Kyitty's Humble Build Thread

^ LOL Thanks.

 

@Kyitty how easy is the Ultragauge to program and reprogram for tire changes or gear changes?

 

Pretty freaking easy! All I had to do was adjust for distance. The user guide tells you how to do it. You zero out distance travelled, then drive 3+ miles, and stop. Using a GPS or mile markers you just go in and see how far it thinks you drove. If it says 3.25 miles but your GPS says you went 3.00 miles you simply change the 3.25 (in Ultragauge) to read 3.0. It calculates the percentage difference and uses that going forward.

I found an online calculator that helped me determine based on the Toyota Tacoma and the specific tires I have and the specific transmission, etc... it helped me determine I was off 9%. The Ultragauge calculates my mileage and my fuel usage almost exactly to that 9% margin if I use a calculator. It works really well.

 

Man, I would have been a little nervous for a minute when he told me drill a hole in the can before they would send me new ones. I get that they want proof that you aren't just looking for a few extras at no charge, but still. Glad it worked out for you.

 

Just got my Rotopax shipment. Haven't had time to open the box yet. Work....

 

Fingers crossed that there are no issues... I really want to get a pair, but I hate seeing horror stories of people having issues with them.

 

Yeah. I haven't unboxed them yet. LOL Almost afraid to honestly. I'll have to fill them up and let them sit a while to make sure they stay dry. Then I have to deal with mounting them in the truck again and watching them over time to see if they leak in the truck. I think I'll stick to filling the gas cans with water initially.

 

Got my warranty replacement Rotopax gas cans installed. Put blue locktite on the screw for the bed rail mount this time.

The new cans look, feel, and smell different than the originals! They have a greasy coating on them that the first ones did not.



Different mount location this time too.

Also got my HiLift remounted using blue locktite as well.

 

It looks like rotopax has top notch customer service...I hope the new cans work flawlessly as intended. Please keep us (me) updated in the long term.

 

Will do! I'm going on a ride tomorrow for the 4th of July. When I stop for gas I'll fill up the Pax and we'll see what happens.

 

Drove the Taco to a back country hiking trail for the 4th of July.




The hike reminded me how horrible my fitness level is! Ha! But the views were fantastic!






The Rotopax got filled the morning of July 4th. We'll see how they hold up! So good so far - but they haven't gotten really hot yet either. The new gas cans came with completely different nozzles this time though...

 

So I'm contemplating a couple mods right now.

1) Bruteforce Fab bed cage.

2) URD Spec-U Long Tube Headers

I know, two very different mods! LOL I've emailed Bruteforce Fab twice in the last couple weeks. Left them a voice message yesterday. Not very responsive so far. I emailed Doug Thorley to ask if they had any Dyno Reports to show what their headers do on a Tacoma. They emailed back after a couple days and said they don't have any dyno reports but suggested a "previous model" showed 22HP gain. Not quite sure what they meant by "previous model".

From what I've read about the URD Spec-U they seem like they'd provide a better overall HP gain (potentially) across the RPM range - which in my mind would make them the better option. And they are pretty close to the same price.

 

Those URD Headers look like a pita to install.

 

Yeah I'd have someone else do the install for me. LOL I've read enough that I don't wanna try it myself.

 

Billy from Bruteforce Fab called me today. We discussed options and pricing details. Lead times he said are roughly 8-10 weeks for a bed cage right now.

Waiting to hear back from local custom shop on labor estimate if I decide to do headers.

 

If only you were a little closer... I could help ya out

 

Yeah - well I should probably check with the local 4x4 club I joined. One of the guys is going to help me with a radio install soon I think. And I believe a couple guys are mechanically inclined.

 

Been putting off posting this for a while (being lazy). After my return from Moab in early June I realized I should pop the K&N Air Filter out and clean it just to see how bad it got. I had cleaned it two weeks prior to Moab. Of concern was the fine dust Moab kicks up and all the commentary about how horribly K&N Filters actually filter.

Here's how the filter looked on the outside:


Inside the Filter:


Amazingly the inside of the filter actually looks quite clean. That would suggest to me that it didn't allow much to get through from the outside. I also did not observe any build up inside the air tube where the K&N filter connects. So I guess it did okay!

 

Interested to read about the headers should you go forth with the install