To keep suspension stock or not

[expeditionerd]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster here.
I'm having a quite heated internal debate on getting a new suspension system for my FJ Cruiser or not, I've considered all the options out there, and I can't really make my mind, so I'm hoping all the super experienced overlanders here can help me clear that question out.

Talking to my friendly neighbor the mechanic, he advised me *against* changing the stock suspension, since adding even a small amount of lift ends up changing the rig's geometry and components tend to fail faster.
I'm definitively not into rockcrawling, my interest is mainly about experiencing an extended journey self-reliantly to a remote area, so my concern about nothing breaking is the biggest one.

I'd like to keep my FJC as lightweight as possible, probably skipping bumpers and electric winches and leaning towards a simple manual winch and a hi-lift jack.

As I get gear to go with me, and slowly start planning roadtrips to Alaska, Baja, Central America and beyond, I take weight into consideration as much as if I was going on a ultralight hiking trip.

So my question to all of you bright minds; The stock FJC comes with "Trail Tuned" Bilsteins, and already has 9.5 inches of clearance. Thinking I'll try to keep the rig as light as possible, is adding the extra 2 - 3 inches of clearance, worth the increased risk of failure?

Thanks!

 

[CA-RJ]

I think you need to find a new mechanic. There is nothing wrong with lifting your FJ. I'm not sure what the max lift for the front CV boots is, but 2" or so shouldn't hurt them. There is no reason that your FJ will become unreliable because you've lifted it. I would recommend Old Man Emu products to you. They ride great and are quite duable. I have over 75k miles on my Old Man Emu shocks and springs and they have held up nicely.

 

[Tucson T4R]

I think it all depends on where you want to drive your vehicle. I have a 4Runner and the ride height from the factory was pretty low and I would drag the under carriage on many of the local back country roads here in AZ.

I ended up replacing the stock suspension with OME springs and shocks that gave me about 3" lift (a little less). I have been driving this set up for the last few years now it really works well for me. Not so high that I am putting much stress on the drive line but high enough to give me the ground clearance I need for the trails I like to drive.

My recommendation is lift but keep it a mild lift.

BTW...welcome to the Expo community. :wavey:

 

[jsmarine]

You mentioned the 9.5 inches of clearance, adding a lift will not change this. Only adding larger tires will change the clearance under the axles, which would probably require a lift. But if you don't change the tires, you have just lifted the body up 2-3 inches. Now, I know some will say that now you have a better approach/departure angle and the rocker panels are a little higher, but really most people get a lift for aesthetics. IMO the main (not only, but main) reason to get a lift is to add larger tires, which in turn, will add more clearance underneath, where it counts.

You can get heavier duty springs without lifting if you want, I haven't check, but I'm pretty sure OME makes some. If you are not scared if trimming your fenders, you could do that to gain the clearance for larger tires. I did both to my 4runner, small lift and trimmed the fenders to get a larger tire in there. I didn't want to lift it too high, because of the CV angles and all the other problems that come with tall lifts. And I want my vehicle to be as low as possible (Low COG), with the most amount of ground clearance possible (under the axles). Hope that makes sense

 

[corax]

your neighbor is probably just trying to warn you away from excessive lift, which will cause premature wear. 1-3 inches is no problem, if your FJC ends up looking like this, you have too much lift

 

[expeditionerd]

Aaah, so much wisdom!

jsmarine you are right when you say that a 3 inch lift does not equal to 3 inches more of clearance, I think I confused those for a sec. Thanks for the reminder.

Tucson T4R Where do I want to drive to? I think the answer is: To the unknown: and want to make sure I can come back!

CA-RJ An OME lift was the main contender I had in mind. It's great to hear yours has performed so well, makes me lean towards that specific setup yet another bit.

corax lol! I will *definitively* not want to get to that point!

 

[jsmarine]

no problem! I hope my post did not come across in the wrong tone, after re-reading it now it sounds like I'm lecturing!

 

[expeditionerd]

Not at all! that was great feedback. I'll keep on the lookout for the OME lift, but is good to know I shouldn't expect 2 to 3 full inches of clearance after install.

Thanks all again.

On the other hand, if anyone here switched from stock suspension, and wished you would haw never done so, I'd love to hear that story.

Thanks!

 

[Serg5000]

your neighbor is probably just trying to warn you away from excessive lift, which will cause premature wear. 1-3 inches is no problem, if your FJC ends up looking like this, you have too much lift

I would drive that...:bike_rider:

 

[7wt]

You mentioned the 9.5 inches of clearance, adding a lift will not change this. Only adding larger tires will change the clearance under the axles, which would probably require a lift.

