Jerz’s 2013 GX460 Basic Build

I was in a similar boat with suspension; I had 5100’s and OME springs. While it worked fine and rode better than stock, it really annoyed me that they sagged so much and since they weren’t adjustable it meant pulling apart my entire front suspension to remedy the issue. As a result I decided I definitely wanted coil overs.
I’m quite happy with the Dobinson IMS so far. They’re pretty beefy, no skinny legs like Bilsteins, and the ride quality is close enough to stock that my wife hasn’t complained .

 

So the shop installing my lift broke a bolt in the KDSS as well. What did you end up buying to drill and tap? How difficult was that?

**edit: i'm an idiot. I see you said "Dewalt cobalt bits and a good center punch were the key here." Any tips or specific bit size, tap size, etc you can recommend to save me some heart ache?

**edit AGAIN: ended up just drilling the thing out, not tapping, and will be putting a grade8 bolt+nut tomorrow.

 

Hey, sorry for the delayed response, I don’t check TW too often these days, but I’m glad you found the info in my posts.

I admittedly got lucky in drilling that broken bolt out almost dead center, so that I was able to use the 10x1.25 tap to clean up the original threads and clear the remainder of the broken bolt without much issue. Drilling took a long time and I went through a couple bits even using medium speed and a lot of oil.

 

All good my friend! Appreciate you documenting everything. Your posts were super helpful.

 

LED Pods

I decided to add some Diode Dynamic SSC1 Pros. I actually bought SSC2’s but never installed them, and then saw they released the SSC1’s. Since the SSC1’s were so much smaller and the Pro version was twice as bright as SSC2 Sports, while only being minimally more expensive, I decided to swap them. I’d recommend Hotshot Offroad for your DD lights, great sales periodically and excellent CS!

I first made a little switch wiring harness to allow for expansion of up to 3 switches, which is more than I plan on but that’s what I have switch slots for. I mounted the ditch brackets and pods, then made a harness for the pods from 14ga CL3 wire plus a single 16ga wire for the backlight. I used expandable mesh wire loom on the harness to give it a clean finished look.



Then I installed an auxiliary fuse panel (6 slots) and a relay. There is plenty of room under the hood to add more relays. I’m still contemplating doing an aluminum plate to more cleanly mount the fuse panel and relays but it’s neatly organized for now. I also realized I can reinstall the plastic cover in that back corner. I initially thought the fuse box would get in the way but I decided to mount it on top of the OEM fuse box.



I tested them out on a dark backroad and the spot beams are perfect! They’re significantly brighter than my LED high beams and have greater throw with a more focused beam. I really like the compact size and the amber backlight is a cool feature.

Whenever I do the facelift, these will most likely move to the fog light position and I’ll get a set of SS3 Pros or Dark Defense Pros for the pod position.



Update: I remembered to test out the back light tonight. I have them hooked up to the parking lights but since they’re brighter than I expected and the lights are in the ditch pod position, I think I may hook them up to the fog lights so that I have the ability to turn them off. If I had them in the fog light position, I’d like the amber lights being on when the fog lights were off.