Fjfar80 Build Thread - LX570 (1 Viewer)

[fjfar80]

Mudders -

Well I suppose at some point, for those of you who know me, this thread was inevitable. On Friday (11/13/20) I picked up a 2015 LX570, CPO and worked in a 2-year extension to the 2-year / 20,000 mile maintenance / warranty program. I have been hunting (and that is the right word) for a 200 Series for the last several years and had a few specifics - Under 75k miles, less than 5 years old, and had to be gray. I have been scouring the internet for both Land Cruisers and LX570s, so when this one popped up literally down the street...I had to jump. My friend at Lexus called me and told me it was traded in on a new 2020...I literally said, "it's mine I will be there in 30 minutes".

The specifics:

2015 LX570 just under 75,000 miles, Nebula Gray Pearl exterior and Parchment interior. Date of first use was March 2, 2015 and while it was just over 5-years old, everything else was perfect. Options are: 2Q, LL, ML, PA, RS, V2, and V4. The truck was in perfect shape:

Requisite Side Shot:

Interior Shots Showing Excellent Condition:

Carpet was spotless in all locations:

I always check the crevices - that tells the story of the vehicle:

Next to the 100 Series:

So, what is planned for the LX570? Well, this is going to be my daily as the 100 Series is going to be reserved for fun trips and teaching with 7P; as such, the "build" will be pretty mild...or at least that is what I have told my lovely bride.

As of today, I have ordered the following:

1. Trail Tailor Hidden Winch Mount
2. Warn 9.5XPS
3. Factor 55 Hawse Fairlead
4. BFG AT KO2 - 285/55/20
5. ARB Recovery Points
6. ARB Rear Drawers

I may add an OEM spacer to the front and back but, we will see. Next up will probably be Slee sliders but, we will see how it does with the new shoes. I will update this thread with installs, additions, and trips.

Cheers.

- Mark

 

[mike552]

Congrats. Beautiful truck. I also have a 2015 that I pucked up last year with 65k on the clock. I love it and am very happy with my purchase. Mine is Parchment over Silver... I would have gotten the NGP but That was my last Lexus ride and wanted aomething different, but yours is a fantastic color combo!

 

[bozncsurf]

Interior is immaculate! Like showroom immaculate - And that’s a hard color to maintain! It was pampered to say the least.

Always love to hear the previous owner traded in for a newer version.

subscribed.

btw - do you have a 100 build?

 

[fjfar80]

November 22, 2020 Update:

I had 285/55/20 BFG AT KO2s installed on Friday and this reinforces my opinion that BFG ATs should come stock on Land Cruisers / LXs. They definitely increase the "planted" feeling of the vehicle. I'm running 42 PSI, had no issue fitting the spare, and they balanced out really well with just a few ounces on each. We immediately road-tripped on Saturday and knocked out 500 miles, smooth as silk.

Requisite Side Shot:

Great Fit:

Spare Tire Fitment:

 

[mike552]

Tires look great.
Stupid question, but is that the “correct” way to mount the spare?

 

[Hatteras]

Good looking car!

 

[tbisaacs]

Tires look great.
Stupid question, but is that the “correct” way to mount the spare?

Mine is mounted "face-up" which makes it a pain if the spare ever needs air. Not sure if there is a "correct" way.

 

[fjfar80]

Tires look great.
Stupid question, but is that the “correct” way to mount the spare?

Good question, I've always mounted mine that way so I can clean it during car washings and check air pressure without having to lower it. I'm not sure if there is a factory correct way, I'll look at the manual.

 

[04UZJ100]

Factory correct is wheel face up.

