Project T Build

Hey everyone! This is going to be the start of my thread for this build. I bought my 2016 Tacoma OF DC short bed around May. This thread will cover my journey through building a truck. In the past I have worked on much smaller cars and staying lowering to the ground haha. A little disclosure, I understand there may be better routes or options but this is my decision and would love some feedback on future routes/optionsI take on this journey.

1st year of ownership review:
I'll start by saying that this is a very capable truck right off the bat and definitely gave me the opportunity to off-road and have a blast at tailgates. Going over railroads or bumpy roads the truck stayed pretty level and handled quite well. Especially in turns, the truck seemed to handle corners a lot better than I would have imagined.

Phase .5 of build:
These are smalls things that were easy to get done and made the truck sound or looked better IMO so I'm just going to list them off:
- blacked out grill and rear bumper
- removed V6 badge
- Caliraised lower grill front bumper LED bracket for 32 inch LED bar
- KBVoodoo fabrications HD bed crossbars
- swapped OEM muffler for flow master super 44 and 4 inch tip.
- 8K HIDs low beam
- 6k LED fogs
- import equipment vinyl for headlight reflector and rear tail lights

Phase 1 of build:
I finally decided that it was time to do some serious modifications. After learning as much as I could and determining my time frame and where I want the build to go, I decided to start with suspension and new wheels. I have a shop near by that have been referred to me multiple times and decided to get the job with them. The lift I went with is a 3/1 leveling kit by readylift that came out to $300(just lift). The wheels and tires I went with came from discount tire, they have great prices that can match anywhere right now and had the whole thing shipped to my house with tpms and lugs for around $1200. Reason I went with the 3/1 level kit is because I wanted a more level and higher overall ride. My driving consists of 85-90% on-road at the moment. I don't have the time to off-road as much as I did in college so for the time being with my job, I am mostly on-road driving. I knew the 33 inch tire look is what I wanted so for the time being this look and ride is perfect. I could't have been happier with how everything came out and feels.

CMC(cab mount chop) issue: I have the cmc plates from one of our local members on this forum, super cheap and got it fairly quickly(plates are not yet installed). Currently, everything from turning, full lock, and bumps, I have not experienced any rubbing issues. Clearance is perfect when the wheels are mostly straight, once the wheels start turning, it gets closer to that cmc point but does not touch at static height. The only time I have experienced any rubbing is when I am at full reverse with the wheels pointed left. The rubbing is very minimal and so far has not shown any damage to the tires.

Wheels: DX4 Tuff 17x8.5 -6 offset
Tires: Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 285/70/17

Review so far:
So far it has been 1 week since I got the lift and wheels done. Initially, my first impressions are that it is definitely higher in every aspect. So the nose doesn't feel like it's pointing down and you are pretty much level with any full size truck out there if not slighter higher. The ride quality changed slightly, going over my usual routes back home from work I can definitely tell it has a slight floaty/stiffer feel if that makes sense. I can feel more bumps in the road than before but it stills handles going over big bumps and tracks at a decent speed with ease. Going around corners, the ride feels taller for sure but it seems to be pretty planted. Braking isn't bad at all. Seems to stop just about the same, maybe slightly earlier pressure. Gas mileage changed about a few miles per gallon but its a truck and I expected that. Overall, I am very happy with where the build is going, some plans in the works is the TRD front skid plate. I am hoping to get the baja front fenders by the end of the summer as well as get a custom wrap job done. I appreciate any feedback you guys may have and please don't hesitate to ask questions.



Phase 2 of Build:
The first part to this phase consists of getting a front skid. I went with the TRD Pro because I've always loved the look of them and they are much better than the stock OR skids for sure.

Review:
Finished up a great event at Rausch Creek this past weekend. This front skid definitely was tested and held its own. There were a couple harsh hits but after the weekend I took a look and aside from some scratches, there are no major dents or pieces missing. So A+ for Toyota.

