Builds 2010 gx460 CO build thread (1 Viewer)

[shutupkaren]

Never did a build thread before. Had a 01 Cherokee that I built up over the years and had a lot of fun with, but never really took the time to document, so I thought this would be fun. Also, I'm much more hesitant to take a sawzall and hammer to my GX than the XJ, so I'm receptive to advice!

I'm the 2nd owner, this vehicle lived its whole life in FL. There's 130K on the clock, but according to lexusdrivers.com, it was serviced just about every 5K miles in addition to every single factory scheduled maintenance. Apparently 130K on these things is hardly broken in, so I went for it. I had the vehicle shipped, and there were some discrepancies between what the dealer advertised and what I received. As we're working those out, I immediately had to swap out a cracked and dry rotted tire with the spare. When I took it to get the wheels balanced, the tech noted that the spare was 7 years old, another tire was 3 years old and two others were a year old. So off they all went and on went 275/65/18 Ultraterrains:

I really dig the look and feel of the tires. As other folks have mentioned, they look beefier in person. Butttttt, I'm getting some rubbing, especially from above, when I turn the wheels one way or another pitched down a slope.

I was considering taking off the mud flaps and hit everything with a heat gun, but then I noticed some minor rubbing on the control arms. My assumption is minor rubbing on road= more rubbing off road? Or does this look manageable? I'm not opposed to pulling off the running boards or trimming the bumper a bit, but didn't think I'd be chopping into this vehicle within the first week of ownership.
I wasn't planning on a lift for another year, and even then I was only thinking 1.5" or so. So I think I'm going to swap them out with 265/65/18s. I found a great deal on Wildpeak At3s in that size, but my concern is they're only SL- 4 ply.

My gut feeling is with a vehicle this weight, loaded with gear and/or hauling a raft, and living in the rough and rocky southwest, I -really- should stick with 10 ply? True? Or would 4 ply be fine?

My goal is to keep this relatively clean. I'm a realtor, so once we're done with this unscheduled apocalypse, I'll have clients in the vehicle, but it will also get us up into the mountains and out in the desert, so I need off road reliability. My wife is also under the impression I got her a Lexus, so there's that...

I ordered one of those cupholder inserts to make the cupholders usable. Dealer is supposed to be shipping me a full set of Weathertec mats to make things right. I ordered some 9011 highbeam bulbs that's supposed to bump up lumens. I think I need to turn the exhaust down or away so I don't melt bike tires on the bike rack, or anything in the raft trailer. Living in the mountains, extra light is nice, so I was going to see what my option is to upgrade the fogs (or swap them to a dedicated amber fog color) and add an additional set of auxiliary lights up front- lotta deer playing frogger out here.

Lift and sliders in the future, maybe new wheels. This vehicle could have more get up and go, so I was considering that pedal commander thing and a tune.

 

[r2m]

Considering you're running factory wheels, you may want to consider some wheel spacers. That may help with some of the rubbing, but if you go full compression at full wheel lock, you will probably still have rubbing until you add some lift.

 

[shutupkaren]

I had about 3 sessions with a heat gun on the fender trim and I think I squared away 95% of the rubbing. Just to make sure, I took it up a local bumpy road. It's mellow enough to get to the summit in 2wd, but still bumpy enough to have to pick a line here and there. Gotta say, the gx460 ride jostles. It was much bumpier than going up in a handful of other vehicles I've done it in- I felt bounced around more. And my back was more sore. It climbed up the pass with ease, and It felt like I could do the whole thing in a slow crawl, vs having to keep momentum to keep traction like my xj, that was nice. But bumpier. I didn't air down, and the local discount is notorious for over inflating tires, so there's that. But now I'm wondering if a lift is worth considering sooner than later..

I played around with the DAC heading back down- considering the vehicle spent it's entire life in FL, I wondered if this was the firs time this vehicle was put into DAC. And geeeez that's a wretched sound. Makes me wonder if it's worth installing the multi terrain set up?

I saw a guy on the gxor FB page mention a tune, 20-30hp/30_ tq. Seems like it might be worth it. Considering a magnaflow exhaust? Throatier sound and a few extra horses?

 

[Tex68w]

DAC and CC both make the horrid braking noises, there's no way around it, that's simply how the system works. Personally I don't think CC is worth the investment especially if you aren't hitting extremely rugged and advanced trails. It's nice to have all of the nanny systems but it's also more advantageous to learn how to drive without them IMHO. And in the future I'd recommend airing down, it'll be a game changer not only in regards to traction but also for the ride quality in that kind fo terrain.

 

[Armed in Utah]

on my '11 GX

I went from '18's to 17's Goodyear UT's

LT 265-70x17.....meaning had to buy 5 tires/wheels

Then of course spare didn't fit under......

