Builds Roody’s 2018 Lexus GX460 Build, Adventure, and Hooniverse Podcast (7 Viewers)

[Roody]

Big podcast news!

With Off the Road Again still taking time off, long-time automotive media heavy hitter Dan Roth and I have teamed up to resuscitate/reincarnate/reinvigorate The Hooniverse Podcast. Jeff Glucker graciously handed us the keys to his baby, and we're beyond excited to be at the helm.

That's me and my goofy mug on the left and Dan on the right:

The show has a new format that we’re hoping breathes new life into a subject and field we both know and love. Episodes have an Intro story, theme, and topics related to such. Hopefully this makes episodes feel a bit different from the other car shows out there.

And yes, there will be off-road and GX content.

Anyways, here's the "new" show:

Hooniverse Podcast Episode 366 - Unintended Consequences

You can listen on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, and Spotify, and the video version is available on YouTube.



Stay tuned for more!

 

[Roody]

Well hell. I quoted the wrong person. @Roody I'm asking for a review of the mod system. Curious about maybe just buying the drawers and mounting them to a frame. Combined they look to be significantly taller than other drawer setup but separate both shorter. Also only rated for 50 lbs on the drawers and 100 on the base while arb is rated to like 250.

Typed a whole response and didn't hit post reply...

The MOD system is great! You can configure it however you want. I have the medium size (I think). With the topper and two sets of feet that are different heights, you can really play with it to get it just right. I've had the low setup with the full width drawer in place, had the topper with the high setup in place, had every other combination...

It is pretty tall with any of the provided feet setups, I won't deny that. You could ditch the feet and just put the drawer on your own platform (or even a piece of wood) and it would be pretty slimmed down.

I do have a few gripes about the MOD system, like the latch isn't great, but it's solid overall.

 

[Roody]

Few pics of the GX from AOAA last weekend

 

[Roody]

Takeaways:

• Skid plates and rock sliders remain absolutely invaluable. The Talons Garage skids and White Knuckle Offroad sliders are fantastic.
• Knew this a thousand times over, but clearance is everything. In those pictures where I'm hung up on the rocks and the winch line is out (which we didn't actually use in that instance, instead just stacked rocks and backed off the obstacle with some push power from friends), I was only in that situation because a) I probably could have lined up a little better for my approach and b) The right front lower control arm was 1/2" from clearing the rock I got stopped by
• The extra clearance from the Maganaflow Overland Exhaust makes a huge difference, and running windows down on a beautiful fall day with the V8 noises is truly a fantastic experience
• Starting to have more issues with the Grom VLine2, which now simply won't do CarPlay at all. Need to unplug it and plug it back in...
• Suspension travel with the Ironman kit is solid, but might be worth exploring the KDSS off switch mod for next year

 

[MrTorgue]

Starting to have more issues with the Grom VLine2, which now simply won't do CarPlay at all. Need to unplug it and plug it back in...

How long have you had it? Mine after ~3yrs is nearly unusable. The screen will either freeze and it won't take any touch inputs or it'll black out but take inputs. It long stopped doing wireless carplay less than a year after I got it.

I said F it and put on one of these until I hear more feedback on the Carlinklife unit.

This unit so far is pretty neat. Wireless carplay works great. My only complaint is not with this unit but my hands free in the GX being atrocious audio quality on calls and using the factory GX mic. The Bluetooth radio quality is good so that's what's important LOL.

*edit*
It has a built in 4K 60fps dashcam too.

 

[Roody]

How long have you had it? Mine after ~3yrs is nearly unusable. The screen will either freeze and it won't take any touch inputs or it'll black out but take inputs. It long stopped doing wireless carplay less than a year after I got it.

I said F it and put on one of these until I hear more feedback on the Carlinklife unit.

View attachment 3752416
This unit so far is pretty neat. Wireless carplay works great. My only complaint is not with this unit but my hands free in the GX being atrocious audio quality on calls and using the factory GX mic. The Bluetooth radio quality is good so that's what's important LOL.

*edit*
It has a built in 4K 60fps dashcam too.

Installed it 4/2023, so a year and a half.

