Pros, Added ground clearance.. Visual appearance

cons, Cost(depending on what you get(eff icon, kings ftw)).. Might need upper A-arms, Body mount Chop depending on future tire size upgrade and Alignment.

 

There are other cons too:

• increased wear on CV joints and boots,
• increased wear on tie rod ends,
• reduced suspension droop travel,
• higher center of gravity,
• more trouble fitting into parking garages,
• reduced fuel economy,
• reduction of vehicle resale value compared to an unmolested model.

 

Since you plan to keep the stock size tires I recommend you leave your FJ stock height. No reason to lift it. Depending on the mileage, you might consider refreshing the suspension. A set of Bilstein 5100's would be a good choice.

 

Mileage is about a notch over 10,000km.

 

i put Bilstein 5100’s on mine and set the fronts to the third notch. It did a nice job leveling it. The back is the stock height. I run 285/70/17’s with no rubbing and off road it does good..

 

Pros out weigh the cons . A con not mentioned is height. Parking garages can be very low. I have scraped the roof rack on a few of them. Dont lift it if your keeping the stock tires it will look silly.

 

I agree with Sanderhawk, lifting it without larger tires looks silly.

 

3" of lift (OME 885, 895 springs, their Nitrocharger Sport shocks/struts and SPC uca's to restore alignment specs) and slightly taller tires (285/70-17's; next time it will be 285/75's!) has allowed myself and my 2 sons to explore more of the areas around where we live while being pretty maintenance free, and overall just made our FJ A LOT MORE FUN! Before the lift, tires, sliders and aftermarket bumper there just wasn't enough ground clearance to always get where we wanted to go without doing damage to the truck- for example, the plastic cover we call a front bumper was pretty beat up by the time the Coastal Offroad bumper replaced it, and we have smacked the underneath more than a few times. Looking from the main forest service road down a recently de-activated (usually a big ditch dug across it to make it somewhat impassable) or an older rough, overgrown road, wondering where it goes and then just carrying on, never to satisfy our curiosity doesn't seem to be our way, so I consider all the equipment I've added necessary.

THAT SAID- you don't have to do everything (or for that matter, anything) right now. Get out, explore, have fun with your new Toy, and decide as you go along what's right for you. A suspension lift doesn't give you differential clearance- taller tires do, and that's why guys put them on their trucks. The lift just gets the truck off the tires, and out of the mud. I wouldn't lift an FJ (or most other offroad vehicles) without adding bigger tires because I think it's kind of pointless and they look a little silly, but that's only my opinion.

some of our adventures (my eldest is the budding filmmaker)- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMIspHkYseZjgFvz96HkoJg

 

Im actually removing my lift and putting it back to near stock height. I've just kinda realized that other than the dirt roads and mild trails I go on to hunt or fish, I dont really need a 3" lift. Looks cool but not worth it for me anymore at this point. Im also going from 33's back to 32's. but sticking with a good A/t tire.

 

I figure maybe someday when I get older and have a hard time getting in the FJ i`ll put it back to stock. For now though the 3 inch lift stays.

 

Thank you all. Nothing beats asking around when you decide on stuff like this. Leaving my FJ suspension stock as suggested. Keep safe guys!

 

I'd say cons will generally outweigh the pros unless you absolutely, positively MUST have another few inches of ground clearance for extreme rock-crawling.

Or your only criteria is 'looking cool' while you cruise the local mall.

Remember that whatever few inches of lift you see while parked on level ground almost never translate in that much functional left when rock crawling when all four wheels are at different points of suspension travel. There's no question that it can help in some situations..

FJ-6MT provided a pretty good list of the cons in post #3, but there are a few more:

• Reduced vehicle stability when making emergency evasive maneuvers at highway speed
• Increased susceptibility to sidewinds
• Possibly reduced emergency braking performance due to altered weight transfer characteristics
• Slightly more difficult access to engine bay for normal service & inspection

A few additional pros:

• Easier under-vehicle access for fluid changes and visual inspection, but a dead-stock FJ is already plenty high to get underneath
• Reduced susceptibility to parking-lot door-dings, especially of you have good rock sliders

 

The chicks dig extra inches so if your not ready to deal with all the extra females stay on the short side.

 

Only applicable if your 'extra-inches' FJ has to substitute for the real thing.

I have a somewhat rare Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Mag with a 10.5" barrel, but I never told my GF about it.

 

Insurance may be a negative depending on where you are. Last time I was shopping around for insurance I was asked if any modifications exceeded $500. I didn't inquire about what the upcharge was for $500+ mods. I doubt a minor fender bender would be investigated but if the insurance company was looking at a major claim they might look for unreported mods as a way to not pay out.

 

You are right that could be an issue but with the dealership warranty. Insurance doesn’t care about the mods as long as you declare them and include them in the insurance policy.

 

Pro - You can air down on rough trails and maintain a decent clearance.

 

The cons I can think of is that one mod leads to more and more mods. I started out with a lift, that led to upgraded bumpers, then that led to larger tires, then that led to control arms, then that led to more and more and more… lol

 

Depends on what you want to use it for. I lifted mine after bashing the underside regularly on trails in and around southern Utah. I love having it lifted. I added skid plates after the lift, and there's not a scratch on them! Turns out I didn't need them. The lift (and some experience) did the trick. Cons: expense, gas mileage, wear and tear on the suspension ... everything already mentioned. Be prepared to spend a lot for a decent setup. Mines an 07 with a Fox 3" lift, UCAs, body mount chop (twice), broke so many CVs I had to do a diff drop. It is not a simple thing, or an exact science, to lift an IFS. If I had the $$$ I'd do a solid axle conversion.