Time for a suspension change?

[Matrixman955]

Hey everyone, I have a 03 V8 with XREAS and am wondering what makes the most sense for a lift. I have read a lot of different threads so I'm familiar with the different options (spacers with XREAS, full swap with coilovers, swap with FJ stuff). I think my XREAS is fine, but I don't mind replacing it with something better since I hear the shock travel is the limiting factor. I currently live in Georgia but may end up living somewhere up north. To this point shes been my daily driver, but I've started taking her out on trails more often hence the need for a lift. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Also, I'm leaning towards just doing a coilover system since I don't want to spend money on spacers and then be unsatisfied with performance. I hear Icon is pretty amazing.

Thanks again guys.

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

That really depends on your goals for the rig.
How much lift are you looking for?
What's the budget?
Tire size you're considering?
According to your sig, at 160k miles I'd advise definitely going with new shocks, even if it's only 5100's or something similar, not a coilover. There are tons of options on both regular replacement shocks and coilovers. Once you narrow that down, you can look at other options. I know there are several coilovers that come to mine, each targeted to those with a specific budget.

Most people will tell you, do it right the first time so you don't have to redo it. Spacers are fine for mild wheeling and appearance, but when you get into more serious off roading you'll definitley want more. Good news is that spacers are relatively cheap and should resale easy IF you decide to do more. If you're hooked now, you'll probably only get more involved as time goes by. Personally I have a spacer setup, and my only regret is not going bigger. I don't off road much though, so spacers are fine.

 

[Matrixman955]

That really depends on your goals for the rig.
How much lift are you looking for?
What's the budget?
Tire size you're considering?
According to your sig, at 160k miles I'd advise definitely going with new shocks, even if it's only 5100's or something similar, not a coilover. There are tons of options on both regular replacement shocks and coilovers. Once you narrow that down, you can look at other options. I know there are several coilovers that come to mine, each targeted to those with a specific budget.

Most people will tell you, do it right the first time so you don't have to redo it. Spacers are fine for mild wheeling and appearance, but when you get into more serious off roading you'll definitley want more. Good news is that spacers are relatively cheap and should resale easy IF you decide to do more. If you're hooked now, you'll probably only get more involved as time goes by. Personally I have a spacer setup, and my only regret is not going bigger. I don't off road much though, so spacers are fine.

Well I'm thinking about 2-3" of lift. Maybe some 275 or 280 tires, really whatever would look good and be functional with 2-3 inches of lift and some spidertrax spacers. Wouldn't mind spending 1k or more, just don't want to get a setup where I have to spend more down the road as you mentioned. Read a few threads about the guys who have the full icon setup and love it. same with fox. Whats the lifetime of shocks btw; what makes you think I need to replace mine even though they are at 160k. Also, is there anyway to tell the status of my XREAS setup? There are no leaks that i can tell, but I hear some guys say their systems get shot, so wanna know what to look for. Thanks.

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

It's not that you "have" to replace them, but with 160k miles it definitely wouldn't hurt. I've got 140k on mine, and recently rode in one that had just swapped over to Bilstein 5100's and FJ springs, difference was astonishing.

That said, I'm not the one to be advising on the coilover setups. I feel if you go with anything else at the moment, you'll always have that doubt in your mind that you should have went ahead. I don't know much about the coilover setup, so I'll leave that to someone more knowledgeable. I will say this, the Overland Warehouse (Radflo) coilovers have become pretty popular. Try searching this site and Toyota 120 Platforms Forum - Powered by vBulletin for info on the coilovers, should be quite a few threads discussing them.