Well yes but a 3" lift will gain you 3" of rocker panel clearance and that is pretty important. In doing so it will also lift those delicate dangly things like your transfer case an additional 3" so while you are not increasing the ground clearance under your axles, you are everywhere else. A 3" lift is much more beneficial than you let on, more so than just looks. I have a small lift on my Tacoma primarily for the increased clearance it provides. Every time I drop my front tires over a rocks, I am glad I have the additional room.

Marcos, take your time with it all. If you just have to spend money, get new tires or some protection. You will learn what you need as you go along. You will be surprised how little you actually need though. The Cruiser is a beast offroad. Way more capable than most vehicles off the showroom floor.

 

[Overland Hadley]

I think OME and one size bigger tires is a good way to go, even with a lightweight rig.

 

[winkosmosis]

People seem to forget that there is a lot of vulnerable stuff under there, like the drivetrain and the exhaust piping. You can literally gas yourself with leaking exhaust pipes.

2" makes a big difference for breakover angle, even without bigger tires, so you're less liable to drag the delicate parts.

 

[go4aryd]

You might want to check out toytec. They build stuff for toyotas, well engineered. I run their rear coil (stock shocks) and their front adjustable coilovers primarily because the stock FJC skid plate would kiss every rock in the road (yea, the plate went to craigslist before it wasn't worth anything). I run all kinds of terrain, but not real rocks (did that in the TJ years ago) and typically not extreme off-road. I have a winch which gets regular use clearing trail with my bow-saw, and a shovel and high-lift. I run 265/75-16 BFG AT KOs which have been great and it is rare I need anything taller. (I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get some rock rails if you don't already have them).

How tall or wide really depends on your terrain. I chose to stay with "stock" size on the 16" rims as I get plenty of sidewall for airing down for the nasty washboards and/or increased footprint. Have considered several times going with a 255/85-16 or a 285/70-16 but have really been happy with what I have in combination with the "lift".

I also pull a M100 trailer (and now an AT Horizon), and taller tires might help a tiny bit with the AT trailer, but not enough to mess up what I think is a pretty good combination. I just put matching ATs on the Horizon. For my needs it works out pretty well.

I have not regretted the minor lift (abt 2.5" in front, abt 2" in rear) and it has really worked well for me. I now have a bull bar up front, but the kit was great before that (in fact I had to re-adjust the coilovers some with the additional weight) I just added a diff-drop kit since getting the Horizon since it weighted a bit more than my military trailer, and didn't want to unintentionally weaken the propeller shaft joints by accidentally accellerating too hard with more weight behind. I also added air springs to the rear of the FJ a long time ago to level out any trailer load (used to have a coleman). I also highly recommend AirLift if that is a need you may also have.

I have 45K miles on my 07 FJ. Nearly all of them are "trips" and am preparing to leave for the Yukon/AK for our longest outing - estimated at four or five weeks.

PM me if you'd like any additional or direct info - I don't often troll this portion of the site.

 

[Honu]

the 3 inch lift thing has been corrected
that 3 inches helps A LOT if you pick your line you can roll over obstacles but need that extra approach and dept angle sometimes but the center main junk under your rig clearance is nice to have !!

I have OME and am happy with it ? I pull a trailer so having the heavys in the rear is nice
the heavys up front since I have a ARB bumper is nice ?
now the idea of a bumper is dif things to dif people ? but heaven forbid I ever hit a deer I want something a bit more solid I know wont crumple up I want something solid to have a winch on no way would I want to hand winch a truck that is stuck ! and not sure how easy you could ? so dont discount a winch or heavy front bumper something solid for trail bumps etc..

I dont rock crawl I just want to go places with the trailer and family and enjoy the outdoors when I can but on some roads that extra clearance is needed the extra armor can keep things safer and the winch can keep me more self reliant

welcome to Expo its a good group of people here to help you out and spend money heheheheh but seriously most here will tell you what is needed not what looks cool

dug up some old pics and things have changed this was about 2 years ago
tried to match the shots when I took them the same day a few hours apart
285 tires but stock suspension vs OME 3 inch lift after you can see it helped out with the trailer position as well as making it feel much better pulling the trailer when driving also the suspension got rid of that nose dip bounce feeling the stock suspension has



stock

after 3 inch lift

 

[AmityFJ]

Go to the blue room and check out the member builds section. You can get many ideas for your fj. Many purpose built rigs there.

If I was to do it again, I would probably opt for lighter components myself.
Aluminum skids, although not as strong as steel, really cuts down on weight.
The simpler the setup, the easier to maintain.

I highly recommend icon suspension setup but save your money and buy different UCAs and LCAs.

Demello makes great sliders and bumpers.