Topic: 10secdream's 2007 Lexus GX470

[10secdream]

10secdream's 2007 Lexus GX470 (soccer mom mobile)

Picked up February 16, 2020 with 258,000km

I have been eyeing the Lexus GX (Essentially a Luxery 4Runner with a V8) vehicles for awhile now and figured I would probably get a GX460 about 2 years down the road but this particular GX470 popped up on facebook marketplace and I had to take a look. Vehicle was in great shape with 258,000 kms on the odometer. Carfax reported 1 owner (technically 2), no accidents, Alberta vehicle. The current owner was a mechanic who bought it for his wife at the end of summer but for some reason she wanted a Tundra instead. Recent maintenance that was performed on the vehicle included a new windshield, fresh flush of all the fluids, new OEM timing belt kit parts, new brakes all around (new front calipers), new front axles, new front ball joints, powder coated wheels and brand new all weather tires. Vehicle is mechanically sound and in very good working order besides some basic wear and tear. One of the big factors to jumping into this vehicle was the price. I managed to get it for $11,500.

My plans for the vehicle are to try and more or less stick to a basic build and not go too crazy as this is a daily. Vehicle will act as kid hauler, rig chaser, mall parker, adventurer and eventually race car hauler.

Modifications / Progress:

Orange - Want Item
Red - Ordered / Waiting to be Installed
Blue - Installed by me

Detailing:

Wheel Tire and Suspension:

• SCS Ray 10 Wheels (Graphite)17x8.5 -10 mounted with 285/70/R70 BFGoodrich K02 Tires
• OME Medium Lift Front Springs, Icon Lift Rear Springs, Metal Tech Coil Conversion, Dobinson IMS dampers

Exterior:

• Blackout grill
• Blackout headlights and yellow vinyl foglights

Lighting:

• Interior and Exterior LEDS

Maintenance:

[10secdream]

Here she is the day I picked her up.

IMG_20200219_170214 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200216_162509 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

In typical 10secdream fashion I cant seem to leave much alone for long so I detailed the interior and did a little correction on the headlights.

IMG_20200222_210938 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200221_203716 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

After enjoying the vehicle for 2 weeks and promising myself I wasn't going to mod it right away a friend reached out and informed me he was selling some wheels off his sold GX470. I couldn't turn down this opportunity so I became the owner of 5 SCS Ray 10 wheels. I figured I might as well get a new tires as well to suit the aggressive stance. Went with the largest tire I could without a lift for the time being.

IMG_20200303_115912 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200306_224032 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200306_224021 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200308_112026 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200307_202054 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

Next thing to address was the front end. I tackled blacking out the front grill and headlights along with wrapping the foglights yellow.

IMG_20200314_102009 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200314_104742 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200315_141553 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

Here she is in her current form

IMG_20200320_080234 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200320_080105 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200320_080043 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

[kijho]

Haha knew it was coming Looks good so far!

[10secdream]

Thanks! It was bound to happen at this point.

Future plans include full exterior paint correction and ceramic coating and then keep on top of maintenance and start planning a suspension improvement.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Dibs when you sell it.

[jutes]

What are your impressions on the grabbers, noise and cold/snow grip?

I hate this province, can't find a decent 1st gen Sequoia, never mind a used GX.

[Asstuna]

Dibs when you sell it.

I'll beat his bid.

[10secdream]

What are your impressions on the grabbers, noise and cold/snow grip?

I hate this province, can't find a decent 1st gen Sequoia, never mind a used GX.

Initial impressions of the grabbers are fantastic. So far they have really impressed me with the lack of noise and the grip on snow is fantastic. Obviously a dedicated winter tire is superior but these are very good for a compromise tire.

[Markkenko]

Following! I see a lot of this car on Instagram 

[10secdream]

First foam bath of the year occurred this weekend. I also found some used parts (lift springs) so I am going to be replacing the suspension sooner than I expected. I am expecting a subtle 2-2.5" of lift with this setup.

DSCF0594 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

DSCF0596 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

DSCF0599 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

[kijho]

I am expecting a subtle 2-2.5" of lift with this setup.

 

[10secdream]

Just a small update but my shocks are now in the mail. Originally I was thinking of going with Bilstein 5100s but decided to buy something a bit better and was currently in stock.  I went with the new Dobinson IMS shocks.

[10secdream]

Much cursing occurred Sunday as I installed the new suspension on the GX. Special thanks goes out to Brian (RedndWhite) for giving me a hand with the install. Overall the install went pretty well once we actually figured out how to do it. We were also battling 13+ year old original suspension with 260k+ kms on it as well. Sorry for the lack of pictures I didn't really take time to take any. Also remember to tighten you lug nuts. In our excitement for a test drive we drove away from the house with finger tight lugs. The car felt sketchy is an understatement. Total lift is 2-2.5" from factory. The front end went up 4" but this is due to old saggy struts/springs.

