I'm new to the idea of off-road mods and I am curious as to what would be best for my 100 series Land Cruiser. I understand that lifts, although add ground clearance & allow larger tires, are expensive & make the car feel more uncomfortable (which is something I don't want my Cruiser to be). Lastly, what are the best tires to go with a lifted 100 series land cruiser (depending on the size of the lift)?
What is the best lift for a 100 series Land Cruiser? What would the best tires be for offroading? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter JMcruiser04
- Start date
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FAQ - 100-series FAQ
forum.ih8mud.com
On the IFS 100 series:
A lift doesn’t really allow for larger tires.
A lift might gain a little ground clearance.
Feel uncomfortable? Are you meaning “rough ride” or “poor handling”?
You’ll get many different answers about which tires are “best”. You might want to describe your intended use…
Trunk Monkey
Moderator
Need more info - just appearance lift and tires? What's your intended use? If you're concerned about ride, leave it be.
There are hundreds of threads covering this with a lot of detail in them; I'd start there as most of them have really good data points that cover several years of people's user experience as well;
So for example, you will see someone who installed a lift, reporting back after a few months (or years) on how its been holding up.
So for example, you will see someone who installed a lift, reporting back after a few months (or years) on how its been holding up.
- Thread starter
- #6
Awesome I’ll try and look into that! Thanks for the info
I’d like to get into off-roading/overlanding and would like the vehicle to have more capability than just stock
It may be an unpopular opinion, but in my experience, a set of AT tires, and a pair of sliders, will get you a whole lot further than a “lift”.
From there, let your use find deficiencies that need to be addressed.
- Thread starter
- #8
Do the largest tires that I should have on it non-lifted work well for if I were to lift it down the road?
I would like to get into off-roading and overlanding. Some people in other replies have said that they would recommend that I mainly focus on tires (and I agree), but would the largest size of tires I could get without a lift look normal/ fit well for if I were to get a lift down the road? Additionally, I feel that other modifications have better performance boosts than a lift kit, but should I still think about getting a lift kit sometime in the future? Or is it not necessarily worth it?
33” tires are the biggest you can run without rubbing, with or without a lift.
A “lift kit” for a 100 is just new rear springs or a spacer. You can lift the front by adjusting the torsion bars. Shocks can stay Toyota or there are many options from affordable to bank breaking. I’m a fan of Tough Dog.
Start searching thread and you’ll find a plethora of info. As @jLB said, AT tires and sliders would be the first place I spend money, and go explore and learn from there.
Trunk Monkey
Moderator
Dealing with a lot of what if's and hypothetics here. You say have more capability than stock. For what? A stock truck can do 90% of what current "overlanding" is easily. You also commented that other mods have better boosts than a lift, curious what you're thinking there.
Drive the truck as is and see what, if anything, the current config is preventing you from doing, then address that. End of day if you're just after appearance, nothing wrong with that at all, says the guy with a snorkel that lives in a desert.
Drive the truck as is and see what, if anything, the current config is preventing you from doing, then address that. End of day if you're just after appearance, nothing wrong with that at all, says the guy with a snorkel that lives in a desert.
Not trying to hi-jack the thread…I’m new to this stuff, and I’ve genuinely tried to read up on all the different options we have as 100 owners, and I am as confused now than I was before. We just picked up an ‘05 LX470 w/ a failed AHC, so I’ve gone ahead and picked up non AHC torsion bars from a LC. The main use of the vehicle is simply transportation, mostly highway, so my main concern will be a nice comfortable ride. We will be “off roading” a good deal this summer, which entails driving out on the beach, upwards of 10 miles down the coast line, no rock crawling here. I’m thinking a set of OEM shocks all the way around (anyone have a set they don’t need?) with LC springs. Will the LC springs provide a bit of a lift seeing that they are probably bigger than the AHC SPEINGS THE LX came with? I’d like to get a bit of a lift on the rear and level it out in the front. Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated!
I've done the same trails here stock that I do now with a 2" lift and bigger tires. I might have dragged my trailer hitch 2 or 3 times without the lift. It is a purely appearance thing at this point after several years of wheeling with my 100.
Put some 33"s on it, get into the maintenance heavily, buy some quality name brand recovery gear, and spend the savings on gas for adventures.
