Need a little advice rigging up an fj

[Farmerzuk]

I am looking at purchacing a fj and I would like to rig it up for some serious off roading.
Is the 6 inch lift better than the 3 inch?
What manufacturer should a person go with?
Can a person run stock tires with the 6 inch? I would like to utilize the factory rims for winter use.
Can a person use 31 or 33 with the 6 inch?
I am looking at installing an ARB front locker will it work with the factory rear locker? or should I install a rear ARB locker?
I am also going to install a winch bumper and winch and fender flares.
It should be an impresive rig when I am done I think my biggest hang up right now is the lift kit they look so much better with the 6 inch lift

looking forward to all the input.

[Stonewall]

welcome to the form!

wow, it sounds like you are gonna have one bad a$$ ride. you should do a search on 3 inch vs 6 inch lift. there are pros and cons to both. 3 inch lift will give you a lower center of gravity which is important for serious off roading. the 6 inch will keep you body off the rocks and allow for bigger tires... plus it looks cool. If you really want a off road " purpose built" FJ, ask yourself if the 6 inch lift will allow you go where the 3 inch will not. my answer is probably not. plus the 6 inch does put some extra stress on parts that it wasn't built for. If you really want hard core off road go with a SAS (solid axle swap)

yes you can use either 31 or 33 inch tires with the 6 inch lift, but the smaller tires might look a little funny.

yes you can use a front arb locker with the rear elocker. but I have heard a few people say if you are going to use arb in the front you may as well replace the rear with arb also.

[layonnn]

your better off stating what kind of terrain you plan on tackling with the FJ. That way people can give you better information about which options would be better.

For instance the 6inch lift vs the 3 inch. If you want to have 35's, run a good bit of mud, don't care about gas mileage, i would say go 6inch. However, if you want this to be a daily driver, be able to tackle all terrain, run 33's, id say go 3inch.

I think the most popular 3inch lift would be the Old Man Emu kit.

[Farmerzuk]

I would say I will probably be running in mostly mud and snow I have not done any rock crawling yet I'd like to try it one day. Not much for rocky terrain where I live. Mostly muskeg and hills in the winter it would be snow on the ice of my favorit lakes.
Its to bad some one didn't make a 4 or 4.5 inch lift.

[HITMAN]

I would say go and get some exprience by taking it off road a couple times. Find out what you think needs to be changed and then make some decisions on mods for your truck, otherwise you will regret some of them if you did it just for looks.

[uphill]

My opinion only - others will certainly differ.

Farmerzuk previously said:

I am looking at purchacing a fj and I would like to rig it up for some serious off roading.
Is the 6 inch lift better than the 3 inch?

6" raises your center of gravity without raising your clearance.

What manufacturer should a person go with?

Suspension? King if price is no object.

Can a person run stock tires with the 6 inch? I would like to utilize the factory rims for winter use.

Why do you want to lift your rig 6 inches - looks only? Yeah, you can run OEM tires with it.

Can a person use 31 or 33 with the 6 inch?

With a 3" lift or a 6" lift.

I am looking at installing an ARB front locker will it work with the factory rear locker? or should I install a rear ARB locker?

Did your FJ come with a rear locker? if so, keep it. The ARB air locker (front locker) will work with any combination of equipment, except that when the air locker is engaged on the front end, you loose A-TRAC

I am also going to install a winch bumper and winch and fender flares. It should be an impresive rig when I am done I think my biggest hang up right now is the lift kit they look so much better with the 6 inch lift
looking forward to all the input.

Going for appearance is one thing. Going for functionality is another. You need to decide which is more important before you begin. Why do you want fender flares? They will tend to retain mud. Putting on wider fenders to allow for longer travel with wider tires is another issue entirely.

[LandCruiserSteve]

HITMAN previously said:

I would say go and get some exprience by taking it off road a couple times. Find out what you think needs to be changed and then make some decisions on mods for your truck, otherwise you will regret some of them if you did it just for looks.

uphill previously said:

Going for appearance is one thing. Going for functionality is another. You need to decide which is more important before you begin.

X2!!!! Best advice in this thread.

[Apexbasher]

IMO 6" lift is for appearance only. The lift you get should be based solely on your requirements for tire clearance when you go up in TIRE SIZE. This is because an increase in tire size is the only way to give yourself an increase in ground clearance that makes a difference off-road.

In other words, you increase tire size for gains in ground clearance. THEN choose a lift that will allow your body, fender wells and suspension pieces to clear the new tire size.