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Am I missing something?

2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Serenity Now 
#1 ·
I plan to upgrade my 2013 tt tires to 285 75 16 Nitto Trail Grapplers, I spoke to two places that both quoted me in the $1300 dollar range for all 5. The thing that confused me was I was told that I needed to install a leveling kit. The place I talked to said that they wanted 700 dollars to raise the front 3 inches and raise the back 2 inches, because I need to have new springs added as well. My Fj only has 44k miles on it with the upgraded TRD suspension on the rear so why would I need new springs. I found a leveling kit online for 220 dollars (link: https://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Susp...1479134865&sr=8-3&keywords=fj+cruiser+3+front) How much do you guys think someone should charge to install this? Thanks!
 
#2 ·
No lift needed.

You may need an alignment to clear the rear body mount. If you still rub do a body mount chop.

Without upgraded UCAs the geometry will be slightly off and you may get irregular wear.

(I paid a lot more than $700 for my lift, and I self installed).
 
#3 ·
hard to answer your question as to whether the $700 is reasonable. Need to know exactly what they are proposing for raising the front by 3" or rear by 2". This can be done with the cheap spacer lift (liek the one you referred to) or it can be done by replacing the front coilover shocks, rear shocks, rear springs etc.

So if you can lay out exactly what is to be done for $700 including brand, part #'s etc we can tell you if that is a good deal or not.

There are some people that go up to the 285 size tires (285/75/16 or 285/70/17) and are able to do so without a lift, but it can literally vary from FJ to FJ and certainly depends on the tires/wheels you are planning to run. And if you dont go offroading you might get away with it. However if you are offroading at all (e.g. flexing the suspension), The typical approach to moving up in size to a 285 tire is that people do a 2-3 inch lift where the lift can vary from the cheap spacer lift to $1,000+ to replace the front coilovers with adjustable, longer travel front coilovers, replace rear shocks and replace rear springs. Since the FJ has the front end lower than rear by about 1-1.5 inches, many people raise the front 3" and rear 2" to level it out.

As with everything in life there are lots of trade-offs to whatever you choose. Before jumping up to 285 tires, I would read, read some more and then read more again before you decide your approach. The FJ forum is littered with stories of people re-doing their suspension set-up multiple times because they didnt think it through. You will also see that you can literally spend $4K or higher on some of the suspension upgrades.

To start educating yourself, just go take a look at www.toyteclifts.com to start giving you an idea of some of the various suspension mods/lifts. There are lots of different vendors, manufacturers, etc beyond Toytec but this will give you an idea of the types of things that can go into various levels of suspension mods.
 
#5 ·
The $700 is for a leveling kit 3 in the front and 2 in the back. I called both places to install the kit I listed above and they both stated it would be around $400 to install. Does anyone have experience on this lift kit? Do I need a full 2 inches in the back or will 1.5 do because they offer another kit that is 60 bucks cheaper, that one is 3 inches in the front and 2 in the back?
 
#4 ·
To run that tire size you might need a body mount chop, but probably won't. I disagree with the above advice of getting a lift once you go up to a 285 tire. You are proposing going from 31.65" diameter tire to one that is 32.83" (approximately). The only time the tire could rub on the body mount is at full turn. A lift will not change that because the suspension still has to cycle through it's range of motion when on road or on a trail. The tire still isn't guaranteed to rub on the body mount though. If you do end up doing it, here's two good threads that give you info on it how to cut the body mount: http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/how-technical-articles/43459-body-mount-chop.html and http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/suspension-steering-tech/159378-body-mount-chop.html

Either way, don't be intimidated to mod your FJ and as always, do research! Welcome to the addiction!
 
#6 ·
i guess i am not being clear. Using the generic term "leveling kit" tells me nothing as to how it is achieved. You can go up 3 inches in the front by a number of methods being either a spacer, replacing the existing coil over shock with a new spring, replacing the entire shock/spring assembly and replacing the coil over shock assembly with an adjustable coil over shock. For example,

Front 3" lift Spacers
521600 - Toytec 3" lift front coil spring kit
Toytec/Bilstein height adjustable coilovers
Front adjustable coil over kit with Bilstein 5100's

so to answer the question. What method, what brand and what part numbers are they talking about using to raise the front 3"?

For the rear you can use spacers and/or new springs that will gain you two inches of height. But, if you are adding height you generally need to change out the rear shocks for longer travel.

RCC2.0 - ToyTec "Superflex" Rear Coils (FJ & 03+ 4Runner)
Rear 1.5" lift Black Spacers Poly for FJ/4Runner
Bilstein 5100 Rear shocks for FJ/4Runner

So are we talking spacers, or coils in the rear? how about longer travel rear shocks?

Still need to know what pieces and parts they plan to use to raise front height 3" and rear height 2"

Now, i can guess it is just a spacer kit...which like the one you linked to is about $200-$300. I dont recommend that approach, but it's certainly a low budget way to do it. You will likely end up not satisfied with that if you plan to do any offroading.

