Off-Road/Safari FX35

[insanegunner]

Hey Guys,

Follow this thread, I am looking to make my 2004 FX35 AWD outfitted for off-road. I have seen a couple of threads from the past about doing this but nobody seems to follow thru with it. Does anybody know why? I think a off-road/safari fitted ride is in order. I'm thinking of a subtle lift: maybe 2" with some rugged trail tires

day lamps:
"

"


bull guard:


roof rack:


I just wanna put all of the elements together in one FX35.

 

[RIPnFX]

Honestly I'm not really digging the idea of a lifted off-road FX, that's the reason no one has ever done it till this day. IMO it will look horrible but to each his own.

 

[insanegunner]

I agree that most setups have been for the urban lifestyles but I'm in Texas and there is a lot of demand for off-road vehicles. Since I do a lot of mountain biking and trail riding, this set up will allow me to get into some, more remote areas, the lift will also help with towing. And since I'm looking into getting me a boat, it all kinda works out in my favor. This is my wife's FX but we loved it so much that I decided to keep it and get her a newer one. Besides, luxury off-road is the new fab. I don't expect everybody to accept, but I did notice some members truly interested in the concept in other threads. But thank you for the input RipnFX, I really appreciate it. BTW, that one pic of the roof rack kinda looks like yours RipnFX is it?

I have also seen a lot of off-roadring YouTube videos on FX's and I am happy with the performance aspect of the FX for that. And with the AWD feature in my model, I think I am on the right path for my needs and not have to buy a different vehicle.all I gotta do is mod-it.

 

[teemoney]

I'm thinking the fx is a luxury awd sports suv not a off road vehicle. Just cause it's awd doesn't make it suited for off road. A wrx is an awd off road rally vehicle but you wouldn't drive a gtr the same way. For less than a couple grand you can drive an older ford explorer or a cherokee or a 4 runner. Why the FX? To each his own but it's not suited for that. Go to you tube and you'll see videos of guys trying to use the fx off road, just not a good vehicle for that. No one has done it for a reason. If you decide to do it please post pics as i'm sure some guys would like to see what you did. Funny. most guys here are trying to lower it and you're wanting to raise it. I'm sure some guy out there thought about raising a lambo too

 

[insanegunner]

If you decide to do it please post pics as i'm sure some guys would like to see what you did. Funny. most guys here are trying to lower it and you're wanting to raise it. I'm sure some guy out there thought about raising a lambo too

jajajaja, Im sure somebody thought of that too. That's the reason they call us "Krazies". I have seen some off road fails on FX's but it's due to clearance and inappropriate tires for that terrain. But u r right on the sporty SUV design of the FX and its nature. That's the reason why I don't want to make a monster truck out of it, just a sporty off-road vehicle like a "Land Rover" per say. It's mostly for looks and practicality and not necessarily for climbing mountains. We really don't have any here in Texas, just hill country.

 

[meme405]

jajajaja, Im sure somebody thought of that too. That's the reason they call us "Krazies". I have seen some off road fails on FX's but it's due to clearance and inappropriate tires for that terrain. But u r right on the sporty SUV design of the FX and its nature. That's the reason why I don't want to make a monster truck out of it, just a sporty off-road vehicle like a "Land Rover" per say. It's mostly for looks and practicality and not necessarily for climbing mountains. We really don't have any here in Texas, just hill country.

The thing is a landrover has e-diffs, low range gear box, adjustable off-road suspension, and good approach and departure angles. On top of that the landrover's underside is designed for off-roading even if most of them spend their entire lives on road.

By comparison, the FX has a ton of stuff that hang really low underneath it, a relatively weak transmission and AWD system in heavy off-road situations, no adjustable suspension system, in fact nobody even makes any sort of lift kit for these things.

The SUV's that people take to do off-road stuff with are always based on truck platforms, whereas the FX is based on a modified sports car platform.

Its the difference between starting with a flip flop and trying to turn it into a combat boot, and just buying a combat boot to begin with.

