This followed me home (1 Viewer)

[emac]

It has been a while since I updated my thread. I have really enjoyed driving the 40, but I have never been completely happy with the tires. I know a lot of people like the 33X10.5X15 on stock wheels, but I just love the way a skinny tire looks on these rigs. I guess I am just old school. Thanks to @Michael Hanson for helping me spend some money!

A couple of weeks ago I bit the bullet and bought a set of 16" steel wheels from @Racer65 and today I put on a set of BFG AT 235/85/16 tires. It has transformed the vehicle. The steering is way easier, no need to consider PS now. It is 50% quieter on the highway and 65mph is comfortable. Is it better off road? Probably not, but that suits me fine as I will not be getting into much heavy off roading. The look is perfect, for me. Here are some before and after shots:

Before:

After:

 

[Flatlanderfj40]

Looks good. What paint & color did you use?

 

[emac]

A few more:

 

[emac]

Looks good. What paint & color did you use?

653 olive base coat/clear coat

 

[Flatlanderfj40]

653 olive base coat/clear coat

How about the wheels, lol?

 

[emac]

How about the wheels, lol?

Sorry, my bad. The wheels are JT oufitter grey. It is overpriced, paint can is mediocre at best, but the color is right and the paint seems good.

 

[Varty Yo]

i prefer the before! haha

Im going 33's this summer on my 42

 

[Racer65]

Looks perfect. The Cruiser has really arrived. 16" with skinny tires is just how Toyota designed it. No fender flare required.

 

[thebigredrocker]

Beautiful cruiser! You flat out, got after that project.

What suspension did you end up installing? I like the color of your lid, do you recall what color you used?

 

[samc2447]

Such a great look. Really nice color on your 40 too. Great work!

If those old 15 inchers need a home...

 

[emac]

Thanks @Racer65 for getting these.

@thebigredrocker I am running the CCOT lift. I really dont have anything to compare it too, but I am happy with the ride. Lid? I guess you mean the top it is toyota Cygnus white.

@abtx4x4 I am selling the tires locally to another mudder and I will probably keep the wheels. The wheels will sit in the garage for 10-15 years and then I will scratch my head wondering what they are for and why did I save them!! I think I need to put a note on them. I can promise you that I will not store them on a shelf where they can fall and destroy the entire passenger side of a BMW M5.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Your rig looks so good.

I have those same tires on my H3. I really agonized on swapping to them because I tend to need mud tires when I go off in the woods - but those tires do amazingly well, even in mud. Not just that, but I got a 2 mpg increase in fuel economy.

 

[Honger]

View attachment 1299348 View attachment 1299349

Well she is complete once again. I took it on my first shake down ride today. I went about 20 miles. A/C blowing cold and engine temp stayed steady on the gauge just under the high normal mark. It was about 96 degrees outside. I can live with that. The ride was very nice, smooth and quiet. I think I could out run it on my road bike!

Was reading through your thread again... have always loved the transformation. This bit caught my attention and raised a question for me.

You refer to the temp gauge with A/C in use. Was this about the same as what you were reading?

That's where I sit during the summer with A/C in use... and to be honest it doesn't go down much even without the A/C.

I've been a bit worried, but if this is typical for A/C use on a 2F-powered FJ40 with crank-driven 7-blade fan, then perhaps I need to lighten up.

 

[emac]

That temp gauge looks about right. I got a cheap IR thermo sensors and checked the engine temps with that as I didnt trust the gauge.

 

[emac]

I just couldn't take it any longer and I broke down and bought the OEM fog light kit from @Racer65. He has really put together a great kit, it was plug and play. The wiring kit is top tier. It is best to remove the instrument cluster to route the wiring properly. I tried a couple of different spots on the bumper to mount the lights and decided closer to the bib. I like them.

 

[Racer65]

Looks great. Your pic is a good reference for folks who want to mount it with a winch setup.

The dash is almost perfecto...just need red letters on the hazard knob

 

[emac]

Red letters, good call I will change that. Good call on the hazards! Wonder why I never did it in Red? I guess I was cleaning so much red overspray from the previous owner I just got carried away!

My wife bought the fogs for me for Xmas, but saw me bored the other day and handed them to me. Lots of good things come from 20 plus years of marriage!

 

[Flatlanderfj40]

Was reading through your thread again... have always loved the transformation. This bit caught my attention and raised a question for me.

You refer to the temp gauge with A/C in use. Was this about the same as what you were reading?

That's where I sit during the summer with A/C in use... and to be honest it doesn't go down much even without the A/C.

I've been a bit worried, but if this is typical for A/C use on a 2F-powered FJ40 with crank-driven 7-blade fan, then perhaps I need to lighten up.

I don’t have A/C, however, my temp gauge never goes above the first tick. It’s normally 1/8-1/16” below the first tick.

 

[sandcruiser90]

Took the 40 to my tire and repair shop. Alignment was toe in. Also they said the leaf springs were rusting badly and needed replacing. They would then align. Which spring lift kit did you use and is there any way for me tell what's on mine?
They tightened up the steering play.

Also, tires were 23 lb however they appeared crowned and they are over 5 years old so they recommend replacing. They suggested your tires if I could get the 16 in wheels. Said it would be same tread and no one would notice the BFG 33 on the spare with 15 in wheel. How much were those 16 in wheels and were they painted already?
Thanks so much for indulging my questions.

 

[emac]

I am running a CCOT designer lift kit. It is roughly a 3" lift. Very pleased with the ride of the springs. If I had to do it over, I may have opted for Bilstein shocks or OME instead of the ones from CCOT. They work, but the fronts dont have a lot of travel (CCOT said they are fine) and the steering damper boot was garbage. City racer LLC has the wheels. Not sure what he is getting for them. They arent cheap! They need to be painted, I think they came black. Five years old isnt too bad. If you dont swap wheels you may want to swap to all terrain tires instead of Mud terrain for better street ride. I kept hoping BFG would start making a 33x9.5 again but I dont think they have.

I would run them up to 30psi and see how they ride. Did the alignment help?