2018 Tacoma TRD Sport Magnaflow Stainless - Falken AT3W - Dobinson GTS 2" Lift

Seeing as I was being semi lazy, and not wanting to track down each post and put my review there, I decided to do 1 large review on all 3 items in 1. I wanted to get some drone videos in, but with the snow/ice today, well, didn't want to ruin a brand new drone. So that'll be for another day, and will post those videos/photos in here as I get them.

1) Magnaflow stainless ***$71 on Amazon

$95 MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust Muffler 10416: 2.5"/2.5" Inlet/Outlet, 4x4x14" Round, Stainless Steel, Satin Finish

https://www.amazon.com/MagnaFlow-Exhaust-Products-10416-Muffler/dp/B000COTCI0 paid local shop $30 for adapter for this to fit the application.*** This video was my attempt at showing the Magnaflow Stainless exhaust with the GoPro outside of my truck. The issue I ran into with the video was when I started getting up in RPM, wind noise also started taking effect. You can still get the idea of how the exhaust sounds in the video (it is louder in person, I'm guessing Wind Noise was causing the microphone to lower the volume overall, not sure. Or just bad camera positioning) You'll also hear the exhaust in the following 3 videos, but it's from within the cab.

I had the Flowmaster 40 on my 2017 Tacoma, but when you got over 3k RPM, it got very tinny, and I hated it, and attempted to keep the RPM lower so the truck didn't sound like a busted out Honda Civic. The Magnaflow sounds amazing, it's very smooth, nice low tone, and keeps a good tone through the whole RPM range. On Highway, and regular driving, it does drone a little, but I do ride w/my stereo on Volume 15, and hear it clearly, if that gives you an idea of how little the drone effect really is. 10/10 Would recommend



2) Falken AT3W LT265/70R17 (10 Ply - aired down to 32psi for more comfortable on road ride). ***Paid $157 per Tire, at a local tire shop. I prefer supporting small business when I can vs buying online. If you look up the Falken AT3W thread on these forums, DTD offers Ebay coupons for a nice cheaper price if you go that route. I've seen people getting a full set under $400 https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/packed-with-technology-falken-wildpeak-a-t3w.419869/*** I was extremely weary of these tires due to the low cost, and the fact I was looking at the BFG KM3 or the Grabber X3's. I was directed to these tires from a friend of mine, who claimed they were getting amazing reviews. So, I took the plunge due to, if they were junk, I had 30 days to return them, or if past that, at $150 a tire, cheap enough for me to toss out and just get a different set of tires. I do feel the weight ever so slightly in the steering wheel, which isn't really a bad thing, as I've always preferred a heavier feeling steering wheel. I was averaging 23-25mpg on my truck before the tires on the stock Toyo Open Country, and now getting 21-23 (lost a couple MPG, but that could also be because of the cold here in Maine, where it's been single digits since I've got the tires) I don't rev my truck out or drive like an asshole, and more or less just passively drive, so I attempt to keep fuel mileage high, and truck in lower RPM (unless of course I'm off road, then it's 12mpg with my foot buried)

I found out shortly after getting my tires on, that a friend had the same size on his, but he got the 4ply vs my 10ply. He had no rubbing issues, and I had a slight rub on the inner fender (nothing a heat gun and 2x4 didn't fix). 4Ply are 13/32 tread, vs 18/32 tread on my 10ply, so I'm guessing they didn't include that extra tread in their measurements for the tire size. I finally had the chance to get out during a snow storm and test these out today. I drove all around our small city of Bangor here in Maine for a few hours this morning running errands, mostly in 2wd during the snow storm with absolutely no issues at all, where I was watching small cars, and 2wd trucks struggling to get around. When I did finally put it in 4WD, there was almost no slipping at all under full throttle, straight line acceleration (corner drifting is a different story though, but that's purposely done obviously)

