Late introduction - new GX OT+ (3 Viewers)

[hokeybogey]

Hi All!
This is my first body on frame vehicle. As my friends and I have gotten older, I am the last of my group to get into the offroad / overland hobby. I picked this up in October (thank you Lexus of Pleasanton, Chris King is the best). Monday I drive up to Colfax to drop this off at Dissent Offroad: portal axles, front high clearance bumper with winch, roof rack, rock sliders, icon CDEV suspension, 37 tires/wheels, rear bumper with swing outs.

Honestly the anticipation for the build has made ownership so far pretty muted. I haven’t owned a Toyota product since I got rid of a hand-me-down ‘98 Camry, and I’ve never owned a Lexus. The past two decades have been with BMWs and Porsches, and that passion still burns bright, but it is safe to say this is quite a deviation from my standard MO. Never in my life have I spent effort on mods to make the vehicle go SLOWER lol. But the amazing Offroad community, aftermarket support for Toy/Lex (best in my opinion) is what sold me.

I still have my X5M, but with the suspension and wheel setup, I can’t imagine that has any ability off road. It is an eye-opening experience jumping from that (basically drives like a sports sedan) into a GX (feels like a truck), and the powertrain is underwhelming, to be frank. The suspension is obviously built for comfort and off road. Couldn’t be more polar opposites. But in a weird way, I enjoy the slow, calm, soft ride the GX provides. When shopping, main contenders were Defender Octa and G63, both with beefy, FI V8 engines. But again, the aftermarket support is plentiful here and very sparse on the Land Rover and Merc platforms. I suspect i won’t truly appreciate my decision of going GX until I take this on a trail, or make memories camping with my family. Oh and the Toyota/Lexus reliability was also a factor when going on adventures in rural / off-the-path areas.

PS. I took off the OEM rock rails. Anyone in the Bay Area, give me a shout and I’ll offload these brand new rock rails for a fraction of what the dealer charges.

 

[Bic Jet]

I can't tell you how to manage your build,. but as a first one ever for you I would suggest you’re building way overkill unless you are planning to do expert level rock crawling. Your automotive tastes are similar to mine. 4 Porsches, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Land Rover, Antique, you name it I have probably had it (sans Italian)!!

The portal axles are over the top and not needed for most anything in CA, CO, UT, WY, MT, NM, NV….with just a solid Icon, King, OME BP 51, you could literally tackle 98% of all the trails that you would want to tour of course IMHO.

Please understand I am not trying to be a jerk, I just think for a first build that is extreme.

P.S. The beauty of our country is out in the sticks. We all love to drive slow cars slow.

Again, I am NOT trying to tell you what to do. I appreciate the fact that you made some great friends in the community, and further, I hope to be one of your friends as well. Feel free to DM me and I will gladly share my cell and be glad to talk to you at length or ad nauseam about this.

 

[hokeybogey]

I can't tell you how to manage your build,. but as a first one ever for you I would suggest you’re building way overkill unless you are planning to do expert level rock crawling. Your automotive tastes are similar to mine. 4 Porsches, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Land Rover, Antique, you name it I have probably had it (sans Italian)!!

The portal axles are over the top and not needed for most anything in CA, CO, UT, WY, MT, NM, NV….with just a solid Icon, King, OME BP 51, you could literally tackle 98% of all the trails that you would want to tour of course IMHO.

Please understand I am not trying to be a jerk, I just think for a first build that is extreme.

P.S. The beauty of our country is out in the sticks. We all love to drive slow cars slow.

Again, I am NOT trying to tell you what to do. I appreciate the fact that you made some great friends in the community, and further, I hope to be one of your friends as well. Feel free to DM me and I will gladly share my cell and be glad to talk to you at length or ad nauseam about this.

Nice to meet you!!! And no, you don’t sound like a jerk at all. I appreciate the advice, and you’re very likely right. I am an absolute novice at this. But, the shop time and parts have already been paid for/ordered. Too late to turn around, fully committed at this point. The platform may be new to me, but this type of diving in head-first behavior is, unfortunately for my wife, not new lol.

And you’re absolutely right about the beauty of our country. I hope to explore the majestic parts of this wonderful country. God bless America.

PS - haha very similar tastes, and also, no Italian. Current garage: GX, e39 M5, f85 X5M, 992 GT3, and my wife’s model 3p

 

[Bic Jet]

Great, well you will enjoy it. Just be sure you stay on top of the maintenance for the portal axles. Its easy to do if you do any work yourself, but you have to stay on top of it. Here is the garage.

’66 Cadillac Convertible (SOLD)

Me Christening the Grenadier with a Guinness.

My 2020 Land Cruiser that was totaled by a person on their phone

1997 Land Rover Defender 110 (SOLD)

My 2023 911 being unloaded from Zuffenhausen (LOVE THIS RIDE)

Wife’s Cayenne at purchase

First 911 (2020 SOLD)

1966 Stepside P/U

 

[hokeybogey]

Love the collection - a man of taste!

May I ask why you’re getting a GX OT+ if you already have a Grenadier?

 

[Bic Jet]

Love the collection - a man of taste!

May I ask why you’re getting a GX OT+ if you already have a Grenadier?

I am waiting on BudBuilt (BudBuilt - Toyota Skid Plates, Rock Sliders, and Bumpers for Offroad and Overland Adventures) to develop stainless steel skids for the Grenadier and then I will use the Grenadier for my off-roader, at least the more aggressive off-road stuff. The GX I will baby until I have a few miles on it, then will start to mod it. I always get some flack from the wife about the height of the vehicle increasing, so I have to take it in small steps with her. Bigger tires first, then after a few months suspension (not portals), then I will start working on the other stuff (bumpers, roof rack, etc. Sliders have already been ordered). I am also kind of waiting to see what ends up happening with the motor before I mod the GX too much. I would have saved my Land Cruiser for another 25 years and handed it down to a grandson at some point. The Grenadier is super cool, when the LC was wrecked, initially I was going to trade it in on the GX, but now that I have been driving it since late Sept I’ve decided to keep it. It needs armor underneath pretty badly in my opinion. There is just way too much exposure under the vehicle for my liking. Once the GX arrives, I may ship it to NC for Bud to develop the skids for it.