The 2nd part to this phase is the sliders. I went with RCI's bolt on sliders(raw finish).
Review: The quality and standard kickout are amazing. These sliders definitely took some abuse over the weekend but they are still in great condition. I got the raw finish to save some money and because I couldn't justify spending for powder coat if they are getting beat up and used. I used the old rattle can method and actual turned out really well. Install wasn't too bad, you definitely need a jack and stands to help you wedge it in place while you thread the bolts in. Plus a friend is recommended.

Last Part to this phase would be the Tail Lights:
I wasn't a huge fan of the stock tail lights and even the pros didn't do it for me. So I came across a black tacoma on instagram with these awesome tail lights. I automatically fell in love. The company is called Winjet.
Review: Absolutely love them! I will say the end result is worth it after what had to happen to get here. First, when ordered, they sent 2 passenger sides(honestly not really a big deal in perspective). Second, when driver side came, slight crack on a corner, it blew 2 fuses and gave me the horrible brake malfunction override error code plus CEL and couldn't get the truck started. After posting a help thread I was able to get the truck started and take it to Toyota to check if everything was okay. Long story short with Toyota it costed me labor to get the fuses fixed and the truck has no more codes or errors. When the tail lights first came there were no instructions or nothing. Website advertises a simple plug and play but the way they have their connecters setup, it is possible to plug them in 2 different ways. Their customer service was really trying to help I get that and totally understand, so far the product looks great but definitely should have been better handled with the instructions and the back and forth that had to be done. Overall not a great experience but still looks pretty good IMO. (Yes I know they look like the lights from a F-150, don't care)

Some odds and ends that were addressed were a front recovery upgrade from RCI, rear smittybilt hitch/recovery and some shackles, also got a 30k lb rated soft shackle for the front since the front skid just gets in the way to put a hard shackle. Also got a Midland CB radio and roof mounted antenna. Nothing fancy at all and costed less then $100. This option was to be able to communicate better when I go wheeling.



Phase 3:
Fox 2.0 rear shocks
Absolutely love these. Took advantage of the group buy for any fox suspension. You can definitely feel the difference in the rear. Over bumps there is no more sagging and feels almost planted. Nice balance between stiff and soft. Highly, highly recommend them.
Price: Since i got them during the GP, i believe i snagged them for like $125 for the pair. Got them is basically perfect condition
Install: Took about an hour and half since for both

Bilstein 5100 and OME 887 lift springs
Again, super happy about this purchase. I am still in the same boat as when i started this build in an all around good off road warrior and still easy on the bank. I only off-road maybe 3-4 times a year in an actual off road park.
Reason: I knew i didn't want to go crazy with an external reservoir or even the new 2.5 shock body. The 5100 were perfect for exactly what I was looking for. I stepped it up from my OG spacer lift in the front and can definitely feel the difference. I also went with the 887 lift springs because it provided the similar height as my spacer lift even at the lowest setting of the 5100s.
Review: Love this combo, I am still only at the lowest setting for the coilovers and once I get UCA, I will be putting the 5100s up 1 more notch. Feel over bumps is much better, truck feel more stable and actually soaks up the bumps and not just drive over them. I have a ton more confidence in the truck especially with the peace of mind that I have quality parts actually doing their proper functionality rather than a spacer which will literally just lift the OEM strut. I will say I am kinda 50/50 with going the spacer lift route first than this option only because getting a proper setup gives the vehicle a confidence inspiring feel. I would say that the spacer was still good to me in regard that all my suspension components have no been damage...knock on wood. The spacer lift gave me a better understanding to the lifting world of off-road vehicles. I have a much better appreciation for much higher priced suspension components.

