Apologies in advance for all of the forthcoming questions..... (1 Viewer)

[JBR14]

I am picking up a 2015 GX this week. Nothing special about it. As a result, I am sure I will be searching these forums and asking a ton of questions. My plans are mainly for aesthetics and some mild off roading. I have had around 55 or so cars in my life, but this will be first Lexus. Currently I have a 04 4R that is / was my daily. This will be replacing that. I also have a 95 Eddie Bauer Bronco that is more of a trailer queen at this point. I am also in the process of restoring a 67 F100 SWB and stuffing a coyote into it. With all that said, one thing I have not been able to find a definitive answer on, is at what point are UCA's needed? I presume its subjective. My plan is to do an OME, Eibach or something similar 2" lift and install 285 70's. I have no desire to do all of the cutting that 35's require. Realistically, I am not sure if 285s will fit with a 2inch lift and not a ton of cutting. I plan to search on this forum and find out.

The car I am picking up is, a 2015 Premium. White with black interior. 100K miles, and I was told that the valley plate repair was completed by Lexus. I should be getting that paperwork when I pick up the car. I am in the Dallas area, and will probably have Tandem in North Richland Hills install the lift as I have never messed with KDSS before.

Thanks for being patient in the future as I bombard you guys with questions.

 

[xychromosome]

I am picking up a 2015 GX this week. Nothing special about it. As a result, I am sure I will be searching these forums and asking a ton of questions. My plans are mainly for aesthetics and some mild off roading. I have had around 55 or so cars in my life, but this will be first Lexus. Currently I have a 04 4R that is / was my daily. This will be replacing that. I also have a 95 Eddie Bauer Bronco that is more of a trailer queen at this point. I am also in the process of restoring a 67 F100 SWB and stuffing a coyote into it. With all that said, one thing I have not been able to find a definitive answer on, is at what point are UCA's needed? I presume its subjective. My plan is to do an OME, Eibach or something similar 2" lift and install 285 70's. I have no desire to do all of the cutting that 35's require. Realistically, I am not sure if 285s will fit with a 2inch lift and not a ton of cutting. I plan to search on this forum and find out.

The car I am picking up is, a 2015 Premium. White with black interior. 100K miles, and I was told that the valley plate repair was completed by Lexus. I should be getting that paperwork when I pick up the car. I am in the Dallas area, and will probably have Tandem in North Richland Hills install the lift as I have never messed with KDSS before.

Thanks for being patient in the future as I bombard you guys with questions.

Welcome to the team!

Check out Tinkerers adventure videos for info on UCAs. Short answer is, after market UCAs are not necessarily required, depending on what mods you plan to do to your suspension/wheels/tires. I have ~2" lift and 33" tires and am still on factory UCAs. Generally, the bigger the wheel and lift, and the more the wheel offset, the more likely you may need an aftermarket UCA for more adjustability for putting your wheels back into alignment.

 

[JBR14]

Welcome to the team!

Check out Tinkerers adventure videos for info on UCAs. Short answer is, after market UCAs are not necessarily required, depending on what mods you plan to do to your suspension/wheels/tires. I have ~2" lift and 33" tires and am still on factory UCAs. Generally, the bigger the wheel and lift, and the more the wheel offset, the more likely you may need an aftermarket UCA for more adjustability for putting your wheels back into alignment.

Thanks. For now, I think my setup will be similar to yours. 2 inches and 33's. I say for now, bc I am sure like most things I will start with X and it will evolve into Y, with my wife at some point saying, I thought you said you were done......

 

[xychromosome]

Thanks. For now, I think my setup will be similar to yours. 2 inches and 33's. I say for now, bc I am sure like most things I will start with X and it will evolve into Y, with my wife at some point saying, I thought you said you were done......

it never ends......

 

[r2m]

With a 2" lift AND 285/? tires, you will be needing a BMC (body mount chop/cut) You will also need to get a hot air gun and reshape some of the inner wheel well liner for the front wheels.
With a 2" lift, you're best sticking with 32", maybe 33" skinny tires.
If you're running that large of tire, might as wheel just bump up to 3" lift.
Also consider what you want to do about your spare. You may not want to keep a factory diameter spare to use with three other larger tires.
I believe a 32" spare will fit in the stock location.

 

[xychromosome]

So A BMC may not be necessary, depending on what wheel you choose. I didn't need one, however am running a wheel with +10 offset. A 0 (zero) offset wheel or more negative (plus a wheel spacer if you are using) increases your chance of needing a BMC.
Molding of plastics will def be required however!
Also, I can confirm that a 32" tire does fit underneath, with full size factory hitch. Well almost 32". I used one of my old 32s with 50k miles of wear, so the overall diameter would be a bit less.

 

[jeremy j]

Welcome and congrats. Nice knowing it already had the coolant valley repair. I would check for a radiator replacement too because that will likely fail if it hasn't already.

