My new UX and future modifications

[Y2CJR]

Hi All,

Just got a 2020 UX in carbon metallic black!

Really like it, love the rear tail light, but plan to do the following modifications to the car over the coming months:

1. Paint/wrap wheel arches to match up with the bodywork better. Like this:

2. Try to get the compartment tray for the boot they did for the 2021 model (if anyone knows how to get it in the UK, please let me know!), like this:

3. Add a rear tail/spoiler/fin above the tail light, just to finish the car off at the back, I feel its missing something from above the LED strip, like this:

4. Add some sort of engine tune if possible? I know the car is designed to be economical etc, but some sort of tune could be good? Does anyone know if this is possible with the car? Is it just a matter of time before someone is able to offer a remap? Or is it just not possible? I know it would void the warranty probably.

5. apple wireless Carplay dongle - so you never have to connect your phone to a cable. I have ordered the CPLAY2air unit and will report back if this works.

6. Retrofit the wireless charge pad. Not sure if this is possible but I have contacted the official Lexus eBay parts store to ask and will try my local dealer too.

7. Style pack, not sure about this one, its expensive and I dont want more chrome. If i did add it, I would probably just get it wrapped in black too. Has anyone done this?

I will post pics of the modifications I do here if anyone is interested.

Cheers,

Chris

5
Georgie Barr

[royoftherovers]

Welcome Chris.

Have you bought the right car for your requirements ?

[Y2CJR]

Hi John,

Yes very much so, its big enough, does good MPG, looks great and drives well. The boot is large enough to get my daughter's bike in the back, so its all very good really, a very good package. You cant buy the car with the rear boot fin, wireless carplay or wheel arches to match the paintwork, so these are the first things I will do.

It was the combination of 3.9% APR, excellent PCP residual value, looks and interior that sold the car to me. Its something different too, i've never had a Lexus.

Happy to see this too recently:

[paulrnx]

Don’t forget the blue lights under the car and the suspension that goes up and down when stationary too! 😉🤣

Joking aside I’d be careful about what mods you make to a car purchased under a PCP. Technically speaking you don’t own the car on a PCP and mods like the ones you have mentioned could well decrease the value which would impact the guaranteed future value. Not an issue if you purchase it outright but could be an issue if you decide to hand it back at the end of the term.

[royoftherovers]

14 minutes ago, paulrnx said:

Don’t forget the blue lights under the car and the suspension that goes up and down when stationary too! 😉🤣

Joking aside I’d be careful about what mods you make to a car purchased under a PCP. Technically speaking you don’t own the car on a PCP and mods like the ones you have mentioned could well decrease the value which would impact the guaranteed future value. Not an issue if you purchase it outright but could be an issue if you decide to hand it back at the end of the term.

For "technically" substitute "contractually"

[paulrnx]

23 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

For "technically" substitute "contractually"

Means the same thing

[royoftherovers]

1 minute ago, paulrnx said:

Means the same thing

Same as TKO means a KO ?

[paulrnx]

No. Just the saying “technically speaking” used to refer to the detail of something.

[F.A.]

On 3/26/2021 at 10:48 AM, Y2CJR said:

Add some sort of engine tune if possible? I know the car is designed to be economical etc, but some sort of tune could be good? Does anyone know if this is possible with the car? Is it just a matter of time before someone is able to offer a remap? Or is it just not possible? I know it would void the warranty probably.

Lexus ECUs are notorious for being locked, so remaps are very rare. Being an NA engine I don’t think any remap on it’s own would release much more BHP anyway. 

[Herbie]

You see this:

I see this:

[Y2CJR]

...anyway, for those of you interested, the CPLAY2air unit works perfectly with the UX. Wireless carplay 👍.

[Y2CJR]

On 4/3/2021 at 6:37 PM, F.A. said:

Lexus ECUs are notorious for being locked, so remaps are very rare. Being an NA engine I don’t think any remap on it’s own would release much more BHP anyway. 

Thanks for this.

[Kissu]

23 hours ago, Y2CJR said:

...anyway, for those of you interested, the CPLAY2air unit works perfectly with the UX. Wireless carplay 👍.

I’ve just ordered this myself so good to hear it works fine!

Im also looking at adding the style pack ,my local dealer got it in for me to look at to see what it looked like against the Graphite black it’s not chrome but a sort of brushed steel look,I thought it looked good but like you on a F-sport would look much better in a sort of shadow chrome(I think that’s what it’s called).

