The First Upgrade!

[FJTex]

well my FJC is brand spankin new i just put the plates on it today. so i've been readin a little of these forums and lookin at pics and i wanted yalls opinion, where should i start? i've read that the A-TRAC is an easy add on and thats prolly somthing i'll do in a few weeks when i get the time. but i plan to go pretty extreme in the long run, but i do have a pretty tight budget. my first thought was to hit the tires but if i wanna cram some 35" 12.50's under it (or wider) i wont be able to change lanes without a lift and some spacing and such. the front end already sits too low for my liking and if i drop the stock bumper for even a really light weight one (as i plan) i'm sure it will sag even more. but a big lift with stock tires... well not to sound petty but that just looks queer. and as i said i cant afford to do everything at once so sombody get me started in the right direction! thanks!

 

[Lovey]

Since you are on a tight budget the ATRAC switch would be a good start.
Think they run about $50. There are a couple of Toyota parts people on this board that can help you out with that. Most likely an install thread somewhere to. Search function can be a really good friend.

As far as other mods go. It is YOUR truck. So you should decide what you do to
it. Read the FAQ on all the suspensions, bumpers, etc. Alot depends on what you
are using the truck for. DD? Trail Rig?

Here is what my thought process was when I bought the FJC.
Bought it for a DD and will eventually turn it into a full time trail rig in 8 or so
years. But I wanted it to be capable in case my trail rig was down.
Went with an ARB bumper first. Deer protection first, put a winch in it later when
it becomes weekend wheeler.
OME medium because of no winch. I figure by the time I turn this into trail rig
the mediums will have served their purpose and I'll switch out to heavys.
Going with 285/70/17 BFG AT's in a few days.

I went with the ARB, OME and BFG's due to experiences on past vehicles.

In the end it is all up to what you want/need.

HTH.

 

[Blues Dawg]

Since you are on a tight budget the ATRAC switch would be a good start.
Think they run about $50. There are a couple of Toyota parts people on this board that can help you out with that. Most likely an install thread somewhere to. Search function can be a really good friend.

As far as other mods go. It is YOUR truck. So you should decide what you do to
it. Read the FAQ on all the suspensions, bumpers, etc. Alot depends on what you
are using the truck for. DD? Trail Rig?

Going with 285/70/17 BFG AT's in a few days.

This pretty well pegs it. The A-Trac is an inexpensive mod that will definitely help on the trail - do you have the rear locker?

My Truck went from the Dealer to Discount Tire and got BFG 285/70/17's immediately - a huge improvement. These will fit w/o a lift. If you will not be needing to maximize wheel travel, but want a moderate lift, look to DayStar or other spacer lifts - you can get the kit for under $200 - and it will look OK w/ stock tires and much better w/ 285's.

One of the improvements I value most has been my skidplates - but hey, I drive into rocks a lot , so it really depends what you'll use the truck for and where it will be used.

 

[warpedone]

The A-Trac switch is the first thing I did.
It is a 5 minute install and it works.
I bought mine for $43.60 here....
http://www.trdsource.com/index.asp

 

[FJTex]

thanks guys, i appreciate it, yeah i have a rear locker. the ATRACK is prolly waht i'll end up doing first. as far as purpose, well it will be a DD (hey i'm 24 this is a big investment) however i wanna set it up for travel, serious travel (i.e. from NJ to argentina, to South America to Spain etc.) (hey i'm 24 and divoced, why not?) so while a trail rig would be awesome and evenutally it may turn into some crazy barely road legal monster, i want like 90% of that capablility and about 50x the utility. i'll probably use it as a support vehicle on trail runs. and although i'm on a budget i dont wanna do anything half assed, i'd rather wait a month or two and get the best part for the job instead of the 2nd or 3rd best option now. from what i can tell so far OME makes the best lifts (or alteast the most popular) for the FJ's do they have a 5" available yet?