Diet Taco... trying to keep things light

Never*

 

ufCk ouy

 

Well, three of the welds on my exhaust relocation started leaking. That's what you get for going to a chain muffler shop. I took it back and they welded up the leaks, but I'm not happy with something so poorly done - fixed or otherwise. It was not well engineered, and I always assumed I would have to do it again in a few years. I originally tried to find a bolt on solution because a hate to have other people work on my truck - and now I remember why - but couldn't find anything that was emissions legal. All of the aftermarket y-pipes remove the rear cats. I currently live in Ohio, so that's not really an issue now, but I plan to have the truck much longer than this address. So, I just went to a hot rod shop in town to talk about having the relocation done correctly, and with stainless pipe. For the same money I can buy an aftermarket y-pipe and cat-back system, bolt them on, and then keep the old stuff for a temporary swap if I ever end up in a state that has inspections. I'm originally from Pittsburgh (Go Pens!) and it was normal for me and my friends to remove aftermarket exhaust annually for inspections, and then bolt it back on after getting the sticker. Not the easy solution that I was after, but I'm going back to bolt-on parts.

So I have decided to go with a Doug Thorely Pipe Bomb y-pipe. It removes the rear cats and adds resonators, but because the O2 sensors are upstream of these, the computer won't care. From an environmental perspective I will still have the front cats in place, so I don't feel that guilty. The Pipe Bomb looks a little weird because it goes way back and around the transfer case, but it's the only one I could find that maintains my ground clearance, will work with my skid plates, and is an exact fit for the factory parts allowing the use of any cat-back system without fabrication or a loss of true bolt-on flexibility.



To this I plan to add a MagnaFlow Off-Road Pro Series Turndown System. It's among the cheapest of the stainless cat-backs that I could find, and I was going to cut whatever I had off at the rear axle anyway to avoid getting the exhaust tip smashed up into the bed by a rock. Because the muffler shop shortened my factory TRD cat-back, I can't reuse it with the Pipe Bomb. It's now my spare for future inspection use.



I don't know what this will end up sounding like, but I really don't care. I already have the TRD 2.5" cat-back system, so it can't get much worse. In addition to cost, the MagnaFlow system is preferable to me because it's also 2.5". Lots of other cat-backs are 3" (URD, FlowMaster, etc.), and seem to add more noise without any power gains on a naturally aspirated engine. Any hey...it's lighter, right?

 

Link to story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ead-carlsbad-caverns-national-park/418402001/

Damn that's crazy about the 3rd degree burns. I believe it. The soles of my shoe melted once on pavement in Laughlin. I think it was around 120. A bit under. But it was on black concrete and they were cheap flip flops

 

Update: The Pipe Bomb is not going to fit with the transfer case skid plate installed. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any aftermarket options that will work with skids, so I'm taking to a local racing fabrication shop about a custom stainless Y-pipe and simple turn-down exhaust system. I haven't had a detailed conversation with them yet, but I envision an equal-length y-pipe similar to the APR (see pic), but with a 2.5" collector instead of 3". It's a bit more involved than a simple crossover style y-pipe - and that's certainly still on the table - but if I have to go through trouble of getting something custom fabricated, I might a well get something cool and that might help performance a bit.



I think that if the primary tubes were extended by a foot or so, the bends before the collector would be able to live just behind and above the rear edge of the skid - below the front half of the drive shaft. I would go with factory style flanges to connect to the manifolds, and utilize the factory hanger locations so that factory parts could be swapped back on in case I ever need to have an emissions inspection. Of course if they can weld in the rear cats, this shouldn't be an issue. As for the rest of the system, I'm thinking a v-band connection, a Magnaflow stainless muffler, and then a simple turn down in front of the axle.

 

@PaulK - Good info! Keep us up to date as you build the ultimate skid plate exhaust!

@adadandhistruck - That's really a sad story - not very far from aid and water where they expired. In normal temps two miles is a pleasant 30 minute jaunt. In heat with insufficient water it is deadly. I walked nine holes in 108F once. There was water on every tee and I chugged it every hole. Still nearly got heat stroke.

 

Basin and Range National Monument
May 2017

Basin and Range is a new national monument about two hours north of Las Vegas. There isn’t very much written about the area so far. There is one website that gives a great overview of the area for a new visitor. The majority of the monument is defined by Mt. Irish in the very south and two large valleys just to the north - Garden Valley on the west and Coal Valley on the east. There are some smaller regions including a detached region which include extensive petroglyphs. The area is also full of fossils and interesting geology. Old mine sites and some ghost towns dot the area as well. Valley floors are at about 5000 ft making temperatures manageable in the late spring and early summer.

​

This visit would just be a quick sniff of the area. I flew in on Tuesday morning and out Friday evening. I planned on a full day of tinkering with the truck out in the wilderness which wouldn't leave much time for exploring. I wanted to make sure the truck was in good shape and prepared for a family vacation later in the summer.

