Budget planner

It tries every mix of the tire sizes, suspension (a lift kit, long travel, a long arm or portal axles), gears, power and speedometer fix on file for your rig, works out the build stats for each one with the same math as the Build hub, and keeps the one that makes the most of them better than stock for the money. Your goal decides what comes first, like recovery gear for trails, a locker for tougher trails or a rack and tent for camping, and what the money left over buys. Off-road goals put traction, gears and tires ahead of big power; a supercharger or turbo kit only comes in for Highway and towing or the no-limit build.

The build that does the most of all for your rig at typical prices, with the gear that goes with it. On an FJ Cruiser that is 37 inch tires on portal axles with a long-travel front and a supercharger. Save it as a plan and dial it back in stages from there.

Often, at full lock and full stuff. The planner counts about an inch and a quarter over stock as clearing on its own and an inch more per inch of lift; past that it says to plan on trimming. On IFS Toyotas like the FJ, 4Runner and Tacoma, 35s and up usually mean trimming the front fender liner and bumper, a body mount chop and hammering the pinch weld, and 37s often need the rear wheel well trimmed too. Portals clear more because they lower the wheel and raise the axle together. Each tire in a build is graded in words: fits as is, minor trimming (liners, mud flaps, a bumper corner), major trimming (cutting metal) or not recommended, and the planner never picks a size it rates not recommended.

The planner adds up your rig as it is today, a 300 lb driver and gear, and the weight each part’s listing prints, then shows what’s left before the GVWR on the door sticker. Gears, lockers and a speedometer fix swap a factory part and add nothing. Parts with no listed weight, like most tires and lift kits, are named rather than counted as zero, so the real figure is higher; a scale settles it.

Each pick says what it does for the build stats, what it goes in with (gears with the tires, a locker with the regear so the carrier only comes out once, a winch after the bumper) and what to check before you buy, like your axle ratio, whether your trim came with a locker, or the rim width your new tires need.

Usually from about 2 inches taller. The planner adds gears when the tires call for them and picks the ratio that brings highway rpm back near stock. Portal axles gear the hubs down too, so they need less or none.

Bigger tires make the speedometer read low: on 35s an FJ shows about 59 at a true 65. A handheld programmer or a plug-in calibrator sets it right for about $130 to $500, depending on the rig. Some speedometers take no calibrator, like the 2011–14 FJ Cruiser’s, which reads speed over the CAN bus; for those, and rigs with no calibrator on file, the planner prices a GPS speedometer that reads true speed whatever the tires.

Current listings from the makers and the big off-road retailers, checked in November 2026, for parts made for your rig. The typical price is the middle of what we found and the budget pick is the cheapest listing that does the job. Where a long-travel kit is sold without coilovers, the coilovers its maker pairs with it are added. Prices change, so check before you buy.

Install figures come from shop price lists and common quotes: mounting and balancing tires, a lift with an alignment after, a regear with parts, portal axles at 16 to 24 hours, and an hourly rate of about $95 to $180 for the rest. Labor varies a lot by region and shop.

Yes. Save this build as a plan puts the tires, lift, gears, power and speedometer fix into a new plan in My garage, so every calculator opens on it and the Build hub shows its stats against stock.