What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

CusterFan · Jan 23, 2019

MECret said: ↑

Removed the front airdam
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What size socket did you use? 1st halfway warm day we get in a month or so I may take mine off.

mrproduxn · Jan 23, 2019

ChaseFan said: ↑

What size socket did you use? 1st halfway warm day we get in a month or so I may take mine off.
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It's around 8 mm and takes under 5 minutes to remove. I suggest putting the screws back in the frame holes in case you ever decide to put it back on.

AZ_SIMBA · Jan 23, 2019

Inferno75 said: ↑

Home...and I’m in love
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I had mine for about a year now and I love it. I wanted something that is different from the TRD heritage grill and I'm glad that I found this BAMF grill. I eventually painted the TOYOTA logo after I got it which was super simple. Enjoy the new grill!!

Wixo · Jan 23, 2019

Suburbacide said: ↑

Got some stuff done before the snow this past weekend.

Replaced my stock shift knob with an OEM TRD knob made for an FJ cruiser. I wedged a 3/4" rubber grommet into the collar of the boot. I'm pretty happy with the overall look:

Finally got around to taking the front air dam off. Haven't noticed any drop in MPG since I took it off this past Friday. Loving the extra clearance:

Also, I installed some LED reverse lights and license plate lights. The reverse lights are noticeably brighter, but not too bright that I can't see anything out of my rear view camera:

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What lights did you use?

ChiefTRDSport · Jan 23, 2019

When you keep your foot out and shift reasonably, you can get decent mileage. I realize this was only about a 14 mi trip running 50-55 due to traffic, but still pretty good for 430 rear gears.

AZ_SIMBA · Jan 23, 2019

TT005 said: ↑

Picked up an OEM bed mat today at my local Toyota dealer. This will stop items from sliding around in the truck bed.

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Such a well-made mat and sturdy. Keeps stuff from sliding all over the bed.

Methadras · Jan 23, 2019

gwynn1975 said: ↑

Got my C4 Fab LoPro bumper, Warn M8000-s and Extreme LED 20” Amber/white combo lightbar installed today

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Did you have to cut the center bumper section out to put the C4 in?

gwynn1975 · Jan 23, 2019

Methadras said: ↑

Did you have to cut the center bumper section out to put the C4 in?
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Yes I did

Soul Surfer · Jan 23, 2019

Checked the mail and my TRD seat blockers came in. 10.99 + Free Shipping from eBay.
Drivers side installed. Thanks again to who originally posted these

Methadras · Jan 23, 2019

tandemgeek said: ↑

SOUND CONTROL / OBSERVED RESULTS

As a follow-on to the Sound Insulation material installation, today was the first time I had the truck out with both the door and full-cab treatments. Let me just say right up front, if you expect to yield Lexus LS - level noise control you will be disappointed. If you expect to simply reduce "all cabin noise" by 50% again, you'll be disappointed. However, if you are looking to eliminate a LOT of high-frequency mechanical noise, a LOT of high-frequency road and external noise and have a far more relaxing driving experience with better sound production from your sound system and/or the ability to carry on a conversation with your travel companions at a normal discussion volume, you might be pretty happy. I'm pretty happy.

Observed Results: The butt-dyno yielded the empirical results cited above, in terms of how much sound pressure in decibels (dBA) changed due to the addition of the sound insulating materials here's how it looks at first glance bearing in mind that I'm using the same $13 sound level meter to record ambient noise.

So, referring back to my entry on 30 December for the baseline, here's where it was:

Right Front / Passenger Seat: It ranged from the mid-40's at idle to a high of 70.5 dBA at highway speeds, hovering mostly in the low- to mid-60's at just about any speed above 40 mph. Mid-50's below 40 mph.

Right Rear Seat: It ranged from the high-30's at idle to a high of 80.5 dBA at highway speeds, a noticeably higher amount of noise vs. the front seat which is consistent with what my wife Debbie observed when she rode in that seat a couple weeks back. Given how close the rear seat is to the rear wheels and acoustics under and around the cargo box, the higher sound levels are what you'd expect. I'm also expecting a big drop in the rear seat noise once the back wall, riser and floor are sound insulated.

