tecman

I totally misunderstood “cold air intake” I did put this on my 1994 Acura Legend coupe and was annoyed with the sound in the cabin. Yeah performance gains are minimal.

GoHuskers

the intakes in the GX, LX, 4runner, tundra, taco...are already drawing in cold air, from the fender well. The intake above draws in warm/hot air since it sucks air INSIDE the engine. I don't see it would help, IMHO.

Acrad

Tires are sweet!!! Thanks for recommendation!!

Great all around traction in the cold rain...far better than the Michelin M+S... plows through the snow and slush with ease too.

Nickk6

I put a Rhino Rack on, here is my experience:
The instructions are great and everything is correct until it comes time to drill (double check the measurements or make sure you drill the holes before you install the backbone). I had this shipped to my work thinking the rack came disassembled, unfortunately I was wrong, the entire rack is 1 piece. So I took the backbones home to install since I needed to detail my roof. I've not waxed or maintained the paint on this car since I bought it thinking I would return it at the end of the lease. 27k miles and the paint was grimy, so I put a few hours into cleaning the surface with clay and doing Mequiars ultimate polish + wax. It was well worth it since I won't be taking this off every wash. Getting the back bone system on is fairly simple, and can be done alone although easier with an assistant to help lift the light piece up to the roof of the truck.

http://rhino-rack-vpm.s3.amazonaws.com/Instructions/Accessories/Pioneer-Fitting-Charts/Pioneer%20Fitting%20Chart%20-%20R1206%20-%20Lexus%20GX%204dr%20SUV%20%28with%20Backbone%29%20-%204x107B.pdf
Starting on the Pioneer rack is where it gets tricky. You need to drill 4 holes into the Pioneer rack in order for it to mount up to the Backbone system. In order to get this location you need the backbone system on the floor, well too late I had it installed on the car already and wasn't going to remove it for some simple measurements. The instructions on Rhino Racks website say to measure 1,588mm (~62.52") from a fixed point on the rear of the tray (we can call this Zero). Well when you measure the backbone system mounting locations from point to point, its roughly 66". My suggestion is to use hole R1 and not hole R4 (otherwise it wont fit on the car) and then drill your holes using R1 as your zero. I called Rhino Rack for tech support and the tech guy tried telling me they installed 2 on the roof and the engineer did it himself and personally used the measurements from the instructions and they were spot on. I wasn't trying to argue or make the engineer look stupid, just making sure I wasn't doing something batshat backwards. After he gave me a 5 minute marketing pitch he finally said the measurements are not the end all and you can basically do whatever you want, for the location, just make sure the rear window doesn't hit it. I initially missed the chart below calling out the R4 location so I drilled 2 extra holes thinking the zero was at the very end. My rack sits about 1-2 inches too far forward. I'll move re-drill the holes for the bars next time I have the rack off.

Thought I'd share this to save someone else from scratching their heads or drilling extra holes. Anyways, here is the finished product. Road noise is insane with the sunroof open, tilted is maybe doable. I think the factory roof rails looked nicer, but I think this will be safer when I load it up with a roof top tent.

fishnlab

I believe I saw a user's GX460 with 20" "OEM-style" wheels on here previously. Any ideas where I saw that or if I imagined it? If not, can someone recommend a source for these?

Had a flat yesterday at 30,000 miles. 5/32 on tire tread, so I will just buy 4 new tires. If I go with simple tire replacement with no wheel change, which tires are users selecting with long wear and low road noise?
Thanks

Romanova

Replaced the rear wiper insert. I think it was the original because it was streaking so badly and looked to have never been replaced. The replacement I ordered was a few inches too long, so I trimmed it to fit and it is working without issue. $10 well spent.

dereswyman

They are dusty but it doesn't bug me as much since my wheels are a darker shade of grey anyway. I like the performance but would probably shop around first before going back to these pads for something less dusty when it comes to it.

On another note, its been awhile but I finally got my set of MetalTech rock sliders on for my GX. Install is relatively straight forward aside from the driver's side. Its a two person job with all the lifting to adjust to position. Running board removal is a simple 10-15 minute job per side assuming you do not need to lift the vehicle up to fit underneath. The holes on the frame are tapped and threaded from the factory. The right side/passenger side is easy and all you have to do is line up the holes. Left side/driver side is the harder part. The KDSS metal hydraulic and pump are located on this side of the frame. In order to install the sliders, you will have to unbolt a few brackets for the lines and loosen up the pump mounted to the frame. My vehicle has been a west coast car all of its life so rust was not an issue for me during removal. After you remove the brackets, you will have to pry the lines back enough to slip the rock slider brackets under the lines. I used a smaller dog bone and pried back and had help moving the rock slider in position. Not a difficult job, just heavy lifting and lining stuff up.

GoHuskers

I have not replaced my OEM yet (@26300 miles) but if I do today I will go for Mich Defenders LTX M/S (for long wear and low road noise). I got the Premier LTX on the RX350 and it's quiet and smooth and the Defenders LTX is just another version for the heavier and rugged SUV or Truck.

bbqsoup

Nyclife

I blacked out the chrome lines in the grille and the window bright as well. Will post photos when full blackout is done, (spring time)

Acrad

The more I watch Andrew St Pierre White's overland videos... the more I want to add a roof rack like yours and and a roof tent.

Nickk6

Haha, DO IT! adventuring in this thing is a blast. I actually ran into a 2nd gen GX owner in the local trails new years day and he had the same roof rack and had just installed some ironman foam cells. I was happy to see another of our kind free and roaming in the wild.

Romanova

Front passenger tire is steadily losing air so I finally took it off today and examined it but found no nails or anything. Took it to Discount Tire figuring the valve stem was leaking but they informed me that the chrome was flaking off the wheel and causing the tire to have a poor seal against the lip of the wheel. Well shoot.

Wasn't a big fan of the chrome OEM rims to begin with, now I have a reason to replace them. Torn between a standard set of silver OEM 6 spokes, or the F-Sport wheels. eBay has both available right now...

tecman

^^ Had the same problem on my MDX. You can put a sealer on the lip that will break down over time or use a wire wheel to smooth out the seal. Looks like you want to get new wheels anyway so just a thought.

msgs350

iTrader: (2)

I vote for F-sport, not a fan of the stock OEM wheels at all. I plan on getting new wheels/tires for my 2015 soon.