Luxury+ Ride Quality

Cajun Heat

Well-known member
May 30, 2024
592
Media
12
442
Katy, TX
I've seen some internet reviews talk about a harsher ride in the Luxury+ with the factory 22's. Would really like to hear from owners who have them and what they think compared to other Luxury brand SUV's with 22" wheels. If you have swapped the original wheels for a smaller size and a comparison of the two would be cool too.
 
Not really a fan of the 22’s kind of bling for me. I noticed the ride is not bad, better now since all my tire pressures were way off 50 psi instead of 33.

The 22’s are more expensive to replace, have to step up to a 275/50R-22 for a decent selection, looks like only a few tires available in our size.

My preference would be to have 20’s.
 
I was originally looking to get the overtrail+ as I liked the idea of being able to go offroad. I had a built rubicon wrangler before. Truth of the matter is I only did serious off roading twice where I believe a lesser offroad vehicle could go. 99% of the time I was onroad. Things I did not like about overtrail+, that made me think - go Toyota Land Cruiser - lack of leather, camera on mirror and third zone climate, all of which land cruiser has. BUT I do like the front end styling of the GX better.... I never gave the Luxury+ model a thought as I kept thinking offroad ability. Never the less, a dealer called me and said they had somebody back out of a luxury+. I thought I would look - just to see - you know. Well, upon looking, I impulse purchased as I loved the smell of leather, the captain chairs in the back and the giant glass roof.... What to do??? Then I figured, as I see youtube guys testing out crossovers offroad (mild), that most of anything that I would do, would be more or less a dirt trails with not too much difficulty. In that sense, I figured a GX Luxury+ would be able to handle light duty. The weakest point, being the Wheels and Tires. That said, youtube always says the biggest limiting factor offroad is tires.... I purchased the Lux+ and have had it for 4 days now. I was coming from a 2023 Ford Expedition Platinum. That had big wheels and tires as well and also had adaptive dampers, but the biggest difference would be the expedition had indipendent rear suspension. I got rid of the Ford as it started to develop some electrical glitches which dealer could not fix and the seat started to show wear, just over a year. I figured It would just get worse and that Lexus would be a reliable brand. My wife also did not like driving a full size. I did love the room! The Lux+ with Captains feels more roomy than the bench in the overtrail, especially with the roof... Things I was concerned about with the GX in general - windnoise and ride quality. Bummer. Everyone said TX is a better car. It may be, but it is a car. I did not like the seating position, hood line or windows or the feel of sitting in the TX. The GX felt more my style and reminded me of sitting in say - a jeep fancified. Yes there is a little windnoise. Since I was aware of it, I obsessed about it in the first day or two. Now I do not really notice it. My wife's defender has some as well. The GX has more. The ride in my wifes defender is better. The ride in my expedition may have been better. May have.... Though I did get a lot of rocking back and forth in the expedition. On smooth ground, the GX lux+ ride confident and smooth. On the bumpy stuff, sometimes it feels not good but also not so bad.... Of the three cars I mentioned - the lux+ has the most bumpy of ride, but still kind of OK with me. But I dont expect it to be like my others... THE 22's bother me! They are so blingy. I feel like I am driving what they call a mall crawler. I also know I will curb them. Therefore I purchased 17" Method 703 wheels along with Falcon AT3's 275, 70 r17. This should be just about the same overall height so that the speedometer is not off by that much. I do believe more sidewall will improve the ride? Maybe similar to the overtrail+, but the overtrail+ still has KDSS to assist in body roll. So will the overtrail+ still ride better than a lux+ with more sidewall? I do not know. Install is on Thursday. Do I regret not getting or not waiting for the overtrail+? In some ways as this way costs me more money, but the overall feel of the interior with big glass roof, captain and rear climate make it feel better. If I had waited for the Toyota Land cruiser, front end may have bothered me as it looks like too many panels there. I also do not think I would enjoy the hybrid though I would like the gas mileage (bizarre that the GX has no auto-start/stop). I would have had to change out tires on that one as well as the normal trim has so so tires. Lexus interior looks more unique than the Toyota and even with the third seat in Lux+, the design of cargo area seems more unified rather than big bump of battery there. I still do not know if I made the right decision as I do miss the expedition (also had blucruise), but the GX is stunning to look at and does feel like a quality product and I am enjoying the Lexus more everyday as I get used to it and personalize it. Once tinting and wheels/tires are done - I am hopeful it provides me what I am looking for. With the wheels and tires on it, I will not be afraid to tackle some easy trails. I won't be bumping over any big rocks though, BUT I also doubt I would have not done that in an overtrail+ as well. If I wanted to do that, I would have gone for a bronco or wrangler. OH - I also test drove and looked at a Ineos Grenadier. Wholeheartedly I can say the GX is a better vehicle for most of the time. The Grenadier feels so job specific.... I will post again after wheels and tires.
 
If you have the roof rails you can easily remove them, I did on my Luxury + as the roof rails were causing the panaramic roof to vibrate.

Once removed it’s night and day difference in the noise level.

A couple of othe lux + owners have had the same issue.
 
Let me know how the new tires ride, another person put 2022 platinum tundra rims and tires , have not heard about ride improvement.

I am kind of wary of changing the OEM rims now, in case of suspension issues I do not want Lexus to fall back on non standard rim and tire size.
 