Not trying to be a jerk, I just suggest you look a little further into the multiple methods and read up about the advantages/disadvantages.
 
#10 ·
I really do not offroad enough, I might find myself going down trails but nothing to insane.
Then I'd go back to the genesis of this problem and look at why you're getting the Nitto Trail Grapplers. Nice tires, I owned a set, but they wear out quickly on pavement because they're mud tires. Do you like the look? Have you compared them to Duratracs?

If you want to skip all the lift/level stuff then stick to 265 / 32-inch tires. Otherwise, you need to develop a more complete plan for putting a good lift on the truck (not spacers).
 
#8 ·
No one recommends Spacer Lifts that is what you are missing.....

OK, so you don't plan on off-roading much, maybe some trails, it is a gateway drug. I myself said I don't need a lift, I wont have to change suspension I wont get aftermarket bumpers, etc.

Why do you want to add something cheap to a $30K+ vehicle. Save for it learn about them and go from there. Get together with other owners in your area, pick their brains. Most of the work I have done on my vehicle is done in the driveway, learn your about your vehicle. Most of the other owners will lend a helping hand, host a mod party for the cost of some pizza and beer or your secret recipe for roadkill folks will help you out.
 
#9 ·
I'm not a suspension lift expert by any stretch..my FJ has a 1.5" spacer on the front coilovers, and I fit 285s without issue. My wheels are zero offset and not stock. The front tire will contact the mud flap at full lock at full articulation of the suspension. It's very minimal and only leaves a small skid mark on the plastic, with no binding. Hope that helps you some.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
I found a leveling kit online for 220 dollars (link: https://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Susp...1479134865&sr=8-3&keywords=fj+cruiser+3+front) How much do you guys think someone should charge to install this? Thanks!
One more note to follow up on, for the lift specifically.

The labor cost to install a spacer lift is exactly the same as to install a good lift, about ~4-5 hours of shop time. So figure $85-100/hr plus you will also need to have the truck aligned when you're done.

You know how your truck nosedives bad under braking? That's the stock front suspension doing that. The spacer lift doesn't help that because it doesn't replace anything, where a proper lift would greatly improve your ride quality and get rid of the nosedive.

Where do you live? If you were here in Denver, I'd tell you to join our FJ club, buy a real lift (OME baseline lift, for example) then show up to one of our club mod days and we'll help you install it. If you live somewhere with a good population of FJ's, there may be a similar club near you who will do the same thing. Ask the club what their favorite beer is, you'll end up spending the same amount on parts + labor for a cheap lift as you would on a nicer lift that you then get some club help to install.

One more thing I'll share, since I'm on my 3rd set of tires, 3rd bumper, 3rd lift is this: Doing it right is always cheaper than doing it twice. Have a 3-5 year vision for your truck, what you want it to do, where you want it to go and then put the right parts on it the first time.

Good luck!
 
#12 ·
I really like the aggressive look of the trail grapplers. I just want to put them on my Fj because I like the look. I am not going to hardcore off road it, I promise everyone that. So with that being said do you think it is appropriate to put a small spacer kit on my rig? I only have about a $550 dollar budget to get a lift then an additional 1300-1500 for the tires.
 
#15 ·
I really like the aggressive look of the trail grapplers. I just want to put them on my Fj because I like the look.
I would suggest Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx...they will be quieter and have better road performance and still look pretty gnarly IMO.

But, hey, whatever floats yer boat. :)
 
#13 ·
I live in Atlanta where people drive trucks with 40 inch tires around the city, that may sound stupid, however I would like to the same to an extent with the nittos. I am not looking to blow a ton of money on a nice off roading suspension because I will not get the money out of it.
 
#14 ·
I live in Atlanta where people drive trucks with 40 inch tires around the city, that may sound stupid, however I would like to the same to an extent with the nittos.
Do they look like this?



Or do they look like this?



I really like the aggressive look of the trail grapplers.
...
I am not looking to blow a ton of money on a nice off roading suspension because I will not get the money out of it.
You don't need a "nice offroading suspension", all you need is a base level ~$850 Old Man Emu 3-inch lift ('07-'09, '10+). You will pay almost as much for this as you pay for a spacer lift and then a shop to install it. Buy the OME, make friends with a local FJ club, ask them what beer they drink and spend a Saturday putting your own suspension on.

You've got a nice truck, don't go cheap on the lift just to over-spend on tires that will be shredded to death due to road miles in ~4 years.

Since you're interested in how your truck looks, here's a few photos:

1. Stock height truck with 33's:



2. Lifted truck with 32's:



3. Lifted truck with 33's:



Lift and 33's, right? Then buy a real lift, not spacers. You don't need a ~$1200 adjustable Toytec Ultimate, you definitely don't need my $2500 OME BP-51 remote reservoir shocks. All you need is a cheap 3-inch OME lift.

Like I said before, it's always cheaper to do it right than to do it twice. If you can't afford the base level OME's yet, save up until you can afford to do it right.
 
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