I'm lost on suspension. I've read a ton, but the choices are kinda overwhelming. Could use some input...

[amongmany]

Recently purchased a used 04 GX. I dropped it off to a widely respected shop (RPM Garage for the SoCal folks) who came back with a longer list than I expected.

Truck needs:

• CV's
• Swaybar Links (Front and Rear)
• Front Lower Control Arm bushings
• Rear Lower Control Arms
• Shocks F/R
• Airbags are shot (going to coils)

I don't need a lift, but if we're doing the suspension work now's the time. So, first question:

If I didn't want to go with a lift, what's the most reasonably priced way to do a coil conversion and get back on the road?
As best I can tell, by the time I do a straight coil conversion with new shocks/struts, springs in the back, etc. — I'm practically at the cost of a lift. (+/- the cost of the UCA's)

If I do go with a lift, is there a good "mild" kit that would net me ~1.5"?
The shop is recommending either Eibach + SPC's or Ironman Stage 2 — both good choices from my research that will net ~2-2.5". However, I don't need that much lift; what kit would keep me in a range that might not require UCA's?

One of my requirements is that the spare fit in the stock location. That limits me to 265/70/17 or 255/75/17's.
Will they look tiny with a 2" lift?

And lastly, given everything that it needs, is there a unified direction to take? One manufacturer for all the parts? Or does it matter?

Thanks for all the help folks!

 

[RiverCityDave]

I dont have a GX so disclaimer up front, however I have a good bit of experience with suspension in general, so take my comments as universal thoughts. Almost everything you listed as needing replacement is a general maintenance part. Minus the airbags, you can go back to OEM parts (probably at a price premium) and your truck will be as it is today, but fully functional. As you said, once you've spent the money, why not go with parts that enhance the vehicles capabilities, or at least its ground clearance.

Most of the manufacturers will advertise their systems as "optimized for your vehicle", most are not. They are simply shocks with springs that are in the general range the dampers (shocks) can control. Most shocks/struts fit multiple vehicles and have modular end pieces that adjust the fit in specific vehicle situations. (just look at the Fox catalog for examples). Unless you're having your damping customized to suit your vehicle, you're dealing with generic parts that at most have been proven not to interfere with each other once installed. I've had some conversations with the Eibach guys recently, and I find them along with Icon to be a little more precise in their fitment choices, so you could do worse than going that route, as I believe your mechanic suggested.

In keeping with your desire to not go to 2-3 inch lift, Dobinsons makes a 1.5 inch kit that is complete, includes shocks, springs, and struts. (link in description) I'm sure OME probably does too. You could also use the Eibach Pro truck shocks and struts that are suitable for 0 -3 lift along with customized springs selected from the Dobinsons catalog if you feel you have a unique circumstance, i.e. bigger load requirements, or even no load for a purely street driven vehicle, and you'f be fine with replacing your bushings and such with stock parts either way.

Icon Vehicle Dynamics makes a 0-3 inch adjustable coil-over system, which is probably about the nicest you'll find, though by the time you pay for it, you're in the ballpark of some other "stage III" systems.

As to the question about the tires looking small, they might. Thats of course, purely subjective, and it depends how you want the truck to look. It will look great with the larger of your options in a nice rugged AT tire with a 2.2 inch lift. That being said, if you want that hardcore off road look, those will be a little small. You should take a look at the various GX threads on here, these guys post up all their trucks with various lift kits and wheel/tire combos all the time. The reality is that it will likely perform better with the smaller tires, they will fit cleaner into the wheel wells with less rubbing and interference. The rear wheel well on the GX in particular doesn't give a lot of room for larger tires.

My .02, take it for what its worth, and good luck,. For the record, I have a mix of Icon, and Dobinsons on my truck, with 33 inch ATPs. My truck is a 1994 Landcruiser 80. I started with a stock height rebuild from OME, and now I'm ordering the front control arms from Delta Vehicle in a few weeks and going to 35x17 ATPs. Its a slippery slope...

 

[Tex68w]

Ironman makes some affordable no fuss, no frills kit, I can whole heartedly recommend them. I am not sure of who else makes a lift that nets less than 2" of lift.

