Project Low Ryder

[Brandon Ryder]

How are you looking the Cooper's?

They are flawless so far. They ride smooth and quiet on road, air down well and look bad ass . Looking forward to seeing how they do this winter in the rain and snow.
Thanks for the recommendation! They were more expensive than the falkens but it's likely a better tire as well.

 

[AlpineAccess]

They are flawless so far. They ride smooth and quiet on road, air down well and look bad ass . Looking forward to seeing how they do this winter in the rain and snow.
Thanks for the recommendation! They were more expensive than the falkens but it's likely a better tire as well.

Glad you like them - I had the falkens rebalanced again just last week, it's been a struggle with this set.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Wrapped up my winch install video by getting a chance to use it at Hollister Hills. I don't really have any editing equipment do sorry for the poorly edited video, but it gets the information across.
Im going to edit this same video into the original winch post above in this same thread so you may have already seen it.


Also here's a video of the wife and I playing at Hollister Hills State Vehicle Recreation Area. It's a great place to get a feel for the vehicle and wheeling with the obstacle courses and various rated trails. We did one "black diamond" trail but steered clear of the double black diamond courses meant for rock buggies and extremely built vehicles. We had a blast. The wife got pretty excited and she drove some obstacles too. Her voice comes through loud so start with volume low.

Putting the sliders to use, nice!

We're you aired down much?

 

[Brandon Ryder]

Putting the sliders to use, nice!

We're you aired down much?

I aired down to 18psi. That was as happy spot that gave lots of tire compliance without losing much height for the sake of the 18 inch rims. Might go back today and if I do I'll disconnect the sway bars as well.

 

[Brandon Ryder]

I'm getting ready to tow a utility trailer when we move and the Land Cruiser is sitting pretty level right now. I picked up some 30mm spacers to try and pick up a little rake and I also bought these air lift bags to help stiffen the spring rate when towing. I also used this opportunity to try switching the coils from left to right to see if I could even out the driver side lean a little. Result: it still leans to the driver side about the same amount. I'm not convinced there's any difference in these springs from left to right.

Now my suspension looks like Christmas

I was a little concerned about adding a spacer and air lift springs as I had to remove the internal bumper/ spring retainer. Does anyone know if I need to do something to keep the springs and spacer in place? There shocks limit travel pretty good do I don't think the spring will come loose when flexing but you never know.

 

[Vector7]

What kind of fuel economy hit did you get when you switched to the Coopers? I've been considering them but I'm worried about the extra weight from going from a P to an XLT tire.

 

[Brandon Ryder]

What kind of fuel economy hit did you get when you switched to the Coopers? I've been considering them but I'm worried about the extra weight from going from a P to an XLT tire.

Without correction for tire size I'm getting only 10mpg. about 11 with correction. However that's all local, short trip stuff. I was only getting 11mpg before with stock tires in the same situation. The most I've gotten on a road trip with stock tires was about 16. Im waiting for an opportunity for a road trip without towing to determine what impact it's had on mpg.

 

[GTV]

I would imagine Toyota put the isolators in for NVH. I can't see any harm coming from removing them other than the metal/metal contact.

I was a little concerned about adding a spacer and air lift springs as I had to remove the internal bumper/ spring retainer. Does anyone know if I need to do something to keep the springs and spacer in place?

 

[Brandon Ryder]

Well I went to do a simple ATF drain and fill. Come to find out, the slee skid doesn't make this easy. Not only did I have to drop the intermediate pan, but the belly pan also is in the way. I needed to do this quickly so rather than drop the pan, I cut a solo cup in half to channel the fluid into my clear graduated bucket that i got from the restaurant supply. This worked reasonably well but I need to figure out a better way. Dropping the intermediate plate is a huge inconvenience and the belly plate is a PITA.

It took right about 3 quarts.

I gotta say, I'm really liking the concept of the Bump it offroad skids that mount over the stock crossmember. I think it can drain all fluids without dropping anything and if you need to drop the skid, the driveline is still mounted and doesn't have to be supported by a jack.

 

[hoser]

I use an oil extractor through the dipstick for "drain and fill" and find it easiest.

 

[Brandon Ryder]

I use an oil extractor through the dipstick for "drain and fill" and find it easiest.

That's a new idea for me. Is this like a transfer pump?

 

[hoser]

Yes, like this one.... transfers motor oil, transmission fluid, etc into this container. Takes like 10-15 pumps (or an air chuck) and pulls fluid out of the dipstick(s). You sit and sip beer for a few minutes while it transfers. Motor oil should be warm. Make sure the capacity is equal or greater than your vehicle's oil capacity.

Easy and clean. Some newer vehicles don't even have a drain plug and require a pump like this... for use with boat engines too.

On "new to me" vehicles, I first test it and extract as much oil as possible. Then I open the drain plug to see if any additional oil comes out. If no/little oil, then extractor only oil changes from then on.

 

[aharlan001]

I'm getting ready to tow a utility trailer when we move and the Land Cruiser is sitting pretty level right now. I picked up some 30mm spacers to try and pick up a little rake and I also bought these air lift bags to help stiffen the spring rate when towing. I also used this opportunity to try switching the coils from left to right to see if I could even out the driver side lean a little. Result: it still leans to the driver side about the same amount. I'm not convinced there's any difference in these springs from left to right.

View attachment 2338971
Now my suspension looks like Christmas
View attachment 2338972


I was a little concerned about adding a spacer and air lift springs as I had to remove the internal bumper/ spring retainer. Does anyone know if I need to do something to keep the springs and spacer in place? There shocks limit travel pretty good do I don't think the spring will come loose when flexing but you never know.

Did you ever come up with an answer for this I'm looking into the same setup and have the same question.

 

[Brandon Ryder]

Did you ever come up with an answer for this I'm looking into the same setup and have the same question.

I have not done any extreme wheeling since installing the spacers and lift springs. But i have done some wheeling and many miles towing and I am confident they will stay in place. I recently removed the spacers because i had too much rake and I wasn't towing so much. They almost glued themselves on there so I'm confident in them.
Good luck with your setup