Dirtdigginjoe's Project Red Rocket Build!

Welcome to my build thread!​

This thread will serve as documentation of my journey with my dream truck as a child, ever since seeing Back to the Future. Many years and a few vehicles later, I had the opportunity to pick up a Tacoma and the rest is history. So let’s begin, shall we?

CURRENT SPECS AS OF 6/6/18

Mileage: 118,XXX
Turbo: GT2871R @5psi now with 5,000mi on it
ECU: Stock, AEM FIC in progress
Injectors: Stock
Fuel Pump: Stock, using 93oct
Clutch: LCE Dual Comp

THE BEGINNING - 2015

I was currently driving a 2004 Hyundai SantaFe with 245k on it, and though it was great to me- it was showing its age. Upon talking to my parents, we decided we’d start looking around for something. I mentioned how much I’ve always liked the Tacomas and 4Runners, to which my parents agreed (my father has had 5 Toyota trucks through the past 30yr) would be the best choice. I ruled out 4Runners fairly quickly due to my budget and purposes. Living on Long Island, Tacomas fetch a pretty penny, even pre-owned. Went to a few dealers here, and nothing caught my eye; it also didn’t help that one of the salesmen was a total knob-gobbler and was pushing a preowned 2011 TRD Sport DCSB with 88k on it for $26k saying, “You won’t find a newer truck with less miles for less than 25k so good luck.”

Fast forward a week (literally). My father went to Johnston’s Toyota in Goshen (who I can’t say enough good things about- you guys rock!) for an oil change on his 2015, and spotted a truck he thought would be a good buy. It was a 2013 Access Cab with a 2.7 and 5spd, with 4WD and 65k on the clock…my ideal truck. It also happened to be in Barcelona Red. Keep in mind, I lived 2.5hr away, so I only received a picture message saying, “What do you think of this? They just got it on trade, and it looks to be in good shape, and SHOULD be CPO.” I replied saying how much I liked it. Well, long story short- numbers were negotiated (without me even present), and I bought the truck sight unseen- only my father’s test drive and inspection/word that the truck was solid and a price we couldn’t pass up. I drove up to the dealer on October 9, 2015 to get into a vehicle I bought but only saw a crappy cellphone picture of! Pulled into the dealership, and immediately saw MY truck. That’s when I fell in love. I knew this was going to be an awesome experience. Signed papers, transferred some crap over, and made my way back home, smiling the entire way!

COOL, YOU BOUGHT A TACOMA- NOW YOU BLEND IN WITH EVERY 40 YEAR OLD MAN

Driving home, I had a few hours to lay out my plans for the truck. I was still enjoying the “simple” things, like having cruise control, WORKING A/C, Bluetooth, and of course- a 5-speed. I knew this truck was perfect for my plans, being that it was a base model I’d be changing up a lot of items that would be wasted if I had gotten any higher trim package (okay maybe unless I had an Inferno TRD Pro, but I digress…). I immediately drove to my best friend’s house and got it tinted, and ordered an Access Pro Tonneau Cover through our TW discount- the seed was planted: this was a truck I can do WHATEVER I WANTED with.

Pretty quickly I realized that not having a backup camera sucked, and the stock radio left much to be desired especially having aftermarket audio in all my previous cars. Spoiler alert- I work at BestBuy, so my decision-making was real simple lol. I looked around, and decided I would start with the headunit and add a backup camera. I settled on a new Kenwood DDX9702S, and an

Backup Camera, Esky 170 Degree Wide Angle 8 LED Night Vision Waterproof HD CMOS Vehicle Car Rear View Front View Reversing Parking Safety Camera Guideline Mode Selection - ONE Button Control

Esky backup camera. I’d also add some bass with a Kicker Hideaway powered sub under the passenger seat. I also decided to add a Maestro RR instead of SW, so that I could get realtime gauges, and CEL codes directly on the radio.

The upgraded audio sounded great, but of course I wanted more. I purchased a set of Kicker KS 6x9’s for the front, and KS 6.5’s for the rear door panels. To really get the full effect, I also added in an Alpine PowerPack 4ch amp. Now I had the sound I was looking for!

Now that the audio was taken care of, I wanted to do some things to make the truck a little more “mine” and unique. I decided to douche it up, and add a 30” Heise lightbar in the lower valance, and get a set of aftermarket replica foglights (base model didn’t have fogs) with yellow bulbs. Following that, I also went to my local muffler guy and had a

$112 MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust Muffler 11225: 2.25"/2.25" Inlet/Outlet, 4x9x14" Oval, Stainless Steel, Satin Finish

Magnaflow muffler installed with all new 2.5” piping from the cat back, with an angle exit. This was my favorite mod, as it gave the truck a Subaru-like grumble and no drone on the highway. The same day, I also removed the secondary charcoal filter and added a K&N drop-in filter just for fun. This got me through the winter feeling pretty content, and I was loving every second of owning this truck!

