Tex's 2019 GX460 build

[Tex68w]

Closed loop, Flatlink E and Rope Guard.

I lowered the placement of the front license plate another 2" as it was sitting up high enough to block some of the grille and it was easily bent when I leaned over into the engine bay. I hate having a front plate, I find them absolutely pointless. I have been pulled over in the past and even ticketed for not having one so I am no longer willing to risk not running it. It's not worth getting pulled over and ticketed and the stop possibly leading to other infractions, don't draw attention to ones self. We will see if in time it proves to be too close to the license plate when pulling at extreme high angles.

 

[Tex68w]

The front bumper was pitched up from the bottom forward, it was only off by a 1/4" or so but it bothered me visually. It's a royal PITA to adjust this thing, first you have to remove the underside infill plates, then the center fill plate and then you have to loosen seven bolts on each side of the bumper. I used a ratchet strap tied to the top center of the bar work and then to a column and ratcheted it forward in order to pitch the front of the bumper out and down and then I retightened everything. It's not much of an improvement, maybe 3/16" flatter but it looks better to my eye and that will let me sleep at night........for now lol.

Top pic is before and the bottom is after the adjustment.

 

[ITTOG]

That is a huge improvement. Good work.

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[Tex68w]

That is a huge improvement. Good work.

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Thanks lol, I am glad someone else can notice the difference haha.

 

[bkg]

Nice build. My wife has been hinting at a 460 for a while to replace her 4Runner. I can't seem to get back the front end. The bumper is a huge improvement, but as you mention, it's.. looong.

Nice rig though.

 

[ITTOG]

Thanks lol, I am glad someone else can notice the difference haha.

Definitely, your work was not wasted. I can see it in the front but it really stands out in the back by reducing the gap between the bumper and the fender.

Funny story though, when I was first reading your post my first thought was that only you, the owner, is going to notice the difference. I was WRONG!

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[Tex68w]

Nice build. My wife has been hinting at a 460 for a while to replace her 4Runner. I can't seem to get back the front end. The bumper is a huge improvement, but as you mention, it's.. looong.

Nice rig though.

Yea I agree, but when you get past that front end it's all gravy baby lol. The bumper definitely helps improve the front end looks in a big way and it adds a little beefiness and masculinity to an otherwise soccer mom looking truck lol. Once the heavier rate coils go on up front tomorrow it'll bring that front end back up another inch and that will improve the look as well.

The improvements on this platform over the 5th Gen outweigh its drawbacks. I would still like to get rid of all of the chrome and do either the red vinyl covers for the tail lights or change out to the 2010-13 all red version so that it doesn't have the ricer look out back. Many more mods to come, hopefully in the end it'll be close to how I imagine it.

Definitely, your work was not wasted. I can see it in the front but it really stands out in the back by reducing the gap between the bumper and the fender.

Funny story though, when I was first reading your post my first thought was that only you, the owner, is going to notice the difference. I was WRONG!

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Haha, the misses had her doubts as well and thought I was nuts for bothering with it. The cut is left long at the front of the fenders to allow room for the fenders/plastic to flex when in off camber situations and there's still 1/4-3/8" room up front where I can push the bumper further back as well, that would close up that gap some more too. That said, I am happy with the end result for now.

 

[Tex68w]

I had the Ironman 065C (+220-GVWR) coils installed up front today. I can definitely tell an improvement in the balance of the front end when braking and in dynamic handling scenarios. It also appears to have improved the ride over rough sections of road, the coils no longer feel taxed and over compressed and unable to handle high speed compression. I was hoping that I would gain back the height I lost in the front end after the bumper and winch install but it only appears to have improved by about 1/2" at best. I guess I'll have to see how much more height I can get out of the front coilovers by adjusting the preload further.

For those of you with a 2-3" lift on your GX460, if you wouldn't mind please run a tape measure from either the ground to the bottom of the of the fender dead center of the axle or measure from the center of the axle to the bottom of the fender and let me know what kind of numbers you're seeing. I am not sure whether or not I am simply expecting more out of this setup than what it is capable of, if the forward rake is how the vehicle is supposed to sit to some degree or if it's due to the lack of a spare of added weight (bumper/drawers/cargo) out back or maybe even just a bit of an optical illusion. Either way I feel like it still has too much rake and it still has a tad of the stink bug/ass high look.

BTW, the driveway slopes towards the center and pitches the passenger side of the truck down slope a tad, this biased side load also results in a 1/2" lower measurement on the passenger side as well. KDSS might have something to do with the difference in height from the driver to passenger side as well. Am I being petty here or do others think this is too low up front as well?

 

[Tex68w]

All cleaned up and headed home from the ranch. I still would like a little more lift up front.

 

[moose545]

I had the Ironman 065C (+220-GVWR) coils installed up front today. I can definitely tell an improvement in the balance of the front end when braking and in dynamic handling scenarios. It also appears to have improved the ride over rough sections of road, the coils no longer feel taxed and over compressed and unable to handle high speed compression. I was hoping that I would gain back the height I lost in the front end after the bumper and winch install but it only appears to have improved by about 1/2" at best. I guess I'll have to see how much more height I can get out of the front coilovers by adjusting the preload further.