255's will look great with a 2" lift, here is a pic of mine with the Ironman FCP's set to 2" with 255's (32's) on the stock wheels. I have since moved on to 285's on aftermarket wheels and I bumped the preload up to what is now effectively a 2.75" lift.

 

[RiverCityDave]

Ironman makes some affordable no fuss, no frills kit, I can whole heartedly recommend them. I am not sure of who else makes a lift that nets less than 2" of lift.

255's will look great with a 2" lift, here is a pic of mine with the Ironman FCP's set to 2" with 255's (32's) on the stock wheels. I have since moved on to 285's on aftermarket wheels and I bumped the preload up to what is now effectively a 2.75" lift.

I was actually looking for pics of your truck to reference before you replied to the post. OP should definitely read through @Tex68w 's build thread for info, its probably the most comprehensive GX thread I've seen.

 

[amongmany]

Thanks guys, definitely helpful. Appreciate the pics!

 

[Tex68w]

I was actually looking for pics of your truck to reference before you replied to the post. OP should definitely read through @Tex68w 's build thread for info, its probably the most comprehensive GX thread I've seen.

Haha thanks! I try but it pales in comparison to a lot of the build threads over on Mud. I have a few mods sitting in the garage waiting for me to get some free time to install them so I'll be updating the build thread whenever that happens. I have too many hobbies that are equally as expensive and time consuming so it's hard for me to focus for very long on just one interest lol.

Myself and a buddy with another lifted GX and a friend with a lifted LX will be heading to Big Bend the first part of November so we should get some decent wheeling in while there.

 

[LionZoo]

Hello fellow SoCaler (and customer of RPM Garage)! There are lots of good advice in this thread, but let me just add a few notes.

1) Considering you're replacing the OE dampers and airbags, it's likely that your cost for going with a lower end off-road suspension will be similar. However, I've found that Lexus' on-road tuning for the GX suspension has been pretty good; it's not guaranteed that you'll have a better on-road ride with aftermarket dampers and in fact it might actually be worse. That may or may not be important to you (most of us will deal with a deterioration of on-road behavior in exchange for advantages off-road), but just keep in mind that aftermarket does not automatically mean better. For example, I've been running King 2.5s for a few years now and there are definitely times when I wish I had the stock Lexus on-road ride, but I digress.

2) If you're looking for a relatively cheap 1.5" lift that also has the reputation for being a bit on the softer side in terms of ride, Dobinsons are a good brand to check out. I'm not sure if RPM carries them or not, but if you give Noble Complete Autocare / Noble Eurowerks, located in Alhambra, a call and ask for Charlie, he should give you a very good price (around $800 for dampers + springs). They might be in stock as well, which is a nice advantage in these times.

3) I have about 1.5 to 2 inches of lift on my GX with a 32" tire (265/70-17) and I like the look. The GX wheelwells are a bit smaller than 4Runner/Tacoma wheelwells, so at 32" I actually have slight rub when conditions just line up. Looks are subjective though, but I find the large tire trend to be rather silly.

Let me know if you need anything else. Feel free to DM me if you need some local help.

 

[amongmany]

Hello fellow SoCaler (and customer of RPM Garage)! There are lots of good advice in this thread, but let me just add a few notes.

1) Considering you're replacing the OE dampers and airbags, it's likely that your cost for going with a lower end off-road suspension will be similar. However, I've found that Lexus' on-road tuning for the GX suspension has been pretty good; it's not guaranteed that you'll have a better on-road ride with aftermarket dampers and in fact it might actually be worse. That may or may not be important to you (most of us will deal with a deterioration of on-road behavior in exchange for advantages off-road), but just keep in mind that aftermarket does not automatically mean better. For example, I've been running King 2.5s for a few years now and there are definitely times when I wish I had the stock Lexus on-road ride, but I digress.

2) If you're looking for a relatively cheap 1.5" lift that also has the reputation for being a bit on the softer side in terms of ride, Dobinsons are a good brand to check out. I'm not sure if RPM carries them or not, but if you give Noble Complete Autocare / Noble Eurowerks, located in Alhambra, a call and ask for Charlie, he should give you a very good price (around $800 for dampers + springs). They might be in stock as well, which is a nice advantage in these times.

