Lexus Dealer ACH Delete - LX570

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Munsoned

Munsoned

Joined
Oct 27, 2017
Threads
10
Messages
60
Location
Mckinney, Texas
I found a 2011 LX570 I am considering buying. It is the right price and has low milage. The dealer removed the ACH, I'm assuming due to a serious issues that didn't justify the cost to repair. I would use this vehicle for family road trips and light off-roading. I'd like to do a 1-2.5 inch lift and go up to 285 tires, but I can't find out definitively if this is doable without the ACH and what I am sacrificing in terms of safety and ride quality. Can anyone give me some guidance before I buy? I see a Dobinson kit out there but I also see a lot of concern over roll stability and other potential issues. I am looking for EASY projects. New springs and struts...no problem....
 
The LX/LC depending on year and region of sale came with AHC or Coil Spring suspension. The deletion of AHC and replacing it with Coil Spring like you said was probably the cheaper choice. You can now replace that coil spring with a lift version. I doubt that 2.5 inch lift will pose that great a stability issue as many of the LCs on hear have 2.5 inch coil spring style lifts and are not really having issues. Only thing I would confirm is that in change from AHC that kept the sway bars connected in moving to Coil Spring. No sway bars will cause a lot of body roll, however that is manageable based on how you drive.
 
Thank you. There is a lot of alphabet soap when it comes to ACH, AFsomething, RDS and KDSS. I am not sure what I am missing out on by going this route. So, "ask if they kept the sway bar" - got it. I think I read they use the same sway bar as in an LC but it was weak. I'm not a serious off roader, so it is hard to tell if that matters.
 
Sway bars are more important for road use not for off roading. Stronger sway bars mean higher cornering speed.
I would not drive a car or truck without swaybars on a highway. If you have to do an avoidance maneuver at highway speed you can wreck your vehicle.

I advise you first read here about AHC delete and familiarize yourself, before buying an LX without. Just because the dealer did it is no guarantee they did it well.

Is this a Lexus or Toyota dealer?

Is the sale "as is"? Is the dealer giving you any warranty for the work they performed on the suspension?

I'm not trying to talk you out of the deal, just want to make sure you are a knowledgeable buyer and cover yourself.

Some direct answers...
- Lift is achievable, some people removing AHC are doing it because they want bigger lift than AHC allows. Your desired lift is nothig special. The rest are doing it for the cost of repair. It is very likely that the AHC pump needed replacement and the dealer choose to go AHC delete. Although in my book that is a questionable decision as they did not save a lot and now they have to sell an LX that is not quite an LX anymore (I guess you get a big discount?). If this is not a Lexus dealer (no idea how to fix AHC) that might explain their decision.
- Comfort will suffer. There is no LC or aftermarket suspension that can match the AHC comfort. How much is an acceptable tradeoff is up to you.
- Now, probably, it is easier to install an aftermarket lift than to reinstall AHC but that depends on what parts of the AHC are still in the truck and how much effort you want to put into it. As you said, you are looking for easy so aftermarket is easier if only based on the AHC knowledge that you would have to get first.
 
Munsoned said:
I found a 2011 LX570 I am considering buying. It is the right price and has low milage. The dealer removed the ACH, I'm assuming due to a serious issues that didn't justify the cost to repair. I would use this vehicle for family road trips and light off-roading. I'd like to do a 1-2.5 inch lift and go up to 285 tires, but I can't find out definitively if this is doable without the ACH and what I am sacrificing in terms of safety and ride quality. Can anyone give me some guidance before I buy? I see a Dobinson kit out there but I also see a lot of concern over roll stability and other potential issues. I am looking for EASY projects. New springs and struts...no problem....
Click to expand...
Just buy a LX with AHC and save the trouble.
 
Unless you are a hardcore off-roader or heavily modify, a 200 without KDSS or AHC is a waste…..

I know some people like to remove these systems but for 99% of people they work great.
 
Seriously, the AHC system is fantastic unless you are doing some hardcore wheeling. I would not buy an LX without AHC.

I had doubts about whether I should have bought a Land Cruiser without AHC or an LX570 with it, but now that I have owned my LX for a few months and towed my trailer 3000 miles with it, I am extremely happy I went with the LX. The system is just so versatile that it really makes the truck a jack of all trades with minimal compromise.
 
Saying a deleted LX would handle like the same height LC comes from not understanding the respective systems. KDSS in the LC allows for a much stiffer sway bar to be used. The LX has a softer bar, but some of the roll control is handled by the AHC system.

A few people have successfully deleted AHC using the softer LX bars, so it’s not like it can’t be done. But it will not handle just like a KDSS equipped Landcruiser on-road.
 
My LX has AHC deleted and bilstein 6112/5160 in its place. With factory AHC swaybars you will have notably more bodyroll and sway than AHC in comfort mode. Still very functional and drivable, but I wouldn't really want to load up the rig or tow like that. To help resolve this I installed a beefier aftermarket rear sway bar. I haven't particularly felt the need to install an aftermarket one up front. With the new bar it's pretty comparable to AHC in normal mode. Not quite as tight as AHC in sport, but still plenty for the mountain driving I do.
 
Munsoned said:
The dealer removed the ACH, I'm assuming due to a serious issues that didn't justify the cost to repair.
Click to expand...

There's something very odd about this. No dealer, branded or corner lot, would take the time to do this.
 
Or maybe that customer did not take the time to research what he's actually buying. Or maybe that customer wants to make a rock crawler out of that truck. OP said family trips instead.

To OP: just so you know @Madtiger always has something bad to say about AHC ... each one with its own opinion.
 
Munsoned said:
It was a Lexus dealer in Houston. I PASSED AND IT SOLD SAME DAY. I don’t know why I all caps’d that…
Click to expand...

Don't feel like it was an opportunity lost so much as an unknown risk avoided.

You can take off AHC from any LX. Easy. Get one of known quality and do what you wish.

Your original lift and tire goals are cake on an LX. Don't even have to stop there as it'll handle even more extreme mods if you desire, with less compromise.
 
Since we are on the topic. If I get an LX570 with AHC, which is the plan, how much is it maintain typically, outside of the fluid changes?
 
Munsoned said:
Since we are on the topic. If I get an LX570 with AHC, which is the plan, how much is it maintain typically, outside of the fluid changes?
Click to expand...
Fuel, tires and brakes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Lexus LX570 Service?
Replies
9
Views
1K
weaponoffreedom
weaponoffreedom
Ddpro34
Lexus LX 570 suspension AHC delete
Replies
3
Views
662
tbisaacs
tbisaacs
B
My starter build - 2011 Lexus LX570
Replies
0
Views
478
bigridez
B
Ddpro34
Lexus LX570 AHC problem
Replies
11
Views
2K
Trollhole
Trollhole

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom