[the Baby FJ]

Heyo so I have a 2008 Rav4 Limited V6 4WD and have done a lot mods, all myself, for the interior I'm fine with the JBL speaker system and it's sub

but did add an Android auto/Carplay Intelidash Pro and have a second screen wired up for a backup camera,

have weather tech floor mats all around for the exterior I have a dark horse bullbar and a roof cage (don't remember the brand lol),
One upgrade that I did that I recommend everyone do is the Sealight LED headlight/reverse light upgrade, it is an easy change with huge results every time you drive at night!

^ (old halogen [just right bulb])

^ (new led [just left bulb])

I put a yellow tint film on the fog lights but didn't upgrade the bulbs to LEDs, I made a custom FJ inspired grill (per my car's name: the Baby FJ), and took off the spare tire cover. Mechanically I lifted it 3.6in in the front and 2in in the back

^ (Lifted)

^ (Stock)
and put 2.5in HUBCENTRIC wheel spacers all around and am running BF Goodrich K02s on the stock rims.

^ (wheel poke FTW 😍)

^ (Factory offset)
I usually run it normal but I saw this YouTube vid on putting washers between the exhaust system bolts to add leaks to make it louder but it's too loud for my taste for a daily but it's a quick change so I do it to show off to friends lol

Plans on what will come:
I have some ditch lights and interior LED bulbs coming in the mail in a couple days and because the led headlights were such a difference I thought I'd get the interior bulbs switched to white LEDs too, I'll post how those are, I've seen some people say that they're too bright lol

Plans on what I would want to come lol:
I really want to put the OEM black fender flares on it and maybe an engine tune to get the 270hp to or past 300hp? I like the color but if I could choose any I'd want it to be the new Toyota cement color, and maybe matte. I do want to put bigger tires on it and have clearance for 32s but don't want the speedometer to be off and then I have to get this other part to be able to adjust the speedometer for different tire size. I also may plastidip the rims and logos gloss black.






Definitely let me know any feedback! I know there's room for improvement and would love to hear y'all's ideas!




Rig images posted below:

 

[the Baby FJ]

^ (Before grill swap)


Love the interior room when the second row folds down!!!

Lol still have all the stickers on my skate board from middle school where I would put just anything on it lol

 

[mxer125]

How did you lift it that high? Cv axle problems yet?

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[the Baby FJ]

How did you lift it that high? Cv axle problems yet?

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

A 1.6 in spacer lift stacked on a 2in spacer lift, and in the rear just the 2in subframe drop through blocks and longer bolts. I did have to replace the front driver CV axle but its expected around 130k miles and since that it's driving fine I plan on checking the bearings every time I change the oil to since they're under more stress but I haven't had any vibrations from them


The front CV axles are at a slight angle but I think it's fine:

 

[arf]

The biggest issue when lifting over 2" is pulling the CV splines out of the transmission. When only part of the splines are engaged, it's asking for trouble. Not to mention LCA and CV angles.

How long have you been running that lift setup? I'm not hating on you, just curious. I'm lifted 2"/2.5" and would love more but it's just not doable reliably from what I can see.

I think the car looks good but 2" wheel spacers are too much for me. I would go for 1" but to each his own.

As for fitting 32s, you'll rub on the front strut spring perch unless the spacers bring you far enough away from that point that it doesn't matter.

Keep us posted on long term reliability! Good on you for pushing the limits of what can be done.

 

[jsperson]

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^ (Before grill swap)


Love the interior room when the second row folds down!!!
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Lol still have all the stickers on my skate board from middle school where I would put just anything on it lol

 

[jsperson]

What size tires? Would they fit with 1” spacers?

 

[the Baby FJ]

The biggest issue when lifting over 2" is pulling the CV splines out of the transmission. When only part of the splines are engaged, it's asking for trouble. Not to mention LCA and CV angles.

How long have you been running that lift setup? I'm not hating on you, just curious. I'm lifted 2"/2.5" and would love more but it's just not doable reliably from what I can see.

I think the car looks good but 2" wheel spacers are too much for me. I would go for 1" but to each his own.

As for fitting 32s, you'll rub on the front strut spring perch unless the spacers bring you far enough away from that point that it doesn't matter.

Keep us posted on long term reliability! Good on you for pushing the limits of what can be done.