Receiver style tire carrier came next

Rub.....? very slight full lock......No SL or P rated on my trucks...

I did do the IM 2" lift too though.....along with IM bumper

Muff swap ? Flowmaster Delta 50 on this too

 

[shutupkaren]

DAC and CC both make the horrid braking noises, there's no way around it, that's simply how the system works. Personally I don't think CC is worth the investment especially if you aren't hitting extremely rugged and advanced trails. It's nice to have all of the nanny systems but it's also more advantageous to learn how to drive without them IMHO. And in the future I'd recommend airing down, it'll be a game changer not only in regards to traction but also for the ride quality in that kind fo terrain.

Nanny systems hit the nail on the head. Coming from a jeep, I'm a mix of amused and intrigued by all of these systems. I like the idea of the additional tech for winter/snow driving. Living in sw CO, there's plenty of opportunity to gear down and try to not ride brakes going down passes, so I'm kinda into the DAC. Although it makes such an uncomfortable noise. It seemed like knocking the shifter over into sport, and manually downshifting between the first two gears worked equally as well. Between atrac and the locking diff, maybe MTS isn't that important to me.

I just checked today, all tires are at 40psi cold. That seems pretty high to me, even for daily driving. I'm thinking about lowering them to 35?

I just realized the deficiency of the crossbars, no clearance! So I ordered some Yakima EZ riders. Deciding between 48 or 58" bars, I think 48" should do the trick.

Reading through the maintenance logs, I realized that the spark plugs have never been changed! (130K miles). I asked my mechanic to do that during his inspection this week. I imagine a new set will help with mpg and get up and go. I used to be a fan of K&N filters, but not so much anymore. Wondering if swapping in a magnaflow would be worth it.

 

[shutupkaren]

Dobinsons IMS or save $450 and go twintube??

It seems like twintube would be fine- folks have been running them for years now, while the IMS just came out. But I'm hearing that IMS goes beyond improving just offroad capability, but improves on road -daily driving- too. I don't need the greatest and best, but if the difference is that big, I'd rather buy once and cry once. With 131K on the original suspension, I suspect it's worn out as it feels a bit sloppy at highway speeds, along with the jarring offroad ride. I did drop psi to 35, which helped. But it looks like I'll be lifting sooner than later.

 

[Mena661]

If you got the cash I'd probably spring for the Dobinsons IMS. I just didn't want to have to deal with rebuilds in my instance and the twin tube's are cheap enough that I can just buy a replacement if I need it.

 

[shutupkaren]

I heard talk of the deficiency of the stock crossbars, but didn't really understand at first glance. Then once I went to put a paddleboard up there, I realize there was minimal clearance between the rails and the roof (and XM radio antenna). That meant no yakima roofbox or canoe either.

I heard that the Yakima EZ Riders fit our rails pretty well, so I found a set of them and some 48" crossbars, and they seem to do the trick. There's just a bit of extra wind noise, but nothing noticeable with the sunroof closed and the radio bumpin.

I'm hardly rubbing now, and turns out my suspension is still in pretty good condition. I guess you don't flex it out that often living in FL....

I'm going to look into lighting upgrades next. I had ordered the 9011 High beam upgrades, but since I saw some solid reviews over on club lexus of these LED upgrades that plug and play with no DRL flicker, so thinking returning the unopened 9011s and going that route.

For fogs, I think I'd like to swap out the stock fogs with amber fogs using this adapter from Metaltech, and then getting a pair of spot/flood 3x3 pods or 6" bars to put behind the grill next to the stock fogs. That way I'll have amber fogs with lowbeams for winter, and I'll have a set of extra "white" light on demand to go with the high beams for other use. It's dark out here in SW colorado.

I've been eyeing my bumpers for a trim too..... I know I can do it and make it look good enough, but once you trim, you can't go back...

 

[shutupkaren]

Had the GX into my mechanic for the 2nd time to hunt down that steering wheel vibe/flutter. I've had these Ultraterrains balanced 3 times now, and the last time the roadforced all of them and swapped a tire out. My old lifted XJ cherokee and current TJ ride smoother than this vehicle still. Mechanic had driven it, felt the issue, and still couldn't find anything after checking ujoints, driveshaft, suspension and rotors. He thinks its the tires, so looks like I'll be swapping in a new set of tires, probably not the ultraterrains. 10ply KO2s rode really smooth on my cherokee so I'm tempted to go back to them. Lot's of people like those Falkens though..

 

[Acrad]

There is a TSB for steering wheel flutter. Technically includes my VIN but I've never felt it.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/gx-2nd-gen-2010-present/476664d1534367309-2010-2012-gx-what-to-look-for-l-sb-0020-12.pdf

 

[shutupkaren]

I saw that, I emailed to mechanic and ill ask him about it when I pick up the vehicle tomorrow.

