Builds 2011 GX460 Build (2 Viewers)

[Tquiroz]

I am so excited that I was able to finally get my hands on a 2011 GX460. It is going to for my son to take to college, however I am building it up as my toy for when I want to use it. It is going to be my photography, fly fishing, bow hunting and light overlanding rig. So far on order is a 2" Stage 2 Ironman Foamcell lift kit, recovery points, some 18" Mamba M19 wheels in Bronze, and additional light upgrades including some light bars and upgraded Diode Dynamics fog lights. An Orangboxx tailgate table will be on order soon. I am seeking any general advice for the build. I have gone through most of the posts and have found a wealth of knowledge, but I always welcome any advice.

Additionally, I wanted to see if you agree that 285/65/R18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers will fit with the 2" lift before I pull the trigger.

Looking forward to posting pictures of the build as I go.

 

[r2m]

Congrats!
Looking forward to a build thread on what all you'll be doing!
Funny thing with all this pandemic stuff, with the mask it looks like you just stole it!

 

[Tex68w]

So is your son still taking it to college or is it officially your toy? Good choice on the lift, you'll enjoy it, but I recommend cranking up the preload a tad on the front otherwise it'll have a bit of a rake to it. That tire size will fit fine with the lift, it shouldn't require a BMC but that also depends on the back space and offset of the wheels you select.

 

[Donny Voodoo]

Congrats on the new toy. You will more than likely have to trim some plastic with 285/65s.

 

[Tquiroz]

Got my wheel and tires mounted. Suspension lift to be installed in a few days.

Ran into some issues to mount the 12" light bars, but will look into another solution.

So far 2011 GX460 BASE:

Ironman Stage 2 Foamcell lift kit 2" performance springs
Ironman Recovery points
18x9 Enkei Matrix wheels
Gorilla black lugnuts
Nitto Ridge Grappler LT285/65r18
Polished the headlights
Diode Dynamic Luxeon Fog lights
HID kits for High Beam/DRL
LED lights for Low Beam, Reverse, Brake, dome, and turn signal

Soon to get:
Front and Rear bumper
Tailgate table
Grom interface

 

[Tquiroz]

So far so good. Little hiccups here and there, but the build is coming along. It is tough only having a a week before driving this across the country to drop of my son to get this build together. Looking forward to our future visits to use the truck to go bow hunting and fly fishing in MO and the other states around STL.

Installed Led in the projectors. Had to do some grinding on the fan's housing in order to fit. Couldn't get the HID kit to work with the DRL. Had the relay harness and the anti-flickering kit, but only could get the high beams to work. Switching to LEDs for the high beam/DRL.

The shop that is doing the lift had some Victory Rock Sliders that they had miss ordered. They gave me a sweet deal, so that is getting added on before I had planned.

The blue tape on the fairing is because I plastic dipped it as the clear coat was gone. Hadn't had time to peel it off before taking it to the shop. Probably going to do the door handles too as the plastic chrome is cracked.

The fifth wheel is on order, but I might have it shipped to St Louis. Need to decide what rear bumper to get that can carry the spare. Leaning towards a Coastal bumper with one swing arm. They seem to be the easiest to customize. Looking to route the back up camera to the bumper and fit an arm to allow the arm to swing with the door. My son was complaining about having to swing the arm seperate in order to get his stuff out the back, musicians!?!

If anyone has a good welder recommendation for St Louis, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Tquiroz]

Things are little dusty, but the build is coming along. The lights have been installed and so have the Victory rock sliders. The lift is pretty nice and looking forward to testing it out next weekend.

Wondering whether to get the Expedition One rear bumper with a single swing or the Metal Tech Lance bumper. Any opinions as to the pros of each?

 

[Gx460sd]

Nobody has experience with expedition one yet but they will be shipping the first batch in december

 

[Tquiroz]

Just ordered the Metal Tech Lancer stage 1 bumper.

Installing some led light bulbs, modifying the OEM skid plate to fit around the recovery points and finishing the light bar install.

 

[mmaguy]

View attachment 2445150

Things are little dusty, but the build is coming along. The lights have been installed and so have the Victory rock sliders. The lift is pretty nice and looking forward to testing it out next weekend.

Wondering whether to get the Expedition One rear bumper with a single swing or the Metal Tech Lance bumper. Any opinions as to the pros of each?

Your rig is coming along! Cool/unique and integrated light set up in the front, and the sliders/tires have really transformed it.
I am not familiar with the Expedition One bumpers, but I have Metal Tech bumpers (2014+) front and back and love them. Crazy solid build with decent wraparound protection. The rear swing out tire carrier is built well and the jack mount and side steps add convenience. They were not inexpensive, but seem worth it. They do have specials occasionally and I would imagine would have some around the holidays. Otherwise, if you're not in a rush (difficult not to be when upgrading, ha!), it may be worth waiting and looking at the different options coming out and do the best apples to apples comparison that you can based on the information available.
Good luck on the rest of your build!

 

[Tquiroz]

So I am in preparations to install the MetalTech Lancer bumper. I will have a hi-lift jack on the back. Looking to relocate the rear camera, but have found limited options. Don't particularly want to mount it on the spare tire since the view will be skewed. Looking to put it on, centered on the swing arm. Any suggestions as to a mount?

 

[mmaguy]

So I am in preparations to install the MetalTech Lancer bumper. I will have a hi-lift jack on the back. Looking to relocate the rear camera, but have found limited options. Don't particularly want to mount it on the spare tire since the view will be skewed. Looking to put it on, centered on the swing arm. Any suggestions as to a mount?

