What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

I like it as is, but I also like chrome, a '70's/'80's thing I guess. But, if you do want to change them, I'd vote go with red.

 

Sorry for this long and factual reply rant. I would like to provide clarity to my 3rd gen feedback. I was, unfortunately, one of the 1st to buy a 3rd gen. Mine was built Dec 2015. In the late summer of 2015 I owned a 2014 Ford F150 V8 (my 12th Ford truck) and a 2008 Tacoma V6 (my 3rd Tacoma). I usually had the Fords for towing a heavy boat. My youngest decided to go to college so, killing my new travel trailer funds, I found myself driving the Tacoma more than the F150 and sold the F150. The new 2015 Tacoma V6 availability was very slim. I wanted a new Tacoma to carry me into and throughout my retirement years. With no real 2nd gen choices I decided to get the new modern looking 3rd gen with more bells and whistles and the new killer gas mileage. It took a long time to find an access cab Sport but I finally bought one after Christmas 2015. I did expect some minor new gen issues but nothing like Chevy or Dodge had. I babied the truck for the first couple of months while making cosmetic mods. To put it kindly I had a shit-ton of problems throughout the 1st 6 months. More issues than any vehicles owned since the mid 1970's (more than our new 1985 Chrysler had !!!). As I drove it like Granny the 1st few months performance was not an issue because my focus was on, first getting the bugs worked out, and the 18 mpg city and 25 mpg highway fuel economy. After the 7th month, with most problems resolved, I opened up the throttle more frequently and was actually scared at how it stumbled when passing or darting across traffic. I did the transmission flash 3x and CAI and exhaust upgrades which actually boosted the throttle response and mostly killed the throttle lag. I still struggled with the slug performance for many more months. In mid to late 2017 I closely followed the development of 3rd gen tunes (OVTune). By this time thousands of disappointed 3rd genners were trading in for any other vehicle. We were mostly in agreement that Toyota dropped the ball on the 3.5 and automatic. By early 2018 new tunes were being developed so fast that every few weeks a latest version was replaced with a new version. Initial costs were not budget friendly either. By the time consistent fair priced tunes were available I had exhausted my interest in the 3.5. I had blisters on my finger from pushing the ECT button. I think post 2018 model 3rd gens are built better than 2016-2018. I did keep my truck 5.5 years but by then the koolaid tasted sour. There were also frequent reports of rear main seal and timing cover leaks. Being out of warranty, with market values increasing, I sold it to a Toyota dealer for what I paid new in 2016. Bought a 2008 and 2012 Tacoma and have been a happy camper ever since. FYI tunes were slow to the market for the 3rd gen because there was no need, or no demand, for tuning the 2nd gen 4.0. That is a fact stated by OVTune during their early testing in late 2017. I did love my 2016.

 

Well - I lied.
They got here. I opened them up. There were metal clips. I got confused.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/install-q-vent-shades-vent-visor-rain-guards-metal-clip.812182/

Link to question thread so I don't thread jack the beautiful awesome momentum of this thread with my conundrum.

 

I just bought that drain valve. Will use it this weekend.
Also, going to install a permanent replacement for the oil pan plug.

$50 ValvoMax Oil Drain Valve - Quick Twist Oil Drain Plug for DIY Oil Changes At Home in 10 Minutes - No Tools, No Mess, No Cleanup - M12-1.25 Thread Size - Made in USA

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077ZGZ39V?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

It's a paved road all the way up.

 

Here you go:

https://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/ReddishKnob/
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/reddish-knob-trail
https://dwr.virginia.gov/vbwt/sites/reddish-knob/

Also, check out the Flagpole Knob area, those trails are pretty awesome too.

 

Next time haha

 

Looks good!!!

 

Thanks! I'm ridiculously happy with how it turned out.

 

Well, alright. I really do appreciate all the opinions and advice. Thank you.

 

I think that my reply is one shared by most people regarding a CAI. My Camaros and my kids Shelby Mustang came with those K&N intakes and I know they enhanced the performance of those performance V8 vehicles. I paid $300 years ago for the one in my 3rd gen and it really was a waste of money for me.

 

Because it's already CAI, stock. You're making a lateral move installing aftermarket cai's on these 3rd gens.

 

I switched mine out to a dashcam mirror with a matte film on it.

 

I have that valvomax plug as well. It seems quality, I liked it much more than the fumoto. Less likely to have an issue if a tree branch or something came up and hit. Especially with the added security of the screw on cap. I did have to add a longer clear hose. I have one on my wife’s outback as well the hose length was fine for that but with the higher Tacoma it needed a longer hose to reach the drain pain.

 

Installed C4 high clearance fenders. Getting ready for CMC.

 

What wax do you use

 

Cutting and install myself. hardest part was figuring out what angle to hit for the sides. No detailed instructions included...

I found 1 video on YouTube where guy installed this bumper that showed the inside of the rear bed, was able to see where he'd cut in relation to the fender trim clips and used that as my front marker, bottom of filler piece as my rear marker. After that covered area in blue painter's tape and used a yellow painter's tape as my cut line, moving and realigning until it was perfectly straight from the side. Then just a saws-all and angle grinder fun. I lucked out and got a perfect fit without having to do any fine trimming.

Overall probably took 2.5-3 hours to pull old bumper, trim everything, and fit new bumper.

 

@MaxKrax the Taco looks fantastic! Great looking wheel and tire package. The bronze just pops! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of upgrading your ride.

@Raku77 that's a fantastic pic! Very rugged and capable looking rig.

 

Added Black TRD Offroad decals to the bed.

 

Full LED conversion on my headlights/fog lights. Check the profile picture