What have you done to your 100 Series this week? (37 Viewers)

[1toy]

This week I finished the switch’s and lighting and got some new KO2’s. Very pleased with the lights from prime lux. The finish on the light housing isn’t perfect but you have to look real close to notice the imperfections. I had to cut the panel to fit the extra switches which I was trying not to do but it turned out clean. The KO2’s are my favorite tire. Smooth and quite on the highway although not the most traction in mud. I just have to be more careful in slippery situations.

 

[saucebox]

This week I finished the switch’s and lighting and got some new KO2’s. Very pleased with the lights from prime lux. The finish on the light housing isn’t perfect but you have to look real close to notice the imperfections. I had to cut the panel to fit the extra switches which I was trying not to do but it turned out clean. The KO2’s are my favorite tire. Smooth and quite on the highway although not the most traction in mud. I just have to be more careful in slippery situations. View attachment 1982908View attachment 1982909View attachment 1982910View attachment 1982913

What's the front of the switch panel look like?

 

[jLB]

Received the vehicle on Tuesday night. Front ~20.5" Rear ~23.0" and aligned just fine. It looked kinda silly with that much rake and it was driving a little funny.

Pulled AHC fuses to make the "blinky lights" go away.

Played around with tuning the rear shock settings, ended up at "5" (I think).

Cranked torsion bars to 21.5" and realigned. It looks and feels a good bit better now.

Dug under the dash, and disconnected the AHC ECU, replaced some of the pulled fuses.

Checked everything with Techstream.

Without the OEM steps, and no sliders yet, a simple 2" lift on 33" tires feels huge (or maybe it's due to the Camry rental car I drove while it was in the shop). For someone that really wasn't looking for a "lift", it's a bit of a change.

It feels a good bit different than AHC in its prime, but it feels much better than AHC with bad accumulators. Less harsh than the OME kit on my kid's LC was on a mostly stock vehicle, but firmer than a fully working AHC system. I don't notice much of a change in body lean, if anything it may have a bit more lean now.

The passenger side Nitro UCA still seems to have an annoying bushing squeak at the moment, that I will try to address over the long weekend.

Posting my experience, just in case it might make life easier on someone else "lifting" a mostly stock 100 series.

(TL;DR: There's limited lift available in the front. Too little droop causes lots of issues. Good luck matching 2.5" of rear lift in the front.)

AHC Removal with a Tough Dog install on a mostly “stock” LX470:

My original goal was to replace a broken AHC system, any lift was a side benefit and not the original goal, and not to cause the same harsh ride of the OME kit on a stock vehicle that we had experienced on my son’s vehicle. I was also curious about trying one of the “fixed” aftermarket UCAs instead of the “adjustable” SPC UCAs that we used on my son’s vehicle.

AHC Starting point:
Front ~19.5” Rear ~20.5”
~22.75” at full droop, for 3.25” of droop.

Replacement "kit":
Just Differentials Nitro UCA
Trail Tailor Extended Sway Bar Links
Trail Tailor Diff Drop
Tough Dog Torsion Bars
Tough Dog 41mm Front Shocks
Tough Dog Dual Rate 0-600# 2” Rear Springs (1.5" springs were out of stock at the time of my order)
Tough Dog 45mm Adjustable Rear Shocks
Front ~20.5” Rear ~23+”
~23” at full droop for 2.5” of droop.

My initial impressions after install were:
A stiffer ride than a fully functional AHC system.
A smoother ride than a “broken” AHC system (bad globes).
Small low speed bumps, noticeable.
Can still feel expansion joints, but not as harsh as broken AHC (Think 3 or 4 on AHC shock settings)
Neighborhood speed humps (at speed), are handled much better than AHC.
A couple of “high speed” humps/bumps on my work route felt much better than AHC
A really rough patch of road that overwhelmed AHC, is much better with tough dog (not pleasant, but not overwhelmed)
Not as harsh as my son’s OME kit, on a mostly stock vehicle.
Not quite as smooth as my son’s OME kit, on a middleweight “armored” vehicle.
The rear shock adjustments actually do seem to make a noticeable difference.
At “6” on the rear shocks feels pretty good with a full tank, starts getting a little harsh in the last 1/4 tank
Had to lube the Nitro UCAs a few times to get rid of a nasty squeak.
Zip tying the lines to the UCA on the Nitro, seems kinda cheesy compared to the SPC or Total Chaos mount
A few instances of unexpected understeer at times with 2.5” of rake
To be honest, I thought a number of people around mud, whine a bit too much about trying to “level” a 100 series, but going from 1” of factory rake (R=20.5 F=19.5) to ~2.5-3” of rake (R=23 F=20.5) looked and felt ridiculous.
Drivable, but really doesn’t feel 100% “right”.

