I am looking at possibly getting a pretty clean 2013 LX-570 that has really cherry body work and paint. For obvious reasons, I don't want to butcher it with a haphazard trim for some random bumpers.
With a 20 degree rear departure angle, I know I will be in trouble if I don't do something. I will be doing 34" tires and a mild body spacer lift (3/4"?) to clear the tires. This will help a little on the rear departure angle but, I don't think it is enough to make a real difference.
What are my better options without getting into something radical? Basically, I don't want to destroy body panels on rough gas pump access points or on heavily rutted somewhat rocky trails either. I have been stuck in both mud and sand in the past as well so, while a concern isn't a huge one for the most part.
I am debating this versus a series 80 LC or LX-450. The LX-570 would crush highway miles a lot better and has an 8500lb tow rating so, big wins there. However, while the series 80/LX-450 gets bad fuel milage, we are only talking ~13MPG vs ~16MPG at best and likely a bit less overall. While the series 80/LX-450 is a tad smaller overall, that is a win/lose proposition depending on specifics. The series 80/LX-450 for more aggressive mods and harsher running seems like the obvious choice but, I am also not likely to want to go somewhere I can't go in an LX-570 so, here I am trying to understand LX-570 mods to make it more suitable for harsher running than the local shopping mall or golf course.
Realistically, I should probably consider front and rear bumpers with some rock sliders. How much body and metal work am I really looking at?
TIA,
Sid
With a 20 degree rear departure angle, I know I will be in trouble if I don't do something. I will be doing 34" tires and a mild body spacer lift (3/4"?) to clear the tires. This will help a little on the rear departure angle but, I don't think it is enough to make a real difference.
What are my better options without getting into something radical? Basically, I don't want to destroy body panels on rough gas pump access points or on heavily rutted somewhat rocky trails either. I have been stuck in both mud and sand in the past as well so, while a concern isn't a huge one for the most part.
I am debating this versus a series 80 LC or LX-450. The LX-570 would crush highway miles a lot better and has an 8500lb tow rating so, big wins there. However, while the series 80/LX-450 gets bad fuel milage, we are only talking ~13MPG vs ~16MPG at best and likely a bit less overall. While the series 80/LX-450 is a tad smaller overall, that is a win/lose proposition depending on specifics. The series 80/LX-450 for more aggressive mods and harsher running seems like the obvious choice but, I am also not likely to want to go somewhere I can't go in an LX-570 so, here I am trying to understand LX-570 mods to make it more suitable for harsher running than the local shopping mall or golf course.
Realistically, I should probably consider front and rear bumpers with some rock sliders. How much body and metal work am I really looking at?
TIA,
Sid