FJ as a capable off road vehicle

[Mike Nel]

Rubicon Angles: 28/35
FJ Angles: 31/34

Not really standing back there Neil

And remember. The FJ comes with Crawl Control which slows it down to about 2km per hour in low range on it’s lowest setting.

The only problem with the FJ for me is the IFS, but then again I drive 90% tar which makes it a very comfortable drive for me

[XJ Junkie]

The Rubicon is 44/37 with the horrible stock US spec bumper. The JKU might have less departure but it’s a 4 door.

The FJ angles are about the same as a Duster [emoji102].

Crawl ratio is great......when you want to crawl. But reduction ratio is another matter. It’s around 2.5 against the Rubicons 4.1. That’s considerably more traction.

A stock Sahara is 2.7 & a Defender is circa 3.5.

[Mad Manny]

Personally I think these ultra low gear ratios are a crock of shite in most cases...

But that's a discussion for another Thread...

[Mad Manny]

To answer the OP's question.

Yes the FJ is a very good Off Road vehicle.
Are their better Off Roaders? Yes.
But for your needs the FJ is a great choice...

[LesseW]

The FJ will be my second car mainly used then for camping and off roading. If you know of a well priced FJ wil just over 100k let me know please

[Mad Manny]

Not everyone will agree with me but I have a belief that any vehicle that has a 2wd version cannot be regarded as a thoroughbred 4x4.

The FJ was only available as a 4WD afaik...

[Wave]

Not everyone will agree with me but I have a belief that any vehicle that has a 2wd version cannot be regarded as a thoroughbred 4x4.

The FJ was only available as a 4WD afaik...

Correct, we only had 2 versions available in SA, the FJ and the FJ Sport, both 4x4,both auto. IIRC the Sport was only available in black.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[HermanS]

This is interesting. I thought they are high up on the list?

Why is it not a top 5 contender?

Which 4X4s make up your top 5 list?

Before mods, it’s an IFS for starters, which is already its biggest compromise due to the characteristics that go along with this suspension type, like strength, wheel travel, axle leverage, non constant ride height & flexibility for modifications.
Changing this is possible but very very expensive.

Then they only make auto which doesn’t have the flexibility of a manual. Whilst constant drive to the wheels is desirable, an autobox won’t be able to compete with manuals on certain obstacles.

It’s low range reduction is only about the same as your average 4x4 bakkie & less than the entry level Wrangler.

It also doesn’t help that coupled with the soft low range & the autobox, it’s very peaky engine output only happens very high up. The Pentastar engine suffers from the same but this is offset by its massive reduction multiplication. The old school FJ had massive reduction.

The off-road angles aren’t that great either when compared to the competition. But they aren’t terrible, just not as good. The older FJ had much better angles.

Not everyone will agree with me but I have a belief that any vehicle that has a 2wd version cannot be regarded as a thoroughbred 4x4.

But I like the FJ very much & would have one before a JK. The main reason being its compromise. But it just isn’t a hardcore vehicle.

Thanks for the reasoning

[ThysleRoux]

Neil, I agree with everything you say, other than the 2wd reasoning. There are vehicles out there that were designed as real off-roaders, but had 2wd versions added to the line up to cater for posers. The Wrangler build for the US postal service comes to mind - the Wagoneer/Gladiator (SJ), it's predecessor the Willys OverLand, the WJ (which you left out of your list even though in stock form it'll kick a stock XJ's ass off road ) and even your beloved XJ were all available as 2wd vehicles.

[XJ Junkie]

The FJ was available in the US of A in 2wd form.

Thys the postal Jeep - I knew you’d bring it up. It wasn’t available to the public.

I didn’t include the WJ for various reasons but this is the FJ thread.

[Wave]

The FJ was available in the US of A in 2wd form.

And you could get manual (in both 4x4 and 4x2), but that doesn't help anyone buying an FJ in South Africa.

[ThysleRoux]

The FJ was available in the US of A in 2wd form.

Thys the postal Jeep - I knew you’d bring it up. It wasn’t available to the public.

I didn’t include the WJ for various reasons but this is the FJ thread.

I did not bring up the Postal Jeep -
I referred to the WJ as an example of a serious 4x4 which was also available in 2wd, like the other Jeeps I listed, which were available to the general public. My comment in this regard therefore stands.

The comment about it kicking an XJ's ass was meant to work you up.

[XJ Junkie]

The comment about it kicking an XJ's ass was meant to work you up.

Yebbut I’ve seen you drive, so I left it [emoji1787]

[ThysleRoux]

My WJ (stock at the time except for bigger MT tyres) completed all 3 the Hex trails without getting stuck once or any damage to the vehicle. Please note, I drove it, so the accomplishment is that of Jeep, not the driver ........

[XJ Junkie]

Thys - lets not screw up a FJ thread. [emoji102]