Time for new tires and suspension!
 

So after the long wait, its now time to get new tires and suspension. I would like more of an aggressive look, but rarely go off road. I am hoping to keep as much drive comfort as always as I do put a lot of miles per year on my 4R.

What options do I have at this point? I have looked into suspension lifts, spacers, et all.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I would like to keep the whole package between $1200-$1500

What would you do?

Are you talking the suspension and tires for $1200-$1500, or just suspension?

The whole thing? Am I dreaming?

How much do you have in your package? I really like the way yours sits

Nope, not dreaming, I just wasn't quite sure which one you meant in your post. Including 5 tires I would say $1200 max, I don't remember for sure, I wanna say closer to $1000. Ill look through some options and post back.

Tires will be the bulk of the cost, so we'll start there. You don't list a location, so I'm not sure if snow will be an issue or not. You can get a street tire, but there are some really good A/T's that'll give you the more aggressive look but yet still have good road manners. The first that comes to mind is the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 2. It is probably the most street oriented A/T tire, it's super quite/smooth. The only downside is they do cost more (which is why I didn't get them, I got five of my tires for the same cost as four of them). This would make a great tire for all around use, and have a more aggressive look than a H/T tire.

Tire size is completely up to you. Personally, I'm super happy with the 255/75/17's. 265/70/17 is the most common size for people to upgrade to, but with that you'll loose .5-1 mpg more than likely. With the 255/75/17's you get a taller tire (and slightly narrower), and also it doesn't hurt gas mileage at all (I'm actually getting slightly better). With the Revo's, it'll cost more for the 255/75/17's. I spent more getting 255/75's because I knew I'd get better gas mileage and it'd be worth it in the long run.

So, based on what I've been looking at, I'm gonna say ~$1000 for tires, mounting, balancing, and alignment (which you'll need after the lift). This is probably a high number, but I'd rather over estimate than under estimate. Once you choose size and tire, we can get a better (closer) estimate. You can find other tires that will be less money, which was the determining factor for me. There are some good H/T tires out there than would probably be less money, I'm just not familiar with them and don't want to steer you wrong.

Before I start suggesting a suspension setup, what are you looking for? Would you rather just level it out (like I did with mine) or would you prefer an actual lift front/rear? Either way, we can find you something that'll stay within your budget, but there's so many options out there we need to narrow it down first. Also, people have different opinions of level. Some like the fenderwells to have the same amount of space front/rear. Others prefer for the running boards to be level, which leaves a little less of a gap in the front fender so you still have a small amount of rake. We can get you a setup that will give you either stance, it just depends on what you consider "level".

:iagree:

I agree with him, i spent around 800 for tires lift and alignment (my alignment was free and i installed my lift myself.) I went with the hankook dynapro at'm's in the 265/70 size and love them, for the lift i went with the daystar 2.5/1.5. The lift was 160 shipped, the only reason i got a free alignment is because they scratched the hell out of 2 of my wheels and thats why they got painted black yesterday. I love the way my truck looks and rides and it is very capable off road.

The pics with the factory wheels are the 265/65's and the black wheels are the new tires.

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Sorry for the crappy phone pic.

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I like a little bit of rake for sure but not as much as stock. What I do not like is when the front end looks much taller than rear. I do think I would like to lift the whole thing just a bit; so maybe 1.5 in the front and 2 in the rear? Can I order it like this?

If I do lift the whole thing what size tires do you think I can fit? A bit bigger perhaps?

As far as the suspension..... Can I get any loft by changing suspension? Or maybe a half inch or so, so I don't need as big of spacers? Looks like a suspension lift is pretty expensive.

Seems like so many options. The last thing I want to do is spend a bunch of money and not be happy.

Thanks a MILLION for the help and ideas!!!!

the lift you said you want will give you more front end rake, try the search button...you'd like the daystar 2.5 I think

You want to lift more in the front than the rear to get rid of some of the rake, 1.5" front and 2" rear would make the rake worse. The Daystar 2.5 wouldn't be bad, but I think you can do better as well. After doing my FJ spring swap, I'm a huge fan. For anyone looking to lift, I advise them to work the FJ springs in somehow. Lift amounts vary, but typical I believe is 1/2" front and 1/4" rear of lift. For FJ springs, check this site frequently.

I really like this setup, but it may be more lift than you're wanting. I think that's the best bang for the buck lift you can do.

I can't think of any lifts that would give you 2" in the front and 1" in the rear (when combined with FJ springs). Cornfed has a 2" front 1" rear kit, but add FJ springs and you'll have more lift than you were wanting (plus the Cornfed is much higher than something like the Daystar). I have 1.5" lift in the front and it's level, so you can go that route and there are more options.

With a leveling kit, a 32" tire (the 255/75/17) is the biggest (tallest) you'll fit. You can go with a shorter/wider tire I believe, but not too sure where the limit is. I'm not familiar with tire sizes on the lifted T4R's, but I think the same sizes would work good. If you still want more, you can go for something like this setup. That's 3" front, 2" rear of lift and 285/70/17's, but it also says he changed to 275/65/18 (same as 275/70/17).

So, check out the threads I linked to, and also my thread (link in sig), and give us some feedback as to which you'd prefer, and then we can go from there. The lift you chose may be different, but the amounts should be close.

I ordered my Spidertrax spacers yesterday. Want those for sure.

ARK.... Is that a good deal on those FJsprings and Bilsteins on the classifieds?

How would that look with a little spacer lift too?

Man you can find a good deal on the FJC suspension on Toyota FJ Cruiser Community. I got my FCJ suspension from a guy with the FJC Trail Teams suspension that including the Bilsteins and also the springs. I paid $30 for mine. Most prices will range between $50-$100 depending on the seller. Still $100 for all of the suspension is a great deal. You have a couple of other brands also as far as suspension. There is Cornfed, Toytec and also Daystar. These are going to cost a little more than the FJC setup. Alot of guys including myself are running the FJC setup.

As far as tires you have a wide range of selections. You can go with an AT or MT tire and buy 5 and still spend less than $1200.

The deal here in the classifieds is about average, the only downside is there's no rear shocks (if there were, I would have already bought them). I got my front springs for free, just had to pay shipping (and they came off a FJ with <10k miles). So, it really comes down to how quick you're needing them. If you need them asap, I'd jump on the ones here in the classifieds. If you've got a month or so to wait, I'd keep looking. I know I saw a guy giving away a set of springs for free a few days back, may check the FJ forums for that.

So how much lift do the FJC shocks give you? More for the train edition?

All 4wd FJs use the same coils, only difference are the shocks. Lift amont varies, typically .5 to .75 on the front and .25 to .5 on the rear I believe.