[elroyj]

Just picked up a 2008 FJ. Love it, but definitely needs to be bigger. My last 4x4 was a '06 Wrangler on 37" KM2s. I think with the FJ i'll be happy with 35's (shooting for a true 35 if I can) so I'm trying to figure my lift setup.

This will be my daily driver and I do intend to wheel it at least a fair amount. I'm basically down to either a Icon stage 1 w/ a Toytec 1" body lift or the RC 6". The pros of the Icon are the ride quality and price. With the RC I'm already anticipating I'll want to add Icon coilovers and Piggybacks, so essentially double the price for 2 more inches of lift. I was just hoping you guys might be able to help with any other pros and cons to each. I would love to spend less on the lift and put the rest to bumpers and such, but if the 6" is really a better fit I'll bite the bullet and save some more for the bumpers and such. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Dumpinthegutter]

Don't forget the body mount chop to clear the 35's

 

[FJ&TJ_Dude]

3" lift with better components, 35" tire and better gears

 

[08fjcruz]

I am very happy with the way my FJ rides and performs offroad. It has the RC6, Radflo coilovers, Radflo rear shocks and Camburg ball joint UCA's. The Icons are very nice but IMO the quality of the Radflos are up there with Icons, but alot cheaper. I paid $697 for my coilovers and $180 each for the rear shocks.

heres a couple pics (sorry its all I have)

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[allrsdup]

I am very happy with the way my FJ rides and performs offroad. It has the RC6, Radflo coilovers, Radflo rear shocks and Camburg ball joint UCA's. The Icons are very nice but IMO the quality of the Radflos are up there with Icons, but alot cheaper. I paid $697 for my coilovers and $180 each for the rear shocks.

heres a couple pics (sorry its all I have)

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

any pics of your front cv anglse?

 

[FJJeremy]

don't do a 6" if you wheel at all. trust me. great for mall crawling though!

 

[sonof40]

................

 

[elroyj]

I am very happy with the way my FJ rides and performs offroad. It has the RC6, Radflo coilovers, Radflo rear shocks and Camburg ball joint UCA's. The Icons are very nice but IMO the quality of the Radflos are up there with Icons, but alot cheaper. I paid $697 for my coilovers and $180 each for the rear shocks.

heres a couple pics (sorry its all I have)

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

Thanks for the pics. Is that $697 for both coilovers or a piece? On a side note, what's your take on the Grabbers and do they measure pretty true?

 

[elroyj]

don't do a 6" if you wheel at all. trust me. great for mall crawling though!

Do you say this because of the COG or...? I definitely want something usable.

 

[1911]

Do you say this because of the COG or...? I definitely want something usable.

That, plus with the huge diff-drop/frame cross member needed to run this setup, you don't gain any more clearance than you can get running 35's on a quality 3" lift.

 

[FJNewb]

Do you say this because of the COG or...? I definitely want something usable.

You aren't really gaining anything by doing a 6" lift...no additional articulation or wheel travel and greater stress on your components. If you do more lift ontop of that you can fit 37" tires, but I've yet to see anyone show at full compression and lock that they still isn't any interference. However, 37" tires with little wheel travel isn't going to do much for you offroad.

 

[elroyj]

Gotcha. This is my first IFS 4x4, so I didn't really think about the ground clearance issues.

 

[08fjcruz]

Thanks for the pics. Is that $697 for both coilovers or a piece? On a side note, what's your take on the Grabbers and do they measure pretty true?

Yep $697 is for both coilovers. I wheel my FJ pretty hard and have yet to break anything(yes i'm sure it will happen sooner or later). you might not gain any ground clearance at the crossmember and rear axle but you do at the frame, plus the design of the RC crossmember does allow for max ground clearance. If your going to be a very hardcore offroader then yes the 3" would be better, but some of the guys are doing body lifts to get the 35's to clear and I'm not a fan of body lifts. I think it comes down to personal preference. I love the look of FJ's with a 6" lift, and am very pleased with the way mine performs offroad. On the General's i've only had them on since last saturday, but yes they measure pretty true and I am very happy with the way they ride so far. :cheers:

 

[Jas12682]

I'm sure people have plenty of fun wit 6" lifts, but In my estimation, they're primarily for looks and only secondarily for wheeling. Even then, it's because some customers would demand that they not hobble suspension performance, while many others would buy them for looks and never notice.