Yeah I'll post reliability stuff forsure! So far I've put just over 1000miles on the car with the lift and spacers. I know the 32s would be a tight fit and would require major trimming so I'll probably not do that but just what I would theoretically want to do lol.

All your points are correct about the CV joint stuff and from my research, while they are probably all differently engineered, other lifted trucks/SUVs people have run as dailys with more intense angles on the factory LCA and CV, if I do start to have issues I'll back the front down to 2in, might even do that anyways to remove the slight squat. Where the LCA and CV angles sit when on the ground with this lift are less than at full droop before the lift (I checked that before lifting it) so the weak point could be that if it hits a big hole and the shocks go down all the way quickly and back up quickly.

From what I understand with spacers are if you buy quality hubcentric ones then you should stay under 3in, and I've seen gen3 rav4s with some crazy negative offset and I'm not much farther out than that with my stock rims (I kinda like them tbh) and it's hard to find after marker rims with the 60.1mm bore to be hubcentric where the spacers do make the wheels very secure.

With the angles and everything of the lift it is much harder to turn and the wheels, not to the point where it's like a vehicle with no power steering but maybe 1/3-1/2 of the way there, and the wheels want to go back to driving straight with more force but after a hour or two you get used to how to steer it. The lift and spacers definitely make it handle very "old trucky", which I kinda like but that's not for everyone.

 

[the Baby FJ]

What size tires? Would they fit with 1” spacers?

Factory tire size actually 225/65r17 (28.5x8.9)

 

[the Baby FJ]

The biggest issue when lifting over 2" is pulling the CV splines out of the transmission. When only part of the splines are engaged, it's asking for trouble. Not to mention LCA and CV angles.

How long have you been running that lift setup? I'm not hating on you, just curious. I'm lifted 2"/2.5" and would love more but it's just not doable reliably from what I can see.

I think the car looks good but 2" wheel spacers are too much for me. I would go for 1" but to each his own.

As for fitting 32s, you'll rub on the front strut spring perch unless the spacers bring you far enough away from that point that it doesn't matter.

Keep us posted on long term reliability! Good on you for pushing the limits of what can be done.

I know it's not lots of extra stress on the front suspension but I have towed a 5000lb trailer up to around 45mph with no vibrations/clicking sounds (it was in the city not highway so eventually I'll see how it handles at higher speeds with a load) I did this with the wheel spacers and lift on and after the highway speeds I've done 😅 along with the hard towing I feel very safe with where its at but will definitely keep yall posted if there are any reliability issues. (And keep my eye out for other reliability issues with other lifted rav4s to know what to expect)

[The width of the trailer sticks out 8in on each side of the rav4 for scale and empty weighs 2600lbs and is full of sound equipment, books, lighting equipment, etc]

 

[brentkwhitley]

Dang cool stuff! If you go on trails I’d recommend building or buying a front skid plate. North woods has one, I built my own for $100 (build thread posted a few months ago)

If you want to go bigger on tires, I’d recommend 245/65/17s. This is what I run, it’s 29.5” and no rubbing. You really can’t go bigger than 30” or maybe 30.5” because the front strut would have to be replaced or extensively modified. Also unless you re-geared an already small differential, they car would be kinda too fast in first gear. The 245s have a little more width also which helps the stance, and they still fit as a spare for 5 tire rotations and a matching look:

I love ditch lights, I was able to install them to one of the front fender mounting bolts instead of the hood, couldn’t find any mounting kits online so made my own brackets and they have been great.

Why not throw a light bar in the grille slot or on the bull bar while you’re working on wiring?

yours is lifted crazy high! I’m not that daring but I definitely want to install a 2” front 1.5” rear (possibly from northwoods). Too scared to go any higher due to CVs and sway bars.
yours is lifted crazy high! I’m not that daring but I definitely want to install a 2” front 1.5” rear (possibly from northwoods). Too scared to go any higher due to CVs and sway bars.

for wheel spacers, let us know if you run into issues with wheel bearings wearing out. If they hold up with 2.5”s I definitely want to install some 1”s in the future. Just not sure how they will do long term.

 

[arf]

^1" (25mm) hubcentric spacers... no problem on my 2014 3.5 years later.