 

[Kissu]

Just fitted these,took about 3 minutes,thumbs up or down?

[Herbie]

Now that's one mod I do approve of

[royoftherovers]

8 hours ago, Herbie said:

Now that's one mod I do approve of

You are not still in Gotham City are you Commissioner ?

[EvilRacer329]

I’ve always thought the black wheel arches and the ride height were things I’d like to fix. I can only find lowering springs from a single expensive us supplier though. I don’t want much - just to centre the wheels better in the arches. I’ve got the style pack - it’s more of a sort of dull steel than a chrome effect and looks fantastic.

Tuning you’ll struggle with - getting gains out if naturally aspirated engines tends to require physical mods. They’re not like turbo engines that can get an extra 50% just out of increasing boost pressure!

Please do let me know how you get on. I love the idea of wrapping my arches and other black plastic parts to match the paint!

Nick

[Barry14UK]

I think wheel arches look better colour matched to body too. I find the car's lower rear over fussy as depicted even without the extra rear spoiler. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what matters is how the owner sees it. 

[DanD]

I too like the idea of colour matched wheel arches.

On the other hand, I don't like the suggested spoiler. I think it would spoil the clean lines of the car.

[Navnan2]

7 minutes ago, DanD said:

I too like the idea of colour matched wheel arches.

On the other hand, I don't like the suggested spoiler. I think it would spoil the clean lines of the car.

I think I saw a US car test for the latest UX the other day on Utube and the arches were colour matched even on a base model. Maybe Lexus have been listening? Maybe its only for the US market?

[EvilRacer329]

I just read this morning that it's rumoured the UX will get a refresh for next year with body-coloured arches an option...

Nick

[Gorb]

Hopefully in addition to cosmetic changes Lexus will throw the infotainment system in the bin and replace it. Even the dealers say to use Apple/Android systems in preference to the Lexus one.

[EvilRacer329]

I do have some sympathy with Lexus here. They (along with Mazda) are trying to avoid going down the touch-screen route because, quite frankly, they're dangerous. Studies have shown that they encourage people to take their eyes off the road, primarily because they can't be navigated by feel alone. You lean forward towards them, and odds are end up drifting out of your lane. Lexus is trying to let you navigate the interface without moving from your driving position, and in theory allowing you to see what you're doing out of your peripheral vision without distracting you overmuch from the task of driving.

That being said...and while, after a year, I do know how to use the system it's still awkward. The navigation is still hopeless, simply because it takes so long to type in an address, and gods help you if you're trying to enter a postcode. apple CarPlay works quite well with the touch pad, especially when combined with Siri, and will ensure that as I update my phones hardware and software over the coming years my car's infotainment system will continue to look modern and work well.

Nick

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, EvilRacer329 said:

I do have some sympathy with Lexus here. They (along with Mazda) are trying to avoid going down the touch-screen route because, quite frankly, they're dangerous. Studies have shown that they encourage people to take their eyes off the road, primarily because they can't be navigated by feel alone. You lean forward towards them, and odds are end up drifting out of your lane. Lexus is trying to let you navigate the interface without moving from your driving position, and in theory allowing you to see what you're doing out of your peripheral vision without distracting you overmuch from the task of driving.

It's an inconsistent approach with Lexus. Years ago Lexus nav systems were mainly touch screens, but low down with the heating controls so it could be considered dangerous.

There has been a recent trend in the last few years where screens are placed high up, and look like someone has just stuck a cheap tablet on the top of the dash, and Lexus followed suit with this design. But now they are moving back to touchscreens - on the latest RX refresh, which came out after the UX, the screen is still high up but moved forward so it can be reached (not easily) but they still provide the touchpad, so you have two input options.

Now the next generation NX due at the end of the year has the screen back into the centre console area, but as high up as possible and is fully touchscreen with no other input method - so we have come full circle. I expect all new Lexus vehicles to follow this same design for at least the next few years - not sure a facelift UX would get that treatment as a major dashboard redesign is normally too big a change for a facelift but a series II UX probably will.

RX Series II

RX Series III

RX Series IV

RX Series IV facelift

NX Series II

[rexleonis]

On 4/5/2021 at 9:47 PM, Kissu said:

Just fitted these,took about 3 minutes,thumbs up or down?

How do you search the Internet for this mod?