He also says there's no way warped rotors would cause vibes outside of braking, which i would have typically agreed with until hearing about the success of replacing the rotors in this case.

 

[Tex68w]

I know the Falkens are popular but I'm not a fan. My father and BIL both had bad experiences with them and I don't find them all that attractive, just my two cents.

 

[Acrad]

If it is the steering rack it is one of those cheap $3 parts but 4 hours labor.

 

[shutupkaren]

I know the Falkens are popular but I'm not a fan. My father and BIL both had bad experiences with them and I don't find them all that attractive, just my two cents.

My mechanic isn't a big fan of them either, he's a bfg guy. Which is funny cause the guy at discount doesn't like bfg, reccomends the falkens, says the problems I'm potentially having with the duratracs sound like the problems they've had with ko2s. At this point, I feel like I should go with bfg just because I've had prior good experience with them.

Is there a way to tell if that TSB will fix steering flutter, or just do it and hope?

 

[GreenbowCounty]

I have run KOs for forever and never had cupping or issues. Only had two incidents where I slid out but one was ice and the other was taking a corner too damn quickly. In both cases, no weight in the back and taller than stock suspension.

I wasn’t aware of the vibration but haven’t experienced it either.

My mechanic isn't a big fan of them either, he's a bfg guy. Which is funny cause the guy at discount doesn't like bfg, reccomends the falkens, says the problems I'm potentially having with the duratracs sound like the problems they've had with ko2s. At this point, I feel like I should go with bfg just because I've had prior good experience with them.

Is there a way to tell if that TSB will fix steering flutter, or just do it and hope?

 

[Tex68w]

I am a BFG fan as well but I also like some Toyo products too.

 

[GreenbowCounty]

I am a BFG fan as well but I also like some Toyo products too.

Toyo through its Nitto line has definitely made some inroads in the light truck industry. Similar to how Michelin has done so well with BFG.

 

[jmanscotch]

For bigger tire clearance on the front bumper, there's a single 10mm bolt just forward of that little "mud flap", if you drill a hole about 2 inches closer to the tire that it currently is and shift that plastic forward and reinstall the bolt, it provides enough clearance for my 285/75R17s. Also, one of the previous owners of my rig put LED fog lights in, not sure which ones, and they offer quite a bit of extra low-down light in the mountains. I'll also second with TX said; airing down off road is one of the best bang-for-buck ways to improve your ride quality. I'm about to buy a Powertank setup just for this reason. You can run something like an ARB on-board air compressor for about the same money. I offroad 10-20 times a year and the 15 lb Powertank setup should only need refilled once a year with that use and thus it's a more reliable option for me.

Regarding tires, here's another persons 2 cents:

I have and like my Falken WildPeaks. Had them through the tail end of winter and they did well, about 5K miles on them so far and zero complaints. I bought mine on Amazon and had Discount install them, specifically because that's the only place I could find them in 6 ply/C-load range. I would've looked at other tires if I didn't have the 6 ply version as an option.

I've had mixed experiences with K02. On my work truck, they're amazing year-round and I've had a few winters and one summer on them. On personal vehicles, I never thought they were good, low wet traction and more like all-season performance in the winter. Not sure why the discrepancy. The rubber compound on my work truck ones seems softer but with what I know, that shouldn't be a thing. I also had nightmares with balancing them on a few different personal rigs.

Goodyear Duratracs are a phenomenal winter all-terrain and good off road but I'd never buy them again, too soft and constant cupping/wear issues.

I ran Hankook Dynapro ATMs, with the more square shoulder, on my Tacoma for 4 years and loved those as well. Great winter traction, great wear, good ride and good enough for the offroading I do. We even put some on the wifes RAV4 and they do amazing over mountain passes in winter and year round.

 

[r2m]

I have the ARB twin compressor, on-board and it works great as long as I don't air down to 15 psi and/or re-inflate to 65 psi. I have the "LT" BFG M/T's and they're rated up to 85 psi, but in never go that high. I'd feel like I was on solid tire and probably rattle my teeth out at that pressure.
Anyways back to my point... Boy, can I rabbit trail!!
The ARB is great airing up to about 50 psi, but trying to do 4 tires with much more pressure without letting the compressor cool down, will take a looonnnng time.
I know it says that these compressors are 100% duty cycle, which basically means they will not over heat and shut down. But their psi output will significantly drop.
I'm actually thinking of getting a tank myself. After a long day of wheeling or foul weather, I don't look forward to squatting by each tire for 15 minutes to get up to 65 psi when a SCUBA tank can have it done in about 4 minutes/tire. (Actually, I usually just fill up to 50 psi and call it done till I get home.)
I've read, not sure where, but these twin compressors will shut down on compressor to let it cool down and then switch, so essentially you're only getting air from one compressor then they hot. I guess that's their solution to keeping the "100% duty cycle" rating.