Not quite, but close. A lift won’t increase the ground clearance of your rear differential, but it will increase your approach and departure clearance, and will raise up the skid plates (which are the lowest point on most J250s).
What do you really need???
- Thread starter Pierac
- Start date
I'm not sure I understand where 1.6" comes from.
According to the infallible internet:
The stock tires on 18's are 265/70/R18 which is about 32.6"
285/75/17s are < 33.9"
So that's a difference of 1.3 inches. 1/2 of that would be added clearance, so .65 inches, so just about 5/8 of an inch.
I am I missing something, or are some of these numbers wrong? I'll be choosing tires soon so I'm curious.
You did exactly what you should have, skid plates and sliders. I would overwhelming suggest to replace the tires while you can still find a buyer, only because inevitably you'll be replacing them on the trail once a sidewall is punctured. It's also a problem because once you air down, you're losing considerably more ground clearance which we don't have in excess to lose.
I wouldn't touch the factory suspension unless you've added excessive weight to the the nose (winch or bumper). I've driven several hundred miles off-road in the PNW and Moab, the only reason I'm interested in a lift is to regain the clearance I lost while adding 200-lbs of weight, directly over the nose as that reduced my clearance .5-.75" over stock. With any lift, I want nothing more than 1.5" which will put me only slightly over stock ride height and on a spring that's not overbearing for load (and/or) reduce wheel articulation / place the CV's at a compromising angle at full flex.
Also, tires alone won't increase your overall general clearances by much. As stated above, even a substantial increase in tire size only lifts the vehicle by .5-.75".
I'm also surprised they didn't upsell you. Most companies don't care, and would have had you out the door with a full BP-51 setup.
I wouldn't touch the factory suspension unless you've added excessive weight to the the nose (winch or bumper). I've driven several hundred miles off-road in the PNW and Moab, the only reason I'm interested in a lift is to regain the clearance I lost while adding 200-lbs of weight, directly over the nose as that reduced my clearance .5-.75" over stock. With any lift, I want nothing more than 1.5" which will put me only slightly over stock ride height and on a spring that's not overbearing for load (and/or) reduce wheel articulation / place the CV's at a compromising angle at full flex.
Also, tires alone won't increase your overall general clearances by much. As stated above, even a substantial increase in tire size only lifts the vehicle by .5-.75".
I'm also surprised they didn't upsell you. Most companies don't care, and would have had you out the door with a full BP-51 setup.
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- Jul 7, 2025
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- '25 LC 1958 || '25 Sequoia LTD TRD || '05 TJR || '24 Polaris Ranger 1000 Crew
Good old “infallible internet”…
He has a 1958, so “Stock 1958 tire size” would be the google search. The answer to that search is 245/70R18 (31.5”).
33.8 - 31.5 = 2.8
2.8 / 2 = 1.4
But, you’re not wrong. OP isn’t running a 1958, so them oranges and apples be different.
Aha! Good to know. I'm getting an LC² so I was surprised at the idea that those tires would add so much clearance!
Welcome to the asylum.
Yes, my experience has been from 1958. My apologies.
I want a real Tranny Cooler so I can go to trails and not worry about the temperature creeping up all the time and having to swutch to 4LO and go like a turtle in trails that Rav 4's are passing me like if I was in a 1945 willys
That doesn’t sound normal, I’d take it in for service if mine behaved that way.
Unfortunatelly is more normal than what you think, and there is nothing Toyota will do about it, unless the tranny goes out completely. More than few of us having that issu (Some have had their tranny replaced after failure). Just type transmission on the search, few posts on this issue. Is Real and Toyota is doing nothing about it, unless is completely fails. Taken it to the dealer 3 times and though they were able to see the temps rising all the way to 246F, they stated that nothing looked bad or out of the ordinary. Everytime I have taken it I had compleint about it, maybe one day they will do something about it. I think is software related more than mechanical, as they took a sample for me and I sent it out and the fluid was in perfect condition.
So, yes, I wish I had a tranny cooler so I can go offroad with a piece of mind and not loose my tranny warranty due to adding a cooler.
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I have had that problem, usually to remediate, I would turn on TOW/HAUL mode, disable traction control systems, and then last resort, lock the center diff or go into 4-low. Usually, 4-low solves it, but it does restrict how fast you are able to go.
I bet their tranny does not overheat on uphill dirt roads or switchbacks...hahahahahaha!!!!
Do not get me wrong, this thing is amazing otherwise, I absolutely love it, except for that. That is why the title of the post says: "What do you really need?". So I answered accordingly.
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Mine doesn’t either. Glad I got a good one, I suppose.
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