3) I have about 1.5 to 2 inches of lift on my GX with a 32" tire (265/70-17) and I like the look. The GX wheelwells are a bit smaller than 4Runner/Tacoma wheelwells, so at 32" I actually have slight rub when conditions just line up. Looks are subjective though, but I find the large tire trend to be rather silly.

Let me know if you need anything else. Feel free to DM me if you need some local help.

Thanks for the well thought out response. I'm looking for some measure of improved off-road performance. The GX will be our daily driver, but we're not going anywhere terribly often right now anyway. Essentially I'm looking for a capable, well mannered overland vehicle that's good for city or off-road driving (to the extent that the two can be reasonably balanced — I do understand that it's a give-and-take). I've read up on the Dobinsons options as well; I'll check into them further.

Will definitely DM you if something further comes up, thank you!

 

[RiverCityDave]

Thanks for the well thought out response. I'm looking for some measure of improved off-road performance. The GX will be our daily driver, but we're not going anywhere terribly often right now anyway. Essentially I'm looking for a capable, well mannered overland vehicle that's good for city or off-road driving (to the extent that the two can be reasonably balanced — I do understand that it's a give-and-take). I've read up on the Dobinsons options as well; I'll check into them further.

Will definitely DM you if something further comes up, thank you!

Even though I have an off-road-oriented Landcruiser, the reality is that unless you live at the entrance to a major off-road area, most of us have to travel a considerable distance on road to find anywhere OFF road to use these trucks, so everything I do is oriented toward keeping the truck useable and bearable on road. I drive mine daily, so I'm not willing to put up with a buckboard ride, or lots of road noise for some minor improvement for 3 hours a year off-road.

Good luck with your searching!

 

[alanymarce]

Good advice from others, my thoughts:

If I didn't want to go with a lift, what's the most reasonably priced way to do a coil conversion and get back on the road?
As best I can tell, by the time I do a straight coil conversion with new shocks/struts, springs in the back, etc. — I'm practically at the cost of a lift. (+/- the cost of the UCA's)

Renew everything to standard and you have a very capable vehicle - it's worth going to a single source, since the kit will be integrated well. We have Dobinson's with a 50mm (2in) lift and don't need any more than that. We went to the "mid-range" option for load capacity - higher than standard but not the maximum (once again, don't need it).

If I do go with a lift, is there a good "mild" kit that would net me ~1.5"?
The shop is recommending either Eibach + SPC's or Ironman Stage 2 — both good choices from my research that will net ~2-2.5". However, I don't need that much lift; what kit would keep me in a range that might not require UCA's?

As noted above, you can get 1.5 in with Dobinson's.

One of my requirements is that the spare fit in the stock location. That limits me to 265/70/17 or 255/75/17's.
Will they look tiny with a 2" lift?

Not in my view. More to the point, does it matter what how they look? The point is to have a suspension system which optimises (for your needs) comfort, handling, and agility. The photos are our LC80 and our Montero - both with 50mm lift and tyres one step above standard (when looking for representative photos I discovered that both of these were taken crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, although on different continents).

And lastly, given everything that it needs, is there a unified direction to take? One manufacturer for all the parts? Or does it matter?

A good specialist will be able to integrate everything, however in my view it makes sense to start with the intention of sourcing everything from one manufacturer, and I would start with Dobinson's and OME.

 

[PirateMcGee]

Bilstein 5160/6112, metal tech coil conversion kit, and some dobinson coils or 4runner coils.

 

[amongmany]

Bilstein 5160/6112, metal tech coil conversion kit, and some dobinson coils or 4runner coils.

Interesting. Which dobinson coils?

Ah, that combo is considerably more expensive than the Eibach kit which I've heard good things about. What kind of lift does the bilstein setup net?

 

[PirateMcGee]

It has bigger shocks than most kits too. 0-3 lift. Rear coil depends on what you're after. I recommended this set up specifically so you can do a minimal to no lift and continue running stock uca. Could also go with bilstein 5100s but I think the 6112/5160 hits a sweet spot for price vs performance.

 

[amongmany]

Appreciate all the input here. I ended up ordering the Eibach Pro kit and Freedom Offroad UCA's. Consider it my "starter pack."