Crashnburn80's 1st Gen TRD Double Cab Build

Thank you, Buddy.

 

Took my parents to the top of the Chelan Butte today. They had never been to the top at the radio towers.



The trucks cheap suspension lift clearly showed, way to much axle hop and shudder. Admittedly I was eying the temp gauge on the steep ascent at slow speed with 4 occupants in 85 degree weather with the AC blasting on a 210k truck, but the temp never budged. Solid Toyota quality. On the way down, despite using 4low and 2nd gear with intermittent brakes, I did experience moderate brake fade. A suspension and brake upgrade are somewhere in the trucks future.

 

I have your StopTech brake upgrade thread bookmarked. I believe there was a post/link in there for 1st gens.

Is this the brake upgrade route you plan on going?

 

I got like 3 pages in and I'm confused, is this a Tacoma build or a Tesla build?

 

Here are the 1st Gen version part numbers.

It is that or the Tundra swap. When I did the BBK on my 2nd Gen I wasn’t thrilled by the performance for the price. I’m leaning toward just the simple rotor/pad upgrade but TBD. The new wheel tire setup will be mildly lighter, and the truck will soon be retired to weekend warrior status vs daily driver.

 

No more Tesla. I cancelled it and am pursuing a 4-door fire breather.

 

Awesome, thank you.

My truck(s) is not a daily driver. It's used for camping, skiing, etc. So lots of Colorado mountain passes driving. On my 98 I was given EBC slotted rotors and I paired them with Akibono pads. I really did like that over stock.

But always looking for better set ups especially with something as crucial as braking. As always I appreciate your insight/knowledge very much.

 

3 cylinder by chance?

 

If it came in a sedan, I’d highly consider. But a hatchback is out.

 

Oil Analysis results





These test results were taken with entirely unknowns, since I couldn't say what oil is in the truck or specifically for how long. For starters I assumed the oil was the OEM spec viscosity and input that accordingly, according to the report it was less. Maybe a 0-30 or 0w-20, can't really say. It did look thin. Since I did my oil change in advance of ordering this analysis kit, I stored a sample in a rubber/silicon tupperware type container till the analysis kit arrived. I hadn't considered that might affect the results, and unsure if it did or was coincidence. Wear metals was incredibly low, which matched my rudimentary visual analysis of the spent oil. This is all throw-away from my perspective. Next round with known variables will be more interesting to track over time.

 

Toyota made 5w-20 acceptable for the 5vz awhile back so if it was changed at a dealer that’s what it would get.

 

Good call. I'm always skeptical of the retroactive oil spec changes, typically chasing a better mpg/efficiency requirement rather than what is best for the engine.

 

Interesting total lack of fencing or guard rail at the edge of what appears to be a significant cliff. Good place to check one's brakes.

 

The entire drive up is along a very primitive steep narrow 'road' with some tight turns along significant drops and no safety barriers of any kind. This spot feels very safe by comparison.

 

Finally got around to swapping new shoes today. I was torn on direction for a while. I'm a big fan of KO2s for my use, whenever I try another tire it is a disappointment with some compromise I am unsatisfied with. So knowing what I like, I want to run KO2s.

The truck came with 285/75r16 MTs. So options are replace with the same, drop down to a 15" wheel or step up to a 17" wheel and run a KO2 of similar size. Dropping to 15s allows for 33x10.5r15s in a C-load KO2 that are significantly lighter than the E-load 285/75/r16s. I'm a fan of the 15s when running a 31" tire, but on a 33" it just seemed like too small of a wheel to look proportionally correct. I'd easily opt for 17s on a 2nd or 3rd Gen as I did on my 2nd Gen, but 17s look way out of place on a 1st Gen. An important thing for me in this build is to keep things period correct, so that parts fit the era of the truck. That means not using later 2nd or 3rd Gen wheels on the 1st Gen, which look out of place for the era. Despite really not wanting to run E-loads, I eventually decided it was the least of the evils, the KO2s and current MTs in 285/75r16 weight the same, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement.

I am not a fan at all of the 2001-2004 twisted star wheels that came on the 01-04 Tacomas. One of my least favorite wheels of the era, not to mention heavy. The twisted star wheels weigh 27s vs 3rd Gen 4runner wheels at 22.2lbs, while being a more traditional better looking wheel IMO. It is worth noting that 2nd and 3rd Gen wheels are not as light as these for a 16" wheel, 2nd Gen OR 16" TRD wheels 23lbs and the 16" 2nd Gen Pro wheels are 23.5lbs. So after a few months of searching for clean 20yr old 16" runner wheels, I decided to order some refurbished OEM ones. It is worth noting these wheels come in flat lugs and conical lug versions. I wanted the conical lug versions (like modern vehicles) but they were not available and the truck currently used flat lugs, so I settled fo the flat lug face version.



Not inexpensive, but the goal was to get OEM wheels that looked like new. I ordered them here. One of the things to pay attention to in wheel refinishing or refurbishing is many restorers powedercoat the wheels. Almost every wheel manufacture voids the warranty if you powder coat a wheel as the baking process to cure powdercoat can weaken the wheel. You should be able to bake at a lower temp for longer time to avoid weakening the wheel, but I decided to go with more traditional methods of refinishing with strip/paint/clear to play it safe.