Left Rear Seat: Similar to the right, but the high was only 76.4 dBA, which could be because the fuel tank sits on the left side of the truck and likely attenuates some of the rear road/tire/axle noise.

For today's drive, here's what I found:

Right Front / Passenger Seat: It ranged from the high-30's at idle to a high of 63.5 dBA at highway speeds, hovering mostly in the mid- to high-50's at just about any speed above 40 mph. High-40's to low-50's below 40 mph.

Right Rear Seat: It ranged from the mid-30's at idle to a high of 70.2 dBA at highway speeds, hovering in the low- to mid-60's most of the time.

Left Rear Seat: Didn't bother checking, as the results were presumed to be consistent with the right side, front & rear passenger seats.

Bear in mind, just at low idle with the windows closed these trucks normally develop about 42-45 dBA, which is on par with the noise in your average kitchen with appliances running. We have an air purifier / ionizer in our kitchen that raises our ambient noise level to about 50 dBA. A hand-clap in the kitchen will score about 85 dBA. So, this is the sound pressure range we're dealing with in the cab of the truck. As another point of reference, your heater fan will generate a lot more dBA than your sound system when played at normal listening levels. To move the sound meter above, say 80 dBA, in the cab of the truck moves the music into the really loud / turn that shit down level.

Bottom Line: Getting a 10% reduction in sound level dBA is not insignificant. Moreover, if you bound the observed dBA range from the baseline test between just the low to high observed levels to something on the order of 35 to 45 dBA, seeing reductions at the high end of 10 dBA is about a 25% reduction to the dynamic sound pressure levels in the cab.

My Analysis: Again, going on what I learned during my research on this subject which is best summed up in a very concise article at a practical level on the Sound Deadener Showdown website, it takes more than just using one type of material or technique to attack noise in a vehicle. Going from my experience in other areas dealing with wavelengths, you'll always be hard-pressed to do much about low-frequency noise in any vehicle application: low-frequency = long bandwidth and there's just no room for thick sound deadening materials. It's those low frequencies that typically drive a lot of the measured dBA's, but those frequencies are not the ones that typically get on your nerves or that you'd like reduced: it's the higher, shorter bandwidth frequencies and that's where this particular application of 25% vibration dampening with something like Noico 80 Mil or Dynamat & Butyl rope + >80% blockage of airborne sound using 1/8" (1lb per sq in) mass loaded vinyl (MLV) bonded to a decoupler like 1/8" neoprene will yield some good results. 100% blockage just isn't possible in an automobile cabin for a variety of reasons:

Certain structures and shapes just don't lend themselves to applying a 1/4" layer of semi-ridged MLV & neoprene such as the raised reinforcing ribs under the front seats of the Tacoma.

The material must nest in behind interior trim pieces to allow the outer perimeter of the trim as well as fasteners to contact the sheet metal, often time requiring cutting down molded-in plastic spacers on trim pieces or just surrendering to leaving untreated structure behind difficult trim pieces, e.g., the back corners of the double cab and footwell kick panels.

Certain spaces behind trim and under carpet do not allow for any additional material stack height such that full, side-wall-to-sidewall floor coverage isn't possible, e.g., I had to trim back the MLV from under the B-Column trim so that it could be reinstalled and there is zero clearance between the seats and transmission tunnel such that even the seat mounting rails had to be pressed down into position to get the mounting holes aligned with the threaded bosses in the floor. The plastic storage bin is still a work in progress where hopefully compression under the rear seats will continue to push the bin further into the sound control materials to reduce the stack height such that the pressed-in fasteners will actually hold tight.

Many sheet metal surfaces are simply not accessible / practical to treat due to other structure, wiring, control and related equipment, e.g., firewall behind the dash, roof panels on trucks with the moonroof.

Windows are the true limiting factor; they're like screen doors for all but the higher frequency noises, they reflect & amplify all noise within the cabin and there's no practical / affordable way to treat them. Case in point, just opening the moonroof shade increases the observed dBA by 5 dBA.