Overall I am really happy with the lift/new suspension. I pieced many of the parts individually hoping it would work out and thankfully it did. The ride is firm and composed but still comfy enough to be a daily driven. I went with the comfort valving in the rear as I don't have current intentions of going full overland spec with the vehicle. Converting from the factory air springs to coil suspension in the rear is a welcomed improvement and the factory brake dive is now gone. No squeaks or any other noises to report and it goes for an alignment shortly.

IMG_20200529_222422 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

MVIMG_20200601_184252 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200601_184308 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200601_184417 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

[kijho]

Monster truck, sick! Looks great, bet it performs even greater, now time to go smash through some muddy puddles haha

[tperkins]

This is why you lift first then buy tires, lol.

Just teasing, the tires look on the small side but they don't look out of place. Looks good!

[Canuckrz]

This is why you lift first then buy tires, lol.

Maybe D!amond3dg3 can lend you the wheels off his WRB dune buggy to test fit to see what bigger tires would look like on it.

[10secdream]

This is why you lift first then buy tires, lol.

Just teasing, the tires look on the small side but they don't look out of place. Looks good!

Tire size is 31.5". The ideal tire size now with the lift would probably be 33"

[tperkins]

Tire size is 31.5". The ideal tire size now with the lift would probably be 33"

I don't think it looks like off enough for me to change anything if I were to own it, current tire size is suitable.

Clearance on that back flap looks tight already, and the front steps are pretty tight throughout your scrub radius I would imagine. They kind of did the chevy thing with a really square wheel well where lift doesn't necessarily translate to a much bigger tire.

Removing those plastic steps and running some rock sliders would open up a lot of real estate.

IMG_20200601_184308 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

Whats the little thing in the background with the TE's? Fiat?

[jellynuts]

I don't think it looks like off enough for me to change anything if I were to own it, current tire size is suitable.

Whats the little thing in the background with the TE's? Fiat?

I think it looks great!  I didn't even think of the tires being too small until you brought it up, but I'm not in the know with the lifted truck/suv scene.  Can we see a picture without all the soap suds? 

Is it a Fiat 500 in the back?  Has bolted on flares though and Fiat already had large flares so maybe not...

[diamondedge]

Maybe D!amond3dg3 can lend you the wheels off his WRB dune buggy to test fit to see what bigger tires would look like on it.

Don't you have a Microsoft Teams book club to attend?

Yeah, it's a 500 in the back, one of Stephen's roommates.

I dig the look, very mean. Nice work 10sec. Fuel economy woes next with all that extra air flowing underneath hahaha

[10secdream]

I think it looks great!  I didn't even think of the tires being too small until you brought it up, but I'm not in the know with the lifted truck/suv scene.  Can we see a picture without all the soap suds? 

Is it a Fiat 500 in the back?  Has bolted on flares though and Fiat already had large flares so maybe not...

The car in the back is on look alike "TEs". It is a Fiat 500 Abarth with fender flares and a bunch of other mods. That is one of my roommates cars but she is moving out today.

[10secdream]

Don't you have a Microsoft Teams book club to attend?

Yeah, it's a 500 in the back, one of Stephen's roommates.

I dig the look, very mean. Nice work 10sec. Fuel economy woes next with all that extra air flowing underneath hahaha

Fuel economy already increased pretty significantly with the larger tires so I expect another jump with the lift.

[10secdream]

Got her aligned yesterday. My friend spent a good amount of time on the torch but he managed to free the lower control arm bolts. For those familiar with these vehicles it is pretty common for the bolts to seize into the LCA which means you need to cut them out. Alignment came out mostly within spec but will require some adjustable upper control arms to get the caster within spec. Drives really great. Time to enjoy her on some trails and keep her going for another 200,000 km.

[10secdream]

Just completed a 2000 km road trip with the GX470 over the past week and I was pretty impressed. We had the car pretty loaded with the thule and the 5 kids and overall the drive was really pleasant. The new suspension handled through the mountains really well soaking up the bumps without a problem and also provided much more confidence in the corners and braking than the factory suspension. Tires still impress me with the minimal noise as well. I also got a lot of thumbs up from 4runner owners that I passed along the way. I am really happy with this vehicle and glad I got the Lexus version with the V8.

My next move for the vehicle might be moving up to 33" tires. My friend has a set of 5 K02s that be might be selling so I might make the switch to those. Other than that the only other things I want to do to the vehcle are to get the undercarriage dry ice blasted and protected, get some upper control arms, replace the timing belt and get an aftermarket rack for the roof. Maybe eventually some sliders as well.

IMG_20200718_170122 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200727_132411 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200720_135920 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200720_142351 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

IMG_20200727_192413 by Stephen Mitchell, on Flickr

[thedude]

You seemingly failed to mention mpg

But in all seriousness, the Lexus looks really good with what you have done and has proven reliability which is nice peace of mind. Have you noticed any added road noise since lifting it? How is the trunk space with the third row folded down (assuming that it had to have been to fit the kiddos). What style of aftermarket roof rack are you going for?