Trip to URE this Saturday??

Sun Cruiser 6 wrote:

Wow.....I drove out to URE earlier today and hit falls dam and wolf den and I have to say that in the year since I have been there it has changed. Guard rails everywhere and neither of those trails offer any challenge like they did for me previously. Maybe my experience level is just getting better.

Could be! That was my first time so there were a few challenges for me =)

Sun Cruiser 6 wrote:

Wow.....I drove out to URE earlier today and hit falls dam and wolf den and I have to say that in the year since I have been there it has changed. Guard rails everywhere and neither of those trails offer any challenge like they did for me previously. Maybe my experience level is just getting better.

No, they completely leveled falls Damn......and grated most of the trails.

The only "challenges" to a rig on 33"s and sliders are Kodak and Daniel. The place has went down hill in the past few years IMO.

It was really a disappointment Larry.

CarolinaCruiser15 wrote:

Jami, I had a GREAT time and definitely would be willing to go back. I think a spotter could have helped me through those rocks towards the end of Wolfs Den and avoided that horrible smashing sound my under carriage made. Lol. But I do also need to look into a cheap (in price) suspension lift or spacers and some armor.

Any pics of the rocks?

David B wrote:

CarolinaCruiser15 wrote:

Jami, I had a GREAT time and definitely would be willing to go back. I think a spotter could have helped me through those rocks towards the end of Wolfs Den and avoided that horrible smashing sound my under carriage made. Lol. But I do also need to look into a cheap (in price) suspension lift or spacers and some armor.

Any pics of the rocks?

No, no pics. I think I just took a weird way around them. Not sure.

Quote :

Jami, I had a GREAT time and definitely would be willing to go back. I think a spotter could have helped me through those rocks towards the end of Wolfs Den and avoided that horrible smashing sound my under carriage made. Lol. But I do also need to look into a cheap (in price) suspension lift or spacers and some armor.

I have been doing a lot of research myself. I didn't want to ruin my nice ride and also I didn't want to break the bank, especially when I am also buying new tires. I finally made a decision and ordered today. I got Toytec rear coils and new Icon Signature series rear shocks and for the front I used a 3" spacer and am sticking with my stock Bilstein shocks. I feel like with this combination I am going to be able to retain much of my nice ride while at the same time giving me a nice 2-3" lift and very capable rear suspension. Total price including Forum discount and shipping $560.

Brian7758 wrote:

Quote :

Jami, I had a GREAT time and definitely would be willing to go back. I think a spotter could have helped me through those rocks towards the end of Wolfs Den and avoided that horrible smashing sound my under carriage made. Lol. But I do also need to look into a cheap (in price) suspension lift or spacers and some armor.

I have been doing a lot of research myself. I didn't want to ruin my nice ride and also I didn't want to break the bank, especially when I am also buying new tires. I finally made a decision and ordered today. I got Toytec rear coils and new Icon Signature series rear shocks and for the front I used a 3" spacer and am sticking with my stock Bilstein shocks. I feel like with this combination I am going to be able to retain much of my nice ride while at the same time giving me a nice 2-3" lift and very capable rear suspension. Total price including Forum discount and shipping $560.

Hmmm, nice. Definitely something to think about. I was looking at the website for 4 Wheel Parts on Glenwood Ave and they have a 3" complete suspension lift by Pro Comp for $530 and they also have a 3" kit by OME for $780. Those prices seem good but Im sure they get you on labor and junk. Tell me more about this "forum discount".

Toytec offers a 5% discount to FJcrusierforums.com members. Its not a lot, but its something. Enter 112710 in the coupon code field. I assume you are a member, if not you should join. There is a wealth of information there. I was about to purchase the OME suspension, but i wasn't sure if I wanted to invest that much into it. The route I took I think will allow me to really get my feet wet and give me a platform to build off of it I decide to pursue off-roading more.

This is my actual order:

Quantity Name SKU Price Subtotal
1 Rear Icon Shocks (FJ & 03-09 4Run) 5-7510 $219.99 $219.99
1 BEST SELLER! 3" FJ Lift Kit w/spacers and rear ToyTec coils (Options: Black anodized spacers (+ $20.00)
Front lift: 3_inch_front_lift) FJ3-RCC $319.99 $319.99

SubTotal : $539.98
Coupon Discount: - $27.00
Shipping and Handling Fee : $47.75
Tax Total : $0.00
Total: $560.73

Oh I am being charged $275 for labor w/ alignment.

Great, thanks Brian. This is all pretty foreign to me but the more info I have, the better off Ill be when Im ready to buy. Thanks again.

I bought my lift from Toytec which consists of Bilstein height adjustable front shocks and Toytec superflex rear springs. It gave me 2 inces of lift in the rear and 2-1/2 up front. For all the off roading I have done this setup has done well. I have had no issues on the trail.

The price of the shocks is $199.99 and the springs are $169.99.
A total of $369.98 and with the 5% forum discount I paid $351.48 plus shipping.
I did my own install and was really not the difficult. I did however take the front shock/spring assembly to a local tire shop where they could safely remove the springs from the stock shocks and install them on the new Bilstein's. That cost me all of $25 and saved me hours of aggravation trying to do that part myself.

Oh wow. That sounds like a great deal Jami. Thanks. How is your ride compared to stock?

My FJ rides close to stock. The rear Toytec springs are a bit stiffer but nothing bad and the Bilstein 5100's are a bit tighter than the stock front shocks but makes for a great ride in my opinion. I will say though that my lift or any lift will alter the driving characteristics of any FJ. Before I got my alignment done my FJ felt very unstable on the highway. Getting the alignment done made the difference. Steering is still a bit quick and is something to get used to within a few weeks of the install. What I mean about the steering is it feels very responsive or touchy. On some older highways my FJ sort of wanders. It is kind like a feeling that the wind is blowing the vehicle around on the road. From my understanding it is due to the fact that caster can not be brought back into speck in the alignment settings. To remedy this I have read somewhere that setting camber on zero could help. Other than that a set of adjustable upper control arms will solve the issue completely. The adjustability of such UCA allows for caster to be set at factory specs. Hope that helps some.

Wow, ok great. Definitely some good information for me to think through. Like Ive said before, this is all very new territory for me so a lot of it doesnt makes sense, but I think Im learning bit by bit. lol. The good news is I dont plan on getting a lift IMMEDIATELY so I have some time to research and drive peoples trucks and kinda see what works for me. Thanks again for the info Jami.

Did you guys go today? Any pictures?

Scottydog wrote:

Any pictures?

What he said!?!

I went a few weeks ago for the first time. My pics are kind of lame (I went by myself and only went on one trail). I was saying I need to look into an inexpensive lift because I bottomed out more than a few times. Super annoying when it's the easiest trail and everyone says how much EASIER its gotten. Ill see about adding a few pics I have.

Ok, here we go. The 3rd one is actually a video that may or may not work. Ive never posted video on here before so we'll see.

That is a nice lookin' ride you got there, but I'd have to agree, you need some lift up under ya! Nice pics as well and the link to the vid worked for me.

Work has been kickin my backside lately and is not letting up! Hopefully sometime soon I'll be able to get back over that'a way for some wheelin, not workin'!