Cool looking unit, which is it?

At this point I'm just using the Ram mount with the phone in it for nav when I need it. Not worth the headache of dealing with the built-in infotainment.

 

[Banandalorian]

• Suspension travel with the Ironman kit is solid, but might be worth exploring the KDSS off switch mod for next year

The DrKDSS controller is a pretty easy install and I use it all the time off road and on the occasional crappy city street. I wired mine into my Auxbeam panel so I didn't have to mess with wire taps. You won't notice a difference crawling over rocks since that's slow enough to be in soft mode, but it makes the mid speed stuff where you are going like 15-25 mph between obstacles much nicer.

 

[Roody]

The DrKDSS controller is a pretty easy install and I use it all the time off road and on the occasional crappy city street. I wired mine into my Auxbeam panel so I didn't have to mess with wire taps. You won't notice a difference crawling over rocks since that's slow enough to be in soft mode, but it makes the mid speed stuff where you are going like 15-25 mph between obstacles much nicer.

Noted, I think that's still a few mods away but definitely on the radar

 

[MrTorgue]

Installed it 4/2023, so a year and a half.

Cool looking unit, which is it?

At this point I'm just using the Ram mount with the phone in it for nav when I need it. Not worth the headache of dealing with the built-in infotainment.

Cool thing about this unit is you can remove it from the mount and store it anywhere and it'll work with a USB-C cable to power it. It also can allow phone mirroring with your iPhone. It's still on sale and isn't expensive.

https://a.co/d/8TdaNLs

 

[r2m]

Cool thing about this unit is you can remove it from the mount and store it anywhere and it'll work with a USB-C cable to power it. It also can allow phone mirroring with your iPhone. It's still on sale and isn't expensive.

https://a.co/d/8TdaNLs

I like that it'll mirror one's phone. I like my phone's UI and am used to it with maps, music, and so on.
Does your car's phone still work through the car's factory system?

 

[MrTorgue]

Does your car's phone still work through the car's factory system?

Yup. That's what I was getting at with the low quality mic/phone audio from the factory GX. Perhaps it's because I've got a 2010 and it's an old system?

 

[CaptRussia253]

Few pics of the GX from AOAA last weekend

Awesome! If you wheel this hard it might be time to invest in 35s

 

[Roody]

Awesome! If you wheel this hard it might be time to invest in 35s

Oh it's time, was running with 2 Tacos on 35"s and an XTerra on 37"s, felt very outclassed

 

[CaptRussia253]

Oh it's time, was running with 2 Tacos on 35"s and an XTerra on 37"s, felt very outclassed

Ok I gotta see the xterra on 37s!!!

 

[CaptRussia253]

I’m a big fan of xterras. Had a 2015(last year built) and wish I kept it.

 

[Roody]

Ok I gotta see the xterra on 37s!!!

It's a wild rig, Titan swap up front and custom 4-link out back with a 2" wheelbase stretch

No great pics of it but it's a hell of a rig

 

[CaptRussia253]

Oh that's one badass rig!

 

[Roody]

Episodes 367 and 368 of the Hooniverse Podcast are live!

Hooniverse Podcast: Episode 367 – You Could Just Not...



Hooniverse Podcast: Episode 368 - Gravity Bends Light




You can listen on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, and Spotify, and the video version is available on YouTube.

 

[Roody]

Magnaflow Overland Exhaust video!

Here's the video I put together of the stock exhaust versus the Magnaflow Overland system.



So far so good. Full review live on Hooniverse but here it is copied over:

"A low-hanging secondary muffler and accompanying outlet can seriously hamper a vehicle’s departure angle, in turn worsening off-road capability. Big pieces of superfluous metal grab and get hung up on obstacles, preventing forward progress, simultaneously damaging vehicle and trail. The Lexus GX460’s stock exhaust was guilty of these sins, and the proliferation of the J150 Series as a daily-driver-meets-off-roader platform led the kind folks at RealTruck to graciously send over Magnaflow’s high-clearance Overland Exhaust to put to the test.

