Why the FJ Cruiser is no Threat to the H3

[31_bandits]

Originally Posted by Mooncricket

I admire them both.....and I really like the H2 and it's capabilities.........

but you are not convincing me that I cant compare a stock vehicle to a built up vehicle. If your going to get into wheeling your going to want to modify your vehicle at some point. So doesnt the ease of modifying that vehicle and the price of modifying it come into play somewhere? The H2 is good in stock form, YES! One of the BEST!

But show me an H2 with solid front and rear axles, e-locker front and rear, center diff locker, and some of the other doo dads they have. The Land Cruiser is very comparable to the H2..........trust me........

well not to be a pest, but all H2s have center and rear lockers (which i'm sure you know). PhilDs has a front locker, i think i'm going to spring for one as well, but i'm not sure when i'd need it. So the solid axles are the hangup??

As for the landcruiser -vs- H2 stock (H2 values for air suspension)

clearance: Landcruiser=8.3 & 9.8 depending on where you look, H2= (10 to rear axle housing, 10.8 rated)
The hummers are rated accurately for minimum ground clearance. alot of other vehicles are over-stated for clearance. several pickups come to mind (toyota tundra), the Wrangler Rubi is rated at 10.something, but is <9" to the differentials, same for the FJ, and so forth. For example, the big 'yota pickup is rated higher than the H2, i think, for clearance, but with the two sitting side by side i can't imagine how they determined this.

I'll go measure a landcruiser and post the results. and my hummer. with the same ruler. it won't be closer than 1-2".

approach angle: h2=43, landcruiser=31
departure angle: H2=40, landcruiser=24
breakover angle: H2=27.5, landcruiser=24

locking diffs: H2, center and rear
landcruiser: center only

crawl ratio: similar

The hummers suspension is more modern i'd wager, and i'd wager its traction control system also outclasses that on the Landcruiser.

And considering that in my humble, and not that impressive offroading, i've found times that the H2s approach/departure/clearance are challenged (though really not its traction except in mud), i shall humbly wager that the landcruiser will ram its nose into alot of things & generally not be a match for the stock hummer.

and its fairly gay, and doesn't cause a going-on-5-year panic among web-jeepers, both of which are fairly enjoyable traits of the H2 (non-gayness and jeep freakouts).


With respect to the solid front axel. I am not an offroading expert, and certainly not as much as you may be (or may not, i guess), but i don't think that you always want a solid front axel. Driving fast on bumpy roads comes to mind.

and a built up Jeep is in it's own league.....

i selectively clipped your comment to be a pain.

I think a stock H2 could stand up to or beat at least the vast majority of build 4wds in an offroad "race" across a bumpy/tossy surface and i think it could climb steeper hills, and especially turn onto steep slopes. I suspect that the width and length = stability (center of gravity thing, draw some lines, if it doesn't go over the lines you're good). See, i think a "built" jeep would enhance both the strengths and weaknesses of a stock Rubi. So the things the H2 is better at it would only be more better at, and vice-versa.

I politely accept that your rig can do a great many things better than mine. And i'm not disrespecting it at all, but i think my butt-stock rig could outperform yours at many things as well. And in the places i've found to offroad, big rocks aren't, and big hills & bumpy trails are.

this message edited due to bandits hesitance over internet novicedom. It was more (but not impolitely) challenging before.