Living in the northeast, and enjoying going skiing- you realize real quick that highway terrain tires suck in the snow, even with some weight in the bed. After getting enough life out of the Cooper Discoverer HT’s, I ditched them and picked up a set of

$198 Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 Off-Road Tire - 265/75R16 114T

Hankook DynaPro ATM in 265/75/16, along with some

Orion Motor Tech 6x5.5 Wheel Spacers 1.5"es 108mm Bore with 12x1.5 Studs Compatible with Toyota 4-Runner Toyota FJ Cruiser Toyota Tacoma GMC Canyon Isuzu Trooper, 38mm Wheel Spacer Kit

1.5” spacers (I knew the spacers would be temporary until I get wheels) to give the truck a little more aggressive stance. It was perfect for me.

After the winter, I was out of my free oil changes from Toyota, so I ordered a

$24 EZ-103 EZ Oil Drain Valve

EZ Drain Valve online to simplify my oil changes. I’m an Amsoil dealer as well, so a 15k oil filter made things even more simple every 3 oil changes lol.

I ran into my first “issue” with the truck at about 90k, and roughly a year after owning it. I left my house to go visit a buddy down the road, and about a minute into driving, the oil light came on. I immediately shut the truck off and pulled over and popped the hood but the oil level was fine…shit. The factory oil pressure switch is set to come on at 1psi (our 2.7’s idle at anywhere from 2-4psi when hot) which wasn’t too comforting. Luckily, I was able to see that my connector to the switch had come loose due to a broken tab on the switch itself. I decided with the newly found pressure information that I wasn’t taking any chances with this motor. I ordered a Lotek gauge pod, and

$97 GlowShift Tinted 7 Color 100 PSI Oil Pressure Gauge Kit - Includes 1/8-27 NPT Electronic Sensor & Wiring - Multi-Color Display - Black Dial - Smoked Lens - for Car & Truck - 2-1/16" 52mm

GlowShift Oil Pressure &

$53 GlowShift Tinted 7 Color Volt Voltmeter Gauge - Voltage Range 8-18 Volts - Black Dial - Smoked Lens - 2-1/16" 52mm

Volt gauges. Hmmm....was I beginning to build a tuner truck?!?!?


BuT TaCoMaS ArEnT MeAnT tO bE FaSt



A wise user @KirkRio once said, “While I love my truck, merging onto the highway with the 4 cylinder purring under the hood really gives you some time to reflect on all of the poor choices you have made in life before you get up to speed.” I couldn’t agree more with his statement. The truck was torquey for what it was, but it couldn’t get out of its own way on the highway trying to pass someone. I read his thread about the OzBoost kit and how shitty it actually was. At the time I was considering (read- dreaming) of investing in URD supercharger kit even though superchargers are gay in the mouth. The 5k+ cost total was a bit steep to pull the trigger on at once. I kept hopes high, but realistic that there wasn’t really a performance aftermarket (besides intakes, headers, exhausts) for this motor. I reached out to OzBoost who quoted me insanely high prices for the downpipe and manifold. In their defense, they ARE based in Australia, so shipping is a killer. But the prices they quoted me were the same as getting a very well known builder to make me a 304SS header and manifold locally. So I started saving some pennies for the URD kit.

One late night, I don’t know how or why, but I ended up searching 2TR-FE turbo manifolds on the web and came across a result on Alibaba by a company called Shanghai Waystar. Immediately I noticed it was the exact manifold and downpipe that OzBoost was using. I reached out to them, and about a month later (and $400 less than OzBoost) I had a manifold and downpipe sitting on my doorstep. It’s mild steel and heavy as balls, with a T25 inlet and 5-bolt outlet. From my findings, this was perfect for this size motor.

I decided to pair this with a replica GT2871R turbo. No it’s not a genuine Garrett, eat my ass. It’s from Supercell Turbos, and featured dual ceramic ball bearings, a billet wheel, and 360 degree thrust bearing. It also wasn’t cheap, at $700. It had good reviews for guys running 20-25psi through it, so I bought it. So sexy!

Next up was an eBay intercooler kit. Knowing I wasn’t pushing a ton of power, I was okay with this. I went onto Treadstone Performance and picked up a MAF flange to be welded onto my intercooler piping.

Following Kirk’s advice, I converted my MAF to a blow-through setup where the MAF sits just before the throttle body, after a blowoff valve that can be vented to atmosphere. So I picked up an HKS-style BOV.