I’ve had a lot of aftermarket exhausts on my vehicles over the years. Some were great, some were terrible, some merely ho-hum. Sounding good without being obnoxious is a tricky line to toe and getting away with no drone makes it all that much more difficult. I knew my GX460 needed a solution for the departure-angle killing stock exhaust but didn’t want to go overboard on the volume, which eliminated the risk of a one-off muffler-and-pipe combo. Yet I felt chopping off the stock setup ahead of the final muffler was a half-effort and not the ideal solution.

Cue RealTruck, which sent over the Magnaflow Overland Exhaust to test and review. As it turns out, the Magnaflow exhaust is a near-perfect solution and a fantastic addition to any GX460, regardless of if it’s taken off-roading or not. We knew it would help with the clearance and came away happily surprised by the sound, too.

The stock primary muffler (bottom) is quite a bit larger (and less free-flowing) than the Magnaflow counterpart
This is one of those situations where what you don’t see is more important than what you do. The real story here is the improvement in ground clearance. To give context, any low-hanging piece of a vehicle is subject to impacts when off-roading, and the bottom-most point inevitably takes the brunt of it. Off-roaders will be happy to gain an inch or two of ground clearance from a given upgrade as it pays drastic dividends for the departure angle. In the case of a factory exhaust system on the GX460, the secondary muffler that exits behind the rear axle and under the rear bumper was not only an eyesore but a piece of metal that sat so low it was only a matter of time before it and a rock had a battle of toughness.

To the numbers: With the stock exhaust, my lifted and 34-inch tire-wearing GX460 had 15.5 inches of clearance at the secondary muffler and 17 inches at the outlet. The new Magnaflow Overland exhaust increased those numbers to around 19.5 inches (the same across the whole exit area as there is no secondary muffler). That’s a huge improvement, and the first trip with the exhaust fitted saw some obstacles that would have severely impacted the factory setup. It also means peace of mind in not worrying about dragging the metal pipe across any surface. As for the muffler itself, there’s just less of it to worry about catching on something it shouldn’t.

Then there’s the sound: Though I knew the stock exhaust had to go for the sake of not removing it forcefully on a rock, my skepticism about whether the Magnaflow kit would make the truck too loud or not was extreme to the point that I literally held my breath upon the first cold start.

Those worries were unfounded: It sounds fantastic. You get a nice rumble upon startup, but it’s nothing ear-shattering or even significantly noticeable over stock. Think “OEM Plus” more than “very modified.” On the road, it’s definitely a step up in volume, no question about that, but the GX460 is so well insulated that the Magnaflow exhaust is factory quiet when you’re off the throttle. When coasting, the BFGoodrich KO2 tires are regularly heard over the exhaust. At low RPM highway cruising, the tires can usually be heard over the exhaust, too. But get on it, and it roars.

“That doesn’t sound like a Lexus” or “I’ve never heard a Lexus that sounds like that before” is one of the biggest compliments you can give a GX460 owner who cares about their vehicle’s sound. Magnaflow knocked it out of the park on this front, letting the 4.6L V8 announce itself with decent volume while keeping it restrained enough to never be annoying. Volume levels can go from mild to medium loud depending almost entirely on throttle inputs.

As for installation of the kit, it was easy and straightforward. We can’t say the same of the uninstallation of the factory exhaust; rusted bolts necessitated removal of the pipe via cutting rather than simple disassembly. The Magnaflow exhaust itself went on in less than 30 minutes with no hiccups whatsoever. You have to reuse the factory exhaust hangers and bolts for where the catalytic converter meets the first section of exhaust pipe that goes into the muffler, so be careful around those during disassembly, but Magnaflow’s gasket-less design makes putting things together as simple as tightening down the hose clamps.

All-in-all, the Magnaflow Overland Exhaust represents a big improvement over the stock setup in clearance and sound. It’s always best to approach an aftermarket exhaust with caution and skepticism, and even for this Magnaflow kit we still say “your mileage may vary,” but our experience with it indicates it’s a well thought-out and executed product worthy of a place on any enthusiast’s GX460.

 

[snowGX460]

Great review. Have you had anyone sit in the second or third row and assess the volume from there? I'm wondering if that final muffler was to help third row passengers.