GX460 improve highway handling? (3 Viewers)

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My wife doesn’t like the way her 2019 GX 460 base model handles. I understand it’s counterproductive to try and improve the handling of a tall, narrow, “luxury” SUV but I’m hoping there might be solutions to this that don’t require us to sell the car.

The GX serves as a family car to haul our baby and his car seat and stroller.

My wife has previously used a bmw 340i, Toyota RAV4, an LX 470, and a Porsche Macan and she preferred the handling of all of those over the GX.

Are there suspension options that can stiffen up the GX without giving it a lift? What springs and shocks can I buy without lifting the suv?

I was thinking of adding 295/45R20 tires and 20” wheels in addition to stiffer suspension. Do folks think that’d improve handling? Are there oem lexus wheels (or oem replicas) that are 20” and could accommodate a 295 tire? I despise the look of most aftermarket wheels.

I understand that we can sell the GX and get another SUV but my wife isn’t keen on doing that since we bought this not 2 months ago.

Thanks all!
 
My wife doesn’t like the way her 2019 GX 460 base model handles. I understand it’s counterproductive to try and improve the handling of a tall, narrow, “luxury” SUV but I’m hoping there might be solutions to this that don’t require us to sell the car.

The GX serves as a family car to haul our baby and his car seat and stroller.

My wife has previously used a bmw 340i, Toyota RAV4, an LX 470, and a Porsche Macan and she preferred the handling of all of those over the GX.

Are there suspension options that can stiffen up the GX without giving it a lift? What springs and shocks can I buy without lifting the suv?

I was thinking of adding 295/45R20 tires and 20” wheels in addition to stiffer suspension. Do folks think that’d improve handling? Are there oem lexus wheels (or oem replicas) that are 20” and could accommodate a 295 tire? I despise the look of most aftermarket wheels.

I understand that we can sell the GX and get another SUV but my wife isn’t keen on doing that since we bought this not 2 months ago.

Thanks all!
If handling is what you want going to a 20" wheel will help by shortening the sidewall. Look for a tire type that was on your Porsche, probably a P metric. Just remember if you plan on towing these wont be suitable up to the rated capacity of the GX. I would do that first. Look for F sport wheels, they look good.

Then see what is available for a stiffer shock. Look at Bilstiens and don't use the lift feature. Also look on the Facebook group GX460 only. Lots of folks over there installing those kinds of mods.
 
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Thanks @Washingtontaco , appreciate the pointer. I will try to find the same type of tire my wife had on the Macan and get that put on the F-Sport wheels.

We never tow anything, or go off road, so going to the F-Sport wheels should be just fine.

I’ll find the GX460 group on Facebook too.
 
Thanks @Washingtontaco , appreciate the pointer. I will try to find the same type of tire my wife had on the Macan and get that put on the F-Sport wheels.

We never tow anything, or go off road, so going to the F-Sport wheels should be just fine.

I’ll find the GX460 group on Facebook too.
Look at Genuine OEM Lexus Parts and Accessories Online - Lexus Parts Now - https://www.lexuspartsnow.com/ for the wheels or other online Lexus OEM parts vendors, many have had Christmas specials.
 
My wife doesn’t like the way her 2019 GX 460 base model handles. I understand it’s counterproductive to try and improve the handling of a tall, narrow, “luxury” SUV but I’m hoping there might be solutions to this that don’t require us to sell the car.

The GX serves as a family car to haul our baby and his car seat and stroller.

My wife has previously used a bmw 340i, Toyota RAV4, an LX 470, and a Porsche Macan and she preferred the handling of all of those over the GX.

Are there suspension options that can stiffen up the GX without giving it a lift? What springs and shocks can I buy without lifting the suv?

I was thinking of adding 295/45R20 tires and 20” wheels in addition to stiffer suspension. Do folks think that’d improve handling? Are there oem lexus wheels (or oem replicas) that are 20” and could accommodate a 295 tire? I despise the look of most aftermarket wheels.

I understand that we can sell the GX and get another SUV but my wife isn’t keen on doing that since we bought this not 2 months ago.

