My Old vs My New New FJ Cruiser

[EVFJ]

Hello all,

I recently (late April 07) added/supplemented my aging 4X4 with an FJ Cruiser which I trust will be equally if not a more capable off road vehicle which for now I intend to use on the lighter stuff as it serves as our kid transport so I'm forced to limit the good stuff.

Given that I'm new to the FJ Community I welcome any & all members thoughts and recommendations to set up my FJ as a comparable if not better off road vehicle.

Keep in mind that I'm supplementing at least what in my experience has been an incredibly off road capable 1995 RR LWB. I carry radios, emergency/food kit which I use between four vehicles (my third & fourth are a 1969 LR SIIA 109 and a 1973 LR SIII 88). My current radio setup consists of a Yaesu VX-7R along a set of Motorola XTN VHF radios.

The specs on the 95 RR mods are as follows:
ARB Lockers F&R
Safari Gard Stage II kit w/
SG Stage 2/3 trailing arms
SG Cross member
SG 3-link system
Custom front & rear drivelines
Custom exhaust
Custom rock sliders, tank skid plate
SG Diff protectors
Pioneer Avic N3
Stock bumpers F&R

The oil leak option when available and selected adds character to your vehicle, driveway, garage and or any other place it shouldn't. I guess I shouldn't complain since there are very few places it won't go.

The FJ Off road mods to date include a new:
King Suspension
Infant Car Seat
Pioneer Avic-Z2 w/XM Nav Traffic, Bluetooth & rear camera - installed, along with front window tint by FJCruisers.com in HB, CA

Possible next mods:
Sliders
Diff protectors & other undercarriage protection
Wheels
Tires
Bumpers - possibly though they've never really been an issue with the RR

Again, I welcome all thoughts, comments or recommendations. Am in SoCal so any local install help always welcome. Comments too!

Thanks,
EV

[MudLovingFJ]

welcome to the forum!

[uphill]

EVFJ previously said:

The FJ Off road mods to date include a new:
King Suspension
Infant Car Seat
Pioneer Avic-Z2 w/XM Nav Traffic, Bluetooth & rear camera - installed, along with front window tint by FJCruisers.com in HB, CA

Possible next mods:
Sliders
Diff protectors & other undercarriage protection
Wheels
Tires
Bumpers - possibly though they've never really been an issue with the RR
EV

It sounds as if you know what you're doing. The protection is the most important issue to me, second suspension and tires/wheels. The FJ is a capable machine and is remarkable when driven off road by an experienced person. The surprising part is how well it handles on-road given its construction for pioneering and pathfinding.

Good luck!

[ron21]

Cool

[RoverGGM]

Welcome

You're gonna love this thing!

I had a 1990 RR Classic and the FJ was the only 4x4 that has caught my eye in a very long time.

[TCao]

EVFJ previously said:

...

The FJ Off road mods to date include a new:
King Suspension
Infant Car Seat
Pioneer Avic-Z2 w/XM Nav Traffic, Bluetooth & rear camera - installed, along with front window tint by FJCruisers.com in HB, CA

Possible next mods:
Sliders
Diff protectors & other undercarriage protection
Wheels
Tires
Bumpers - possibly though they've never really been an issue with the RR

Again, I welcome all thoughts, comments or recommendations. Am in SoCal so any local install help always welcome. Comments too!

Thanks,
EV

Hi EV:

We're lucky that there are quite a few offroad shops in SoCal, including a few supporting vendors here (DeMello and All Pro to name a couple). IMHO, armor should be next on your list if you intend to take the FJC offroad. I have the factory sliders and they're quite strong but don't stick out far enough to protect the doors. As for underbelly armor, I have the BudBuilt skid plates and I highly recommend you look into these. As for wheels and tires, I'm currently running the factory steelies with BFG All Terrain TA in 285/70R17 (the body mounts have been chopped by DeMello); 34" tires are probably the largest I'd recommend without requiring a lot of clearancing. I would say that bumper and winch should be last. Check out adventure4x4.net as we have lots of SoCal trail runs and that's a really good way to check out others' setups. Welcome to the addition.

[bisdak]

Good luck on your mods and enjoy your FJ.

[Bang Bang]

Welcome and Congrats!!

[BigDouggieDoug]

EVFJ. Good to have more experienced off-roaders here for brain picking. Please tell us more about your King suspensions. How you like them? Have you ride in rigs with Donahoes or All-Pros to compare to Kings?

[EVFJ]

BigDouggieDoug previously said:

EVFJ. Good to have more experienced off-roaders here for brain picking. Please tell us more about your King suspensions. How you like them? Have you ride in rigs with Donahoes or All-Pros to compare to Kings?

Thanks All. BigDouggieDoug, I think it comes down to personal preference. Personally I've only ever used Kings, Fox, Bilstein and OME. Unfortunately I don't know much about Donahoes or All-Pros though from the comments I've read on this site they appear to be rock solid respectable products.

At this point, not having gone off road much with my FJ yet I can't really speak to how the Kings perform off road. However, on the road they handle significantly better than stock though they appear to be valved for a bit more for comfort. Off road is where I'm looking for results. I'll let you know once I've logged some miles, probably mid-to-late summer.

Meanwhile, I'd probably refer you to TCao as he seems to have logged a respectable number of off road hours in his King equipped FJ.

I can say that I had kings on a defender, which regetabbly I've since sold (still kicking myself to this day for selling it), and they were so incredibly rock solid and built to perform that I'm sure they'll outlast the truck.

My RR is set up with Fox/OME (front coilover style/rear similar to the FJ) and I have no complaints. However, they're valved a bit firmer which personally I prefer but it's also a heaver rig as equipped than my FJ. I've heard they leak but I've yet to see my setup leak. In my opinion they offer a great product at a competetive price. If they haven't already done so I'm sure Fox will come up with a great setup for our trucks. I tend to prefer a firm ride on road and since I rarely go above 10 mph off road I don't mind unless it's TOO firm and/or bumpy of a ride.

Thank you all, this is the first time I've had answers to my messages without any snide remarks I've received from other sites for other cars.

TCao and others: thanks for answering my questions on the Kings and other products.

Again thank you all.
EV