Lift & Suspension on a 2005 Land Cruiser (2 Viewers)

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Joined
Oct 30, 2017
Threads
3
Messages
20
Location
New Hampshire, USA
Hi Guys,

I bought a 2005 Land Cruiser a few months ago. The rig has 170,000 miles. I need to do something with the suspension... I am up here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire and the most off road its going to go on are some forest trails/fire trails and light camping. No rocks at all. I don't have any need to armor it up (no front or rear bumpers). I may put some sliders on to replace the factory side steps in the future as my wife is 5'3'' and we have 3 kids under the age of 5.

My plan is to get a 2.5 inch lift within a month and swap out my relatively new (5,000 miles) Michelin LTX A/T2's (275/65/18) with larger (not sure how much larger - would love opinions) tires to increase clearance for our blizzards up here as well as overall stance of the rig (I am 6'3'' 270lbs and don't mind climbing up into a taller LC).

If I am not loading the LC up with equipment/bumpers etc...
  • What would be the best shocks/coils setup as a daily driver on a 2.5 inch lift. I Would like to keep the ride smooth for my wife and myself but gain the clearance of the 2.5 lift and larger tires.
  • What size tires would you all recommend for my application?

Thanks for any and all feedback.

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Congrats on the purchase and welcome to 'Mud! Your post covers a handful of the most common topics here - lift, shocks, tires - literally, hundreds of threads.

My suggestion, grab a couple of your favorite beers, lock the door... and start searching, reading, making notes. There really is a TON of great info tucked behind the search function.

(my sig details my lift, shocks, tires - which of course, was the best way to mod a 100... for me)
 
Leave it alone. Michelin is a great snow tire, does just fine on dirt roads, and they last forever. Stock suspension is definitely the best ride. At 170k maybe put new OEM shocks on it, they're cheap and are great. Leave the steps on if you don't need sliders.
 
Leave it alone. Michelin is a great snow tire, does just fine on dirt roads, and they last forever. Stock suspension is definitely the best ride. At 170k maybe put new OEM shocks on it, they're cheap and are great. Leave the steps on if you don't need sliders.

This man just saved you thousands of dollars.
 
Or 860 OME rears, crank the stock torsions and replace all shocks with new OEM. I love the quality of the ride with this combination.
 
This man just saved you thousands of dollars.

Ha, I guess that's true. I've just moved beyond building a truck just because. If something's working the way it is, leave it and use it. These trucks are very capable in stock form, no reason to overlook that.
 
I would go new oem shocks, spring spacers in the rear, and crank the tbars. That and a set of 275/70/18's will do more than you need.

Jim
 
The lift doesn't really buy you any clearance, as odd as that may sound.
  • The rear axle is completely unaffected by a lift.
  • Your front *diff is generally lowered with a diff drop kit when you lift the front so the net increase in clearance is nearly nothing. If you don't drop the diff, you'll wear out CV axles quickly.
  • The lift doesn't really get you more ability to run big tires, either. You can already go up a couple sizes with perfectly stock, OEM suspension.
  • The lift reduces handling ability and increases rollover likelihood.
Can you tell I'm not a fan of lifts on the 100 for non-trail use?

What a lift DOES buy you is approach, breakover and departure angles for climbing rocks... which you said you weren't going to do.

I'd save the $$ and keep it all stock. Stock shocks are super cheap, durable and very comfortable. If anything, get slightly larger tires (275/70/18 are what I run with stock suspension). The larger sidewall tires will also increase comfort. :)

Clean looking rig!
 
I'm going to sway from the herd. If you want to lift it, go for it. Old Man Emu makes great quality stuff, and the ride is fantastic. Far better than stock (my opinion). They also make a zero lift option that improves ride at stock height. Coil spacers are a total waste of time / money. These trucks are super capable stock, as are all Land Cruisers, but putting a 2" or 2.5" lift in isn't going to affect the handling in a hugely negative way. All SUVs are more "rollover prone" than regular cars, even bone stock, but they don't roll without good reason. Ever.