Thanks all!
Agreed, adding a lower profile tire on taller rims will help keep the speedo accurate and give a little flatter line through curves.
Next would be new suspension, perhaps a little lower (1/2" to 1"), flatten the stance so the rear is level with the front and a slightly more performance shock.
Note: not a stiff spring and shock, but something progressive, so when going slow over bumps, she's not rattling your baby's new teeth!
Try looking at this forum and see if it helps. It's for GX470's but may be a spring board for where to go: To people who have Air Runner basic kits. - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion - https://www.clublexus.com/forums/vip-style/685389-to-people-who-have-air-runner-basic-kits.html
 
Is there a more specific complaint? It's a tall, body on frame truck so trying to make it "feel" like a BMW or a Macaan is going to be an expensive exercise in futility.

What tires does it have right now? I bought my GX used and it had a new set of cheapo Ironman SUV tires on there from Carmax. Those were garbage - they had a peculiar squishiness that provided zero good feelings in corners or while braking. I replaced those with a set of 265/70/17 Pirelli All Terrains that are taller, have much more sidewall and much larger tread blocks but still feel and perform better on road. If you have cheapo tires on there, get a set of Michelin (or comparable) on-road SUV tires and that may solve your problem.
 
These trucks will never be a BMW or a Porsche. No matter what you do. But it should feel pretty similar to an LX. Perhaps there could be a KDSS issue? Any mods? We have a 200 Series. Looking to add a GX to the fleet. Drove a GX the other day and it was very similar to the 200 Series. They handle pretty great considering how big and heavy these trucks are. A good tire will make a difference if it has some lower tier tires on it now.
 
Thank you @r2m. Appreciate the pointer on the suspension.
Also, I'm really surprised that you note your old LX470 handled better than the GX. Do you use "sport" mode in the GX?
My wife and I both had our own 100 series Landcruisers, which is basically the same as the LX470's, and the GX handles far better than either of our LC's, even with our GX being severely overlanded!
 
In addition to the other good advice above, have you driven another stock GX?
You could take it to the dealer for something, maybe a freebie TSB soft recall etc, and specify you want a loaner GX. Then go do exactly the type of driving that is producing undesired results in yours.
Just for piece of mind, to be sure it's a general GX issue, not a your GX issue.
 
In addition to the other good advice above, have you driven another stock GX?
You could take it to the dealer for something, maybe a freebie TSB soft recall etc, and specify you want a loaner GX. Then go do exactly the type of driving that is producing undesired results in yours.
Just for piece of mind, to be sure it's a general GX issue, not a your GX issue.
I might even wonder if it's something related to alignment, which would also be a simple and inexpensive place to start. A good alignment with the right castor adjustment may can make a world of difference and provide a more 'planted' feeling on the highway. Nothing more annoying than a vehicle with the alignment all goofed up...
 
Agree with others....a GX will always be handicapped in handling. My wife's pedestrian Outback handles much better and zippier on backroads than my GX. The GX is just too big and too tall as mentioned. It does handle much better than a 1/2 ton truck, but it will always be a solid-axle vehicle with a high center of gravity. 20" wheels with sportier tires and firmer suspension will reduce the off-road capability of a GX; after that you are left with something closer to a crossover in 4x4 capability but without the MPG benefits of a crossover.

My suggestion - GX prices have not cratered yet - so you should be able to get your money back out of the GX and get something else more crossover and/or unibody based, which will handle much better and keep your wife happy. Any money you put into the GX for suspension, wheels, tires won't really be something you can recover in resale value - you'd likely come out ahead in total cost and fuel costs by trading the GX for something else.

I begged and begged my wife to get a new or slightly used GX460 for her new family car; instead we're getting a hybrid Highlander in a couple of weeks to replace her aging Outback. She does not like the bulk/height/truckiness of a SUV for a daily driver. The MPG of a crossover (especially a hybrid) will be nice, however.
 
You could try inflating the tires to a higher psi. That might get rid of some of the slop.

With other cars going wider tires made the vehicle more sensitive to the road grooves. I haven’t felt that with my 285s,but they are 70 profile. I suspect the groove tracking may occur if going with 295 and 20’s.
 
I'm not totally sure what your reasoning was to buy it, but it makes a ton of compromises that are hard to fix if you want a highway sporty SUV. TBH - you'd probably be money ahead to trade for an RX or pretty much any crossover SUV of choice from a Cayenne to a Jeep GC.

