Ummm.. I think they are buying them because they LIKE them.
What's better offroad, 80 series, or 100 series?
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Ummm.. I think they are buying them because they LIKE them.
They are SFA for requirements of the market. They have big diesels with huge payload/towing numbers that demand the use of SFA. They are pretty close to a cube truck underneath I think. I think the vast majority are business/work trucks or heavy payload tow rigs.
Every other truck down the line that can use IFS, does use IFS. In the past, lighter duty trucks that were SFA but have long since converted to IFS. The 'unwashed masses' demand the performance of IFS.
IMO, the reality of the market. I sincerely wish for a 2008 80series-style suv but the closest I've seen is the Nissan Patrol, not a NA product.
Man, what a fun read. I always thought of my FZJ80 as being a cadillac as far as the suspension goes. I never thought a SFA could ride so nice even on J springs (up front). Does owning a landcruiser turn one into a priss? All of this talk about how the IFS is much better on-road. I thought the SFA drives GREAT onroad. You guys have to remember that there are few vehicles out there that can wheel well off-road AND take you to the trailhead in comfort. I also own a modified '72 blazer (topless and doorless) that I bash off-road. It has a harsh ride, its loud, and expensive on gas. By the time I get home from a run, I am physically beat. I rarely run the blazer now. Lately I have taken the 80. Even though it has smaller tires, less ground clearance, and less horsepower it out-performs the blazer in almost every aspect. It is smaller, articulates better, has one more locker, better t-case gears, and I can almost afford the gas. The 80 isn't THAT underpowered. It is not like I am going to tow something heavy with it. It climbs everything I have thrown at it so far. Now I wouldn't take the 80 on trails that would result in body damage or interior water damage, but the point is that it is an extremely great vehicle off-road AND on the pavement. It is turning me into a lazy priss!
One more thing....The 80 or the 100 isn't THAT big!!!!
One more thing....The 80 or the 100 isn't THAT big!!!!
Yes...this was one of the best 80 vs 100 threads. No question!
We remember and know.
The reason for all the debate is because the folks know how improved in so may ways the 100 is over the 80. Those same folks also know the off-road reputation of the 80-series. So, they ask the loaded question....."which is best FOR ME". The answer depends on the requestors needs and wants. There are some folks who want the power, size and comfort of the 100 along with it's moderate-to-high-end off-road prowess. Then you have others who want the luxury second and need the thing to wheel hard and extreme....they want an 80 as it's the best compromise.I can tell you comfort-wise.....your Blazer are my 80's. After 10-hours Saturday in the 80 we again were whoopassed. We always come home fresh in the 100 and beat in the 80. Some is because I'm an old dude with a sore back.
You would put the 100 over the 3rd gen 4runner with rear locker?
Yes...this was one of the best 80 vs 100 threads. No question!
We remember and know.
I can tell you comfort-wise.....your Blazer are my 80's. After 10-hours Saturday in the 80 we again were whoopassed. We always come home fresh in the 100 and beat in the 80. Some is because I'm an old dude with a sore back.
Now John, I do live in the same area as you and I see you in your 80 a lot more than the 100. Are you a "closet" 80s fan, or were these just chance sightings?
Now John, I do live in the same area as you and I see you in your 80 a lot more than the 100. Are you a "closet" 80s fan, or were these just chance sightings?
LUV IT! That's funny!
You know what? I have wheeled in the 80 more over the past 6 months than the 100. Way more. It turns out that almost everything I've run has bad brush so the LX goes. In fact, I have still not wheeled with Rod Seagel (he has a clone to my 100) in anything but the 80. He keeps asking why...like last Saturday.
No hijack here, though since you mentioned it.........I am turned on to my LX450 right now. We passed on a new 200 and decided to just use the '97. We ripped the flairs off and rhino'd the bottom. It held up super to extreme brush on Saturday. Next....we're going to rhino the rest of the truck in bright red....seriously. Lastly, my spare internal carrier will be rebuilt to hold a 37, 37's go on and the roof rack comes off so it can be garaged. Had I not a told you you'd never recognize me shortly!
"Someone"? No
Almost every new vehicle automaker? Yes, and for a reason.
Somebody invited me to this thread so I had to post something!
OK...I'm out.
Automakers have gone to IFS simply for ride quality, correct? I see no other advantage. Since most buyers spend 99% of their time on pavement, IFS is better for them.
Anybody who thinks that a front locker is not class busting has never had one. You get the consistency of soap by combing dry sandy gulch with powder snow and hope to depend on ATRAC and you are going to have a very, very long day.