I finally gave them their chance to shine when I hit the Stud Mill Road in Milford (a logging road for the paper mills, lined with gorgeous fishing ponds, and amazing hunting spots) The Country road section leading up to the Stud Mill road was plowed a few hours before we got there, so there was only 2-3" of snow on the ground, where as the studmill road was only party plowed, with a good 8-10" of fresh snow, and packed ice underneath. We played around in the sand pits for a while before I remembered I had the GoPro in my truck, so I missed that fun footage of us climbing up the steep snow/ice covered hills, but I did capture us breaking trail on a side road (Friends 2006 Tundra in front of me as he wanted to test his tires out in the fresh snow, I had broken trail the 4.5 miles leading to that side road). At the end of that 1st video, he stopped as it was a steep decline and he was worried he wouldn't make it back up. So I ended up going down, and coming back up without an issue (didn't realize my battery died as he came up to talk to me, oops) The next video is of us doing roughly 30-35mph, with me trying to keep my wheels in the fresh snow and out of the tracks we made on the way in. Once we pass the intersection, it was the 2-3" of fresh snow, and I was hitting speeds of 55-60mph, without any squirly or uneasy feeling at all. Completely impressed with these tires, and for the price, definitely recommend for those on a budget that want a good all around AT Tire. 9/10 Would Recommend (1 point for weight, but that's expected)

**As stated by anyone else posting photos of these tires: They look 100x's better in person. Photos do them absolutely no justice at all.



3) Dobinson GTS 2" Lift ***$740 Shipped from Mainline Overland in NH, Paid a friend to help install due to being 1 handed from surgery***(Thank you @eevaldes from Mainline Overland for helping me get into this amazing setup. If any of you are interested at all, I suggest messaging him, as the price is perfect, shipping extremely fast, and he's amazing at getting back to you in a timely fashion if there's any questions at all.) All items came in on the same day, packaged great with no marks/scuffs, and all items in the box. It came with 2 Front Dobinson Struts, 2 Springs (2" Lift), 2 Rear Dobinson Shocks, and 2 Tapered Blocks and U-Bolts cut to perfect length for the 2" lift in the rear (Yes, you will have the stock rake on the truck, but you won't have the Taco Lean)

I had been digging for months for a suspension lift on my truck, and didn't want to go down the road everyone else does, and settle w/the 5100's. After a bunch of research for a few weeks, and a few posts on these servers, and some assistance from eevaldes, Dobinsons looked like the perfect match for what I was looking for in a suspension lift.

My 1st impressions of this kit were pretty.... shocking to say the least (yes, lame pun, but it really wasn't intended, until it was) If you've ridden in the TRD Sports, you know they're a little stiffer suspension, rough on the offroads, but hold the vehicle tightly in corners on pavement, and comfortable on the highway. I've driven the TRD Offroad, and at higher speeds, they felt like they almost floated to me, and I wasn't a huge fan of that, seeing as I travel for my job. The Dobinson GTS Kit, felt great on the highway, no float at all, and soaked up the bumps that you meet when you come across overpasses/bridges with ease. When driving around our famous pothole filled streets of Maine, it almost floats across the bumps, soaking them all up (mind you, I'm sitting on 10ply tires, so that's no easy feat) There is a tiny bit of body roll when going around corners pretty quickly, but that's also just me not used to it yet as I've been in TRD Sports for 2 years, and they don't lean in corners. To me, the Dobinsons GTS kit feels like a perfect mix between the Sport and the Offroad. Taking their goods, and leaving behind their negatives.

This kit came to life when I finally got it off road today on the back snow covered roads. 10mph-60mph, it took every bump in stride, keeping my tires planted to the ground firmly, while not shaking last nights burritos out of me. When we were playing in the pits, no matter the odd angle I hit the hills, all 4 tires remained on the ground, giving full traction and control with no slipping or unease feeling. Doing 60 over the ice/snow covered washboard dirt roads, the vibrations in my backside were very minimal, vehicle didn't get tossed sideways as it did before on the Sport Suspension. I've been extremely happy with this suspension, and wish I had did this back when I first got the truck. Not to mention, the Red Coils over Black Struts looks great, and fits w/the TRD Theme on these trucks. I've had tons of compliments on the Tire/Suspension combo on the truck from a bunch of other Toyota Owners, and even a few Domestic vehicle owners.

10/10 would definitely order again, and recommend. With eevaldes at Mainline Overland as my go to source. Their customer service (even replying to my extremely late night e-mail within minutes, and in full detail of my question) is by far the best I've dealt with, and will be from here on out referring anyone looking for upgrades/mods for their Tacomas to them. TY again eevaldes.