Picked up an AEM Wideband, welded the bung into place, and also scored a new AEM boost gauge locally. Winning!

I knew tuning was going to be umm…interesting, so I picked up an AEM F-IC/6 from a member on here for when I needed to get to the tuning stages of this build. I started looking at the wiring diagrams to get familiar with how the truck runs. I placed the FIC on the passenger footwell kick panel just for shits and giggles, and liked how it looked. I still had a ways to go before I reached this stage.



GET TO THE F*#&@$G INSTALL AREADY!


After about 6 months of research, and parts gathering…it was time. By the way, the truck had 113k on it at this point. Needless to say, it gets driven a lot. I enlisted the help of my best friend and the use of his lift, and said fuck it, we’re doin it live. It was a Fri, and I drove to his shop after work, and prepared for the scariest/most exciting thing I’ve ever done on a vehicle. We pulled the front diff/driveshaft to gain access to the oil pan in order to tap the block for the return. The red circle is where we drilled through using a stepped bit for the fitting.

Smooth as butter. Sealed it back up after the fitting was secured, and brought the truck down to driving height. Removed all the air intake systems, disconnected the exhaust in front of the cat, and removed the header. For a truck with 113k on it in the Northeast, the header bolts came right off with a little bit of Kroil and heat. To me, that was the scariest aspect- breaking off an exhaust manifold stud. Looking at the exhaust ports, I was surprised there was so little carbon buildup. Great sign! We installed the Kinugawa manifold studs in the manifold and turbo, then installed a new Felpro manifold gasket. Next was time for the turbo manifold, which went in without a hitch. One major thing to note is that the turbo manifold does not have a provision for the SAIS. I relocated the pump itself to where the factory airbox was, and extended the vacuum line and wiring so that the pump would run and not put the truck into limp mode hopefully. The exciting part was placing the turbo on the manifold- it looked so good in the engine bay, like it was meant to be there!


Secured everything down using copper locknuts and made all the connections to the oil/coolant lines. The coolant lines were intercepted off the throttle body, and the oil feed was already in place from my oil pressure gauge. I used a -10AN drain line. Once everything was mounted, the AC lines had to be gently bent out of the way to clear the downpipe and wastegate actuator arm. No big deal, plenty of room!


Plumbed all the intercooler piping, which basically required no cutting at this point, as I had mocked up the piping as best I could a few weeks prior. I plugged in the MAF sensor, topped off coolant, and cranked the truck over- with my heart pounding. Started right up, and idled without issue right at 14.7 AFR. Checked for any leaks, tightened everything back up and was told to go drive down the block to make sure nothing happens. As soon as I pulled onto the side street and started lightly accelerating I heard the turbo start to suck in air and my face instantly light up…It was like the sound of the angels coming down from the sky to take me to a higher place! The truck was officially turbo'ed on 5psi and driving like stock.

 

COOL, SO IT’S TURBO…WHAT’S IT LIKE?

Upon babying it for a few (2) days and allowing the truck to relearn the TPS position, the truck became much more smooth. When I say the truck drove like stock, I mean it. You’d never know unless I gave it more than 1/3rd throttle. As I learned more and more thanks to everyone in the Turbo BS Thread about closed/open loop behavior of these trucks, I was able to understand more when it came to tuning down the road. It was also at this point that I found out my stock Aisin clutch wasn’t quite up to the task of continuous highway pulls and general 5psi boost-fuckery. It started slipping when warm, but with 113k on the clock I was okay with upgrading the clutch. Alas, the best choice for me was the LCE Dual Comp Clutch kit, which is rated for 385HP. The reviews I heard were nothing but good, and LCE’s tech reps knew their stuff. It took about a week to arrive, and when it came in, I couldn’t help but oogle at it.


Removal was pretty easy- removed the front/rear driveshafts and dropped the trans with the t-case attached. Had to smack the bellhousing with a rubber mallet a few times, but no major struggles. The old clutch didn’t look all that bad, but it clearly couldn’t hold much more power/tq than stock. I also used this time to inspect the rear main seal, which was clean and not leaking. I took the flywheel to a local machine shop to get resurfaced- you can see a before and after below…soo shiny!


Install was cake- using all new hardware/bearings in the LCE kit. Used the paper towel method to replace the pilot bearing, which amazed me! Bolted the flywheel up, then installed the clutch disk/pressure plate using the included alignment tool, and tightened everything up to spec. Installed a new TOB, greased the ever living hell out of everything, then used a trans jack to get it all back in place and buttoned up. Checked the master cylinder fluid level, and ran through the gears with the truck still on the lift to make sure everything was good. After, it was time for a test drive. HOLY CRAP THIS THING GRABS HARD! I stalled it twice getting it out of our shop, like a total n00b. The pedal effort actually felt LIGHTER than my stock clutch, which I found strange- but I wasn’t complaining. Test drive went fine, and I was told to “take it easy” on the clutch for the first 500ish miles.