The guys with the Marlin crawler setups were relying heavily on front lockers because it was so slick on this run. The 3rd gen Runner with a crawler but no front locker felt that lack badly in a few spots. No amount of brake modulation is going to help in conditions like this - you gotta get the fronts up and drop the hammer with all four. The 80 is very good at that
The guys with the Marlin crawler setups were relying heavily on front lockers because it was so slick on this run. The 3rd gen Runner with a crawler but no front locker felt that lack badly in a few spots. No amount of brake modulation is going to help in conditions like this - you gotta get the fronts up and drop the hammer with all four. The 80 is very good at that
Going back to history: The 80 was the substitution of the 60, in the 80's the 60 series had very Little luxury, heavy duty suspension, very capable off road, but no so great on the highway. the 80 series was design to improve the highway comfort kipping the off road capabilities. The 100 in the USA was design to being comfortable luxury and great on the highway with mild off road capabilities, in other countries the 105 is made whit the combination of on and off road capabilities. I have seeing the 105 in action and the 80 can't touch it.
I think your gap between "very capable" (80) and "mild" (100) is quite a stretch. To call what myself and others have done here in the USA in their 100's as "mild" is just misleading.
I think more accurate verbage would be "very capable" (100) and "extremely capable" (80). This might be what you meant any how.
I have not been so lucky as to see live 105's in action though I would be surprised if an 80 couldn't "touch it". The two platforms are fundamentaly the same. The 105 is larger and that limits it's effectiveness (just like the UZJ does) against the smaller 80. For extreme wheeling I see no disadvantage the 80 has agaisnt the 105. I only see advantages to the 80. Of course....it comes down to what you use the truck for.
Why? Same drivetrain as far as I know and like John stated the 105 has the larger body of the 100.
Just another opinion. I myself like ALL Cruisers. I don't dislike even one, and if I could afford it, I'd have one of everything
They all Off Road very well. It just depends on what you want to do with it. I figure if you're a rock crawler, by all means go with a SFA if you really want the articulation. If you're like me and like moderate to semi-hard trails, overall ability, and expedition wheeling, then SFA or IFS will work equally well.
And I imagine it has nothing to do with towing capability or the Powerstroke under the hood or even the westerners who think of them as a status symbol. For many out here, a Powerstroke or a Cummins is like having a Mercedes or BMW or Porsche in the driveway for you coasters.
Yup
ATRAC sucks in situations where momentum is key cause the system is always trying to slow the wheels down
True, ATRAC is not for each and every situation. In Sand for example, give me lockers.
Yes...this was one of the best 80 vs 100 threads. No question!
We remember and know.
I can tell you comfort-wise.....your Blazer are my 80's. After 10-hours Saturday in the 80 we again were whoopassed. We always come home fresh in the 100 and beat in the 80. Some is because I'm an old dude with a sore back.
John,
I agree with this analysis. I think the difference between how you feel though probably has a lot to do with how you are flogging the LX out on the trail instead of drinking your latte while you wheel in the 100.
I just drove my 100 to Boise and back 104 miles of interstate. We ran between 72-84mph. It was very windy. I know I would be more tired if I would have driven my old 80. Less road noise, less effort in the wheel, less effort on the accelerator, fewer shifts, etc...
However, I never felt like the 80 beat me up on the trail. Of course, I was tired at the end of the day on the trail but I was working to drive the trail. No different than I'd be working if I was driving another vehicle on a hard trail.
I also agree with how you've classified the types of wheeling each does best. I think you are almost dead on.
Tonight over a nice dinner at a sit down Chinese restaurant my wife tells me, I think you should drop the 60 body on the rolled 80 in the garage and just wheel it around here and we can take the 100 on the mild long trips. Sounds like an awesome idea to me. She doesn't want me beating on the 100.
So you have yet another Cruiser project? 60 body on an 80 sounds cool!
Comparing fatigue....I'm comparing even on the same trails. The 100 is smooth, cushy, no effort is required when steering up and over rocks, there's less jerky motions....it just seems to drive itself. The 80's are stiffer, the SFA thorws you side-tos-de more so you're hanging on more, you have to fight the wheel sometimes to get over and around rocks......I'M JUST OLD!
I guess its your perspective. I use to feel beat up wheeling my 40. Now with the 80, I feel like I am in Luxury. The 6 hour drive to Moab is easy and comfortable as well, where as the 40 would have killed my old back.
I've always said I wanted a 40. How can one not want one? If I do get one, I am concerned about it's usage. Knowing me it might sit.
