Builds Roody’s 2018 Lexus GX460 Build, Adventure, and Off the Road Again Podcast (13 Viewers)

[r2m]

I would love to see a technical in the museum

Did I miss something? Not sure what you mean, "... technical in the museum" What museum?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Did I miss something? Not sure what you mean, "... technical in the museum" What museum?

A "Technical" refers to a Land Cruiser equipped as such:

The "museum" they referenced in their video is the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum here in SLC:

Landcruiser Heritage Museum - Home

At the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum we celebrate the legacy of the Land Cruiser, in terms of both design and function. The Land Cruisers displayed at the museum are not just display pieces—they are veterans of countless adventures.

landcruiserhm.com

 

[r2m]

A "Technical" refers to a Land Cruiser equipped as such:

View attachment 3575550

The "museum" they referenced in their video is the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum here in SLC:

Landcruiser Heritage Museum - Home

At the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum we celebrate the legacy of the Land Cruiser, in terms of both design and function. The Land Cruisers displayed at the museum are not just display pieces—they are veterans of countless adventures.

landcruiserhm.com

May have to make a pilgrimage to that LC Heritage Museum! Didn't know such a Mecca existed.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

May have to make a pilgrimage to that LC Heritage Museum! Didn't know such a Mecca existed.

Come visit!

 

[Roody]

Updates!

A few months back BFGoodrich sent me a set of 34x10.5R17 KO2s to test. I've been running Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs in 285/70/17 for the last 2 years, and the two tires are direct competitors. As I posted in the skinny tires thread, the E-rated Toyos weigh in at a reported 55# with the new D-load rating BFGs being 54# each. I'm also testing a set of American Racing AR172 Bajas courtesy of Real Truck. The 17x8" size makes more sense for the narrower Toyos than does the 17x8.5" Motegis that were mounted on the Toyos. The new Bajas weigh 25.31# to the Motegis at 24.54# each, so the overall wheel/tire setup went from 79.54 lbs/corner to 79.31 lbs/corner-- a negligible difference.

Yes, you can fit 5 tires and 5 boxed wheels in the GX460:



The goal in swapping out the Toyos for the BFGs was to get a little more height and a little less rolling resistance. Dimensions come into play here: he BFGs are quoted at 33.5" tall by 10.5" wide, and the Toyos are reportedly 32.8" tall x 11.5" wide. It's not a huge difference, but it's noticeable when the two are placed next to each other:

 

[Roody]

I enjoyed the Toyo/Motegi setup but might like the BFG/American Racing setup even more. It's a much more classic look. I dig it. Here's a few comparison pictures of the GX before/after:

 

[Roody]

I've wanted to try the KO2s for a while now and am especially curious how this size fares in comparison to the common 285/70/17s. Initial impressions are strong after about 400 miles. Here are some thoughts:

• Less rolling resistance with the narrower KO2s (and coasting is subsequently easier)
• The GX is maybe 5% less excited to drop down a gear on long highway climbs, but more time and testing is needed to verify this
• Equally quiet around town
• KO2s are new and subsequently slightly quieter at highway speed, though they do have slightly more vibration at highway speed
• Ride quality of the BFGs is better, thanks to slightly more sidewall and lighter load rating
• BFGs have worse wheel lip protection; outside of the bead is more subject to rock rash
• Off-road is hard to compare apples-to-apples, but the KO2s seem to be a little happier on dry rocks (again likely thanks to the greater ability for the tire to deflect/flex), water/mud performance is a wash, jury is out on wet/loose climbs, and KO2s are a bit better to run trails with as they are a little more direct but are also slightly more "floaty" (for lack of a better word)

Speaking of off-road, part of those 400 miles were wheeling with some of the Northeast TW guys who are great to wheel with and great friends, too. The KO2s did very well on our little adventure. No grip issues whatsoever, and while it wasn't a particularly taxing or difficult day of wheeling, I am still pleased with the performance thus far. Gratuitous pictures from this past Sunday, some courtesy of the guys I was with:

 

[Roody]

Quick closing report on the Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs after 2 years and ~8k miles: These are truly fantastic tires. Quiet, comfortable, confident in every single weather condition, and so on. Between my dad, my brother, and myself, we have put probably a half million miles on the A/T 2s, and the A/T IIIs are even better. They were fantastic on my GX, handled everything I threw at them, and held up incredibly. Given, I didn't put much mileage on them, but I drove them in every condition: Dry, rain, ice, sleet, snow, mud, rocks, sand, dirt, and so on. They never broke a sweat. Great, great tires, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone who is even considering them.



More in the next post...

 

[Roody]

Also on the list of recent upgrades was a set of skid plates from Talons Garage. They usually make these out of aluminum for the GX460, but conversations with the team there led us to make steel skids as a prototype/development test set. There's three main pieces: Engine, transmission, and transfer case. Talons Garage isn't one of the big names in the off-road armor, but the caveat here is "yet," as the quality of the product shows what a passionate company they are about what they make. This is a super high quality set of skids and has already been a great asset to my GX460.

Installing them was perfect timing, too: The wheeling I did two days after they were went on the GX came with the territory of a bunch of smacks what would have been exposed components had the skid plates not been there.

Talons Garage skids installed:




They match up well with the Ironman bumper. You can just see the engine skid poking up in this picture:


Oh, and the stock skid sure got a workout...

 

[Roody]

Usually this is where I would have included my full installation write-up, but limited time and hectic life shenanigans led me to bring the GX to The Custom Shop (which has done work on my GX in the past) to have the wheels/tires and skid plates installed. Everything went smoothly, though the "wings" for one of the skid plates did have to be notched a bit to fit around the bolts that wrap around the frame to hold on the White Knuckle Off-Road rock sliders. Minor issue all things considered, but worth mentioning.

