Daily Driver improvements?

Hey all, back in October I got my first Taco! It's a 2008 5 lug with a 4-cylinder engine and everything as far as I know is stock except a few things I've added such as the tailgate mod, D-rings in the bed, and a dash cam.

I'm looking for improvements for it as I plan on having this for a while. I've read a few things on the forums and already know that I want to upgrade the sound, possibly add some sound dampening to the doors etc, get some bed lights as I occasionally do use my truck for hauling stuff, and some fog lights. I am from southern Ohio if that really makes a difference for suggestions as well.

Any and all suggestions are welcome! Here are some pictures of what she looks like currently:

 

As a daily driver, consider focusing first on comfort and the inside of the cab. As you mentioned, for instance, the radio and speakers can be upgraded because they sound like crap. Look into seat covers, driver's seat warmer (being in Ohio), etc. Next, upgrade the shocks and tires for a smoother ride. Then leave it alone and enjoy.

 

Do you have any recommendations on those upgrades as far as brands? I have an idea on the radio and speakers but for the rest of it I haven't really done a whole lot of research.

 

Mine is a 2008 4cyl automatic 5 lug, i got it in 2016 pretty much bone stock and i'll tell you what improvements i've appreciated the best.

I second the radio upgrade the stock unit was junk. i replaced mine with a Pioneer DEH-X3800UI, it has radio, cd player, an aux jack, and a usb port that can play stuff off a flash drive / phone etc. It doesn't have bluetooth but that's fine by me, it's half the size of the stock unit so i got more space in the dash tho if you want a bigger display screen maybe go with another one. I still haven't upgraded the speakers and that's still on the list, but i got noticeably better sound just by upgrading the head unit.

The truck was generally in great shape when i got it at 60k miles but the stock shocks were an exception, i didn't notice how bad they were at first but they deteriorated from there until the thing gradually became a wallowing pigapottamus so i put on bilstein 4600s all around, and thaey've been great.

I recently installed bed lights because i couldn't see what was going on back there in the dark, i got the opt7 aura bed light kit, i'm happy with those so far.

Maybe the best cheapest thing i've done so far is just to take the advice of some people on here and get a decent air filter. I got the AFE pro dry reusable filter and i was kind of amazed at the difference in throttle response vs. a standard paper filter. In the same threads a lot of people advocate deleting the secondary charcoal emissions filter for the 4cyl to further destrangulate it, i haven't done that yet because i wanted to isolate the variables but i'll give that a go eventually and see what it does.

If yours doesn't have cruise control and you want it and you have an automatic trans., it turns out that all you have to do is install the switch and it works.

There's a few other things i've done and a lot i plan on doing, but those are all things that were 10/10 would do again.

 

also getting a tonneau cover has been very useful for how i use the bed

 

Thanks for all that feedback! I just installed a touch screen this past weekend and I have to say... It's amazingly different. I can't believe how much of a difference that makes. I think the next upgrade I make might be the shocks, and then I think I might add a cap to the truck so my wife and I can go camping and just camp out of the back.

 

no probloomi

 

Intermittent wipers.

 

yes this is definitely on my list as well, switching them on and off manually is getting old

 

I had forgotten that one! Those are some plans that I will have for this spring I guess

 

Dynamat the whole cab. Do the doors, headliner, floors, back wall, pretty much anywhere you can get some will help. Its a little expensive but will help cut back om road noise as wheel as feel up empty gabs around the speaks to hell improve thete sound quality. Also a nice set of good tires will make a huge difference. Dont buy cheap off brand tires. You also might want to do simple preformace mods. Like a full intake, headers and exhaust. 50 state legal would be best.