Another thing I disliked was the 1.25" wheel spacers. It gave just a little more poke than I preferred. Higher offsets/backspacing also accelerate wear on all sprung components, it is harder on the wheel bearings, harder on the steering, placing greater loads throughout the system. If running oversized tires on OEM wheels they are necessary. But I wanted to dial it back. Plus the generic (likely Chinese) unbranded spacers are not something I'd personally want to run.



Traditionally quality wheel spacers are synonymous with Spidertrax, but they only make down to 1.25". I wanted 1" to bring the wheels in from the 1.25" I already had. After extensive searching I found Bora. Manufactured from raw USA materials to finished product 100% in the USA and the highest quality available. Also have hub centric models for Tacoma. Very expensive compared to the alternatives, but clearly the highest quality product on the market. Found a thread here. Ordered them from here. You can also order direct but the cost is the same.

Words I like to see stamped on my product purchases. For install torque both the spacer nuts and the lug nuts to 83ft-lbs, which is the 1st Gen lug nut torque spec.


While the front lugs cleared the shorter spacers without issue, the rears were a couple threads longer that gave me cause for concern with interference on the wheel. Note how the OEM studs exceed the spacer which may interfere with the wheel.


Fortunately these 4runner wheel have reliefs offset from the mount points just large enough to accommodate the stud protrusions, so they mount perfectly with a 1" spacer with no mods to the studs necessary.


Of course how could these be complete without brand new OEM center caps, manufactured in Japan.


I love that I can get new 20+ yr old OEM parts for something like a center cap. Purchased here.


Color match isn't perfect, but still looks really good.


0.25" less poke


Truck looks a little more OEM, while also reducing rotating weight by ~5lbs per corner.


So all went mostly according to plan. But not entirely. I got one poorly refinished wheel.

Here is how the Toyota label looked on 3.


Here is how it looked on wheel #4


The coating is so thick and sloppy you cannot see the logo. WTF. Worse the coating is so thick it will not allow the center cap to snap into place due to insufficient clearance, despite mashing it with a mallet. Completely unacceptable. I'll be contacting the vendor for sure.

 

Truck looks amazing! I love the OEM look. Do you think you will need to regear with the 285's? Thank you

 

Those T4R 5-star wheels and the early Tacoma tri-spokes are the best looking wheels IMO

My 98 and 04... (my 04's wheels aren't nearly as glossy as this photo is showing)

 

Thick coating notwithstanding, those are one of the best looking Toyota wheel designs ever. BFG KO2s are also one of the best (looking and performing) off-road tires available. In short, perfect choices.

 

My personal opinion: I do not like the KO2s in snow. I had several pucker moments driving on them in wintry mountain passes.

For me, the tires I have on my 04 are the best I’ve ever had. 99% of my driving is done on road. My off-road driving consists of moderate Colorado trails. Nothing gnarly anymore. And the most important feature for me is how they perform in snow and braking conditions.

The Goodyear UltraTerrains (Discount Tire exclusive) are incredible. They do just fine off-road for me too.

For my 265/75r16 in an SL rating each tire weighs 40 lbs. Added to 22 lbs T4R wheel I think I’m doing ok at 62 lbs for each wheel/tire.

 

I am a big fan and proponent of regearing. Going from a stock 29.6" diameter tire to a 32.8 diameter tire means I have reduced the gearing by about 10.8%. 32.8"/29.6" = 1.108. So to correct it, I should increase my gear ratio by 10.8% to bring me back to stock. There is info great in a thread over here on how to read your axle codes from your door jam sticker, which I will copy/paste:



My axle code is also B03A.

You can decipher the codes here. But I'll copy/paste as well:


B03A
B=8.0"
03=4.10 gear ratio
A=2 pinion

So with a 4.10 stock ratio, and I've reduced gearing by 10.8% with my oversized 33s, I need to multiply my gearing by 10.8% to restore factory performance. 4.10 x 1.108 = 4.54 as the gears required to restore performance to stock. From there you need to match the closest available gear ratio, which in this case would be 4.56. Regearing is the correct thing to do, it will restore some power and mpgs and reduce engine strain, however regearing is not inexpensive, especially on a 4wd where you must do front and rear. In my case where this is not intended to be a daily driver I am unlikely to regear it anytime soon, but it would be a nice addition to the truck. For perspective it would increase wheel torque by 10.8%, with engine torque at 220 ft/lbs, you'd be looking at the equivalent of almost +24 ft/lbs for maybe $1600.

In my experience KO2s do acceptable in snow as long as they are new, they are 3-peak rated. Blockier tires don't do as well in snow/wet. It seems the KO2s do well for me till about 25k-30k miles, then snow/wet performance falls off a cliff and they can get dicy. I just flip my tires every other year, always ride on new fresh rubber and selling KO2s second hand in popular Toyota sizes is crazy easy. Someone is thrilled to get lower cost KO2s and I just put the money toward the next set. I'm a bit OCD about tires as they are your vehicles connection with the road, everything a vehicle does comes down to how well that connection works. I'll pay top dollar to always roll on fresh rubber so I don't view flipping tires every 25k as a disadvantage to myself but realize many would not share that view.