I have 285/70r17 on mine with about a 2" lift. No BMC. When I cut my bumper, but I had fold the liners forward and zip tie them temporarily. It's been holding for 8 months so I'm in no hurry to find a better solution. Already had sliders so I had already trimmed the side step for that. Still needed to trim the inner plastic near the body mount though.

RE: BMC, I will add that my caster is a little out of spec but it drives fine and that doesn't impact my tire wear. I'll fix that when I get around to doing the BMC. I've driven about 8K like this without any issues.

 

[JBR14]

Welcome and congrats. Nice knowing it already had the coolant valley repair. I would check for a radiator replacement too because that will likely fail if it hasn't already.

I have 285/70r17 on mine with about a 2" lift. No BMC. When I cut my bumper, but I had fold the liners forward and zip tie them temporarily. It's been holding for 8 months so I'm in no hurry to find a better solution. Already had sliders so I had already trimmed the side step for that. Still needed to trim the inner plastic near the body mount though.

RE: BMC, I will add that my caster is a little out of spec but it drives fine and that doesn't impact my tire wear. I'll fix that when I get around to doing the BMC. I've driven about 8K like this without any issues.

Thanks. Per the Carfax, the radiator was replaced at 101K miles. It has 106K on it now. I would prefer to not to a BMC, but not opposed. I wont be stuffing the tires or anything like that.

 

[Hehena]

Here comes my opinion, good luck

When lifting for bigger tires, don’t forget about driveability and ride comfort. Even a small lift benefits from UCAs for better alignment. For KDSS, consider adapters, and look into a track bar correction kit or a new pan-hard bar. Not using KDSS adapter plates or even front adjustable bushing brackets is the root cause of a lot of bumpy rigs post lift.

It’s not just about height—it’s about keeping balance.

KDSS front sway adapters
Panhard correction kit or a replacement like this

 

[JBR14]

Here comes my opinion, good luck

When lifting for bigger tires, don’t forget about driveability and ride comfort. Even a small lift benefits from UCAs for better alignment. For KDSS, consider adapters, and look into a track bar correction kit or a new pan-hard bar. Not using KDSS adapter plates or even front adjustable bushing brackets is the root cause of a lot of bumpy rigs post lift.

It’s not just about height—it’s about keeping balance.

KDSS front sway adapters
Panhard correction kit or a replacement like this

Noted. Thank you kindly.

 

[r2m]

Thanks. Per the Carfax, the radiator was replaced at 101K miles. It has 106K on it now. I would prefer to not to a BMC, but not opposed. I wont be stuffing the tires or anything like that.

As most the folks on the forum are tired of hearing me say, BMC's are kind of like having your tonsils removed. It's very common, not very expensive (note: not a lot of pain to your wallet) and any off road shop that deals with Toyota's can do it.
The only reason I'd opt for doing it sooner, than later is if you ever decide to step up in tire size, either because you want to, or have to, like myself (story time), needing to replace all 5 tires during COVID the tire I wanted, which is not an odd tire size, was not available anywhere in the U.S., so I had to bump up one tire size. Luckily I already have a lift and BMC so it wasn't a big deal.

 

[Littlehouse]

As most the folks on the forum are tired of hearing me say, BMC's are kind of like having your tonsils removed. It's very common, not very expensive (note: not a lot of pain to your wallet) and any off road shop that deals with Toyota's can do it.
The only reason I'd opt for doing it sooner, than later is if you ever decide to step up in tire size, either because you want to, or have to, like myself (story time), needing to replace all 5 tires during COVID the tire I wanted, which is not an odd tire size, was not available anywhere in the U.S., so I had to bump up one tire size. Luckily I already have a lift and BMC so it wasn't a big deal.

I’d agree with this. I have it done with my 255/70/18s and no lift in preparation of my next set of tires and lift. It’s not a big deal.

 

[Hiluxforever]

If you keep it under 2", you won't need UCAs.
Love my Bilsteins and running oem steelies.

Been running 33s for 3 years without a BMC or UCAs. I can fully stuff them and I do hit quite a few trails.

I recently descended an advanced trail here. Truck handled it like a champ.

 

[r2m]

If you keep it under 2", you won't need UCAs.
Love my Bilsteins and running oem steelies.

Been running 33s for 3 years without a BMC or UCAs. I can fully stuff them and I do hit quite a few trails.

I recently descended an advanced trail here. Truck handled it like a champ.

Just saw your video, very cool, but... Did I hear some clunk'n on the rough spot you were going over? Maybe another inch or two may have helped??

 

[Hiluxforever]

Just saw your video, very cool, but... Did I hear some clunk'n on the rough spot your were going over? Maybe another inch or two may have helped??

Whats the point of skids if you aren't making sure they are still there...