crawl control system

[cirquare]

hi all
I am new here and need some advice.
I am thinking to get gx460. so I am wondering how important is crawl control function ? I know it is good to have but it is actually hard to find a gx460 come with crawl control.

(I have 2 kids and would love to explore some national park trail )

thanks!

 

[TRD83]

Google search is your friend:

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread.php?31398-Kakadu-vs-GXL-KDSS-amp-CRAWL-Benefits

And if you are concerned with anything beyond floor mats or oil changes, its usually beneficial to search for the "Prado 150" rather than "Lexus GX460."

 

[titanpat57]

Crawl control is all right...with a little practice and some experience I doubt you'll use it much....same thing with "terrain select"

 

[cirquare]

hi thanks for reply!!
so what's make prado150/gx460 off road capable? just because kdss , low range and central differential and v8?

 

[OG 91 LC]

Hey fellas. I'm over in the 80s section, but I have been very tempted to purchase a GX 460. The one GX 460 that I passed on a few weeks ago was a 2010 with 33K miles and all the options including crawl control. I posted my thoughts on the 80s tech section and most chimed in that crawl control is not the same as the diff locks some 80 series are equipped with. So………. my question to you all is this:

Would it be better to buy a GX 460 with the crawl control? Or pass on the crawl control and buy a vehicle that does not have this feature and add ARB air lockers?

Way more questions are on my mine about these vehicles and their capabilities.

It wouldn't be worth the trouble to add ARB air locks if the rest of the vehicle is not up to the challenge for some off-road trials.

What do you say 460 owners???

 

[Jetboy]

I was on the fence between a GX460 and a 4runner and bought the 4runner for a number of reasons - primarily that our Lexus dealer in Utah is HORRIBLE - so bad that I swore I'd never own another Lexus, but then my wife ended up with another one - RX350 we bought in another state- with a caveat that it gets serviced at Toyota, not the Lexus dealer.

That said, I have a '15 4runner Trail with crawl control, so I can comment to some degree. If you're serious about offroading none of these are what you want - they're all tanks. The 4runner is not light by any means, but still weighs in around 800lbs lighter than the GX = better offroad, but no heated steering wheel. Also the 4runner trail seats fold down about 10" lower than the GX460 or 4runner limited (which has basically the same interior as the GX with rear seats that don't fold all the way down). And being 800ish lbs lighter, the highway performance is a lot closer than you might think with the v6 - about 0.5 seconds to 60 slower. Road noise is comparable - both are very quiet.

As for lockers vs crawl control - I'll take mechanical lockers any day. No matter how good traction control is, it's not as good at going the last mile offroad as real lockers, but it might be better at cruising around logging roads. The reason is that crawl control still requires wheel slip to engage, and that means you've lost static friction and now have kinetic friction on the tire that slips. Static friction is much greater in most situations than kinetic friction. So with crawl control you can achieve essentially the maximum static friction on the tire with most traction and kinetic friction with the other. With a locker you can get the absolute maximum static friction from both tires on the axle. So for me, ARBs would be my choice over crawl control - or any other traction control system.

As far as the cruise control functionality, low range in 1st gear does a pretty good job. It's not as good as a manual transmission for maintaining steady speed over rough obstacles, but does a good enough job that I don't think you need crawl control. You might find that the atrac system and low range is good enough without lockers for anywhere you're realistically going to try to go in a 5,500lb luxury suv.

Finally - I'd start by adding a winch if it were me. Then find out if it goes where you want. If not, start building to be what you want. No crawl control wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

 

[WyoCruiser]

I agree with Jetboy: " You might find that the atrac system and low range is good enough without lockers for anywhere you're realistically going to try to go in a 5,500lb luxury suv." A couple of Cruise Moabs with good instruction showed me that a stock GX or 4Runner(A-TRAC) did just fine. Training, skids and sliders were more important than electronics. A little experience/training with folks in a local TLCA club is more important than extra bells and whistles, cheaper and a lot more fun for the whole family.

PS we had a '13 Trail with all the "bells and whistles" and tried "them", but never needed or used them beyond experimentation several times.

 

[OG 91 LC]

Ok. I'm being super lazy now and not using the search option.

So……… does ARB make air lockers to fit the GX 460/4Run model???
Does anyone know if any modifications have to be made for the GX 460 model if air lockers are available???

 

[Jetboy]

Yes ARBs are available - same ones for the Land Cruiser Prado and 4runner, and yes you need to modify the diff carrier to port the air tube out, plus all of the other install stuff. ARBs aren't plug and play by any means.

 

[titanpat57]

On the 4Runner Trail with stock rear locker, ATrac and good AT tires, you'll really get to go where you want. If you want to get crazy, you throw a front ARB locker in. The bigger stumbling block is ground clearance, being you can only raise it 3" and put 33's on it.

It has great trail manners, is very nimble, and very, very capable. It's not an 80....but it sure is a good truck.

Just an FYI...if you're looking to make a trail capable truck, KDSS brings a bunch of different problems mounting armor and accessories due to lines. Those that do have it say it make a handling difference on the road though....but I found once I switched over to a E-rated AT tire...all my handling issues went bye-bye.

 

[Footwork]

Crawl control is where it's going baby!

 

[adam2562]

Crawl control is all right...with a little practice and some experience I doubt you'll use it much....same thing with "terrain select"

i've used mine here and there on my 4runner (new here! hi guys!) when i tell ppl about it.. i tell them about one time up against a big tree root on a steep up hill. i just couldnt get over it.. i said.. what the heck.. lets try crawl control.. and sure enough almost immediately i got right up it to my surprise.. my friends call it "cheating"


here's my rig!

 

[Jetboy]

After having it for a few years now and lots of trail miles - crawl is handy for fatigue. If you're spending an entire day on a tough trail at low speed - it's awesome. For the same reason you use cruise control on the highway. You can just dial it in and let it do it's thing while you chat with your crew or pay more attention to the scenery. I know that may sound lazy. But when you're day 3 into a long trail ride, it really is pretty darn handy to have. Enough so that this came up when I was looking for more info about which GX460 models have it because it's something I want to have. It's not a "must have" but definitely a "want".

 

[Safetyman]

I have a '16 4Runner Trail and found the following in my offroading:

1. ATRAC really does a lot of the work when in 4LO. I rarely found the need to lock the rear.
2. I agree that the terrain select is cute but not necessary unless inexperienced.
3. CRAWL rocks on loose downhill terrain. Does an excellent job of maintaining my speed with minimal wheel slip so I can find a safer line down. And if you miss your line, the plastic pays the price. (See my new fascia, below.)

The Trail Edition is such a beast though and makes up for my lack of experience.