I didn’t move my factory camera, but I did buy a wireless license plate frame camera from Costco and it works great. It charges by solar and has a clear picture with adjustable lines and such. If you are not a Costco member it can be bought directly from type s auto I believe. Hope this helps
Costco link:

https://www.costco.com/type-s-solar-powered-hd-quick-connect-wireless-backup-camera.product.100425010.html

 

[shutupkaren]

Cool! You and I have very similar lighting goals. I've got some questions for you about that!

Why did you go with the DD Luxeon fogs over Fog Light LEDs for 2010-2013 Lexus GX460 (pair) or Fog Light HID Conversion Kit for 2010-2016 Lexus GX460 Did you ever consider going yellow/amber?

And really interesting mount of the light bars. I've had a handful pulled up that I've been deciding between. I've been looking at putting a pair of 11" bars in that same location- except mounted behind the plastic grills. Did you ever consider that, and did you mount directly into your bumper? I'm thinking about making those bars white flood, and going amber in the fogs. Which bars did you go with?

I used these LEDs for high beams. No drl flicker, pretty bright: Amazon product ASIN B07T1LCZB7

 

[Tquiroz]

Cool! You and I have very similar lighting goals. I've got some questions for you about that!

Why did you go with the DD Luxeon fogs over Fog Light LEDs for 2010-2013 Lexus GX460 (pair) or Fog Light HID Conversion Kit for 2010-2016 Lexus GX460 Did you ever consider going yellow/amber?

And really interesting mount of the light bars. I've had a handful pulled up that I've been deciding between. I've been looking at putting a pair of 11" bars in that same location- except mounted behind the plastic grills. Did you ever consider that, and did you mount directly into your bumper? I'm thinking about making those bars white flood, and going amber in the fogs. Which bars did you go with?

I used these LEDs for high beams. No drl flicker, pretty bright: Amazon product ASIN B07T1LCZB7

I went with the DD Luxeon fog lights because I really liked their pattern. I did have to reverse the polarity to get them to work, but have been really impressed with their pattern and how it compliments the projector beam's pattern. The only nit has been the color temp doesn't match exactly, but I really can't complain.

I installed LED lights for both the projector low beams and the reflector DRL/high beams with the anti-flicker. They are working really well. Will post pictures of the pattern and output soon.

I mounted the light bars directly to the bumper. I added some reinforcement with additional plastic strips and washers to minimize stress risers. The only thing is that adjusting the angle of the bars has been a bit of a pain, since I have to remove the bumper and unscrew the bars to access the adjustment screws. I also decided to cut out the screen instead of mounting behind for a few reasons. First, the part of the screen I cut out was the solid piece and thus I am blocking a portion of the original airflow and not all of it as when mounting behind. Second, the mounting area when I cut the screen seems to be more robust and decreased the leverage point the mounting bolt might have from the vertical potion of the bumper. I hope this offers less movement and a more secure hold. Lastly, I like the look of the light bar in the location and didn't feel the need to hide them.

As far as the bars, I went with these: Amazon product ASIN B07VHPJN4D
I found their flood/spot configuration interesting. They are inexpensive enough that if I have to change them in the future, I really don't mind. Additionally, next year I will probably get a new front bumper and might need to change the setup as allowed by the bumper.

 

[Rust Cohle]

View attachment 2445150

Things are little dusty, but the build is coming along. The lights have been installed and so have the Victory rock sliders. The lift is pretty nice and looking forward to testing it out next weekend.

Wondering whether to get the Expedition One rear bumper with a single swing or the Metal Tech Lance bumper. Any opinions as to the pros of each?

How are the 285's with the Ironman lift? Any major modifications required to avoid rubbing?

 

[Tquiroz]

How are the 285's with the Ironman lift? Any major modifications required to avoid rubbing?

The 285's are great. There was a bit of plastic removal and manipulation with the heat gun, including mudflaps, to get rid of the rubbing. Have not cut into any of the bodywork.

 

[Tquiroz]

Cool! You and I have very similar lighting goals. I've got some questions for you about that!

Why did you go with the DD Luxeon fogs over Fog Light LEDs for 2010-2013 Lexus GX460 (pair) or Fog Light HID Conversion Kit for 2010-2016 Lexus GX460 Did you ever consider going yellow/amber?

And really interesting mount of the light bars. I've had a handful pulled up that I've been deciding between. I've been looking at putting a pair of 11" bars in that same location- except mounted behind the plastic grills. Did you ever consider that, and did you mount directly into your bumper? I'm thinking about making those bars white flood, and going amber in the fogs. Which bars did you go with?

I used these LEDs for high beams. No drl flicker, pretty bright: Amazon product ASIN B07T1LCZB7

Here are the DRL

Low beams only

Low beams and fog lights

High beams

 

[Rust Cohle]

The 285's are great. There was a bit of plastic removal and manipulation with the heat gun, including mudflaps, to get rid of the rubbing. Have not cut into any of the bodywork.

Thanks. There may be other stuff you are doing that I will have to keep my eye on.

 

[Tquiroz]

The Metaltech Lancer bumper arrived.

Hard at work on the front end.

Temporarily added some seat gap organizers. Used some double sided tape to see if I like them since they are not held by the seat. If I like them, I will screw them in permanently. Need to make sure they don't interfere with the movement with the seat, especially for smaller people since I have the seats all the way back.

 

[Tquiroz]

Seat gap filler was a bust. It was too wide for comfort. Will try other location or type.