New to the GX (1 Viewer)

[HarryDangler]

Just ditch my ‘18 Tacoma for more than I paid for it and picked up a ‘19 GX. Spent some time in Africa driving Prados, so this is an easy choice for a Toyota guy. Going to start de-mom’ing this thing. The loss of cargo will be an adjustment but everything else is great so far. Not sure how I drove the Tacoma for so long with the high floor/low ceiling combo. The least comfortable driving position I have ever experienced. Just added a set of Evo Corse wheels. The offset alone makes them worth it to me. I’ll get some photos up soon to aid anyone looking to make the change.

 

[HarryDangler]

New shoes

 

[OCGX]

That was fast! Welcome to the club. What other mods do you have in store for the future?

 

[HarryDangler]

That was fast! Welcome to the club. What other mods do you have in store for the future?

Thanks! I had them purchased prior to buying the vehicle. Lots of research prior to.
Other mods will be a small lift, 1” front only is my goal. Probably Dobinsons.
Roof rack of some sort to gain back some storage. I like Gobi and some gamaviti but not sure I can justify year round wind noise for the couple times a year I need it. May end up with the LFD crossbars.
I want sliders but had them on my Tacoma and never once needed them. Just made getting in and out sort of awkward. I’ll do CBI if so as I think they blend best with the trimmed rocker skirts.
I’m definitely doing a mild exhaust. Probably pay too much and do the magnaflow overland so I don’t have to gamble with an unknown welders skills. V8 while ya can.
I like the high cut front bumpers but I want to force myself to wait until it scrapes something first. That’s a big mod for appearance sake only. Few other small things. Weather tech everything to keep my little boy and dog from destroying the interior. And just ordered the expedition essentials phone mount. I hate car gps and didn’t find a good place to put my phone so this will fix that.

 

[jiggletits]

Thanks! I had them purchased prior to buying the vehicle. Lots of research prior to.
Other mods will be a small lift, 1” front only is my goal. Probably Dobinsons.
Roof rack of some sort to gain back some storage. I like Gobi and some gamaviti but not sure I can justify year round wind noise for the couple times a year I need it. May end up with the LFD crossbars.
I want sliders but had them on my Tacoma and never once needed them. Just made getting in and out sort of awkward. I’ll do CBI if so as I think they blend best with the trimmed rocker skirts.
I’m definitely doing a mild exhaust. Probably pay too much and do the magnaflow overland so I don’t have to gamble with an unknown welders skills. V8 while ya can.
I like the high cut front bumpers but I want to force myself to wait until it scrapes something first. That’s a big mod for appearance sake only. Few other small things. Weather tech everything to keep my little boy and dog from destroying the interior. And just ordered the expedition essentials phone mount. I hate car gps and didn’t find a good place to put my phone so this will fix that.

Can’t recommend the LFD crossbars enough. They hold a ton of weight and compared to all the big flat racks… save a ton of MPG and noise. My Front Runner rack was god-awful.

 

[HarryDangler]

Can’t recommend the LFD crossbars enough. They hold a ton of weight and compared to all the big flat racks… save a ton of MPG and noise. My Front Runner rack was god-awful.

That’s good to know. I simply can’t find a better solution. A few questions:
How many bars do you have? I was debating 4 or 5.
Did you get the wind fairing and is it worth it?
Do they require any proprietary attachments for gear or just a few eye hooks?

 

[jiggletits]

3 bars is plenty, wind fairing yes, but cannot compare it to anything else. Attachment is easy, plenty of holes, nothing proprietary.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Can’t recommend the LFD crossbars enough. They hold a ton of weight and compared to all the big flat racks… save a ton of MPG and noise. My Front Runner rack was god-awful.

What didn’t you like about your Frontrunner? I have the frontrunner and while I don’t have anything to compare it to, it’s been pretty useful due to its versatility, I’ve had bikes, RTT, cargo carriers, furniture, gas cans, etc, up there and it’s handled it all. The only issue Ive had is the wind noise is horrible, in stock form you couldn’t open the sunroof while driving. I had to add a spare Yakima wind deflector to manage the noise and it’s been a huge improvement. Still not quiet, but at least it’s tolerable and I can open my sunroof again.

 

[r2m]

Just ditch my ‘18 Tacoma for more than I paid for it and picked up a ‘19 GX. Spent some time in Africa driving Prados, so this is an easy choice for a Toyota guy. Going to start de-mom’ing this thing. The loss of cargo will be an adjustment but everything else is great so far. Not sure how I drove the Tacoma for so long with the high floor/low ceiling combo. The least comfortable driving position I have ever experienced. Just added a set of Evo Corse wheels. The offset alone makes them worth it to me. I’ll get some photos up soon to aid anyone looking to make the change.

View attachment 2843911

So you got top dollar for your Taco, were able to still get a deal on the GX or was that top dollar also?
Right now I think is the best time to purchase a new car since new car prices are not going up very much but the used market is insane. So one could be top dollar for their trade-in or a private sale, and not get scalped at the dealer for a new rig!

 

[HarryDangler]

So you got top dollar for your Taco, were able to still get a deal on the GX or was that top dollar also?
Right now I think is the best time to purchase a new car since new car prices are not going up very much but the used market is insane. So one could be top dollar for their trade-in or a private sale, and not get scalped at the dealer for a new rig!

I wouldn’t call it a deal. I went through CarMax because they are aggressive on current market prices (currently inflated) and they snatch up all the low mileage lease and auction cars.
If you’re current vehicle is in demand and you want to be financially smart I agree with you. I paid 38.5k for my Tacoma in ‘18. Sold it for $40k. Had I bought a 4Runner for MSRP I would have made a good financial move since they also hold crazy resale value. But my wife repeated one of my own lines back to me that I only live once and should drive the vehicles I want to drive, and I want to drive the one with the V8.

‘22 T4R Off road premium with kdss is about $50k. My GX was $49k, has 12k miles, 2 full years of factory warranty left and the V8. I like many inline 6’s, I liked the 3.5 in a previous Z i owned, but I would have never fully accepted that 4Runner engine/trans combo.

 

[r2m]

If my wife repeated back to me what your wife says to you, I'd be driving Porsche's and Lambo's AND my build GX!!

 

[HarryDangler]

If my wife repeated back to me what your wife says to you, I'd be driving Porsche's and Lambo's AND my build GX!!

Haha yea she knew I’d keep it reasonable to our income level. But she’s accepted my frequent turn over. I’d actually like to keep this GX more than 3 years. There isn’t an suv better suited to our family produced at the moment. A full up landcruiser would be the only thing I’d switch for and I can’t justify that additional cost

 

[r2m]

Haha yea she knew I’d keep it reasonable to our income level. But she’s accepted my frequent turn over. I’d actually like to keep this GX more than 3 years. There isn’t an suv better suited to our family produced at the moment. A full up landcruiser would be the only thing I’d switch for and I can’t justify that additional cost

I'd love to build a 200 series LC or even new 300 series Lexus version of the LC, but they are just too big for most trails. That's one of the attractions of the GX/4Runner, it can pretty much run the same trails as Jeeps. The older 80 and 100 series would just get by on trails but for each iteration of the Landcruiser, it always gets larger. Hope that doesn't happen to the new GX's!

 

[jiggletits]

What didn’t you like about your Frontrunner? I have the frontrunner and while I don’t have anything to compare it to, it’s been pretty useful due to its versatility, I’ve had bikes, RTT, cargo carriers, furniture, gas cans, etc, up there and it’s handled it all. The only issue Ive had is the wind noise is horrible, in stock form you couldn’t open the sunroof while driving. I had to add a spare Yakima wind deflector to manage the noise and it’s been a huge improvement. Still not quiet, but at least it’s tolerable and I can open my sunroof again.

Front runner is loud as a tornado, even with their wind fairing…also kills 2-3 MPG. It is overpriced itself, and you have to but all their proprietary overpriced attachment hardware to use it. It’s also half a days work to remove or install. PITA.

It will hold weight, yes. But LFD crossbars do just as good of a job. No need for a big expensive rack like Front Runner if you’re putting a RTT on. LFD bars will hold that weight just fine. Wayy less $ out of pocket. Do they look as cool? No. But functionally they are superior in every way other than total square feet of rack.

 

[Slobberknocker]

New shoes

View attachment 2844068

View attachment 2844069

Nice, what size tire and rims? I like Evo's.

 

[HarryDangler]

Nice, what size tire and rims? I like Evo's.

Wheels are 17x8 with a 0 offset. Gives a nice flush stance without verging on trophy truck dreams. The tires are 265/70/17 terragrappler in standard load. They ride the same as OEM and have a very slight hum past 50mph that is easy to ignore and disappears with low volume radio. The different offset and slightly taller tires do rub in some situations. I’ve done the notorious bolt but will need to trace down the remaining contact points. I didn’t want to go any taller or wider. Wider tires are the most puzzling off roading trend. Toyota uses these same tires on the 4Runner pro, I figured they did ample testing to find a good tire that strikes the balance most drivers want. Here’s a shot from today.

 

[r2m]

With all due respect, you gotta rotate that
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[mundra]

Haha yea she knew I’d keep it reasonable to our income level. But she’s accepted my frequent turn over. I’d actually like to keep this GX more than 3 years. There isn’t an suv better suited to our family produced at the moment. A full up landcruiser would be the only thing I’d switch for and I can’t justify that additional cost

I agree I would be on a LandCruiser quick but the 2018 GX460 we bought is going to make due. I wish I would have found one with low miles. I grabbed my Premium with 57,000 miles for $40K... Not sure if that was a good deal or not?!

 

[HarryDangler]

I sold cars for a short period as a teen. I found a good deal is perspective honestly, especially when buying used. Personally, I define my financial limit, define what a certain vehicle is worth to me, and don’t break that boundary during in-person buying as it can be emotional. If you’re satisfied that’s all that matters. Buyers remorse is a terrible feeling, from experience.
I’ve known a lot of gullible people who state the dealership “lost money” on their vehicle sale. No, they did not. A “good deal” is hard to determine if you have a trade-in. A great trade value could make a high sale price more digestible. It’s also the reason to deal with one vehicle at a time (potential purchase, then trade).
online models like Carmax have aggressive market prices but that shows in their trade offers. They offered me $34k for my Tacoma. You can save some in taxes that way, but it wasn’t enough so I sold private party, selling a clean Tacoma was easy peasy.

 

[BigSwede]

I agree I would be on a LandCruiser quick but the 2018 GX460 we bought is going to make due. I wish I would have found one with low miles. I grabbed my Premium with 57,000 miles for $40K... Not sure if that was a good deal or not?!

You paid a little more than I did in March for my 2018 Premium, but that's what the market has done this year. My brother in law just traded in his 2020 4Runner with 8,500 miles for $7,000 more than he paid in late 2019! Given these market conditions I don't think you did too bad.