gadgetman1

I’ve had two GX 460s as loaners & kind of like their utility & reliability over the RX I presently have. Has anyone stiffened up the sloppy suspension any or given the 4.6 a little extra get up & go like dual exhaust or a small tune? Can the fixed running boards be removed & power boards put in their place? I find the fixed boards a nuisance.

nuclearn8

suspension: yes, search, the forum. Suspension is subjective however there are lots of options out there... getting a luxury will give you adjustable suspension (comfort, normal, sport) from the factory
tune: pedal commander is available, the form has a thread on this discussion
running boards can be removed. I think I've seen a Chinese manufacturer that made retractable ones for the Prado that may retrofit

lastly, if you want a fuel efficient from the thread title, you will be disappointed with the Gx most likely.. it's not really fuel efficient

Tiger12

I would have to agree with you on the fuel efficient quote....yes you can always put in items to attempt to improve it but you'll likely be disappointed. The GX was made for reliability and power to handle the toughest of conditions sort of speak but not to handle the modern day challenge...fuel efficiency lol

xychromo

The way I see it, the $ I saved in buying a used 460 more than makes up for the loss in fuel efficiency compared to a newer more efficient vehicle. Yet to see if I will end up saving additional maintenance and repair $. When I ran the numbers for my average yearly mileage, I look to only end up spending an extra $500 a year on gas, at today's prices, I'm ok with that.

gadgetman1

I guess I didn’t explain what I meant by “efficient”. The GX mpg is consistent with what my 2006 Tundra 4.7 got. I’m a little baffled as to why its dramatically lower than any of the domestics with small V-8s. It would be great to squeak 2 more mpg out. What I meant by “efficient” is simply making the truck work better. Make it have more power & take out the sloppy body leaning.

I really need something with more stamina to pull my motorcycle trailer. The RX with towing package isn’t up to the task whatsoever. I looked at the GM Yukon & Denali & they are fantastic, but I know they won’t stay that way & they cost WAY too much.

ASE

Yes, Lexus "dumbed down" the suspension to appeal to the "Comfort Crowd" who should not have purchased a body-on-frame truck based platform ... so the rest of us who value handling have to live with the consequences. Yes, there is the AVS system on the Luxury model, but that is an overly complex solution looking for a problem ... with an obscene shock replacement cost for something that has marginal performance at best. Yes, having KDSS does reduce body roll when cornering ... but again, added complexity to compensate for "dumbed down" suspension.

Many suspension upgrade options out there, but simply installing real shocks (Bilstein as an example) completely transforms the handling dynamics while maintaining "comfort" for those that want to actually feel connected to the road.

gadgetman1

Good to know! I like the Toyota Land Cruiser a lot, but I don’t need or want that big, thirsty 5.7. I don’t want complicated comfort, I just want decent & safe handling for everyday driving & good stability for light towing. I really don’t want all the silly “driver assistance” garbage either, like lane keep assist or emergency braking. That stuff has scared me on several vehicles & I’m done with it.

kode3

A V8 designed in mid 00's and installed in a 5500lb vehicle, it's old. And if an addition 2mpg was possible, even easy, Toyota would have done it already simply to improve their overall CAFE position.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Although many seem to think I am promoting snake oil but I have noticed a nice improvement in my mileage after treating my engine with an anti-friction or friction modifier ceramic product that binds to the metal. You use once every 25k miles. I use these products in all 3 of my vehicles.

My personal reasoning for using such a product is actually reducing cold start wear as much as possible but reduced friction also means better mileage. Win win. I will say this, how fast you drive plays a big difference. The GX is not aerodynamic.

In the city she is a dog and almost nothing you can do but look at this example below. By driving around 55 - 60 mph and with the Liqui Moly Cera Tec treatment combined with using 0w-20 M1 EP motor oil I can easily get 24 - 25 mpg on mostly level ground. 22 mpg when the weather is particularly cold. I’m also running 93 octane and I use MMO pretty regularly to clean the fuel system as well as the engine. 65 - 75 mph it will drop down to around 20 mpg.

I’m running Wildpeaks which decreased my mileage from a street tire. Lowering the truck and running a tire with the lowest rolling resistance would obviously help as well.

This trip I am demonstrating I averaged over 25 mpg. Pretty damn good considering. Hopefully the pics speak for themselves.

Acrad

Driver assistance options are optional on 10-19 but standard 20+

Land Cruiser has KDSS on it as well.

ps23

Off-topic:
Talking about fuel efficiency, our truck is full-time 4WD plus it weighs a lot so the lower mileage is to be expected. I had a 2004 Land Rover Disco II(body on frame/4WD) and had worse mileage than our GX.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Another example of miking it. Not too shabby considering I hit 3 stop lights, winter fuel, and it was 34 degrees outside. If you can maintain speed you can do OK. Slowing down for the lights is what kills the mileage. It’s funny, on my SC430 I can only get like 28 mpg if I milk it. Maybe I need to clean the MAF soon.

Acrad

I know this will be a controversial mod but since it was developed by a well respected owner of Crawford Performance (Subarus) I thought I would give it a try.

The owner told me on average they generally see 11% MPG increases on the Toyota V8s. Supposedly you can get a performance boost as well but that wasn't my intent with this.

You will find hot topic threads on Tacoma and 4R forums but most who have used it have seen an overall ~0.75 - 2 MPG improvement. This is basically a MAF spacer and it is a doing a little bit of trickery to ECU to make it think there is less air and causing a leaner mixture. It does have a money back guarantee and takes 5-10 minutes to install.

I did have concerns about leaning it out but this post by coinball that said.. "the GX runs pig rich (we forgot to hook up the AFR on the stock pulls), but it was in the 10's and low 11's after about 4 pulls with the Y-pipe installed; some easy HP for the taking just by leaning it out." I thought what the heck. I always run Premium anyway and I don't hammer on my rig and IIRC only leaner by about 8-10%. (EDIT: Apparently only 1% leaner from what I read elsewhere)

I just installed today so will know in months ahead whether it would be worth it or not.

I used this code: GXOR20 for 20% off and free shipping.

It is made of aluminum. There is patent info here and here reportedly going through CARB approval as well and expected in 4-6 months

https://crawfordfuelsaver.com/

This is the one I purchased and was $59.96 shipped.

https://crawfordfuelsaver.com/produc...fuel-saver-q3/





Certainly thoughts of gimmick went through my mind but not backed by a fly by night outfit either.

https://crawfordfuelsaver.com/about-2/

FAQ

Patent validation certificate

L3xusGX

It definitely seems gimmicky but subscribing just to see your results either way. I also hope there is no long term effects to longevity by tricking the computer to running leaner.

gadgetman1

I followed your link & Lexus vehicles are not listed anywhere & more modern Toyota’s are not listed…