I wasn’t happy with the factory wastegate actuator on the turbo, mostly because the lack of adjustment/ ability to change springs. I looked online at a few options for the GT2871R, and came across a well-reviewed Mamba (Kinugawa) adjustable wastegate actuator for a reasonable price. Having good luck with them in the past, I picked one up, and installed the 5psi spring. It came with 6 springs ranging from 5-24psi, which was more than adequate for my application. The adjustable bracket also gave me a little more clearance, and felt more sturdy than the stock wastegate. I set the preload to “half a hole” as recommended and tested with an air compressor, then street drive to confirm on my boost gauge.


Below is a quick clip I took with the new wastegate installed that night. I don’t like boosting too much in closed loop, which is why I lean into it. That’ll be remedied when the AEM F-IC/6 gets installed and I tune it.




Currently the truck sits on the 5psi spring, with stock fueling/tuning. It drives like stock still, even with the summer weather making its way in. I haven’t had any issues taking it out on the beaches here on Long Island in the 85 degree weather. Stock thermostat/radiator/coolant and temps never get over 194 degrees according to my gauges.

I have many more plans for the truck, including more fueling/tuning upgrades, tires/wheels, lift, and of course MORE POWER…because who doesn’t like boosty noises?

 

Subbed

 

Now I have a red rocket.....

 

Great work! Thanks for sharing...

 

Updated the 2nd post with some more info as to what's been changed/ where I'm at currently.

It's funny the attention the truck has gotten on here, as well as in person. People are so psyched about it, but to me it's nothing overly special...I guess because I look at all these lifted Bro-comas and want to be lifted with nice wheels (which will be in the future of course), yet the exterior is still pretty stock. First world problems, amirite?

 

Nice!

 

Bravo! That came out killer

 

Noice

 

Decided to give the truck a little love to the exterior yesterday. Scored an awesome deal on new ProComp Series 31 wheels in 16x8 (4.5BS, 0mm offset). I reused my existing Hankook DynaPro ATM 265/75's for now. I left my 1.5" spacers on, as I liked the aggressive stance it gave the truck now. Really happy with these! I think it goes awesome with the Barcelona Red, and black fenders/bumpers.

 

This is awesome...making me consider going turbo again as well... With the cost of the URD mkIII kit...exhaust setups are kinda a wash I would imagine between the stuff I'd need to buy for that vs. having my v6 manifold and downpipe fabbed...ehh

Surprised your truck is running just fine with the turbo...do these trucks just add fuel as necessary or is it because w/ only 4-5lb you're not leaning out too far?

 

Yeah I feel like until someone has a jig with a decent quality manifold for mass production, the URD MKIII kit is the way to go. A bunch of guys are boosted on the 1GR, but I believe that most are custom fab manifolds and DP's.
The truck drives pretty stock for being on stock ECU right now. Closed loop boost isn't ideal, but once it hits open loop, the injectors are fine til almost 8psi (when I tested the 8lb spring). I do have the AEM FIC, but I haven't gotten around to wiring it back in and tuning closed loop. If you drove it, you'd never know it was on stock fueling/ECU. At 6lb, and WOT in 3rd gear, my AFR goes 12.2ish at redline.

 

So you are running the completely stock ECU and stock ECU tune on 6lbs of boost without issue? The ECU has trimmed things in closed loop to make open loop proper? Thats pretty impressive.

 

That's correct. Under closed-loop boost situations it'll maintain 14.7 AFR (which is lean under boost, but it's only 1-2psi currently), then open loop will go to 10.9 and creep to 12.2ish which is fine for 6psi.
Once I get the FIC hooked up, I'll be able to smooth the transition from closed to open, which will make the truck quicker overall, and allow me to boost harder down low.

 

Thats pretty darn impressive from the stock ecu. Sick lil build you got going on there. I really think toyota would of been better off in the 3rd gen to do something similar, a 2-2.5L turbod motor ala ford ecoboost style haha.

Ill be watching this build !

 

I like what you've done with yours. I couldn't, so I went the other way.
URD Mk3 Supercharger kit for 05-15 Tacoma 2.7L 2TR-FE 4 Cylinder
URD 2TR-FE Stage 1 to Stage 2 Supercharger Upgrade
LCE Header (a long-tube header in a short-tube package)
Short throw shifter
Upgraded clutch
Magnaflow cat back