Metaltech. I like the rear fender bump out and the integrated step. But honestly, without seeing them, it is pretty hard to shop for sliders. If anyone has strong recommendations, I’m all ears.
Question: What is the difference between the Metaltech and the OPOR? Both are sold by Metaltech and they look very similar.
Thanks in Advance for all your advice! I'm excited to join the LC community!