As others have said - there's just so much working against what you want to do. It's a holdover platform from 2003. It's really heavy (heavier than some crew cab 4x4 full size domestic trucks). It's also narrow. And it's tall. And it has the rear springs pretty far inboard so it can maintain decent suspension articulation, but that compromise means less stability. KDSS to helps fix that issue to some extent. But it's not a complete fix. And in order to soften it up for the harshness on highway cracks and bumps they opt for relatively light shock valving. The result is lots of nose dive in hard braking. So that's another tricky issue to resolve.

But if you want to make the best of the platform, there are a variety of aftermarket suspension options that could work. You could get custom valved fox or king shocks from Accutune for the driving style you want. From my experience, the Fox 2.5s' will adjust down to less than 1 inch of lift height. Or you could go with one of the adjustable options like the old man emu BP51 or Bilstein 8100. I think both should have enough adjustment height to put you close to zero lift and offer pretty firm suspension. All of those options will help reduce nose dive and potentially improve the feel somewhat. But they can't fix the overall platform constraints. You could potentially also firm it up a little by replacing all of the rubber bushings in the KDSS system and the control arms with poly. I don't like poly bushings for a few reasons, but they would firm it up. Especially if you did the lower control arms and replaced the rear arms with spherical bushings (poly is a bad idea on the rear control arms).
 
I feel like my '19 Premium handles great. Way better than my 470 did. My wife drives an X5 for comparison. Maybe give it a few more months and she'll get used to it.
 
Agree with others....a GX will always be handicapped in handling. My wife's pedestrian Outback handles much better and zippier on backroads than my GX. The GX is just too big and too tall as mentioned. It does handle much better than a 1/2 ton truck, but it will always be a solid-axle vehicle with a high center of gravity. 20" wheels with sportier tires and firmer suspension will reduce the off-road capability of a GX; after that you are left with something closer to a crossover in 4x4 capability but without the MPG benefits of a crossover.

My suggestion - GX prices have not cratered yet - so you should be able to get your money back out of the GX and get something else more crossover and/or unibody based, which will handle much better and keep your wife happy. Any money you put into the GX for suspension, wheels, tires won't really be something you can recover in resale value - you'd likely come out ahead in total cost and fuel costs by trading the GX for something else.

I begged and begged my wife to get a new or slightly used GX460 for her new family car; instead we're getting a hybrid Highlander in a couple of weeks to replace her aging Outback. She does not like the bulk/height/truckiness of a SUV for a daily driver. The MPG of a crossover (especially a hybrid) will be nice, however.
We love our hybrid highlander.
 
We love our hybrid highlander.
Glad to hear! We've been on a list since February to get one. My wife was adamant about a Highlander and turned down lots of other stuff (Ascent, CX-9, etc). Now it is getting built tomorrow in Indiana! Happy to have one and another Toyota stablemate and something that will get 35-36 mpg all the time.
 
The on-road handling is actually quite good for a ~5,300lb brick. Is it a Porsche? No. But even being body-on-frame it handles better than a lot unibody SUVs I’ve driven.
 
Our main reasoning to buy the GX was that it’s something reliable until we can get our hands on an LX600. Our 2019 GX doesn’t have sport mode, our 2010 GX does. Both handle about the same. Now why we got a 2019 GX when we already had a 2010? Coincidentally, I had made a commitment with a private party to buy their 2010 GX until we could find a newer model. Turns out we found a newer model GX within the next day. I’m not one to go back on my word so I bought both the 2010 and 2019.

As for alignment, tire pressure and everything, my wife didn’t notice the handling issues until we’ve had the car for a couple of months. I think a combination of high wind speeds and cold weather kind of made things worse. We drove this same GX to Seattle and back from CO and my wife wasn’t particularly pleased with the body roll. We drove a few other GX before buying our 2019 and I couldn’t tell the difference between any of them.

It might be time for me to convince my wife to sell the GX and buy something else. We don’t want a FWD based vehicle so RX, Highlander and such are out. I’ve asked my wife if she wants a Cayenne or Trackhawk but she’s not convinced that those are the most reliable options when driving around with a baby.
 
I’ve asked my wife if she wants a Cayenne or Trackhawk but she’s not convinced that those are the most reliable options when driving around with a baby.
:wtf: NOT A TRALHAWK!! :vomit:
If you're not going to go electric, I Porsche is good, so is Volvo. They have some nice all wheel drive SUV's. Their SC series have a hybrid and electric!
 

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