Finally, she is here... (1 Viewer)

[OllieChristopher]

It's a good thing for the OP to get different outlooks and opinions so he can make an informed decision. Regardless of what mods are going to be done, these are really nice rigs.

 

[voland]

All great advice! Am I going to test the limits of a stock GX with some AT tires? Probably not. There's less than 1% chance that Ill need it. Do I like the look, process and experience of screwing around with cars? You bet I do!

I think Im going to end up with a pretty sleeper rig. Small lift, 32" AT tires and something to help with the approach angle. I plan on keeping this rig for many many years (3rd car, midlife crisis car) so I dont see the need to go crazy out of the gate.

 

[r2m]

All great advice! Am I going to test the limits of a stock GX with some AT tires? Probably not. There's less than 1% chance that Ill need it. Do I like the look, process and experience of screwing around with cars? You bet I do!

I think Im going to end up with a pretty sleeper rig. Small lift, 32" AT tires and something to help with the approach angle. I plan on keeping this rig for many many years (3rd car, midlife crisis car) so I dont see the need to go crazy out of the gate.

May I also encourage you to consider adding skids to the entire under carriage. In the long run, it's cheap insurance.
Speaking of cheap insurance, one more little thing, think about losing the side steps and replacing them with rock sliders. Since you're going for more a stealth look, there are some out there like the Slee sliders that have a nice l stock look, except for being black but you can always paint them your body color.
The reason I encourage the rock sliders are several fold:

1. More points to jack your vehicle from.
2. Sturdier step.
3. Depending upon which style and company you go with, you can get a step that will be wider, e.g.: more/deeper area for placing your foot on.
4. Of course the occasional rock or tree.
5. And the last is a biggie that I never considered until it happened to me. I was T-Boned in a traffic accident and my rock sliders ABSOLUTELY saved me from either a bent body that may have totaled my rig or a lot more damage crushing both my passenger doors. As it turned out, only the rear passenger door needed replacing and the plastic molding strip on the front door. Never thought about how much side protection you get from them especially in a slightly raised vehicle!

Just something to think about for mods.

 

[voland]

May I also encourage you to consider adding skids to the entire under carriage. In the long run, it's cheap insurance.
Speaking of cheap insurance, one more little thing, think about losing the side steps and replacing them with rock sliders. Since you're going for more a stealth look, there are some out there like the Slee sliders that have a nice l stock look, except for being black but you can always paint them your body color.
The reason I encourage the rock sliders are several fold:

1. More points to jack your vehicle from.
2. Sturdier step.
3. Depending upon which style and company you go with, you can get a step that will be wider, e.g.: more/deeper area for placing your foot on.
4. Of course the occasional rock or tree.
5. And the last is a biggie that I never considered until it happened to me. I was T-Boned in a traffic accident and my rock sliders ABSOLUTELY saved me from either a bent body that may have totaled my rig or a lot more damage crushing both my passenger doors. As it turned out, only the rear passenger door needed replacing and the plastic molding strip on the front door. Never thought about how much side protection you get from them especially in a slightly raised vehicle!

Just something to think about for mods.

That's great advice! Ill add that to the list. I just dont want to add a ton of extra weight from the skid plates.

 

[r2m]

That's great advice! Ill add that to the list. I just dont want to add a ton of extra weight from the skid plates.

Since I didn't build my rig for rock crawling, I just went with aluminum skids. Still great protection, far better than factory, but lighter and (I think) cheaper.
Although for the rock sliders, there's just no substitution for steel.