 

[fjfar80]

December 11, 2020 Update:

Well, once a few parts arrived I decided to tackle the hidden winch installation on the LX. Parts for this adventure were as follows:

1. Trail Tailor XL570 Hidden Winch Mount
2. Warn 9.5XPS w/Remote
3. Factor 55 Hawse Fairlead 1.5"
4. Factor 55 Flatlink
5. Factor 55 Flatlink Rope Guard
6. Blue Sea Systems Manual Battery Switch 3002 Series
7. Panel Removal Tools

The installation is pretty straight forward and there is a great YouTube video, showing the process step-by-step, created by GarageBox. Tools needed are as follows:

1. Torx 27
2. 10mm through 16mm sockets
3. Ratchet (pneumatic, electric, and / or manual)
4. Reciprocating tool (plastic and metal cut-off blades)
5. Hydraulic wire crimper
6. Battery / welding cable
7. Battery terminals
8. Zipties

The first step is really to disassemble the front of the vehicle. It's a pretty easy process if you take your time and mark the bolts, clips, screws, etc. that you remove. Once the front of the vehicle is removed, it's as simple as removing the energy foam, frame-ends, and aluminum crash bar. Once those items are removed, it's easy to mount the Trail Tailor hidden winch mount.

Front Disassembled w/Trail Tailor Mount and Winch Installed:

I'd recommend not securing the winch to the mount until you have everything installed, test fitted, and wiring properly ran. This will allow you to move the winch around a little as needed prior to securing the winch to the mount.

I mounted the XPS with the remote transceiver in place, this required "modifying" the front valance support bar. I marked the bar and allowed for a 1/4" off space around prior to cutting with the reciprocating tool. Once cut, I deburred the edges, sanded, and primed and painted to minimize the chances of corrosion.

Once everything was wired, mounted, and test-fitted it was time to modify the front bumper valance to accept the hawse fairlead. This was a trial and error process and basically required test-fitting, marking, and cutting. I ended up cutting a little wider than the fairlead required to allow room for my fingers to clean out any debris that may find themselves behind the fairlead. I wanted this ability to avoid any debris being wound into the spool during winch operations which could lead to winch line damage. I have just enough room to be able to clear out anything behind the fairlead.

I have ordered some c-channel trim to put around the areas I cut on the valance. This will trim the whole thing out and button it up from a presentation perspective.

 

[fjfar80]

A few additional pictures of the installation:

I wrapped the winch cables and routed them cleanly behind the winch and up to the battery. Everything was secured by zipties. I mounted the Blue Sea Systems switch in-between the winch and the positive battery terminal to allow for a manual cut-off. I have always done this on my winch installations to ensure someone cannot short my winch out or do anything nefarious without accessing the battery switch (which is hidden).

By removing the aluminum crash bar you lose a few mounts for the valance and lower trim pieces. I used zipties attached to the winch mount to hold everything in place where mounts were missing.

Ziptie mount location, don't mind the rust...this is on my to-do list - brush, prime, paint. The truck is rust free other than these front hook mounts - I believe the salt / sand used during the winter just attacks these two exposed areas aggresively.

The fairlead, Flatlink, and Rope Protector only stick out about 3.5" from the front of the bumper:

All-in-all a pretty clean installation and provides some self-recovery capability.

 

[tbisaacs]

I cut the middle out of that grill support when installing my bullbar - it made reaching the winch much easier. No problems with the grill sagging etc. I did leave the bracket in place to support headlights.

 

[radman]

What did you guys do with your crashbars? I need to toss mine or try to sell it (if it has any value).

 

[TeCKis300]

Nicely done and thanks for putting this guide together. Gotta give props to the video link too. Wonder if the GarageBox dude is on these forums as he has a sweet rig.

The only thing I'm disappointed in with the TT mount is the loss of the crashbar for smaller overlap accidents. It's probably not a priority for everyone. I guess if I were to do such a thing, it would be easy enough to modify and weld on extensions to the HWM for that protection.

@tbisaacs, got a pic of your finished setup?

 

[TeCKis300]

Curious, anyone know how much stock weight is taken off between the crashbar and horns?

 

[fjfar80]

What did you guys do with your crashbars? I need to toss mine or try to sell it (if it has any value).

