Build: 2016 Land Cruiser 200 series

[Kennyao30]

Hello all! Just wanted to make a thread to document my 2016 200 build and share trips, pictures and mods with you guys. As an aspiring (amateur) photographer this build will contain lots of pictures!

So to start off here is my built 100. This was my first Land Cruiser, and really sparked my love of adventure and DIY maintenance/ repair.


Here is my 2016 200 as I received it, I purchase the 200 out of Texas with full dealer service records and not a spot of rust. The main reason for building our 200 is to get out with my family and make memories outdoors. We are a family who loves the outdoors, camping and traveling, so the 200 is the perfect vehicle to take us places. As a perfectionist and an OCD engineer I have a need to make things as clean and functional as possible, so that will be detailed here as well. Cheers!



Modifications:
- ARB Summit front bumper
- King 3.0 front shocks and 2.5 rears
- OME 2723 rear springs, stock for now till I get some weight out back.
- SPC UCAs
- Redarc BCDC 1240D with SBI
- ARB fridge from previous build
- Slee Offroad Dual battery tray (optima battery)
- Slee Offroad ARB dual air compressor mount
- Slee group 31 battery tray w x2 power battery
- Falken AT3w tires 275/70/18
- Switchpros with SQHQ mount

To do/ to buy within 1-3 months:
- ARB dual air compressor
- Sliders - looking at options ( most likely will get Slee LC200 sliders )
- Winch - looking at options ( most likely will get warn zeon platinum 12-s )
- Build a rear drawer system

To do eventually:
- Rear bumper
- Skids
- ARB front and rear lockers
- Metaltech 4x4 lower rear links
- Roof rack
- Aux lighting
- Rock lights wired to dome lights
- Shock Armor - this will most likely move up but I haven't looked into any options.
- Air tank and train horns - for giggles

As she sits today.

 

[Kennyao30]

I finally got the king suspension after a 2.5 month wait, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. This suspension is a work of art.
I started installing the suspension and spc upper control arms today.
I also finished the BCDC install and relocated the starting battery to use the aux battery tray.

I also got my 275/70/18 Falken AT3w tires installed today and could not be more thrilled.

 

[AdventureTim]

Looks great!

Genuinely interested: why Kings over OME BP-51s? I'm weighing up the two right now and can't decide.

EDIT: And I'm also coming from an LR4; what are your thoughts between the two?

 

[Kennyao30]

Looks great!

Genuinely interested: why Kings over OME BP-51s? I'm weighing up the two right now and can't decide.

EDIT: And I'm also coming from an LR4; what are your thoughts between the two?

I have nothing bad to say about the BP-51s, they are well regarded on IH8MUD. But I liked the fact that King has an excellent dealer network and parts are readily available. Also the Kings can be build to order, you can specify spring rates for the coil-overs , and compression/ rebound valving. I also like the fact that the kings compared to OME BP51's are much larger, meaning the kings hold more oil and can take a lot more heat.

You can't go wrong with either suspension. They are both rebuildable but I have not seen anyone besides OME/ARB rebuild the BP51s, for the Kings there are tons of places you can take them to be rebuilt or just order the parts to do it yourself.


For The LR4 there are some brilliant things/designs on it that I wish Toyota would pick up. Such as doing top mounted oil filters so that the oil change can be done in under five minutes. For the interior of the LR4 it has excellent visibility and a pretty open airy cabin. Everyone rags on the reliability of Land Rover but having owned the LR4 for about four years, we haven’t had any reliability issues. But it is true that Land Rovers are maintenance heavy. The lower control arm bushings are a big issue in LR4s but you can change them out with poly bushings and it’s a non-issue. Other things to watch out for are timing chain guides, but they were fixed in 13+ cars.

As far as comparing to the 100 it’s about the same space wise inside but drives way nicer in town and on long trips. The 100 has it beat as far as aftermarket modifications available.

Comparing the 100 to the 200 to the LR4. I can say that the build quality of the 200 far exceeds both the others. The 200 has a ton more interior room for car seats in the second row behind the passenger seat, which is good for our family situation. I can even sit behind the car seat on the passenger side and I have super long legs. I would say the ride quality of the 200 stock is on par with the LR4.

If you have any other questions of specifics just ask.

 

[rlynch356]

Could you do me a favor and let me know how far the ARB summit sticks out from the grill?
I have a 2017 200 series and that is one of the bars I was thinking about for a number of reasons.

 

[Kennyao30]

Could you do me a favor and let me know how far the ARB summit sticks out from the grill?
I have a 2017 200 series and that is one of the bars I was thinking about for a number of reasons.

It sticks out 10.5 inches past the grill

 

[prasta]

Beautiful rig. Definitely following along.

Question; wondering what was used to black out some of the chrome baubles? Appears to be vinyl, but would love to know more.

I just picked up the same year and color in August; coming from a 4runner and loving it so far. Haven’t cracked it open to do any mods yet, enjoying the truck in its stock state for the time being.

As a self proclaimed OCD engineer, how are you feeling about the propellor shaft clunk?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Kennyao30]

Beautiful rig. Definitely following along.

Question; wondering what was used to black out some of the chrome baubles? Appears to be vinyl, but would love to know more.

I just picked up the same year and color in August; coming from a 4runner and loving it so far. Haven’t cracked it open to do any mods yet, enjoying the truck in its stock state for the time being.

As a self proclaimed OCD engineer, how are you feeling about the propellor shaft clunk?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you so much! Actually the chrome on the front and back seem to be professionally painted.... I didn’t have it done, but I have had the pieces off so I know they arnt vinyl. However the chrome around the windows is vinyl wrapped on mine.

The prop shaft clunk drove me nuts until I figured out there were grease zirk fittings on both front and rear driveshafts and cv joints. I think most dealers don’t know they are there or skip them.