Lifts: Expedition behavior

[krazytoy]

There is always a 1" or 1.25" body lift too, I run about 2.5" of lift, 1.25" body lift and 35's. I don't rub and I daily drive it everywhere.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/83671-The-Baja-Bus-1994-FZJ80-Build

 

[adventureduo]

I did a few trips to baja in my old 80 with approx 4" of springs and spacers and 37" BFGs. The lack of caster correction and no steering stabilizer made it a bit sketchy on those heavily crowned Mexican roads but it was much better once I had the steering box rebuilt.

When it did it again in my next 80 with stock height OME springs and 285/75/16s it was effortless on those same roads.

Yep! And less fatigue behind the wheel for longer durations.

I'd say less is more for "overlanding" and "expedition" type use. We've gone anywhere we've wanted with OME springs and 33's. There's no real need for 35's or 37's unless your going for the more hardcore trails or playing in the rocks. The smaller tire also puts less stress on critical drive train parts and in turn makes your rig slightly more reliable in the end. Your brakes will thank you as well. That and you don't "need" to re-gear if you don't want too.

 

[86tuning]

Oh, and one more thing, an 80 with 315/75-16 tires and OME 850-860 springs with factory roof rack is 6'8.5" unladen (3rd row removed) so you can *just barely* make it into most parkades. That was one factor that delayed me from lifting my 80 the day that I got it. Needed to carefully measure before lifting.

And Surfy, the Lexus LX570 comes with AHC and all the benefits you describe. Don't know about the LC-200 because we don't get those in Canada

 

[Scout Dave]

I just today finished a 1750 mile trip from Sioux Falls, SD to Hayward, Ca in the Land Pigger. I have 4" springs and 265's. On the trip I was loaded down quite heavy with most every hand tool I own as well as all of my clothes, camping and fishing stuff. Add to this load a passenger, a dog and a RTT along with bumpers etc. and I have one complaint. Body roll. The Land Pigger loves a straight highway but a few back to back curves will slow it down right now. I would really look at what your real world needs are and go a small as practical.

 

[Sempertoy]

I think that 4" is overkill for 35"s. I would stick with a smaller lift if 35"s are the biggest you are going to go. However if you have the sickness that most others have, once you put on 35"s you will wish they were 37"s.... so on and so on. In that case a 4" lift will save you money in the future when you step up tire sizes.

 

[JohnnyS]

Our 80 tips the scales at 7500 pounds, we're running Js & 868s with 285s. It is extremely comfortable on unimproved dirt roads as well as pavement (albeit slow on the highway).
Obviously the Js aren't necessary for 285s but with the weight of the truck they reduce body roll (not articulation) in technical stuff subsequently making it easier to control; switching to 868s from 863s made a big difference with this as well.
Another nice thing about 285s is that carrying two spares is easy, one underneath and one on a bumper from Christo.
35s look way cooler but I'm glad we stuck with 285s .

 

[All-Terrain]

Does anyone sell a 1-2" lift for 80's? Preferably closer to a 1" lift. Don't need the springs to be super-heavy on the spring rate, but would like to get the truck up a bit higher.

 

[NM-Frontier]

Old Man Emu "no lift springs" 2861 Fronts and 2862 in the rear. If you have worn springs you can see about the 1" you are looking for.:sombrero:

 

[Arktikos]

Unless the terrain where you are going to travel over dictates that much lift and tire size, it makes no sense to build an expedition truck with 4" of lift with 35's. More complexity on the lift, possible driveline issues including specializes driveshafts, adjustable components vs fixed parts (panhard rods) etc etc. Those all introduce possible failure points or complication. Al.

Surprising to hear this honesty from a guy who makes a living from selling this kind of stuff. People aren't listening. LOL.

 

[reldred]

Surprising to hear this honesty from a guy who makes a living from selling this kind of stuff. People aren't listening. LOL.

It's a good point to be made I think. I suppose you need to ask yourself are you building a rock crawler or an expedition truck? In my mind an expedition truck is driving 2000km's to get somewhere remote, I'm not going to make that 2000km's of driving hell for 20km's worth of terrain that I really won't be risking driving when I'm so far from home and any sort of support network. Expo in my eyes is dirt, gravel and sand, not rock crawling- but that I suppose is a product of the environment I live in.

The folks I know personally in Australia who do all the big 'expedition' drives spend all their money on making the vehicle resilient and comfortable but otherwise don't modify them a whole lot. The ones who drop big cash on lifts and wheels tend to do a lot shorter distances to get to their preferred play grounds. Not saying either is wrong, I just think they have their relevant places.

Mind you, driving a six wheeled, tag axle frankenstein beast I can hardly make my comments with too much gusto :sombrero:

 

[CYK]

An SUV is inherently a strange vehicle for US public roads. I'd argue they're highly inefficient, impractical and overpriced.

When trying to rationalize buying luxury goods such as a land cruiser (the priciest model sold under the Toyota brand) you kind of suspend reality to justify it over a lesser make/model.

End of day, we men buy what stirs the soul while practicality takes a back seat often times and this is why seasoned vendors like slee can make "strange" statements. He can tell us the honest truth, but where's the fun in that? Cash register continues to ring.

So no matter what people say is functionally right our wallets will always speak to what the kid in us covets or at least until the governor curbs the fun (aka wifey).

I adore my icon lifted, 5.7 liter urban bruiser running burly and heavy 10 ply ATs. Sorry ahc, stay away.