Daystar - Comfort Ride Leveling Kit - Toyota FJ Cruiser

Comfort Ride Leveling Kit Toyota Fj Cruiser Knuckles

Comfort Ride Leveling Kit Toyota Fj Cruiser Toyota Fj Cruiser

There are a number of options for getting bigger tires on trucks. You can level your truck, lift your truck, or even enlarge the wheelwells for a bigger tire. The owner of this new FJ Cruiser wanted a bigger tire, but didn't want to lose his factory warranty, nor did he want to spend a ton of money since he just blew a wad of cash buying this 4x4. Therefore, suspension lifts were out (because of the warranty voidance), and expensive replacement remote reservoir coilovers were too pricey of an option. A spacer leveling kit seemed like the perfect plan since this owner was only looking at a slightly bigger (32-inch) tire.

But not all spacer kits are the same. Nor are spacer kits a good idea on every vehicle. Certain applications are thrown too out of whack by adding spacers into the suspensions. Independent suspension vehicles are usually the only vehicles you have to worry about (with spacers). If the spacers are too tall, ball joints wear more quickly, shocks can bottom out, and the ride will be too rough.

What's more, one company can make an acceptable spacer for a specific vehicle while another company can make something totally wrong for that same vehicle. Be sure to do your homework before adding spacers to your ride.

We did our research through some older magazines and online articles to find that the Comfort Ride leveling kit from Daystar was the best option for this FJ Cruiser. Not only were the spacers made out of urethane (which absorbs vibrations and harsh hits better than metal), but they weren't too tall and didn't rotate our stock front struts (radially) when adding the spacers to our suspension.

We followed the owner of this FJ over to Brakes Plus-a local shop near his house-to get these spacers professionally installed in a couple hours.

1. There isn't much to the complete (front and rear) Comfort Ride leveling kit for the FJ Cruisers. Daystar includes two 2.5-inch-lift spacers for the front, and two 2.5-inch-lift coil spacers for the rear. The front spacers are the shorter ones with the three holes in them. Notice that they are shorter, but give the same amount of lift as the rear (physically taller) spacers. That's because the front spacers go onto the front strut on the A-arm, which mounts about halfway down the arm. The small amount of lift at the strut (about 1.25 inches) equates out to about 2.5 inches of lift at the tire.
1. There isn't much to the complete (front and rear) Comfort Ride leveling kit for the FJ
2. Brakes Plus first put the FJ Cruiser up on a rack, removed all four tires, and then removed the front sway bar from the knuckles.
2. Brakes Plus first put the FJ Cruiser up on a rack, removed all four tires, and then rem
3. After the sway bar is removed, both knuckles have to be separated from the ball joint and upper A-arms, allowing for easy removal of the stock strut.
3. After the sway bar is removed, both knuckles have to be separated from the ball joint a

4. Daystar provides stud extenders to thread onto the stock struts' factory studs. These stud extenders slip directly into the holes in the urethane spacers. This unique feature keeps the strut in the same (radial) position instead of requiring it to be twisted 60 degrees like some aftermarket strut spacers.
4. Daystar provides stud extenders to thread onto the stock struts' factory studs. These s
5. Once the stud extenders are on, you can slip the urethane spacer in place. The urethane is a nice option (over metal) because it does not transmit as much road noise.
5. Once the stud extenders are on, you can slip the urethane spacer in place. The urethane
6. With the spacers in place and the front struts bolted back into the suspension, you can barely tell that it's anything other than stock.
6. With the spacers in place and the front struts bolted back into the suspension, you can

7. In the rear, the installation of the spacers is simpler than in the front. Simply unbolt the shocks from the axle and the track bar from the frame, and should be able to lift the coils right out. Remember not to overextend those brake lines!
7. In the rear, the installation of the spacers is simpler than in the front. Simply unbol
8. The Daystar Comfort Ride rear coil spacer places itself above the factory rubber bumpstop, which rides on top of the coil.
8. The Daystar Comfort Ride rear coil spacer places itself above the factory rubber bumpst
9. It might take a crow bar or an extra set of hands, but you should be able to slip the coil, the bumpstop, and the spacer back into the upper and lower rear coil buckets.
9. It might take a crow bar or an extra set of hands, but you should be able to slip the c

BEFORE
AFTER
As you can see, we gained a little over 2 inches of lift on this FJ Cruiser using the Comfort Ride front and rear kit
AFTER As you can see, we gained a little over 2 inches of lift on this FJ Cruiser using
11. The tire clearance was definitely improved, and now this owner can slam on a set of 32-inch tires. We took a ride around town and to a local off-road spot, and the suspension still felt pretty good. The wheel wasn't darting too badly and the control arms did not look like they were at severe angles. The ride wasn't too harsh either, though it definitely was firmed up (compared to the stock ride).
11. The tire clearance was definitely improved, and now this owner can slam on a set of 32