I also have a total hatred of running boards. All they do is get your pants dirty when you step in or out. If you need help getting in, then get some actual steps, preferably something frame mounted, or sliders with steps built in. There are, as mentioned in the first reply, a gazillion threads on here already and that many opinions on what to do with a stock 100. If you go through some of the more relevant ones, you'll see a pattern emerge on what people are happy with, and what they aren't. Congrats and enjoy the 100!
 
Running OME t-bars, OME 865 rear coils, and FOX IFP 2.0 shocks all around, the ride is way improved and I daily drive my rig.
 
Thank you all for the feedback. My original shocks are toast. That’s what started me down this path. Now you all have me thinking of just going with factory shocks and maybe replace the rear coils as my driver side rear is about 1 1/2 inches lower than my passenger rear (measuring from body to top of tire) I need to try and diagnose exactly what is causing the sag.

This is a great community and happy to be officially part of it.
 
Definitely get AT tires. I do exactly what you want to with your truck and I punctured the sidewalls of my Michelin’s on a not so rocky forest road. I drove around for quite awhile before I noticed. Get some KO2’s and never look back. They ride just as nice as Michelins by the way. @Manhattan has the sickest rig on MUD by the way. Just do what he did.
 
Earlier this summer, I had OME 865 coils with OEM Toyota shocks installed on all 4 corners and cranked the T bars. Removed the running boards and added 275/70/R18 BFG KO2's and it feels like I gained a ton of lift, when in reality I probably gained about 1.5 in. I love this setup and it's my DD.

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Earlier this summer, I had OME 865 coils with OEM Toyota shocks installed on all 4 corners and cranked the T bars. Removed the running boards and added 275/70/R18 BFG KO2's and it feels like I gained a ton of lift, when in reality I probably gained about 1.5 in. I love this setup and it's my DD.

Bobby, is your third row still in? Wondering if I'd be even higher with 865s and no third row. Truck looks great by the way.
 
Bobby, is your third row still in? Wondering if I'd be even higher with 865s and no third row. Truck looks great by the way.

In that pic, the 3rd row is out. After HIH I put the 3rd row back in and there's no noticeable change in ride height out back. The 865's are much stiffer than stock.
 
The only way to really lift the entire truck off the ground is larger (taller tires) other than that. I did the spring spacer in the rear, and cranked the OEM Tbars up front, my truck sits perfect for me and it rides like stock, no complaints here. All it cost me was $60 to do this. Along with larger tires, truck sits nice now.
 
suprarx7nut: Truer word have never been spoken:beer:

Stock 100 fully loaded will go 90-95% of the places a moded truck will go. Note this includes hwy miles where americans drive 90% to get to the trail head. This included most death valley, Moab (always take the easy way around famous obsticals, I've seen many unnecessary ego routes taken w. bad outcomes when the easy way was 5 yards away), anaza borrego, etc.

This coming from a 100 owner, like you, trying to figure out what to do to his totally stock rig.
 
Earlier this summer, I had OME 865 coils with OEM Toyota shocks installed on all 4 corners and cranked the T bars. Removed the running boards and added 275/70/R18 BFG KO2's and it feels like I gained a ton of lift, when in reality I probably gained about 1.5 in. I love this setup and it's my DD.

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Hi RND1 - I noticed that you are in the merrimack valley of Mass. Where did you get your shocks installed and coils? I am trying to figure out a good place that has worked on Land Cruisers. Did you buy the parts and then have ashop do the work? Can you give me a ballpark on the cost for your setup as I think that would be a great solution for my rig.

Thanks
 
@Algonquin - I had Nashua Toyota install my OME coils and Toyota Shocks. I brought them the OME coils and purchased the shocks from them because they were only a little more than buying online. I don't recall the cost off the top of my head - I'll look for a receipt tonight and let you know. They seem to have 1 or 2 seasoned techs that work on the Land Cruisers. If you decide to go there - ask for Bill in the Service Department. He's good and he'll work with you on price, let you bring in your own parts, and give you a free rental car, etc.

They're still a dealer though and in the biz of making money so you may be better served if you can find an independent that really knows these vehicles. I haven't found that close to home yet so I either DIY or bring it to them.
 

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