I was originally looking to get the overtrail+ as I liked the idea of being able to go offroad. I had a built rubicon wrangler before. Truth of the matter is I only did serious off roading twice where I believe a lesser offroad vehicle could go. 99% of the time I was onroad. Things I did not like about overtrail+, that made me think - go Toyota Land Cruiser - lack of leather, camera on mirror and third zone climate, all of which land cruiser has. BUT I do like the front end styling of the GX better.... I never gave the Luxury+ model a thought as I kept thinking offroad ability. Never the less, a dealer called me and said they had somebody back out of a luxury+. I thought I would look - just to see - you know. Well, upon looking, I impulse purchased as I loved the smell of leather, the captain chairs in the back and the giant glass roof.... What to do??? Then I figured, as I see youtube guys testing out crossovers offroad (mild), that most of anything that I would do, would be more or less a dirt trails with not too much difficulty. In that sense, I figured a GX Luxury+ would be able to handle light duty. The weakest point, being the Wheels and Tires. That said, youtube always says the biggest limiting factor offroad is tires.... I purchased the Lux+ and have had it for 4 days now. I was coming from a 2023 Ford Expedition Platinum. That had big wheels and tires as well and also had adaptive dampers, but the biggest difference would be the expedition had indipendent rear suspension. I got rid of the Ford as it started to develop some electrical glitches which dealer could not fix and the seat started to show wear, just over a year. I figured It would just get worse and that Lexus would be a reliable brand. My wife also did not like driving a full size. I did love the room! The Lux+ with Captains feels more roomy than the bench in the overtrail, especially with the roof... Things I was concerned about with the GX in general - windnoise and ride quality. Bummer. Everyone said TX is a better car. It may be, but it is a car. I did not like the seating position, hood line or windows or the feel of sitting in the TX. The GX felt more my style and reminded me of sitting in say - a jeep fancified. Yes there is a little windnoise. Since I was aware of it, I obsessed about it in the first day or two. Now I do not really notice it. My wife's defender has some as well. The GX has more. The ride in my wifes defender is better. The ride in my expedition may have been better. May have.... Though I did get a lot of rocking back and forth in the expedition. On smooth ground, the GX lux+ ride confident and smooth. On the bumpy stuff, sometimes it feels not good but also not so bad.... Of the three cars I mentioned - the lux+ has the most bumpy of ride, but still kind of OK with me. But I dont expect it to be like my others... THE 22's bother me! They are so blingy. I feel like I am driving what they call a mall crawler. I also know I will curb them. Therefore I purchased 17" Method 703 wheels along with Falcon AT3's 275, 70 r17. This should be just about the same overall height so that the speedometer is not off by that much. I do believe more sidewall will improve the ride? Maybe similar to the overtrail+, but the overtrail+ still has KDSS to assist in body roll. So will the overtrail+ still ride better than a lux+ with more sidewall? I do not know. Install is on Thursday. Do I regret not getting or not waiting for the overtrail+? In some ways as this way costs me more money, but the overall feel of the interior with big glass roof, captain and rear climate make it feel better. If I had waited for the Toyota Land cruiser, front end may have bothered me as it looks like too many panels there. I also do not think I would enjoy the hybrid though I would like the gas mileage (bizarre that the GX has no auto-start/stop). I would have had to change out tires on that one as well as the normal trim has so so tires. Lexus interior looks more unique than the Toyota and even with the third seat in Lux+, the design of cargo area seems more unified rather than big bump of battery there. I still do not know if I made the right decision as I do miss the expedition (also had blucruise), but the GX is stunning to look at and does feel like a quality product and I am enjoying the Lexus more everyday as I get used to it and personalize it. Once tinting and wheels/tires are done - I am hopeful it provides me what I am looking for. With the wheels and tires on it, I will not be afraid to tackle some easy trails. I won't be bumping over any big rocks though, BUT I also doubt I would have not done that in an overtrail+ as well. If I wanted to do that, I would have gone for a bronco or wrangler. OH - I also test drove and looked at a Ineos Grenadier. Wholeheartedly I can say the GX is a better vehicle for most of the time. The Grenadier feels so job specific.... I will post again after wheels and tires.
Looking forward too see it
 
Picture Before and After. Still has less than 250 miles on it. This is a luxury+. I had it tinted all around and put a black wrap on the roof, A pillars and Mirrors. The 22 inch tires bothered me. Too blingy. I bought the Luxury+ as somebody backed out of there deal. Items I liked on the Lux+, not available on the overtrail, were the rear view mirror, 3 zone climate, big glass roof and captain chairs. I figured it would be on road, 99% of the time. Will I miss the offroad goodies, maybe.... The wheels bothered me. Coming froma 23 Ford Expedition Platnum - it had more room and more cushiony ride. Using the drive modes, I do not really notice too much in switching modes. Maybe comfort has more wallowing motion? Maybe? Never the less, with the 22s, yes the car is bumby. I spent time in many LYFT rides in many cars getting the work done. Ride in the lux+ is quieter than most cars. Maybe it is more composed and feels more solid. Yet for me, I still find the Lux+ more bumpy than the ford expedition. I somewhat expected that.... as reviewers say, if you want a cush ride, get the Lexus TX instead. Still I switched wheels to R17, 275, 70s. This is about the same Wheel height as the 22s taken off, so speedometer is really really close. The car, look way better in my opinon, less blingy, more serious and not so flashy. It would have been only a matter of days, before I curbed a 22... These I do not have to worry. Ride quality? Noise, no noise difference. Road noise is just as good as what came from the factory. No rubbing. No fitment issue. Steering is easy. Ride quality - I do not notice a difference between the 22s and the new setup. Feels the same. I do feel more comfortable in that I now feel I can roll over curbs or not worry, making me more confident to drive and not concentrate on the damn tires. But the ride, feels the same to me, even with the bigger sidewalls. These are Falcon AT3 tires with C rating on sidewall, so the ride should have been softer than other AT tires, yet I notice no noticable ride improvement. Probably what you did NOT want to hear. I spent the money and cosmetically, it looks better and more uniform. Interior still the same. Ride still the same....


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