Caliraised Lighting:
LED pod fog lights
I decided to go with the Caliraised LED amber fog lights because I thought they were a great choice for people keeping the front bumper in it's stock form for now. My first choice to be honest would have been the squadron OE style fitment but with the price Caliraised offers for hardware, harness adapter for OE fog light switch, and not housing in metal is not a bad deal.
Price: No special pricing, whatever is on their website is what i paid basically

Front ditch lights with brackets
Again, went with Caliraised ditch lights. They offered the side projecting pods with brackets and hardware for such a great deal.
Price: Same as on their website

Review:
These lights are bright as **** haha! My amber fogs are crazy bright for them being amber. I was lucky enough to test them out when PA got hit with the big snow storm a few weeks ago. They cut just about anything, rain, snow, fog, etc. Best choice for lighting especially in amber I have ever made. Same goes for the side projecting ditch lights. The 2 3x2 pods are brighter than my 32 inch light bar i have in the lower from grill. I used to hate having to guess what is to the right or left of me when turning especially off-road where it gets dark and it becomes very hard to see. Side projecting ditch lights are just the thing...genius.
Last part to phase 3:
I swapped out my Off-road grill for a Faux TRD PRO grill. I always thought they didn't look good at all. My original idea was to get the C4 Fabs metal grill. But I really couldn't see myself spending so much for just the grill piece, especially after hearing that if the plastic bezel around the grill insert is not fortified, that during heavy off-roading could cause cracking. I found one on eBay for around $135 shipped and decided to try it out to see how it would work. After the install I was oddly taken by how good it looked IMO. Surprisingly fit perfect and had no clips missing or broken. Probably just got lucky tbh.

 

All I have to add is if your tires don't rub, don't install the cmc. It's only a body mount but chopping and welding your frame is a big move.

Mine is done and no matter how much I treat it and paint it it's always rusty!

 

Truck looking great!!

 

The floaty/stiffer feeling are two different problems. 1st the floating is because when you increase your rotation mass the geometry of the steering components are not adequate. With larger tires you want more caster to fix the float and stabilize the steering, FYI wouldn't go over 3.5 degrees for 33". Also by just increasing the height of the front end only you affected the geometry. 2nd the stiffness of the ride was changed bc you shifted the CG of the truck to the rear therefore making the front end ride stiffer and the rear ride softer. If you add any more load to the rear than the truck will see a bro lean and it will be very noticeable.

 

Thanks for the headups! Didn't realize the rusting issue.

 

Screen shot your post cause ill bring it up when I visit the shop. Thank You!

 

I'm sure you could get away without it rusting, but if it doesn't really rub I'd leave it alone.

 

That's what I was thinking. The plates were reasonably priced so I'll just keep them as backup just in case

 

Make sure to tell the technician the caster, camber and toe you want or any shop will just set it into factory tolerances which isn't enough.

 

Love the build!

 

Just wrapped up an awesome event at Rausch Creek last weekend for the annual Tacoma Takeover. Had a blast meeting more people from the forum! Learned a lot about offloading and that a proper suspension or at least an entry level shock and strut change needs to be done. Some pics that I took. Go check out the 15th Annual Rausch Creek thread to see my entire photo dump. Also update my build in OP. Enjoy!

 

Love the set up. I'm actually in the same boat.. I'm about to purchase the taco in a few BUT once I have it, I'm afraid of the lifted due to I drive a lot. Good advice on your build.

Loving the tail lights.. Got any more angles shot of them?

 

Awesome build. I've got a white Taco as well and you are definitely giving me some ideas...how did you black out those rear bumper caps? I've also been looking into those rear lights would love to see more shots/installation process.

 

I'll post more pics for the lights later tonight. And the rear bumper caps I just masked off as much as I could then sprayed them with a can. Simple as that. I tried taking them off but didn't want to risk breaking the special clips in the back.

 

@ProjectTgen3 Which roof mount attena did you go with for your cb? Also, how did you route the wire? Appreciate any info.
Thanks

 

Honestly @Braves95 and I just picked up a magnetic roof antenna from a truck stop. Like under $40 and we had to trim slightly the wire to get a good time out of it. Also the wiring for now just goes through the door but soon will be routed through the rear vents in between the bed and to the rear seats

 

Thanks

 

any updates OP??? I hope all is well!!!!

 

Hey man! Good to hear from you. I got so much going on in my life, it's like a whirlwind. Hope all is well with you too and hope to wheel with ya again this season. I got a couple things I can post up since last phase.

 

Some recent pics from AOAA and phase 3 completed.