New 2017 GX 470 member, and some questions re: UCA rubbing (1 Viewer)

[illram]

Happy new owner of a 2017 GX 460. Got it through Carvana, which was weird but worked out. ("Long time lurker" etc. etc.!)

First I'll start with some new rig porn:

This came with what appears to be a 2-2.5" lift, which is my guess just from eyeballing pictures (hard for me to tell, and I don't know where to measure exactly to find out). It also came with what appears to be "Mazama Open Range" A/T 265 70r18 tires on stock wheels. Some googling indicates they are the same as these Les Schwab tires. Carvana was totally useless in letting me know any of this before it showed up; all I could tell before it showed up was it was clearly lifted versus the rest of their inventory, and did not have stock tires on it. I spent way too many hours trying to squint at their blurry pictures to figure all of this out but ultimately I had to wait until it arrived to see it exactly, which was excruciating. When it arrived, before I even drove it I wanted to check the UCA's for rubbing and sure enough there is some:

I can feel it rub (there is a light vibration) when I am at full lock parallel parking, other than that though there is no rub anywhere else.

The other components are:

Toytec Boss TTFCS2005 Front coilovers

"160650" coils (googling did not find me that exact part # which is written on these coils, I am guessing it is their 650lb version of their 16000 coils)

TT-75109 Boss rear shocks (this is a guess based on the GX-460 package Toytec sells, the TTBOSS-GX210 , which uses the TTFCS2005 front coilover pictured above and looks like it includes the below shocks.) They are too dirty to see a part number:

I didn't mind the pre-built nature of this as it was actually a decent price vs. stock and I honestly kind of wanted to just buy with a lift already done. I know that is probably an alien concept to you guys here who have so much fun building your amazing rigs; I totally get it if that sounds weird. A mixture of laziness and just not being very knowledgeable about this hobby yet. (Other than knowing I want a nice looking & comfy offroad capable rig to get to (a) my favorite camping spots and (b) powder days in Tahoe.)

Re: the rub, my eventual goal is to get a Method MR315 wheel which has an +18 offset vs. the +25 stock. That will put me at .28" further away from the suspension according to tiresize.com. Will that be enough? Other than getting a smaller tire, which I don't want to do, can an alignment mitigate this? Or a do I need new UCA's? (I read a lot of comments that if you go >2", you should do UCA's also, which I do not know if this prior owner did; VIN check on Lexus.com does not show much detail.) It's not really bothering me and it drives fine, other than just knowing it is there, which is sort of annoying.

I also have a roof rack in my future. I like the look of the Victory roof rack but I'm kind of confused how you mount other standard stuff on it like J racks or ski racks, etc. For now I was thinking of getting the stock cross bars and a Yakima OffGrid basket with the extension, which is sort of a dual basket/roof rack and eliminates the clearance issue of the OEM cross bars.

Thanks for reading! Hope to contribute to the forum as I learn my way around this beautiful vehicle.

 

[r2m]

Congrats on your new money pit... errr.... I mean toy!! Looks really nice!
Couple of questions for our viewers:

• How many miles?
• What trim level?
• What'd ya pay for it?
• Finally, what are your plans for her?

Not sure how much "lurking" you've done, but here is where you can find a bunch of build threads: 150-Series Toyotas
If you want to go a little on the extreme side, this is how far I've taken mine so far: Builds - R2M 2013 GX460 Overland Build
Also, my family and I also do Tahoe for skiing. We usually get season passes for Heavenly. Actually, we will be heading up there next week and be there for a couple of weeks! Perfect timing for this storm!!

 

[illram]

It was $34.9k before taxes, with 49,935 miles on it when it arrived at my door. It's the "premium" package. Carvana was definitely an interesting experience vs. traditional car buying. I'm not averse to the car buying haggle experience, they just happened to be the best price for what I wanted.

Here's a better angle:

Definitely sunk hours into perusing multiple build threads! Partly why I was sort of surprised at my UCA rub, seeing so many similar lifts and bigger tires without it. Also like your rack r2m, it's on my list of possibilities.

My plans are pretty pedestrian and not worthy of a build thread, but they are basically separated into "happening after my bank account recovers" and "fantasy":

Happening:

• New wheels (likely Method MR315) which will hopefully solve the rub with a slightly different offset, and eventually new tires (KO2's or Ridge Grapplers)
• Some full basket rack/basket. Looking at the Yakima OffGrid right now. Still kind of confused by how one puts after market ski racks on some of the more expensive roof channel platforms--are they all t-slots? Kind of why I liked yours, it looks like normal circle cross bars on top. Laziness may dictate I just go the route of the OEM cross bars and the Yakima.

Fantasy future where I have lots of spare time:

• I like the bumpers Lexus displayed on their "concept" GXOR, if those ever become available.
• Some sort of table on the rear door
• Rear ladder
• MTS and Crawl Control mod.

There is basically one fairly hairy off-road trip I make annually with friends, which this beast is going to now conquer, a couple ski trips, and various family camping trips. Other than that I don't plan on really driving this beast often, we still have a Prius for daily kid ferrying and grocery store duties. Strictly a "dad fun time" vehicle.

 

[Mena661]

That "GXOR" bumper should be available now.

Lexus GX460 Covert Series Front bumper - CBI Offroad Fab

 

[r2m]

A couple of points that I really like about my rack is that it's really low profile with a flat top, hence being able to mount my roof top tent. Also great for after market racks, carrying lumber, surfboards, etc.
And personally, I like the traditional safari look of a tubular rack.

 

[ChiTown]

Swap out the UCA's for a set of SPC's and head over and get an alignment.

 

[illram]

Swap out the UCA's for a set of SPC's and head over and get an alignment.

Thanks man. These ones, right?

 

[Mena661]

Thanks man. These ones, right?

Yep!

 

[illram]

Thanks for your help everyone. Have an appointment with my local Toyota mechanic to put in the SPC's.

Reading up on UCA's and learning a lot. E.g., did not know I am buying a new maintenance item. What is it about the design of OEM Toyota UCA's vs aftermarket ones that allows the former to be almost maintenance free vs the latter?

If you'll indulge another noob-ish question: what is it exactly about the UCA that mitigates rubbing vs. the OEM part? Is it the additional flexibility for customizing the alignment you can get with the after market part, vs. the OEM part?

 

[ChiTown]

"Maintenance free" is a term that a lot of manufactures throw around. What it really means is cheaper production costs. The SPC if properly greased will last just as long or longer as OEM.

The curvature of the arm and where the arm sits in relation to the coil over is what gives you the needed clearance.

 

[illram]

Makes sense. I'm just happy that it looks a lot easier to grease it vs. the Total Chaos, which wants you to loosen stuff first. Looks like I will soon also be the proud owner of a grease gun!

 

[illram]

Update: finally got the SPC's on, thanks for everyone's help. Amazing how much more clearance they give.

And am I crazy, or does it affect the ride? It feels smoother over regular road bumps. Not sure if that is real or my memory being faulty from not driving it for so long during this shut down.