Tuesday I woke up at 4:15AM in Maryland to catch my flight. In Vegas I picked up the truck and stopped by Arrow Alignment for about an hour and a half (see earlier post). Had lunch at In and Out - yum! Provisioned and then headed north on the I-15 out of town by about 2 pm. Shortly thereafter turned north onto highway 93.

The drive up the 93 is quite nice as the highway follows the north-south trending basins and ranges in this area. There is great geology on display and you pass through some wildlife areas as well. Ash Springs is the last spot to get gas and is where I topped off the tank. If you need more than just gas then stop just a few miles earlier in Alamo at the Sinclair gas station which has a modest size grocery store attached to it including fresh baked goods and prepared foods. At Crystal Springs there is a three way junction with the 93 continuing northeast away from the monument, the 318 heading due north along the eastern edge of the monument and the 375 (known as the "Extraterrestrial Highway") heading northwest along the western edge of the monument. I headed up the 318 to Seaman Wash Road.

The majority of the major dirt roads in the monument are in extremely good condition and are practically dirt highways. There are still working ranches in the area and many private landholdings around the perimeters of the monument. I saw no other campers but did pass a few local vehicles. In some areas the soil is practically silt and in those areas vehicles churn up huge billowing dust clouds as I've never seen before. Fortunately there was a stiff breeze to clear the dust.

Driving through Coal Valley​

There are pronghorn here and they are very skittish. I saw groups multiple times but not having come prepared for nature photography I only acquired a few blurry photos of retreating pronghorn butt.

In not too long I came to where I planned to camp for two nights - right by a natural arch that is in the northern tip of the monument. It was late afternoon and temps weren't too bad. The sky was clear meaning it would be a good night for some amateur astronomy - I had picked this week because of a new moon.

Feeling a little tired I laid down after opening up the Flip-Pac for a short nap waiting to see what might develop for a sunset shot. I woke up in the pitch black night at what time I don't really know. A beautiful star filled dark sky beckoned. I didn't care, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Later I woke again to see a pretty sunset developing. I didn't care, I rolled over and got more sleep.

The next day after what I think was almost 13 hours of sleep I got up and spent the day working on the truck. It was a really pleasant day if a bit fatiguing. Late in the afternoon some windy thunderstorms rolled through with not too much precipitation but enough force to pop one of the legs off of the awning (broken rivet). Something else to fix before heading home. At sunset the clouds ended up just right for a beam of sunlight to sweep across the bottom of the clouds for miles and miles.

Storm coming


After the storms​

On Thursday morning I was ready to leave camp. I managed to camp by the National Monument's premier attraction for almost two days and never saw another person. Gives an idea of the level of visitation here. Today would be a day for some exploring and potentially camping at the south end of the monument. I won't detail the whole trek as it is nice to leave things a tiny bit unknown for others to explore. Instead just a few photos of things seen throughout the day.

The Water Gap


Infinite Fence


Lonely Chimney


Old Cabin


Pastel Ruins​

I didn't see anyone else the whole day. In the early afternoon I finally got cell signal again as I crossed a pass near Mt. Irish. Forecast was for strong winds that night. As I thought through the next day (Friday) I realized I would have little time to explore in the morning before needing to head back to Vegas to catch an evening flight. I still needed to fix the awning as well (needed a rivet) and a few other things more easily done in town. So I decided to head back to Vegas that night.

The drive down the 93 was again pleasant and that evening and the following morning I got the truck in ship-shape for our August trip to see the solar eclipse. It was all in all a good trip to have snuck in before the heat really hit for the summer.

Basin and Range National Monument is a bit of an odd place for a monument. It has essentially zero visitor services or development - a plus in my book. It sort of lacks any really banner attractions as well. Really it is the wide open spaces that it is all about and it has a very different character than other desert parks. I think I'd only recommend it for a true desert rat who loves solitude. I'll certainly be back a few times in the coming years.

 

yeh i'll haft to get out to this region, funny I always think of Great Basin NP when you've mentioned Basin and Range NM..and then McPhee comes to mind

 

I haven't been to Great Basin NP yet - but it is on my list! Might get there late this summer.

 

Really like the "3432" address on the Pastel Ruins. Tom & Bella Schofield Alunalite Rock House. Wonder what their history was.

 

Visiting these places provokes so many questions. Some places you can find a bit of the history but others are a bit more mysterious.

Thanks man, that means a lot coming from someone with killer reports and photos like you!

 

I remember a bit ago you had an allingment done on your truck, do you remember what specs you had to tell the technician? And do you know if different specs are needed for different tire sizes? My truck is in desperate need of an allignment but I'm gonna be getting new tires in a week or 2 so I'm contemplating on putting it off if the allignment wouldn't work for the new tires

 

I am by no means an alignment expert, but I almost certain alignment is not going to matter at all for different tire sizes. What does matter a lot is lift since that changes the nominal position of the LCA and in many cases means you've put on a new UCA as well.