Speaking of the WKOR sliders, they've already been worth their weight in gold:




While at the shop, the guys also replaced the recalled Ironman4x4 upper control arms. I hadn't noticed a problem but figured the replacement parts might as well go on the truck instead of sitting in a box in my garage. As it turns out, one of the upper ball joints had in fact torn:




Fresh new UCAs:

 

[Roody]

All-in-all, a very productive and satisfying round of upgrades to the GX. It solidified me keeping it around, if not for another few years then for much longer. As much as a pickup would suit some aspects of my life better, I just have so much time/energy/emotion into this GX already that it wouldn't make any sense whatsoever to let go. Plus, it suits my driving use case well and and off-roading it is a hoot. It really does scratch that "Land Cruiser taste on a used 4Runner budget" itch. Love this truck.

Here's a few bonus pictures:

 

[Banandalorian]

I feel like the new wheels share a bit of an old school aesthetic with the big Ironman front bumper.

 

[Roody]

I feel like the new wheels share a bit of an old school aesthetic with the big Ironman front bumper.

Same here. It fits the classic 4x4 look more appropriately.

 

[Washingtontaco]

I was never a fan of the Iron Man bumper (or any Iron Man products) and as soon as an other bumper was available I got rid of it. Access to the winch clutch, or visibility of the drum is poor at best. It did make a good example in class of what to look for when purchasing a bumper though.

 

[Roody]

I was never a fan of the Iron Man bumper (or any Iron Man products) and as soon as an other bumper was available I got rid of it. Access to the winch clutch, or visibility of the drum is poor at best. It did make a good example in class of what to look for when purchasing a bumper though.

What bumper did you replace it with?

I like the Ironman bumper, but I've always like the ARB-style since I was a kid. Winch drum/clutch access hasn't been an issue for me. The Ironman bumper is also crash tested, for whatever that's worth.

If there was a good looking tube bumper that integrated well into the front end and provided decent coverage, I'd be all over it. Something like these for the Tacos:

 

[Washingtontaco]

What bumper did you replace it with?

I like the Ironman bumper, but I've always like the ARB-style since I was a kid. Winch drum/clutch access hasn't been an issue for me. The Ironman bumper is also crash tested, for whatever that's worth.

If there was a good looking tube bumper that integrated well into the front end and provided decent coverage, I'd be all over it. Something like these for the Tacos:

View attachment 3593592View attachment 3593593

I replaced it with the Victory Strike.

Way to much overhang on the Ironman, fitment issues, not really meant for the GX, they may have updated it since 2020. I went full in on Ironman in March of 2020. Bumper, recovery points, skid plates, upgraded lights etc. Skids didn't fit at all, upgraded lights had feathers in the bulb and light output was lacking, one of the recovery point welds cracked when tightened down, the bumper was bay far the worst fitting bumper I have ever installed.

 

[Roody]

I replaced it with the Victory Strike.

Way to much overhang on the Ironman, fitment issues, not really meant for the GX, they may have updated it since 2020. I went full in on Ironman in March of 2020. Bumper, recovery points, skid plates, upgraded lights etc. Skids didn't fit at all, upgraded lights had feathers in the bulb and light output was lacking, one of the recovery point welds cracked when tightened down, the bumper was bay far the worst fitting bumper I have ever installed.

My bumper fits great. Was yours the Classic or Premium? They also no longer make the skid plates.

I really don't like the angle at which the winch fairlead sits at on the Victory Strike. It also weighs as much as the Ironman bumper.

 

[jdam]

What bumper did you replace it with?

I like the Ironman bumper, but I've always like the ARB-style since I was a kid. Winch drum/clutch access hasn't been an issue for me. The Ironman bumper is also crash tested, for whatever that's worth.

If there was a good looking tube bumper that integrated well into the front end and provided decent coverage, I'd be all over it. Something like these for the Tacos:

View attachment 3593592View attachment 3593593

This guy (Login • Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/flexusaurous/) makes these:

 

[Washingtontaco]

My bumper fits great. Was yours the Classic or Premium? They also no longer make the skid plates.

I really don't like the angle at which the winch fairlead sits at on the Victory Strike. It also weighs as much as the Ironman bumper.

Premium. The items I listed were removed from the website shortly after I had problems with Ironman, except the bumper. I think they may have reworked it to make it fit the power steering lines and radiator better.

Yep, me neither! I decided I wasn't going to be able to purchase what I wanted so I reengineered it with the help of an engineer friend. I had quality issues with Victory as well. See below....

Builds - 2018 Premium 460 build

What's special about these? Military grade, very durable. Also quieter than metal when bouncing around on the trail.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Roody]

This guy (Login • Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/flexusaurous/) makes these:

View attachment 3593616

View attachment 3593617

Dig how that looks, but wrong coast unfortunately.

Premium. The items I listed were removed from the website shortly after I had problems with Ironman, except the bumper. I think they may have reworked it to make it fit the power steering lines and radiator better.

Yep, me neither! I decided I wasn't going to be able to purchase what I wanted so I reengineered it with the help of an engineer friend. I had quality issues with Victory as well. See below....

Builds - 2018 Premium 460 build

What's special about these? Military grade, very durable. Also quieter than metal when bouncing around on the trail.

forum.ih8mud.com

I remember reading about the issues you had. Kudos to you and your friend for the re-engineering! I'll have to explore that...