Overall, between the Tires, Suspension and Exhaust, I couldn't be happier with the truck (I think my wife is even happier than I am, as I don't have anymore big money items planned for the truck). Hopefully this will help anyone that is looking at any of these items, or just give some more in depth insight on these items.

TLR- Tires Awesome in Snow, Suspension Great in city/highway, and off road, Exhaust melts panties.



Other Mods: 5% rear windows/35% front/35% windshield strip Tint, TACOMA black out on tailgate, 1.25" Wheel Spacers, Aftermarket Tri-Fold bed cover, purchased extra rail-tiedowns when got truck, AVS Matte Black In-Channel Wind Deflectors.

Also did a full LED Conversion on all the lights (Lows and Fogs included) If anyone has questions, I can add my opinion on these in here. Would like to keep all mods to truck in 1 section/thread, instead of spreading it out everywhere. Makes it easier on newer people to see it all in 1 place, with explanations on what things are instead of having to ask.



EDIT: 12,000 Miles later on the AT3/W. Tires still going strong. Have had them mudding, off roading, and up through the northern Maine woods where there's endless dirt roads with shale, that are known to destroy tires, not a single issue. Fuel mileage all summer was low 20's if I kept my foot out of it. During our spring flood season, treaded through bumper high waters, and hit a bunch of water spots at high speed without once feeling uneasy about it. These tires continue to impress me, especially for a cheaper price tire. I did have my Caster moved forward 2° which completely stopped the rubbing I was getting if I hit bumps at roughly a 45° turn. Wear on tires is almost non existent for having 12k miles on them, rotated at 5k, Pressure kept at 32psi (cold) (photos attached, close up photos with dirt/grass on tread)

 

Which model Magnaflow?

 

so, when you gonna mod the wife's T4R Pro???

I like the lift you chose, since I have been considering a lift myself, I will definitely keep it in mind. did you do a diff drop as well?

glad you like the tires, I have read good and (most recently) bad reviews on the Falkens. having run some of their tires years ago, I swore off of them then. but they are a great looking tire for sure. I just wish their quality control was a little better.

your truck looks damn good man! nice job!

 

Would really like to know as well

 

If it helps, I put my Falken 6-plies thru a bit

 

https://www.brothersperformance.com...gnapack-2-5-oval-stainless-steel-muffler.html

I believe this is the muffler that is on it. Friend of mine owed me a favor, so he purchased the muffler for me through his work at O'Reillys. This is the dimensions that the muffler is, with same exact size and description. (I had to have a local muffler shop make me an offset adapter as this one is a little shorter than stock, and stock is 3" offset, so they made me an adapter that welded it correctly into place. The muffler sits above the bottom of the frame, so no worries of me hitting it off anything when offroading.

 

Haha, she barely trusts me to drive MY T4R, because it's now HERS due to her liking it so much. I considered sneaking a few things onto it, but she'd notice in a heart beat, and well, our couch isn't very comfortable to sleep on. She's agreed to LED Upgrades, and a 4G Remote Starter (which goes in next week), and blacking her windows out like mine.

Yup, I'm loving the tires so far. I had an odd shake at highway speeds, so they rebalanced them again, and it was still there, just a little lighter. When we pulled the tires off for the suspension, I torqued them back on with the methods we use at my job, torqued all of them at 40, then 80, then 95 on last pass in a star pattern (due to hearing people say to retorque nuts, I wanted to try before thinking tires were junk) Well, I have 0 shake now from 0 - 80mph, so I'm guessing the retorque was definitely the fix for it.

And thank you. I like the clean looks of it. I do have some decal replacements (TRD-Sport on bed is getting removed, and changed to flat black, along with blacking all emblems out, and having the sport wheels chrome/silver parts changed to Matte GunMetal)

 

Awesome! Thank you so much for the review. It’s great working with you!

Enjoy!

 

@Mack7n Any chance you can post a picture of the installed muffler and how it looks under your truck? And possibly the offset adapter you had made?

Thanks!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/advice-on-exhaust.581185/page-3#post-19671683

2nd post on that page is basically what mine looks like. Mines tigged in, VS his is migged, only real difference.


