2020 Vanilla Ice Build

Long time lurker here. I've spent more time than I can count researching used Taco's that I've come very close to purchasing in the past. Fortunately, the planets were aligned recently, and I was able to close on a 2020 4x4 Tacoma just a few weeks ago. Safe to say I was very excited to get back into a 4x4 rig, but before I show the obligatory dealership before-pic, I wanted to give a brief background on what I came from. I decided to put up for sale my pride and joy, a 2015 VW GTI with an upgraded turbo, and few other nice bits that allowed her to run close to 400HP to the wheels. It's safe to say I'm quite adept when it comes to ruining factory vehicles and voiding warranties. Did I say ruin? I meant improving. Anyway, here's a picture of what I traded in:

 

I kept going back and forth on an OR Taco or the SR. I liked the out of the box off-road capabilities of the OR, but at the same time, I knew I planned on changing most of the parts that make the OR an OR pretty much straight away. In the end, I figured I'll use that money I'm saving to buying the things I really wanted right off the bat. Over the course of a month, I reached out to 20+ dealers looking for the best possible price for a vehicle they had in stock. With COVID-19 in full effect, inventory supply was becoming an issue for Toyota dealers. All dealers stopped shipment of any new units at the time. I lucked out and found a couple of trucks I was interested in with the best prices in Northern California, so I made a road trip up from Orange County to check them out. The Tacoma I ended up going with was the absolute cheapest automatic 4x4 crew cab Tacoma with the v6 that I could find on the west coast at the time. I ended up getting the truck $1200 below the dealer's invoice plus 0% interest through Toyota Financial. Here she is:

 

First mod. I needed to remove the dealer's license plate frame:

 

I then ordered some OEM black emblems to improve the rear end
before:


After:

 

Next up I got the truck booked in to get the windows tinted. I did ceramic tint on my GTI before, but I honestly could not tell the difference, so I opted for the cheaper basic solar tint 20% all round:

Before:


After:

 

After a couple of weeks of ownership, I picked up OEM 4runner pro wheels and a set of 265 Falken Wildpeaks. I also picked up black gorilla lug nuts to complete my chrome delete. I wanted to see how these Falkens were, so I took the truck to southern Utah to run some trails and camp out. So far I'm very happy with the setup. Absolutely zero rub. I'm looking forward to seeing how these tires do in the snow.





After this trip, I realized I really need a good skid plate and rock sliders. During the memorial day sale I ordered both, so hang tight!

 

Sweet truck, sounds like you got a screaming deal (as far as I'm concerned). Congrats. I first bought a 17 SR with the I4 and ended up losing money to trade it for a v6 SR5 with towing package which I ended up needing.

 

Thank you! I appreciate it. Your Quicksand is a fantastic color. I've always been a fan of it since its release.

 

Finally got round to installing the RCI steel skid plate. While I was there I pulled off the front air dam as well since the thing was ruining any ground clearance/approach angle I had.

Off with the old:


Already managed to scuff up the front air dam:


In with the new:

 

Took her out for some dirt biking yesterday.

 

Fine choices .

 

Impeccable taste, sir. Is the R stock?

 

Sliders finally came in after 6 weeks. These were an absolute pain in the ass installing. It didn't help that the garage turned into an oven this weekend.

 

stage 1 high torque tune
intake
turbo inlet
Southbend stage 3 clutch


I just got rid of it though for a M2 competition .

 

Congrats on the killer deal! Like the progression so far as well. I'm also new to the Tacoma world (as of late May) and also traded a 2015 Reflex Silver GTI!


Before:




After:

 

Both great cars. How does the M2 drive compare to your modified R?

 

I think we might be related. I haven't seen you at any of the family reunions!

 

Picked up 6k LEDs for the reverse lights since I couldn't see anything backing up at night. While I was in a buying mood I also picked up 6k LEDs for the license plate and the interior dome lights, and also the cheapest seat covers I could find.


$25 delivered. They suck, but its better than staining the original seats.


I also got round to buying a Tyger roll-up locking tonneau cover for $190 delivered.


This tonneau turned out better than I thought. By far the cheapest locking tonneau cover I could find.

 

Believe it or not very well planted considering it’s rwd. Very impressed overall with the suspension considering the fact that it’s more traditional and not an adaptive magnetic style. Will be cheaper to get a legit coilover setup . The brakes have a six piston front caliper setup in the front and 4 in the rear . It also has a traditional e brake that I really missed on the R . The exhaust note is WAY better stock on the M2 competition vs the golf R also .The most impressive thing is the m2 comp’s take off for a stock vehicle. Especially for a 2wd vehicle (Just a touch faster than the R). Combine all that with the fact that interior is complete with way better leather and real factory carbon fiber interior and front strut brace . Makes it a crazy deal considering it’s only 21k more than a R .

Don’t get me wrong a golf R is an awesome car but this is a bit better.

 

Very nice gti.