97 LX 450, Need Advise

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Long Duck Dong

15 Year 10 Year
Joined
Sep 10, 2006
Threads
18
Messages
162
Location
Albertville, Alabama
Hello Everyone,

I'm new to your forum and although I'm sure this has been covered in other threads I wanted to ask for myself.

I have owned my 1997 Lexus LX450 for about 3 years and recently purchased my wife a new Tahoe. Wtih purchasing the Tahoe I got the "ok" to do with the Lexus as I please....So before I get too far ahead of myself I thought I would ask questions before it's too late.

I own a car audio retail store and through my suppliers the only lift for the truck I could find was a Skyjacker 2.5" Spring Lift, which I ordered and should arrive tomorrow (Monday 9/11/06). I was not aware that Slee Off Road even existed until I found the forum today...sorry, I would have bought your springs...

I ordered a set of Mickey Thompson Classic II wheels in 16X8" and I elected to go with the Hankook Dyna Pro mud tire (RT03). They ordered them in 305/75/R16 and after reading allot of te posts on here ans Slee Off Road website I think the tire might be too big, but I'm not sure....

Guys this truck will NEVER see off-road action, it has a 160db sound system in it and it mostly goes to sound shows but I will occasionally daily drive it.....

My questions are....Has anyone had any experience with the Skyjacker lift and if so was it any good? Do I need to go with a smaller tire or plan on changing out my gearing?

I again apologize if this has been covered before, I scowered the site allot before posting...Your input will be greatly appreciated...

Best Regards...
 
Just curious why you are putting a lift and large mud tires if you don't plan on going offroad? If you don't plan on going off road, AT's would have been a much better choice. AT's will be better on wear and on ride.

I guess the real question is what do you want to do with your truck?

You might check out wheeling with a local club one day and see what you are missing.
 
Romer,

Thanks for the reply.... this might sound stupid but I'm doing it mostly for looks. Like I said the truck spends 98% of it's time sitting on the showroom floor of my audio store to demo the stereo system.

I live in a very small area in Northern Alabama, and there is no real offroading community here. On occassion I do allot of road driving 100 to 1200 miles round trips....The truck is flawless and has been maintained by Lexus it's entire life, I just want to enhance it's looks.....I thought about selling it but it is paid for so I thought if I gave it some eye appeal it would keep me interested in it for a few more years.

Thanks Again,
Steve
 
Well, nothing like armor to enhance it's looks. Front and rear bumpers and sliders.

If your into cool, then check out the safari drawer setup on Slee's web site (Expedition section) I love mine.

And then a supercharger looks really cool and makes it more fun to drive.

I think you will be unhappy with those tires if you plan to highway drive it only.
 
I checked out the drawer setup and it's sweet....I did see a turbo kit for the 98 and up but didnt see a supercharger...

Also what tire size do you reccomend for road driving? I thought about 285's but I didnt think there was too much noticeable difference in between a 285 and 305...I forgot to mention I do use the truck on the occassion to pull my jet boat to the lake but it's no heavy load by any stretch..
 
I have 285s with stock gearing and run just fine. You will be a little slower and have to brake earlier but its just something you get used to. The 305 isnt that much bigger than the 285 so either way you should be fine with road driving. I would have suggested an A/T over a MT though. Just because MT tires use soft compounds and A/T tires will last about twice as long and are better suited for road use.
 
The supercharger is a Toyota part. Best place is from cruiserdan our own local Toyota Parts manager who gives us a discount.

here is what it looks like:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=106959

I would recommend an AT as well, like BFG AT KO's or Nittro's or Revo's. Lots of threads here on tires. Tires like you have are meant for serious offroad use and they ride like that on the highway.
 
Capocaccia said:
I have 285s with stock gearing and run just fine. You will be a little slower and have to brake earlier but its just something you get used to. The 305 isnt that much bigger than the 285 so either way you should be fine with road driving. I would have suggested an A/T over a MT though. Just because MT tires use soft compounds and A/T tires will last about twice as long and are better suited for road use.
Click to expand...

Thanks!!

The truck at stock is no speed demon....lol...although it has much more get up and go that the LC of the early 90's. I already ordered the MT's so I will have to stick it out with them.....I looked at allot of AT's and just couldnt find one that looked even a little aggressive.