We're getting hit with snow at the moment, or I'd go out and get a photo of mine, but this is pretty much a clone of mine.

Edit: my piece that comes down from going over the axle was elongated just a little, so my inlet wasn't angled like the one in this photo. Only difference. His setup works just as well, I'm just a picky bitch.

 

@Mack7n thanks! I've been thinking of doing an exhaust as well but never really thought if just buying a muffler and putting it on. Budget just went way down for that!!!

After finding this post and reading what you've said about the Red Coils and it being the TRD theme, I started to think you're right and maybe they would look pretty good on my truck. Do you or Eric know of anyone that does have the TRD OffRoad that has put this kit on? How did they like it? It's been a while that I drove the Sport and went with the OffRoad because it was the only longbed they had at the time and couldn't pass up the deal that I had made with the dealer. Just wondering if the ride will be more stiff then it already is or just a little better.

 

@Mack7n something to think about with the tru-fold bed cover, is the Pop-N-Lock for the trail gate. Got one for Christmas and had it installed that morning in like maybe 20 mins. Set truck to unlock passenger door when press unlock on key fob or even driver side door handle. Makes the wife really happy on those long trips and we stop somewhere knowing everything is locked. Before they're $80 on Amazon

 

The red coils and black struts do look awesome. We’ve installed a bunch of these on TRD off road Tacomas and they provide an instant improvement in dampening on and off road. The benefit is better quality dampers(shocks) over stock and great coils that provide the proper amount of lift depending on what you’re looking for.

So ride should be better than stock for sure. Not overly firm or too soft on the road. Balanced more than anything.

Hope this helps!

 

I've contemplated this actually, but where I reside in Maine, I don't even lock my truck or house. Though, for traveling for work, it'd be nice to have. I'll look into maybe picking it up this week. Thanks.

 

Thank you for replying to this. I didn't want to give out any misinformation, so figured you could handle it easily enough. And he's right, it is a great overall balance at everything. On road, off road, highway. Truck, for me at least with the sport, feels great. I actually now enjoy the suspension in my Tacoma more than I do on my 2018 4 Runner TRD Pro.

 

Do you have a link to the one that you purchased?

 

@Mack7n here is the Amazon link. Around Christmas they were $80 not sure if they were on sale then.

$150 POP & Lock – Power Tailgate Lock for Toyota Tundra, 2007 to 2021 Toyota Tundra, Truck OEM Lock, Anti Theft, Truck Tailgate Lock Replacement, Easy to Install, Made in The USA (PL8547TUN)

https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Lock-PL8...ock+tacoma&dpPl=1&dpID=41UTf-ycLQL&ref=plSrch

 

yea, I saw that one, but it says for Tundra. Then I go to the one that says "Tacoma" and at the top, it says "Will not fit your vehicle *2018 Tacoma* and all the description says is for a Tundra (8ft bed)

$120 Pop & Lock PL8525 Power Tailgate Lock for Toyota Tacoma (Power Lock Add-on Kit)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TONSNO/ref=psdc_15737871_t1_B00LST3022 Hmmmm.... I may have to go to their website for a part number, as it seems their Amazon pages are a little screwed up.

EDIT: According to PopAndLocks website, the one you linked for the Tundra, is actually the correct part number for the Tacoma on their site, and the one on their Amazon Page that says for a Tacoma, is actually for the Tundra. Haha, someone needs to proof check their shit.

 

Yes, sorry I should have mentioned that. It does say Tundra on there, however the box it comes in says both. I did have a little extra wire left over after running the wires (about 2 feet) but I cut those before splicing into passenger door lock wiring by passenger kick panel. I watched a YouTube video of the install, didnt read the instructions at all...lol By the way you will need to drill two wholes in the plastic covering/ wire holder for the camera wires, to run from tail gate under the truck bed. It made a cleaner install look, because the wires ran along side the camera wires. I left a little slack under the truck bed here, just in case later I was to add a quick release for the camera and lock for removing the tail gate. But I'm not sure if I'll ever need to remove the tail gate for anything

 

Nice, doesn't sound bad at all. Guess I'm ordering it. Ugh, wife's gonna disown me