For those of you with a 2-3" lift on your GX460, if you wouldn't mind please run a tape measure from either the ground to the bottom of the of the fender dead center of the axle or measure from the center of the axle to the bottom of the fender and let me know what kind of numbers you're seeing. I am not sure whether or not I am simply expecting more out of this setup than what it is capable of, if the forward rake is how the vehicle is supposed to sit to some degree or if it's due to the lack of a spare of added weight (bumper/drawers/cargo) out back or maybe even just a bit of an optical illusion. Either way I feel like it still has too much rake and it still has a tad of the stink bug/ass high look.

BTW, the driveway slopes towards the center and pitches the passenger side of the truck down slope a tad, this biased side load also results in a 1/2" lower measurement on the passenger side as well. KDSS might have something to do with the difference in height from the driver to passenger side as well. Am I being petty here or do others think this is too low up front as well?

I can get you some measurements tomorrow, I’m running those wheels and 35x10.5 Kendas, and Dobinsons IMS,Heavy 700lb springs in back. Shoot me a message and I’ll measure stuff if you need.

 

[Tex68w]

Still loving the GX, I am looking forward to adjusting the preload collars on the front coilovers on Monday in hopes of netting a bit more height out of the front end. I am currently waiting for C4, 4x4Labs and Victory to drop their rear bumper designs so that I can move forward with a rear setup hopefully by years end.

My complaints with the 2019 MY GX460 are as follows:

1) Lack of digital speedometer readout. This is standard on the newer infotainment screen on the 2020 MY, but I wish it were available on the 2010-2019 MY's, the space is there in the screen display, it shouldn't have been left out.

2) Lack of hard buttons on the center stack for the fan speed. I can control the temp and multiple defrost options with hard buttons but I have to go into the center stack infotainment screen in order to change the fan speed? That seems like a major oversight in my opinion and I find it annoying.

3) The paint on the D-pillar (behind the third side window) chips easily and I already have multiple spots of missing paint on each side. I expect them on the front edge of the hood but not way back at the side rear of the vehicle, especially not that high up. I have come to accept that Toyota in general lacks durable paint, that sucks.

Keep in mind that these are only minor complaints and they really aren't that big of a deal, they are simply small oversights on the design, some of which have already been remedied on the 2020 MY. If I am being honest, I wish that my 2019 had auto hi-beam headlights and adaptive cruise control as well along with the 2020 MY head lights too! First world problems haha.

 

[ITTOG]

I can't believe 2, 3, and the auto brights aren't included on such a luxury vehicle. That is almost standard these days. My 18 f150 has 2 and the auto brights and it is a truck. I feel your pain.

The paint is surprising too. My 07 tundra doesn't have this issue. Not even in the front.

Sorry such a new and expensive vehicle has these issues.

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[Tex68w]

I can't believe 2, 3, and the auto brights aren't included on such a luxury vehicle. That is almost standard these days. My 18 f150 has 2 and the auto brights and it is a truck. I feel your pain.

The paint is surprising too. My 07 tundra doesn't have this issue. Not even in the front.

Sorry such a new and expensive vehicle has these issues.

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The paint on our LX570 has proven to be more durable but I am not sure if they are painted under the same process!? All of the the 4Runners and FJC's and Tacoma's I have owned over the years have had thin, fragile paint as well.

The auto hi-beams might be standard on the highest level 'Luxury' trim but not on this mid-grade 'Premium' and I agree that's not acceptable for the money. The lack of a fan speed button is more than likely an oversight from the 10+ year old design but I can't figure out why they would allow for temp controls via hard buttons and not the fan speed. Either put them both in the infotainment screen or keep both as a hard button on the center stack, don't split it up. First world problems for sure.

 

[Wallygator]

Toyotas have been known for thin paint for years now. When I buy one before I leave the dealership I buy the touch up paint. It's almost mandatory with owning a Toyota. I could care less about auto headlights as I like it old school.

 

[odonekanobe]

Still loving the GX, I am looking forward to adjusting the preload collars on the front coilovers on Monday in hopes of netting a bit more height out of the front end. I am currently waiting for C4, 4x4Labs and Victory to drop their rear bumper designs so that I can move forward with a rear setup hopefully by years end.

My complaints with the 2019 MY GX460 are as follows:

1) Lack of digital speedometer readout. This is standard on the newer infotainment screen on the 2020 MY, but I wish it were available on the 2010-2019 MY's, the space is there in the screen display, it shouldn't have been left out.

2) Lack of hard buttons on the center stack for the fan speed. I can control the temp and multiple defrost options with hard buttons but I have to go into the center stack infotainment screen in order to change the fan speed? That seems like a major oversight in my opinion and I find it annoying.

3) The paint on the D-pillar (behind the third side window) chips easily and I already have multiple spots of missing paint on each side. I expect them on the front edge of the hood but not way back at the side rear of the vehicle, especially not that high up. I have come to accept that Toyota in general lacks durable paint, that sucks.

Keep in mind that these are only minor complaints and they really aren't that big of a deal, they are simply small oversights on the design, some of which have already been remedied on the 2020 MY. If I am being honest, I wish that my 2019 had auto hi-beam headlights and adaptive cruise control as well along with the 2020 MY head lights too! First world problems haha.

Wow, a bit surprised about this. I travel pretty much every week and now find it annoying when the rental cars I get do not have he digital speedometer. I'm also surprised about the auto high beams, my work vehicle, a 2020 Equinox has both of those options.

That being said, I still would still love a GX.