Between fuses, connectors and Techstream, I got to figure out that disconnecting the the bottom 2 plugs to the AHC ECU make the dash “happy” without irritating the VSC ECU.

Cranked torsion bars to 21.5”, rake ~1.5”
Front ~21.5” Rear ~23+”
~23” at full droop for 1.5” of droop.
Drivable, and looks "cool", but really really doesn’t feel 100% “right”.

Of course the ride went to s*** without enough droop, created some odd ATRAC behavior in daily driving, and all of the other usual “not enough droop” problems.

Talking with Reevsci, who, if I understand correctly, was seeing a substantial amount more “max travel” at 24.5” on his vehicle, with the 53mm “Ralph” version of the shocks. It seems that the 41mm shocks, while valved correctly for my lightweight vehicle might be a little short to go with the 2” springs in the rear.

It seemed that I had the option of either dropping the rear with some shorter springs, or trying to get a little more droop by running the longer (but stiffer) shocks in the front. Logically, having a pair of OME 865 springs in the garage, dropping the rear made the most sense, but using my “Tim the toolman” logic, I placed an order for the 53mm shocks, which are not recommended for a lightweight vehicle like mine.


After spending a few weeks tweaking and tuning, my current configuration is:

Just Differentials Nitro UCA
Trail Tailor Extended Sway Bar Links
Trail Tailor Diff Drop
Tough Dog Torsion Bars
OME Nitro front shocks
OME 2865 rear springs
Tough Dog 45mm Adjustable Rear Shocks
~21.5” in front and just under ~22.5” in the rear
~23 5/8” at full droop in front for ~2 1/8” of droop
Rake is currently slightly less than an inch

The ride is nearly as smooth as AHC in the 3rd setting.
The Tough Dog rear shock adjustment really does work.
The (front) OME Nitro Shocks really don’t seem overly stiff in the current configuration.
The front and rear seem to be working together instead of fighting each other.
Drivable, and does feel “right”

My current thoughts:
If you're adding the Tough Dog or similar kit to a mostly stock vehicle, I'd go with the shorter (1.5") rear springs, and shoot for around 20.75" front w/ stock UCA or around 21-21.5" with aftermarket UCA depending on shock length. My life would've been much simpler and the process much shorter with the 1.5" Tough Dog springs, 41mm front shocks and keeping the front at ~20.75-21", but I was "hard headed" and had to have that last 0.5-0.75" in front.

If/when I add more weight, I may need to reinstall the Tough Dog rear springs and/or 53mm front shocks, but until then, this configuration will do just fine.

 

[Drogon]

View attachment 1982484
Cabin lights change to LED. Map lights, 2nd and 3rd row dome lights and door lights. A huge help for us with a 9-month old baby and all her stuff to find at night. Love the cool white color it lessens strain in the eye.

View attachment 1982486
Took out the Sylvana halogen bulb on the projector low beam headlights and foglamps and replaced it with 35watt 6000kelvin hid kit. So far so good no glare to the oncoming traffic as the projector cutoff is still clearly functional (this was my first worry prior to install if the projector lens wasn’t good enough for a xenon bulb on it) but Lexus being Lexus - over engineered it to accommodate an HiD. High beams are now LED.

Anyone using or has used a 55w ballast on the low beam headlights? Can the polycarbonate housing handle the heat? Planning to change it up soon to increase output and also bring down the color a little bit to around 5000kelvin. Thanks in advance.

I'm using 55w 5000k hid bulbs. Same bulbs in use for about three years without issue.
I bought a relatively cheap set from Amazon. The brand is Kensun. Light output could be better, but I'm sure some of the issue is that I'm using the stock projectors.

 

[Caretaker]

Got a bike rack for the truck. My aftermarket bars I have up top are too wide so I have it on the gas can swing out. May leave it on until I use it for gas cans! Ha.

 

[Austin Hot Shoe]

Ordered, lower ball joints, charcoal canister, 4 rotors and two sets of brake pads.....guess you guys can see my holiday weekend project, that is if parts get here in time......

 

[roemer7]

Parked by my new daily driver: 2018 Miata Grand Touring.
The two couldn’t be more different and it’s fantastic.

 

[OEMGUY0720]

I'm using 55w 5000k hid bulbs. Same bulbs in use for about three years without issue.
I bought a relatively cheap set from Amazon. The brand is Kensun. Light output could be better, but I'm sure some of the issue is that I'm using the stock projectors.