I got the wheels and tires for $1097, mounted, balanced, lugs, locks and on the truck.....so I think I got a good deal.... They did clear at stock height but looked really really funny on the truck so I opted to wait until after tomorrow when the lift arrives to have them put on.

The Skyjacker lift was CHEAP.....I was actually surprised...It retails for like $400 but since I ordered through my wholesale supplier I got it for like $225. I just hope it's a decent lift for what I'm looking to do...

I also order a Fabtech Universal Desert Guard (on ebay) for the front of the truck, I really like the Pre-Runner/Stadium Truck look....
 
I dont see why the skyjacker lift wouldnt be perfect for your type of driving.

Also, that is a good deal on the rims and all. My tires were 800$ and the rims I just bought were $680.
 
Romer that Superchager looks bad @ss.......How much are they selling for and how hard is the install?
 
That fab tech will cause more damage if you hit something off center.

Too each their own, I personally don't like the look of it, but that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. Everyone has different tastes.

I take it your choice of tire was completely based on what looks cool.

Does that lift come with Shocks or a steering damper or castor correction? If not, your handling will become worse.
 
Long Duck Dong said:
Romer that Superchager looks bad @ss.......How much are they selling for and how hard is the install?
Click to expand...

About $2900 (List is $3800) through cruiserdan. Install time is booked at 8-10 hours. How hard depends on what kind of experiance you have.
 
Romer said:
That fab tech will cause more damage if you hit something off center.

Too each their own, I personally don't like the look of it, but that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. Everyone has different tastes.

I take it your choice of tire was completely based on what looks cool.

Does that lift come with Shocks or a steering damper or castor correction? If not, your handling will become worse.
Click to expand...

Romer,

Yep, tires were 100% cool factor picked......I really wanted an AT tire, but I could not find anything that even looked mildly aggressive....not to mention I did get a great deal on the wheel and tire package...that was also a factor in my choice.

Unfortunately the lift is springs only from what I have gathered thus far. The distributor who I ordered it from said it was a "Kit" but was not sure if there was a steering damper included or not. I'm 100% sure there was no caster correction kit though. I planned on calling Slee tomorrow to order on, although Christo mentioned in a write up on the website something to the effect that it's not totally needed on a 2.5" lift. The write up left me with the notion that it is an elective addition that will help the ride quality, but is required on larger lifts. None the less I plan on getting it from Slee. Hopefully they have a damper kit too if Skyjacker does not provide one.
 
My mom has a Lexus LX450 with a Fabtech Universal Desert Guard she loves it, drives her rig to bingo every monday. If you are going for the poser look a nice ARB front bumper would have made your rig look alot more aggressive.
 
I would definitely get the caster correction bushings with the 2.5" lift, but you will see once you drive it. It doesn't have to be done right away (been about two months and I still don't have mine installed), but you will definitely notice the driving is a bit "twitchy" without them.
 
Long Duck Dong said:
Romer,

Thanks for the reply.... this might sound stupid but I'm doing it mostly for looks. Like I said the truck spends 98% of it's time sitting on the showroom floor of my audio store to demo the stereo system.

I live in a very small area in Northern Alabama, and there is no real offroading community here. On occassion I do allot of road driving 100 to 1200 miles round trips....The truck is flawless and has been maintained by Lexus it's entire life, I just want to enhance it's looks.....I thought about selling it but it is paid for so I thought if I gave it some eye appeal it would keep me interested in it for a few more years.

Thanks Again,
Steve
Click to expand...

That didn't take long. Is this your LX450 posted for sale on 10-11-06?

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=109950

If it has a 160db sound system, you did a hell of a job hiding it.
 
Hey there. When you get your Desert Guard in, let me see a picture of it if you would. Im thinking about getting one since I need to get rid of my damage multiplier and this would be an upgrade ( just not an ARB but Ill never see rocks anways so the ARB doesnt serve a huge purpose for me. Dont bother with the crash speech, Ive heard it way to many times.)
 
CELICA XX said:
Wow.. I'm really surprised.

I read the first few posts and I thought this guy was gonna get ripped for being such a poser...
Click to expand...


Nothing wrong with being a poser just as long as you don't try to hide it.
 
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