What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

So judging by all the responses, I’m led to believe that my headlights are actually not as bright as they were before, SO bright that I’m now “that guy,” and I should feel guilty for even owning a truck for the sake of everyone in a smaller vehicle (I came from driving four consecutive 4cyl sedans before my truck so I’m very aware of headlight positioning.) Getting truck shamed on a truck forum is a new one for me.

 

I get that, but take a sec. Part of the benefit of the forum is the shared knowledge. And this knowledge exists cuz other folks had the same desire you did, and learned some good info as a result. It's all good. Be excited about the truck. Everybody here is gives a little and gets a little grief. If somebody does just want to be a straight up a**hole, which is rare, things will sort themselves out.

Welcome to the fray!

 

Planning a 2200 mile solo road trip (with the dog), so that kicked me into gear on a couple of improvements. Got rid of the very disappointing stock sound system. Did anybody else know that 2.5 gen AC's came with an amp behind the jump seat? You'd never know it.

New Head unit, door speakers, amp to drive the doors, and a powered sub. Lot's of sound for this small space.




head unit
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113DMX905S/Kenwood-Excelon-DMX905S.html
amp
https://www.sonicelectronix.com/ite...dDAYGSEMJlXbyLqnjOD1aMzbsYCR1K8RoC3CwQAvD_BwE
speakers
http://store.12velectronics.com/unity-u61-2v2-6-5-2-way-component-speaker-system/
Sub
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-VXXZ0Yp1BPp/p_777B8PTD/Sound-Ordnance-B-8PTD.html

Metra RR harness with OBD to the head unit.

The Sub gets the job done, but I may yet make a change here. It'll cover my needs for the trip for sure.

The other need was that I'm trailering a small boat on the front half of the journey (1100 miles). Being solo, you can't mess around being drowsy. Any lane drift/correction BS could get you killed pretty quick. So I want to be able to get solid shut eye if the need arises. Came across a NOS blowout locally on a Bestop Supertop. Schwinnnggg....

gonna throw a deck back there with a Klymit pad. The GF is even making curtains. I'm a modular type of dude, and this thing'll pop off in a couple of minutes as most of you know. If i was paying full retail, I probably would've gone Softopper, but I got a sweet deal, and I don't expect to run this but maybe 20% of the time.

 

Nice set up. What made you go with Unity speakers vs just a set from crutchfield?

 

disclaimer: NOT a car audio expert. But a hack musician/live sound guy so I know a little and need a lot of sound.

Actually bought the HU and speakers off a TW member. But the speakers made the deal a go. They're high quality and came with custom MR. Marv baffles. Driven by a good amp, these little guys more than fill the truck and I didn't have to find places to cram lots of gear.

specs (second column)




Edit to add, any audio geeks that want to recommend a 10" sub that will pair well with that amp (bridged/.96 cu ft box) feel free!

 

Not all of us feel the same way about LED technology, there are notable exceptions to be made. Lots of people have formed their own opinions by using the argument that the reflector is not a projector, and that LEDs are unidirectional whereas filaments are omnidirectional, also true. But that isn't the end all, it's just the ideas formed at that particular time. LED technology has an accelerated development cycle to compete with OEMs using LED designed housings. Some manufacturers are already there. But when you pay $30 for a set of LED bulbs, you're going to get real shitty performance. Expense doesn't equate to usage, either, but generally speaking the lower the dollar amount the more generic the source.

 

If the truck didn't come with factory fog lights, that connector is usually for that. From what I found on a previous Nissan Sentra my wife had. I bought OE Style foglights and the connector clipped right in.

 

I bought the Cougar Motor H4. I read the reviews that were nothing but glowing, pardon the pun.

 

The biggest thing is making sure your bulbs have a cutoff shield. It's there to give you a crisp line where the LED should not "glare" into oncoming traffic. If it's missing from those, return them and get something else, otherwise you ARE being 'that guy' - and no one likes that guy.

 

That's already better than the majority of users. When you get them in, go find a wall and aim them. They will 100% point higher than a standard filament bulb because of the unidirectional emitters. Also good call on COB emitters (those look like COB, hard to tell because they're blurry) - the lifespan should be significantly better.

 

Finally finished my Relay Fuse panel over the weekend. Installed last night and everything finally worked. Just got to clean a few things up and put in some new switches. Learned alot from this project but it was a PITA.

 

Where did you order a harness??

 

No, just led headlight shamed.

 

Well that’s cute and all, but I drive 12 miles to work every morning during pre-dawn hours and 9 of them are backcountry roads with deer and the occasional loose cow or horse. I’ve adjusted my headlights down to proper level and had outside opinions from people that see me pulling into work tell me they’re not overbearing. I guess people just want something else to bitch about online, like there isn’t enough.

 

I just dislike people who never turn off their high beams, or have their headlights adjusted or modified in a way that impairs my safety.
Nothing personal.

 

NICE work....funny but I find the PITA ones usually are the ones I learn the most from, anyway Nice job
BTW ... dont know how long you have had the AGM's, but have you looked into the recharging requirements they have?..

 

Yupper... interesting ..sometimes it just takes a gentle reminder from my light bar to encourage the HI beam folks....I used to live roughly 20 miles off a main road, all country setting and invested in a set of ARB lights , completely remote controlled from the headlight system, ran them until I got on the main ....never seemed to be an issue.....

 

Sick bro!! Which charger system is that?? I see the URD front mount!

 

I thought that too especially since you are a new member, so I tried to do the exact opposite and provide you with a kindful response and link with an explanation.
You are misinterpreting my response. People joke around here a lot, so dont take it serious. The thread I pointed you to is very informative on the subject, especially regarding safety of others and the potential blinding factor of your current headlight setup.

Honestly, I thought you would have appreciated my response.

Take it easy.