FJs and Mods

[TexasCabledawg]

Swingshiftworker previously said:

It's apples and oranges.

If you lift and put big tires on your rig (and do all of the other suspension stuff you should do to accomodate the lift & tires) it will NOT be the same car. Your mileage will go down, it will (or should) ride stiffer) and it won't be able to get into your (or other) garages. I decided early on not to lift my FJ for these reasons. My "solution" was to buy another 4x4 (my 99 Wrangler TJ) which has already been lifted 5 inches, sports 35" mud/rock tires, and has all of the other necessary mods to allow it to go anywhere the FJ can't (and there aren't many places that the FJ can't go).

I use my FJ as a daily driver too, so my mods were mostly "comfort" and "convenience" related. Sunroof, auxillary fuel tank & fog lights are in this category. I also have a couple of off-road mods, including the Lucrum winch mount, Warn M8000 winch and Optima dual battery system. My FJ already came w/OEM sliders, skid, TRD wheels & BFG AT tires and a TRD exhaust. So, it ready to go off road at a moment's notice, but it won't be able to do much rock climbing.

So, if you like to go on the kinds of trails that knock your bumper off and dent your skid plate, you'll have to decide what's more important to you. Comfortable and affordable daily driving or less comfortable and less affordable off-road capability. Only you can make that decision, based on the amount of money you have (lift/tire/suspension mods are EXPENSIVE) and how much you think you'll actually make use of these mods.

Good luck!

I am at a tipping point. The last time we went wheeling was my first true offroading experience with any real challenges, and I am starting to get the bug. I have another great daily driver (2wd '04 Grand Cherokee), so the option is there to go all out with my FJ. I just really like driving around town in the FJ and taking the occasional road trip as stated above. I suppose time will tell, as with all things. Thanks for the insight!!

[KD7NAC_07FJ]

Fjamming previously said:

A lot of people suffered from too much too early mods. Wasting money on mods that aren't needed or worse, mods that require other mods just so they can make it work. They go about it with no plan in mind. Often times, driver education is much more needed then mods.

There is a lot of truth to that. Wheeling has rarely ever included buying a new off the showroom floor vehicle. Most of the time is the the opposite, find a frame/body load it on a trailer and spend months building your ORV. With the exception of a few early model Jeeps (that era has long past) there hasn't been a totally utilitarian vehicle built in at least a decade.

To my point - now you have people buying FJs and seeing vids and pics of us nut jobs who have been doing this kind of thing since we could hold a wrench and they run out buying everything under the sun without really understanding what it is for and what it does and does not do for your rig.

I'm all for spreading the knowledge and having a lot of fun along the way but I guess the main point is people mod their rigs (this is not an FJ unique condition by any means) and think they should be able to run the same line MissFJ did at Moab. They have no real concept of what that run actually took, the spotter, turning against what you would instinctively do on the road, etc., etc.

Mall crawlers are one thing if they stay at the mall but there is skill required off-road that many people don't have but they still think all the mods make the rig able to do it. It aint the rig folks, its the driver and the crew that gets up a trail Having some good arty can sure help

my two cents

[mdstrawn]

TexasCabledawg previously said:

This topic brings up a fine line that I am riding with my FJ. Mine is a daily driver (we also take it on long road trips). It is stock, including stock skid. After taking it on a fairly difficult trail, I knocked the rear bumper out of place once (damaged the bumper pad a little but on the underside) which snapped back in place, and chewed up the skid pretty well. This got me thinking about mods such as a lift and tires, but how it would affect it as a daily driver. We don't go wheeling very often, but would the benefit of the added offroad capability outweigh the benefit of a stock rig that is a great daily driver? What are the new tires and lift (among other possible mods) going to do to my MPG vs avoiding damage and associated costs with the occasional trail run?

The rig performed really well stock, but I would like to have had a little more clearance.

I had wondered about the same things, but since I work at drilling rigs in the Colorado mountains and frequently have to drive some very bad "roads" just getting to and from work I decided that a few mods were in order. I started with a ToyTec 3" lift and ARB front and rear bumpers with OME shocks all around. I then put in the OME 895 rear coils to correct a little rear end sag. I've got a fairly heavy 10K winch on the front and have put in the All Pro lower control arms. I just put on a set of Budbilt skid plates and am getting 19mpg but that is almost all highway driving because to go anywhere from my place you have to drive the highway. I have noticed when I'm pulling 4,000 lbs of trailer and cargo that the mileage drops to about 13 mpg.

[DominicG]

I mod not because the FJ needs the mods, but because i see rigs like Air2Air's, uphill's, cruiserlarry's, etc. It's a damn curse.

[tibaal89]

Stock FJ's rule! More reliable, too....

[targa88]

Spent almost a year driving the FJC - bone stock to see what she was capable of.
After which - had to decide what the primary purpose of the vehicle was going to be. Based on that, predicated the magnitude of mods.
As an expedition vehicle (not a mud bogger or rock crawler- rather capable of many things) - my theory was that some protection was required - but there were limitations to the amount of weight she could carry while maintaining the stock geometry.
Ultimately, it is like a jigsaw puzzle - with the appropriate planning you should be able to achieve the desired results that work for you.

That being said - there is a lot of information and temptation that is provided by the Forum. Just have to choose judiciously.....

[LandCruiserSteve]

KD7NAC_07FJ previously said:

It aint the rig folks, its the driver and the crew that gets up a trail

That says it all.

As previously mentioned in this (great) thread, there's a tendency to over-mod a recently-purchased FJ from day one. One sees all the impressive modifications and add-ons throughout this forum, and it's difficult not to be lured into wanting a rig that sports virtually every known after-market accessory made for the FJ . . . . a good portion of which may not even be needed for the individual's specific off-road requirements.

The biggest problem with this phenomena is, that FJ owners quickly become dependent upon their gadgetry (with often a false sense of security) to provide a capable off-road rig . . . . rather than honing their actual driving skills.

Of course many of the modifications seen on this forum are absolutely necessary to conquer trails that require more aggressive tires, suspension lifts, body armor, snorkels, 4X4 bumpers, etc.

However, I wish I had a nickel for every driver I've seen of an extremely tricked-out rig who couldn't negotiate the simplest of obstacles. Merely because they depended solely upon the "mods" rather than driving technique. (On a daily basis, I demonstrate how a stock "Soccer Mom" Chevy Tahoe can do things in the dirt that an FJ Cruiser can't do . . . . when there's an appreciable difference between the two drivers' off-roading abilities.)

Owning a Stradivarius will not make you a virtuoso violinist. Nor will $3-10k in off-road mods make you and your FJ an rigorous terrain off-road unit. And, a bone-stock FJ could easily leave its heavily-modified counterpart behind if the drivers' off-road skills differ.

Like targa88 just said, spend some initial time with your FJ with minimal (or no) modifications to see what you are capable of doing and what your specific needs are eventually going to be. Not only will you end up saving a lot of money by not buying accessories than you'll never use. But more importantly, you can develop the 4X4 proficiency required to take on the toughest trails based upon your ability . . . . not your truck's. Then you and your FJ can truly grow together as a "team."

FJ 4X4 mods are simply tools. They're not the solution.

[carrotzilla]

Not a lot of rock crawling in Florida! I need a 4WD for my job, hustling around test ranges so I'm leaving mine stock and dependable. My only mod will be red clay although lots of it.

[Wiz-of-Awd]

All kind' along the lines of something I've thought for a long time...

"A fast driver will often outdrive and beat a fast car."

A.W.D.

[Swingshiftworker]

LandCruiserSteve previously said:

FJ 4X4 mods are simply tools. They're not the solution.

Amen!