 

[BYGDAWG3758]

To the InsaneGunner: Here is a horrible example of a new FX going "off-roading" in the desert.
(Yes, It's a repost, but it fits in this thread). Welcome to and good luck with modding yout ride.
http://youtu.be/7GjBAaMLMTo

 

[smijus]

Ha, I was going to link to that same video. It's all I could think of...

 

[J3FF3R$0N]

If you are just after a look I don't see anything wrong with that . The FX would look macho like these two

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Performance actually off road would be poor but I think it would look sick if done right

 

[mishanja]

Is that VW from Repomen????

---------- Post added at 07:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------

Love VW, don't care for BMW at all

 

[Themechanic]

That videos funny! The only thing i would ever modify to an extreme for off road would be a jeep!

 

[insanegunner]

The BMW is more along the lines of what I want to do.

 

[WiND DANCE]

Like others have stated, the FX isn't a true SUV. Underneath all the guts it's a G35, hence why some label it to be a CUV. You want to off road you'll need a truck platform. (land rovers, jeeps, 4runners, explorers, etc.)

Can it be lifted and fitted with extreme tires? Off course... Will it perform? Weakly maybe
You wouldn't take a Rav4 or a CRV off-roading right? It's not designed for it.

 

[myron02]

Is that VW from Repomen????

---------- Post added at 07:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------

Love VW, don't care for BMW at all

yea I think it is a VW from Repomen. It's pretty bad ass too.

I think FX would look bad ass with some fender flares like that. There was a render of this somewhere. I remember seeing it a while back. I would rock those on my FX with some wide wheels

 

[mishanja]

let me dig up some old photos, I never had a lift, but have bull guard, rails and bike rack...

---------- Post added at 11:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 AM ----------

Here are couple of pictures with roof rack (Yakima) and rails. I can't locate the bull bar photos at the moment (its been a while), but I never had any lights on it. As a matter of fact, I am reworking it now (as you inspired me to put it back on) - I blacked it out, and also waiting on a set of LED lights to put on. So stay tuned....

 

[insanegunner]

There u go, see! That's the spirit I was looking for. I was thinking on putting on some of those side step rails/tubes. What r they called. R they universal or r they specific to the fx? I've looked at them but I don't know if they make them specifically compatible to the FX.

 

[shadow191]

You can make it look like you're going off road, but the FX won't do that well actually being off road. It only tows 3500 lbs, so I hope your boat is small.

And I posted this in another thread, but go under your car and look at the underbody. So much stuff is exposed and hangs off the bottom. Also, the AWD system isn't designed for off roading. Some people say you can lift your car with coilovers, but I'm not sure how as the shock lengths don't look long enough to go above OEM height. OEM height has huge wheel gap so I'm sure you can stuff larger tires in there without actually lifting the suspension. That would get you your look, but I think if you actually went off road stuff will break pretty fast. The FX is basically a G35 wagon; it's not an SUV.

 

[mishanja]

There u go, see! That's the spirit I was looking for. I was thinking on putting on some of those side step rails/tubes. What r they called. R they universal or r they specific to the fx? I've looked at them but I don't know if they make them specifically compatible to the FX.

mine are FX35 specific, because mounting brackets are made to attach to certain places (some where GTSpec bars are attached)

 

[gicastro]

Anyone have an updated offroad type fx35 pic available.

 

[elusive]

Insanegunner what's up man I hope these guys didn't discourage you!

Every time one of these threads come up they've been shut down, haha. I can see why. These are all valid points.

I'm actually super interested in a safari FX35 as well. Granted, I know the limits of our cars! We won't be able to do any rock crawling but hill climbs? Doubt that's a problem if it's not super steep.

I've toyed with the idea of getting a steel plate front bumper lol, that would be very unnecessary but looks badass.

I would put a roof top tent, why not? Bushwhacker fender flares? Hell yeah.

I was thinking earlier today actually about how versatile air suspension would be for this type of application.. how much lift can you get on air systems? That way you can lift when you need ground clearance and lower when you want handling.

Let her rip.

---------- Post added at 01:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:53 PM ----------

Here's me and my activities






Here's a chop I did with a steel plate bumper lol. looks pretty ridiculous but mean as hell.