Put some 33"s on it, get into the maintenance heavily, buy some quality name brand recovery gear, and spend the savings on gas for adventures.
I just started on the same journey as you. What I would recommend in order of importance:
- good set of all terrain tires in 285/75r16, if using stock wheels.
- Rock sliders (actual sliders, not metal steps) I went with white knuckle off road.
- skid plates. I’m holding out for a full set from slee. The front skids are currently out of stock. Another option that is in stock is Asfir, about $1200 shipped from Israel.
- lift kit. I went with a dobinsons IMS kit from exit off road. The owner mike is active on this forum and super helpful. I love this suspension set up.
- winch bumper/hidden winch mount.
With or without a winch and aftermarket bumpers you need recovery gear, and to learn how it’s used. Like others have said, you can do a lot with stock suspension on these trucks, that’s why I prioritized tires and armor. Have fun and good luck!
- good set of all terrain tires in 285/75r16, if using stock wheels.
- Rock sliders (actual sliders, not metal steps) I went with white knuckle off road.
- skid plates. I’m holding out for a full set from slee. The front skids are currently out of stock. Another option that is in stock is Asfir, about $1200 shipped from Israel.
- lift kit. I went with a dobinsons IMS kit from exit off road. The owner mike is active on this forum and super helpful. I love this suspension set up.
- winch bumper/hidden winch mount.
With or without a winch and aftermarket bumpers you need recovery gear, and to learn how it’s used. Like others have said, you can do a lot with stock suspension on these trucks, that’s why I prioritized tires and armor. Have fun and good luck!
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a_traut_man
SILVER Star
+1 on the 33's and sliders then figure the rest out. Not sure if you're on 16's or 18's but 275/70r18 will fit just fine right out of the box, take off the side steps, get a couple pieces of key recovery equipment (the search feature will answer a lot of your questions) and figure it out from there. Find a local cruiser or 4x4 club and go along on a ride or two (folks are 99% of the time really helpful) and see how you feel.
For me in hindsight I wish I can gone a bit slower with my build based on how I actually use my 100 (especially with it being on DD duty for a while).
For me in hindsight I wish I can gone a bit slower with my build based on how I actually use my 100 (especially with it being on DD duty for a while).
Yep.
Assuming factory wheel sizes and offset…
Early models with 16” wheels = 285/75R16
Later models with 18” wheels = 275/70R18
I have been wheeling for a while and I am happy to help folks starting out.
In my humble opinion for the 100 series I would add the following and in this order:
In my humble opinion for the 100 series I would add the following and in this order:
- Good tires, the 285/75-16 or whatever a 33" x 11ish tire works out for your size wheel. Buy 5 and start rotating. Start with an All Terrain tire, the BFG KO2's are king in my humble opinion.
- Buy some solid recovery points from Trail Tailor or similar. Have at least one good recovery RATED recovery point front and rear.
- Buy a quality recovery kit with a strap, tree saver, soft shackles, hitch recovery point, gloves etc. ARB and Warn make great kits.
- Adjust your torsion bars up a bit (tons of threads on how to do this safely) and add a 30mm spacer to the rear springs. It'll give you a 1" lift or so.
- Add sliders. Again not steps, you want weight bearing sliders.
- Get a quality air down/up system. Off road there is no better bang for the buck then getting your tire pressure correct for the conditions.
- Join a local TLCA club and get out on your local trails.
What @REZARF said x2
Check out my build thread/sig, The truck is not heavily moded and ive taken the family where we need to go. These trucks are very capable stock, keep your expectations in check and youll be happy. Dont expect to rock crawl in an LC, but in my opinion its best for overland.
Check out Expedition Overland on you tube for some inspiration.
BTW, i recommend the General Grabber AT tire.
Check out my build thread/sig, The truck is not heavily moded and ive taken the family where we need to go. These trucks are very capable stock, keep your expectations in check and youll be happy. Dont expect to rock crawl in an LC, but in my opinion its best for overland.
Check out Expedition Overland on you tube for some inspiration.
BTW, i recommend the General Grabber AT tire.
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...and most importantly, take some good time to read this:
forum.ih8mud.com
(Assuming your 100 has ATRAC)
a-trac 101
forum.ih8mud.com
(Assuming your 100 has ATRAC)