 

[the Baby FJ]

Dang cool stuff! If you go on trails I’d recommend building or buying a front skid plate. North woods has one, I built my own for $100 (build thread posted a few months ago)

View attachment 176025

If you want to go bigger on tires, I’d recommend 245/65/17s. This is what I run, it’s 29.5” and no rubbing. You really can’t go bigger than 30” or maybe 30.5” because the front strut would have to be replaced or extensively modified. Also unless you re-geared an already small differential, they car would be kinda too fast in first gear. The 245s have a little more width also which helps the stance, and they still fit as a spare for 5 tire rotations and a matching look:

View attachment 176026

I love ditch lights, I was able to install them to one of the front fender mounting bolts instead of the hood, couldn’t find any mounting kits online so made my own brackets and they have been great.

View attachment 176029

Why not throw a light bar in the grille slot or on the bull bar while you’re working on wiring?

View attachment 176028

yours is lifted crazy high! I’m not that daring but I definitely want to install a 2” front 1.5” rear (possibly from northwoods). Too scared to go any higher due to CVs and sway bars.
yours is lifted crazy high! I’m not that daring but I definitely want to install a 2” front 1.5” rear (possibly from northwoods). Too scared to go any higher due to CVs and sway bars.

for wheel spacers, let us know if you run into issues with wheel bearings wearing out. If they hold up with 2.5”s I definitely want to install some 1”s in the future. Just not sure how they will do long term.

Sick build! I actually have added ditch lights since posting and that's great to know about tire size! I was kinda thinking because I have the large spacers that the strut wouldn't be an issue but I'll probably just go to a junk yard/used tire shop and try different sizes and make sure they clear but probably gonna leave tires be until my currents wear out.

That's an awesome skid plate! I would super consider that for $100! I'll check out your thread forsure!

 

[the Baby FJ]

^ The ditch lights

 

[the Baby FJ]

Keep us posted on long term reliability! Good on you for pushing the limits of what can be done.

RELIABILITY UPDATE:

Just took a long road trip so now with the lift it's been ~1000 miles city driving and ~1000 highway

I've been taking pictures of mileage every time I fill up, (doesn't show gas mileage on my rav 😭) and before the lift and spacers with just the k02 tires, bulbar, and roofrack I was getting 17mpg city and 25mpg highway. With the lift and same tires I'm now getting 16/20. There is definitely a ton more drag at highway speeds with the wheel poke and 1/2in squat but no rattles, vibrations, or clicking noises, and it all feels very solid. When using cruise control I do notice however that instead of maintaining speed at 1-1.5K rpm it's now 2-2.5K rpm so I tried driving without it and just eyeing the rpms and was able to get another 1-2mpgs but for a long trip it's not really worth it.

With cruise control for my road trip I was still getting 270 miles of range before it hits empty, and how the gauge is (don't know if it's just mine or all gen3s) I still have 3 gallons once the light turns on and the needle stops moving. So probably could get 320 miles out of it, the max I had the guts to do was 290 and that was 14.5 out of the 16 gallon tank.

After getting back from the road trip I checked my bearings and there is absolutely no play in them! However the rubber bushings on the front lower control arms look like they are getting old and should be replaced before 140K miles (at 132K now), but I have the maintenance history of the car and they've never been replaced so I was expecting to do that soon anyways.



Quick take on spacers:

I think with proper installation and quality hubcentric spacers they are absolute no problem, it's actually safer than getting aftermarket wheels with a negative offset as the hubcentricness is another way to keep everything aligned, and it's probably impossible to find after market wheels with a 60.1mm bore that is angled to perfectly fit the rav4s hub as well as the oem rims do, and with the custom fit machines spacers they fit so snug! When I got them I tested them out and even with no lugs in the wheel, you have to kick it to get it free.

 

[SoNic67]

Where can I get that front grille?

Did you cut the OE middle bar with a Sawzall?

 

[the Baby FJ]

Where can I get that front grille?

I made it myself, so just a blank grill and a Toyota logo epoxied on 😅, can't really buy it anywhere assembled, I looked everywhere and couldn't find what I liked so just DIYed it lol

 

[SoNic67]

Looks cool!
My Limited has a plastic bar in the middle of the fascia. I would have to cut it out...

 

[mxer125]

I'm very impressed with this. If it didn't have to daily mine, I would definitely try this! I really wish we had a front subframe drop like the honda's and subie's.

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[the Baby FJ]

Looks cool!
My Limited has a plastic bar in the middle of the fascia. I would have to cut it out...

Yeah the 2009+ limited trim has a face lift which would make the "TOYOTA" grill a much bigger project