@grinchy I was not aware of a middle-of-the-road option in terms of cost. That is good to know, thank you.
Again, thank you for the great insight.
I am building an 08, i said earlier that my budget for 2020 (next 12 months) is limited. I didn't mean to confuse you with a 2020 LX. If i could afford a 2020LX, i would not care as much about labor costs for the build. Per your advice, I will start researching tires in those two sizes. I think i will try them both with lifting AHC and without lifting and go from there.
As far as tires in those two sizes, do you have any you could recommend?
Also, i assume that the same consideration will be taken when lowering her 1.25 instead of raising? Has any LX owners adjusted the AHC the other way, to get that nice low look when she is on pavement? I want the car to almost touch the tires when in low so that i can still get in and out easily, for when she is in city-driving mode. Then when it's time to hit the camping spots and trails, i would raise it back up 2.5 inches by sliding the sensors all the way to the opposite end.
I know i have a lot of questions, and i really do appreciate you guys taking the time to educate me on the matter.
Yes, 1.25" is rather mild and you'll be fine lifting that much. The full adjustment is reportedly more like 1.75". It's a slippery slope of more in trade with handling. More static lift puts the front control arms at a steeper angle, narrowing the track width, and causing more toe steer upon cycling the suspension. The rear axle panhard bar also is at a steeper angle, displacing the rear axle off to one side. Hitting a bump will cause the rear end to oscillate left/right more.
It will give you more overall lift even in AHC high positions as it adds to each height mode. Extra high is 80mm lift in the rear. Adding to a base 1.75" lift (~45mm), makes that an incredible 125mm (5"!). Not too shabby and something LC's can't touch. So if that's your focus, that's a good thing. Keep in mind some level of droop travel in the higher positions should be considered though. Generally when I offroad in anything other than smooth fireroads, I'm generally in 4-lo which already gives some added lift.
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I believe you said you're building a newer 2020 LX? Those come with 8-speeds with a great low first gear, and awesome spread. You can practically run any size tire you like without bothering to re-gear, as first gear is practically the same as the old 6-speed with 4.88 regear. If you do go all the way to a 35", then you'll probably want to routinely drive in S7, to lock out 8th gear.
Definitive 200-series Gearing Reference
EDIT: Expanding tables for 8-speed and 40s So I had a little time this morning to put together a chart combining transmission gearing of 6-speed vs 8-speed, diff ratios, and tire sizing into an overall gearing reference. Hoping this will be useful for those trying to understand how their...forum.ih8mud.com
As a advocate of well rounded rigs, I'll reiterate it's easy to compromise the rigs balance with mods such that it loses quite a bit of handling and on-road performance, such that on road handling safety could be compromised. Not trying to be alarmist, but that's the truth with lots of overly built and biased for off-road rigs. When a balanced rig could do 99% of the same stuff, without as many compromises.
To that end, I'd highly recommend 285/60r20 (33.5") tires or even a 295/60r20 (not as common a size) with 1" spacers to increase track width and maintain lateral stability. Both woudl be considered a "34" by traditional measures, which will almost be an unstoppable tire on most any trail. And fit in the spare position. With a 1.25" AHC lift, you'll be sitting pretty.
Again, thank you for the great insight.
I am building an 08, i said earlier that my budget for 2020 (next 12 months) is limited. I didn't mean to confuse you with a 2020 LX. If i could afford a 2020LX, i would not care as much about labor costs for the build. Per your advice, I will start researching tires in those two sizes. I think i will try them both with lifting AHC and without lifting and go from there.
As far as tires in those two sizes, do you have any you could recommend?
Also, i assume that the same consideration will be taken when lowering her 1.25 instead of raising? Has any LX owners adjusted the AHC the other way, to get that nice low look when she is on pavement? I want the car to almost touch the tires when in low so that i can still get in and out easily, for when she is in city-driving mode. Then when it's time to hit the camping spots and trails, i would raise it back up 2.5 inches by sliding the sensors all the way to the opposite end.
I know i have a lot of questions, and i really do appreciate you guys taking the time to educate me on the matter.
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