I tossed mine, I seriously contemplated cutting it and making brackets to attach to the hidden winch mount but, scratched the idea. Here is my rationale. The crash bar is basically designed for the 5mph test and the pedestrian leg-hit test (to the best of my knowledge) and to provide rigidity to the front valance / bumper cover. So, while I lose the side support - the center is still protected and supported. The winch mount is mounted to the frame directly and will certainly distribute an impact to the frame...I am not an engineer but, I would think that the winch mount will hold up well to a 5mph impact. That leaves side support for the bumper missing...I lost about 10" on each side. That means I would have to cut the crash bar and then somehow create a new mounting system to the winch mount (which it is not designed for). I started doing the math and the numbers added-up quickly to an ARB front bumper. So, I tossed it.

- Mark

 

[fjfar80]

Curious, anyone know how much stock weight is taken off between the crashbar and horns?

I would guess approximately 35lbs - I didn't weight everything but, I would say that the winch and line is the only "extra" weight added. The Trail Tailor mount probably nets pretty close to the aluminum crash bar, the foam, and the frame horns...maybe 10lbs or 15lbs more.

- Mark

 

[radman]

Curious, anyone know how much stock weight is taken off between the crashbar and horns?

Which parts are the “horns”?
29 lbs for my crash bar and foam (it’s balanced on the scale - not touching the floor)

 

[TeCKis300]

Looks like you got it all there including the horns, referring to the steel legs of the crash bar use to attach to the frames. Thanks!

I tossed mine, I seriously contemplated cutting it and making brackets to attach to the hidden winch mount but, scratched the idea. Here is my rationale. The crash bar is basically designed for the 5mph test and the pedestrian leg-hit test (to the best of my knowledge) and to provide rigidity to the front valance / bumper cover. So, while I lose the side support - the center is still protected and supported. The winch mount is mounted to the frame directly and will certainly distribute an impact to the frame...I am not an engineer but, I would think that the winch mount will hold up well to a 5mph impact. That leaves side support for the bumper missing...I lost about 10" on each side. That means I would have to cut the crash bar and then somehow create a new mounting system to the winch mount (which it is not designed for). I started doing the math and the numbers added-up quickly to an ARB front bumper. So, I tossed it.

- Mark

I would agree and have no qualms about a full frontal crash with the HWM setup.

The 200-series was designed prior to the small overlap tests. As such, it would likely not fare well anyhow as the aluminum crash bar wings, as wide as they are, still don't go wide enough. Sorry if I'm taking this on a tangent, but the purpose of the crash bar wings is for more than just a small hit. For rural highways without center dividers, high speed partial and small overlap head on crashes are not atypical. Without crash structure forward of the wheel, the impact forces go into the wheel and immediately transfer to the floorboard and passenger cell. Creating high likelihood of passenger leg injuries or worse. Peripheral bumper structures help to deflect, absorb, and translate some of the forces into the crumple zone of the crash structure ahead of the passenger cell.

Which is my conundrum - is it better to have winch protection for off-road situations which are largely discretionary vs on-road crash protection for freak accidents beyond my control?

The related architecture Tundra even with crash bar in place, did poorly on small overlap crash tests.

Toyota Tundra Gets Lowest Rating In IIHS Crash Test, Loses Consumer Reports Recommendation

The IIHS gave the Toyota Tundra a 'poor' rating after the latest series of crash tests. Meanwhile, the Ford F-150 was one of three pickup trucks that received a 'good' grading from the highway safety regulator.

www.techtimes.com

 

[tbisaacs]

Nicely done and thanks for putting this guide together. Gotta give props to the video link too. Wonder if the GarageBox dude is on these forums as he has a sweet rig.

The only thing I'm disappointed in with the TT mount is the loss of the crashbar for smaller overlap accidents. It's probably not a priority for everyone. I guess if I were to do such a thing, it would be easy enough to modify and weld on extensions to the HWM for that protection.

@tbisaacs, got a pic of your finished setup?

here ya go @TeCKis300

The grill support attaches to the body via an L-shaped bracket. I left that plus enough of the support to hold the headlight. It’s rock solid.

Here Is a shot before I cut. You can see that the grill support makes accessing the winch clutch really difficult: