Original Stock height (1 Viewer)

[MaverickFiveO]

TL;DR: Anyone know what the fender height is for a stock, but not old and sagging, GX suspension?

The 120 community on here is great about documenting net gains in lift after suspension swaps, but the one variable is how much the original suspension is sagging when the replacement happens.

What I can't find is any reference to what height the fender *should* be for the original suspension. For example, I have 110k miles on the original suspension. I know that if I put a 2" lift on it, my truck will ride more than 2" higher, since the 2" lift is measured over the original stock height. In other words, the net lift = 2" + (sag in current old suspension).

I'm trying to figure out how much my current suspension is sagging, in order to estimate the net lift I will gain if I install an OME kit.

Background: I mentioned in passing to my wife that a new suspension would help the overall ride quality because the current shocks are so worn. However, she immediately (and correctly) noted that replacing the shocks will mean a lift of more than the quoted 2", and she's not thrilled about climbing into a 3-4" higher vehicle. On the positive, I may be able to parlay this into installing sliders with the new suspension.

 

[Arailt]

I would like to know this as well because I think mine has quite a bit of sag ('08 w/ ~69k). Finding a good baseline on a 10+ year old vehicle might be hard. Maybe someone who recently refreshed their suspension with OEM parts?

 

[Brake Weight]

70,000 miles more or less.

Stock suspension

Front
-19.5" Driver
-19.25" passenger

Rear
Aired up
-23" hub to fender
--21.25" shock eye to mount

Aired out
-21" hub to fender
--19.5" shock eye to mount

 

[Arailt]

Well that's encouraging. My 2008 with about 70k miles and stock suspension has similar numbers hub to fender measured in my garage (rear set to "normal").

FD - 19.5"
FP - 19.5"

RD - 21.5"
RP - 21.75"

 

[MaverickFiveO]

Well that's encouraging. My 2008 with about 70k miles and stock suspension has similar numbers hub to fender measured in my garage (rear set to "normal").

FD - 19.5"
FP - 19.5"

RD - 21.5"
RP - 21.75"

So I finally got around to measuring mine on flat ground (my driveway is snowy, uneven, and sloped) and I found something interesting:

FD - 19.5"
FP - 20.25"

RD - 21.75"
RP - 21.75"

I checked back through my service history with the Lexus website, and, sure enough, the front passenger strut was replaced at about 94,000 miles (I'm at 110k now). So I think that gives a better idea of what the stock *original* height should be. I'm guessing it should be about 20.5", and the 19.5" is about 1" down from original. This would be consistent with the anecdotal "you gain about 1 inch extra in a lift" reports we see here.

On the positive, my wife is now 100% on board for sliders when the lift happens. ​

 

[MNGX]

What are you measuring to?

ETA: I am dumb and a poor reader.

 

[Arailt]

Center of hub to bottom of fender

 

[MaverickFiveO]

TL;DR: The baseline height of the stock suspension (to which a lift would add) *should* theoretically be:

FD - 20.5"
FP - 20.5"

RD - 21.75"
RP - 21.75"

Just to button this up, I think the answer to my question is that a new (not sagging) stock suspension should be somewhere in about 20.5" from center hub to fender in the front. The rear should be about 21.5" to 22.0" since the AHC sensors don't change. This would make sense, as it reflects the built-in rake of the original design. Assuming the bags are still intact, the ride height of the rear should not change since the air pump will just raise it up. In other words, assuming the ride height sensors don't move over time, the rear will adapt over time and maintain ride height, while the front sags more and more. This will increase the rake, necessitating the leveling pucks so many of us use.

I hope this helps someone 2 years from now searching about whether their GX will fit in the garage after a lift!

 

[HomersCanyonero]

Good info. It helps now. If I want to know how much lift I have, I now have stock numbers to compare against!

Thank you

 

[ajk970]

Thanks for this! I’m about to install a super mild Dobinson’s lift - about 1.5” front and 1” rear using the 300 front coils and 599 rear coils (Metaltech spring perch). I’ll let you know where it ends up.
‘03 with 195k.
Also trying to keep it in the garage with a rocket box on top, currently on stock tires- but plan to move up to 265/70 (or similar) when it needs tires.
Currently sitting:
F: 19.5”
R: 21.5”
Only goes up to 22.5” when moved to “high”

 

[HomersCanyonero]

How are you guys measuring the hub to fender distance? I'm having a heck of a time doing precise measurements. I'm eyeballing it, but can't get that perfect measurement.

Gound to bottom of fender:
Front = 38 1/8
Rear = 38

Estimating the middle of the hub:
Front = 15.75
Rear = 15.5

So, 38 1/8 - 15 3/4 = 22.5 for the front and 38 - 15.5 = 22.5 for the rear. I'm just eyeballing. How are you getting exact measurements?

 

[MaverickFiveO]

I measured from the center of the hub up with a level so I went straight vertical to the fender. I found the center by measuring the diameter and starting at half the diameter to approximate the center of the hub.

That’s honestly as much thought as I put into it.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

Okay, but I noticed that my tire is 32” tall even though it’s listed as a 32.78” per Nitto specs.

I did notice that the bottom half of the tire that touches the ground is about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch shorter than the top half of the tire. This makes sense since the tire is squished at the point where it touches the ground.

So, my 32” tire is 15.5” on the bottom half and 16.5” on the top half. Add about 6” gap between the tire and the bottom of the fender and I get 22.5”

Anyways, it’s not exact and that bothers me.

 

[Arailt]

View attachment 1885469 View attachment 1885471 How are you guys measuring the hub to fender distance? I'm having a heck of a time doing precise measurements. I'm eyeballing it, but can't get that perfect measurement.

Gound to bottom of fender:
Front = 38 1/8
Rear = 38

Estimating the middle of the hub:
Front = 15.75
Rear = 15.5

So, 38 1/8 - 15 3/4 = 22.5 for the front and 38 - 15.5 = 22.5 for the rear. I'm just eyeballing. How are you getting exact measurements?

Haha I'm not sure what's going on in those pictures. Reminds me of this meme.

Anyway, just eyeball the center of the hub and then go as straight up as you can to the fender. It won't be precise, but it works.
It's even easier when you aren't doing it one-handed and taking a picture.

 

[Dclain87]

Literally did the fronts today and was about to post for the exact info. Very helpful. Was trying to figure out how much lift I gained, and was possible going to back it down another 1/2 inch Just installed icon 2.5s in the front and it lifted it to 22 inches and the rear is like 21.75 I will be doing the rears in the next few weeks with stock height springs and expect it to ride level. It’s looks exactly level now to the naked eye. It aligned well, without UCAs and drives better than I ever remember.

 

[Dclain87]

It sure if it makes a difference, but I’m running 265/65/17s

 

[MaverickFiveO]

It sure if it makes a difference, but I’m running 265/65/17s

The tire size shouldn’t make a difference in these measurements because we’re measuring from center of hub to fender (it changes ground to fender though by moving the hub up). That change with the ICON fronts seems about right for what I’ve seen. I’m glad this helps other people!

 

[IanB]

The tire size shouldn’t make a difference in these measurements because we’re measuring from center of hub to fender (it changes ground to fender though by moving the hub up). That change with the ICON fronts seems about right for what I’ve seen. I’m glad this helps other people!

By measuring from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender, you remove wheel/tire considerations from the measurement, so it can be directly compared across all trucks regardless of the wheel/tire setup, it's JUST the suspension you are measuring by doing it this way.