The point is, nobody's ever posted up any facts beyond customer satisfaction testimonials, and since there are obvious system concerns, it's up to the people professing their effectiveness to put up the data. Maybe it's out there, but I haven't seen it.

The height of the center of gravity is one of the most important determinants of linked suspension behavior, regardless of whether or not increased height is an increased risk for flops. If you raise it up 3", the rear lower links are now at a steeper angle, then the antisquat and the roll axis have both been significantly altered. If the roll axis now has a positive inclination (I don't know that it has, but I suspect this), then you'll have gone from a balance seeking to a balance shunning link behavior.

From what I understand, if the roll axis runs "downhill", then the chassis will tend to self-right in the same way that a refrigerator door closes. On a fridge, the hinge mechanism actually lifts the door as it swings out so that gravity bringing it back down tends to swing it back closed. The same is true of a well designed link suspension. Gravity tends to center it.

If the roll axis goes uphill, then the opposite is true. The low points are at the ends of the swing and the high point is in the middle. It tends to seek a leaning state and requires mechanical opposition.

Also, the steeper the rear links at ride height, the more there's an effect of rear steer. When the axle goes into twist, the wheel that goes low also hinges forward while the wheel that goes high, swings back. This changes the direction the tires are pointing, relative to the long axis of the vehicle. They start to steer.

The FJ Cruiser doesn't have a lot of suspension movement, and most of it's twist capability happens with rear suspension articulation while the body tends to parallel the angles of the driving surface that the front suspension is on. Because of this, the rear suspension geometry is even more important... and almost completely overlooked when people start talking about suspension kits.

I've never once seen anyone use link calcs to evaluate the kits that they think are so great. That would probably put a lot of this ongoing blah blah blah to rest.

People are going to tell you that the three inch lift with 35s will out perform a 6 inch lift with 35s. I think its all hog wash...ive been running the RC 6 inch lift for 4 years now, have done multiple trails including the rubicon with no issues. Will my lift outperform a capable three inch lift running 35s? Ofcourse not, but, i like the rough country product, have had great luck with it, and fully endorse it.

 

[FJJeremy]

And the fact you can't run skids (unless totally custom) or you get the RC kit with budbuilts. I am in the process of removing my 6" kit if you're really interested....don't get me wrong, it's more than usable, and I've used it, it's just not ideal

 

[FJNewb]

People are going to tell you that the three inch lift with 35s will out perform a 6 inch lift with 35s. I think its all hog wash...ive been running the RC 6 inch lift for 4 years now, have done multiple trails including the rubicon with no issues. Will my lift outperform a capable three inch lift running 35s? Ofcourse not, but, i like the rough country product, have had great luck with it, and fully endorse it.

Kind of sounds like.....

The point is, nobody's ever posted up any facts beyond customer satisfaction testimonials, and since there are obvious system concerns, it's up to the people professing their effectiveness to put up the data. Maybe it's out there, but I haven't seen it.

:rofl::cheers:

I just wish there was a thread to establish the facts (positives and negatives) for the drive to 6" other than it looks cool and big tires.

 

[ARMY_CRUISER]

I recently threw the RC 6" lift on mine with the ICON remote res coilovers. Put some new 35" kevlars on it and took it out on the trail. Good news. when climbing over obsiticles with other FJ's, I didn't high center like some others did in the same line. I understand the HCG issue, which is why you get the right wheels and push your bottom our a little bit more to help out. Yes, you will not gain anything at the diff. but in the center you have more room to play with around those rocks. plus, i have a lot better aproach angles coming and going from an obsticle than a 3" lift with 35's will. This is just my experiance with this. There are other things you may want to consider as well. like the stress with all the angles being changed. and a big one for your wallet will be the lower miles per gallon.

 

[Jas12682]

IMO the differences between the two other than one sits up slightly higher is just splitting hairs...

 

[FJ FunJunkie]

don't do a 6" if you wheel at all. trust me. great for mall crawling though!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::lol::lol::lol: but true:jester:

 

[Jas12682]

^^^ disagree