Just the overall difficulty factor / limitations of the materials in general. I'd score this type of installation as a 7 or 8 on a scale of 10 for even the most experienced do-it-yourself types. None of skills or tools required to full disassemble and remove the interior of a vehicle are overly complex. They just require patience, research & reference materials so you don't tear-up or short-circuit anything, a good memory or detailed photos to aid in reassembly and prior experience working with automobiles in general and interiors, such as having done stereo system installations, etc. As for working with the sound control materials, no real experience is needed for Noico / Dynamat installation: it's even easier than putting up wallpaper, which is also true of Butyl rope. The MLV and neoprene requires a different set of skills and experience working with auto or some other type of upholstery, building speaker boxes, etc. But, if you've done auto restorations or resto-mods, it's not a big deal: it's just work.

The End.
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SEAT SPACERS / BED CUBBY CAPS

In other news, I received my aluminum spacers from Dennis (aka, olecoot) yesterday just in time for the front seat reinstallation just days after ordering them via PayPal. Given that I just installed a 1/4" of sound insulating materials in the floor, the bushings also helped to correct the seat rail height and disappeared in the carpet; perfect!!

Arriving and getting installed today were the Bed Cubby Cabs from Mike (aka, micawillia) also mere days after sending in the order form. They were exactly what I needed to seal-up the storage bins in the bed; saved me the time, effort and expense of trying to fabricate something similar. This is doubly important for me in that our bed is dried-in with a topper and lined with a BedRug, so no need to have uninvited dust and moisture thrown up by the rear wheels migrating into the bed! Great product. I went belt and suspenders and over-taped the caps with Gorilla Tape for the long-haul.

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Amazing work. Thank you for the analysis. Informative to helping people make decisons as to the risk/reward aspect of undertaking a project like this.

ehvenegas · Jan 23, 2019

LTG4087 said: ↑

Your truck looks great. I was looking at those gun metal TRD wheels at the dealership but I'm not sure how they would work with Cement.
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I was thinking the same since I have the cement as well but I'm thinking the black would look better.

Inferno75 · Jan 23, 2019

AZ_SIMBA said: ↑

I had mine for about a year now and I love it. I wanted something that is different from the TRD heritage grill and I'm glad that I found this BAMF grill. I eventually painted the TOYOTA logo after I got it which was super simple. Enjoy the new grill!!
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Yeah I was all good with cheap pieces of plastic crap that Toyota offers...plus everyone has the pro grill even though none of them are pros... this is the best grill on the market with dB costomz in second place after it.

Mad Mark · Jan 23, 2019

robie_0n3 · Jan 23, 2019

Replaced my Gator soft tri-fold tonneau cover with an Undercover ArmorFlex tonneau cover.

dmo1028 · Jan 23, 2019

ChaseFan said: ↑

What size socket did you use? 1st halfway warm day we get in a month or so I may take mine off.
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10mm

Built2Ride · Jan 23, 2019

Maxcustody said: ↑

Bought my new front bumper today from Demello, it is going to powder-coat tomorrow. Jason has 4 more steel in stock and 2 aluminum I believe when I talked to him today. Can't wait for the install!

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I know your pumped. Sweet looking bumper bro!
I ordered one of these thru @state48overland over the holiday thru their APP plan.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/state48overland-com.583138/
They are building an Alum Baja Bumper with the low profile hoop, minus the hoop supports, also got the 30” cutout for my 3rd gen Taco.
Also getting one for the FJ.
The build on @JDEMELLO bumpers are killer. I like spending my cold hard cash with some kick ass folks.

mrproduxn · Jan 23, 2019

dmo1028 said: ↑

10mm
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I couldn't remember since mine has been off for years now.

evoix4me · Jan 23, 2019

Finally got my hands on a OEM Pro grill for my 19 OR install went great

Cappy · Jan 23, 2019

Got the center console tray, tailgate handle vinyl letters from tvdvinyldecals and Raptor lights. Went with a different look by spreading them out. Tapped into the marker light to give me more lighting options for different looks. Liking it so far.

Methadras · Jan 23, 2019

Cappy said: ↑

Got the center console tray, tailgate handle vinyl letters from tvdvinyldecals and Raptor lights. Went with a different look by spreading them out. Tapped into the marker light to give me more lighting options for different looks. Liking it so far.

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I did my raptor lights like this too. Love it.

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