Here at NSOR we have always been big fans of Toyota 4x4's. When the FJ Cruiser came on the market it looked like it would be an ideal multi-use vehicle and one of our shop owners quickly snapped one up. And as you'd expect, we immediately started thinking about how to build it up. Our first instinct was to throw on a six-inch lift to fit 35-inch tires but calmer heads soon prevailed. This was, after all, supposed to be a daily driver that was expected to fulfill a multi-use role. Besides taking the kids to soccer practice, it also had to make trips to the ski hill and reliably make long trips to a back country cabin over rough logging roads. After considering the myriad combinations of bumpers, wheels, tires and lift systems, we settled on the following build list:

1. Skyjacker Performance adjustable 2-3" lift with Platinum front coil overs and rear lift coils. Total Chaos Lug Upper Control Arms were added to the mix.
2. Warn Front Winch Bumper with Warn 9500 Powerplant winch.
3. Warn Off Road Rear Bumper
4. BFGoodrich Radial All Terrains in LT285/70R17/ size on ProComp 7189 Series rims.
5. Trail Gear FJ Cruiser Rock Sliders
6. Explorer ProComp Motorsport Series HID lights
7. HID Headlight conversion

As seen in the parts lineup above we were definitely planning to add weight to the vehicle. Warn front and rear bumpers are going to provide a lot of additional protection to the FJ but their one-piece heavy duty construction comes with the price tag of added weight. The Skyjacker adjustable front suspension was chosen with this in mind so that we could maintain the amount of lift required for the BFG All Terrains even with the extra weight by adjusting the front suspension. To supplement the Skyjacker system we chose Total Chaos 6 Lug new uni-ball upper control arms. This is not an inexpensive option but one we are happy we chose. The addition of lift coil overs on the FJ with factory suspension can cause the loss of caster. By altering the caster the vehicle can lose some handling and may have a tendency to to wander. We didn't want to lose any driveability with a brand new vehicle so we went the extra mile and installed the new upper control arms. We are happy to report that the FJ drives just like it came off the showroom floor even with the additional weight of the front bumper and winch.

As you can see from the pictures we have made some nice modifications that are daily driver liveable yet greatly increase the performance and usability of this FJ off road. We think that our choice of products has resulted in well-balanced rig that is easy to live with and fulfills the legendary FJ Land Cruiser reputation.

The Skyjacker kit, ready to be installed on our FJ Cruiser.	Rear lift components consist of Skyjacker coils and shocks.	Skyjacker coils vs. the stock coils.
Skyjacker coilovers vs. the stock coilovers.	The Total Chaos upper control arm preserves factory caster, factory ride and handling.	Check out the heavy gusseting on the Total Chaos control arm.
Total Chaos upper control arm and Skyjacker coilover in place.	Swaybar drop spacer.	Front end protection is handled by a Warn bumper loaded with a Warn 9500 Powerplant winch.
Rear protection is amply provided by this very beefy Warn bumper.