Thanks for this @Drogon will try out the 55w ballast soon. I got my HiD kit too for $37 per set too in Amazon the brand is Xentec. Mind if you share a picture of the headlights output at night on 55w ballast? Thanks!

 

[95Fantasma80]

Ordered, lower ball joints, charcoal canister, 4 rotors and two sets of brake pads.....guess you guys can see my holiday weekend project, that is if parts get here in time......

Worst case you instead hit up some off road trails

 

[95Fantasma80]

Parked by my new daily driver: 2018 Miata Grand Touring.
The two couldn’t be more different and it’s fantastic.

View attachment 1983188

perfect 2 car set, agile and fun for the daily hustle and off road family suv for the weekend adventures..

 

[kpecks]

Spent about a month gathering parts since ripping my passenger side CV Boot on some trails at Hidden Falls in Marble Falls, TX.

Gathering the parts quickly turned into a “well, since I’m in there...” research.
I replaced not only the torn passenger side CV axle, but the driver side as well as all of the diff oil seals, snap rings, gaskets, nuts, washers, axle nut flanges, inner and outer wheel bearings, wheel seals, brake rotors, pads and added 1.5” spacers.

Info about the jack stand set up...

 

[a31gun]

A little custom fabbing. I spent longer looking for the right piece of tubing than the cut and weld.

 

[Jczajka]

New gaskets in both my fuse box lids. McMaster Car silicone cord stock 1177N15. Ordered 3' twice, 10' piece would have been better to do both fuse box lids, FYI.

Installed new immobilizer chip again, and programmed all my keys and fobs. Previously I only had a valet. Thanks @Mauser for all the help!

Started installing my new stereo. Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX, with wiring help from the forum. I was holding out installation until I got engine and keys sorted out. Feels great to install something "easy."

 

[hidesertwheelin]

That's normal. To hear the motor whirr up. It's the screechy sound that's a problem

This is not the normal sound, this is a completely different sound.

 

[Mauser]

New gaskets in both my fuse box lids. McMaster Car silicone cord stock 1177N15. Ordered 3' twice, 10' piece would have been better to do both fuse box lids, FYI.

Installed new immobilizer chip again, and programmed all my keys and fobs. Previously I only had a valet. Thanks @Mauser for all the help!

Started installing my new stereo. Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX, with wiring help from the forum. I was holding out installation until I got engine and keys sorted out. Feels great to install something "easy."

View attachment 1982938View attachment 1982939View attachment 1983497View attachment 1983490

You're welcome. Glad we finally got it sorted out. I am pretty sure the programming failures were caused by the low voltage problem you had.

 

[nitteo]

installed marine battery terminals after having a couple of no start issues with the 19yr old terminals not holding on anymore.

this piece i had to dremel/ drill out since it rusted in place.

 

[OEMGUY0720]

Got the front driver and passenger window and front windshield filmed with 70% VLT rating Ceramic Film 99% heat rejection (almost clear with a bluish green hue on it guess).

Here’s how it is on the glass panels now. The heat rejection is really functional it’s even hotter outside than behind the windshield when the sun is up. Since I’m not a fan of tinted glasses I really like the clear glass panels up front we get to appreciate nice sceneries and take pictures without rolling the windows down.

 

[kickitrootdown]

Replaced the spark plugs on my '99 with 160k - pretty sure they had never been changed based on, well, nothing on my truck ever getting replaced. Amazing what it does for how the engine runs and sounds. It's almost alarming how quiet it is, like it is about to stall. Ah well. Pleasant experience, plenty of room to work for the most part.

Passenger side, left to right is plugs 2, 4, 6, 8

Driver side, left to right is 1, 3, 5, 7

 

[MongooseGA]

Got the front driver and passenger window and front windshield filmed with 70% VLT rating Ceramic Film 99% heat rejection (almost clear with a bluish green hue on it guess). View attachment 1983603

Here’s how it is on the glass panels now. The heat rejection is really functional it’s even hotter outside than behind the windshield when the sun is up. Since I’m not a fan of tinted glasses I really like the clear glass panels up front we get to appreciate nice sceneries and take pictures without rolling the windows down.
View attachment 1983607
View attachment 1983615

The ceramic tints and windshield coverage were the first 'mod' I did to my truck the day I picked it up. Imperative if you're in a hot or sunny area. I had to go with dark tint though, I don't like other people watching me pick my nose.

 

[uzj100]

The ceramic tints and windshield coverage were the first 'mod' I did to my truck the day I picked it up. Imperative if you're in a hot or sunny area. I had to go with dark tint though, I don't like other people watching me pick my nose.

I think all 100s should have front tint to assist with our AC systems. Makes quite the difference.

And yes, for bats in the cave. ;<)