You can of course always just let the technician get the alignment to OEM specs if you haven't done anything with the suspension. With a typical 3 inch or less lift the recommendations here on TW seem to always be 3* caster or more, 0* camber and 0" toe. Many people that do lifts without aftermarket UCAs can't get to 3* of caster and so they just try to get as much as possible and may end up between 1 and 2. That doesn't really impact wear but just makes the ride a bit more squirrely. Many folks with higher lifts prefer lots of caster and will ask the tech for as much caster as possible while maintaining 0* camber and 0" toe.

On my truck I originally requested 3/0/0 from Firestone after my lift and Firestone claimed they nailed that. Wear over 6k miles proved otherwise and when measured by Arrow Alignment in Vegas there was huge toe causing the wear. I told Arrow to aim for 3/0/0 but that more caster than 3 was just fine. You can see the final values a few pages back on the alignment report but caster came out around 4.5 and there was a tiny bit of camber left. Arrow indicated most of their Tacoma owners were asking not just for 3* caster but for as much caster as possible.

 

Those are nice. I've been considering getting a few "important" sizes of something like that. Prop-shaft bolts are another place that could use them if you are actually re-torquing them at the interval Toyota claims you should...

So not shown in the photo is the actual thread engagement relative to the nylon insert. It works out to match the recommendation from the Naval Ship's Technical Manual.

"In self-locking nuts where the distance from the top of the nut to the locking element (plastic insert) is equal to or greater than the chamfer, the bolt or stud end may be flush with the top of the nut. "

The FAA recommends one thread past the insert but makes no mention of chamfer.

Anyway, what you say goes in one form or another. Icon says "flush" most likely because that works out to have an adequate amount of thread exposed past the insert for the nuts they provide. Installer should examine closely where the insert and the chamfer are. And really, a few extra threads of tightening shouldn't cause interference and if it is then grind more! So cranking some extra threads down not a bad idea. In my original reinstall I had like six threads exposed which was way more than necessary.

Yeah well now you have a dryer vent to take up all your time instead!

 

What kind of tire wear did you see?

 

Took this photo up in Lake Arrowhead today. The layered mountains and gradients reminded me of some of your DV photos

 

See here: Tire Rotation/Alignment Problems

Very nice! I'm going to hijack your photo for a moment to illustrate how post processing can emphasize intent since sometimes photography gets discussed in the thread.

Midday haze shots are really hard to process in color. The haze reduces color saturation while also shifting the colors to blue. Attempts to increase contrast so that the "layers" of mountains are emphasized also increases color saturation which results in wonky looking blue shifts. Trying to reduce the saturation a bit to counter this ends up looking really unnatural as well.

So the best option then is to switch to B&W. In this case the hazy regions of the photo are going to go towards white/gray and so give a sense of depth we want to keep the foreground to the darker tones. The forest is already a pretty dark tone so when converting to B&W we don't do much other than not boost the greens in the conversion.

After that it is mostly boosting global contrast (in most software just a "contrast" slider) and then to emphasize the layered mountains more boosting local contrast (in Adobe products called "clarity"). Also slightly lowered the exposure on the distant mountains so they'd end up closer to the midtones where there would be maximum contrast.

Last was just fighting the fact this started as JPG and so there were artifacts galore to deal with when converting to B&W and boosting contrast so much! With a RAW file this isn't a problem.

Finally I added a slightly "old-timey" platinum tone which I find looks nice with most landscapes.

So in summary the thought process and intent goes:

• Boy I like the layered mountains in the haze
• Contrast tricks will emphasize that
• Contrast tricks will "break" the color in the photo
• Color isn't really adding a whole lot to the composition, first rule of photography is "that which doesn't add detracts", so get rid of the color
• Unleash contrast tricks and some typical B&W processing tricks
• Hopefully enjoy the results...

Hope you aren't offended with me dicking around with your photo! And again, nice shot!

​

 

Yep, dehaze (available in more recent versions of Adobe Lightroom/ACR) is pretty damn impressive. It is mostly just a combination of a few other sliders but is way faster and easier than playing around with all those sliders. But because it is really hammering on the color information in the image it breaks really quick on JPEGs. For those that don't know JPEG compression does far, far, far more lossy compression on color information than on luminance (brightness) information. So you can crank contrast a bit on a JPEG without issue, but start dorking with the color a lot like "dehaze" does and things get ugly real quick.

 

Wow that looks great! I'm gonna re-read your post when I get back. I shot this in auto mode with the Google Pixel. Pretty the auto HDR feature was on which is probably what you're talking about. These phones go crazy with the processing. Sadly left the SLR at the cabin

 

Ken - I'm unable to pull the part number of your 3rd Gen Jack image. Is it 09111-60075?
Thanks!