Advice needed on picking the trim/options

Greetings all. I finally made the decision to jump in, and would appreciate any advice from those of you who have had enough time with your tacos to give any insights on what you thought was worth/not worth it with regards to your pick of options. My first pick was the TRD pro, not because I know anything, but because I thought it looked wicked bad ass as all getout... but the dealer told me today the wait time will most likely be a year and a half, so that's off the table. I'm on the build-price section of the toyota website for the Offroad Premium, and was wondering if any of you had any words of wisdom for one at my stage. For example, is the TRD performance air intake worth $768? And the $1347 Performance Exhaust System really add to the performance or is it just for sound? The TRD lift kit sounds nice but at $3155? (If these prices seem high, it's cuz i'm in Canada)

I want to get the truck mainly for going off-roading with my 9yr.old. Any advice will be sincerely welcomed and appreciated, Thanks all in advance.

 

I don’t know if you like to row your own gears, but if you do the 6MT IS DEFINITELY worth the wait. I love mine. I would get the stuff that you can’t easily get later like the LED headlights, factory tonneau if you want a tonneau because it still lets you use the rail system, while many aftermarket units do not. I think advanced technology and premium packages are worth the money IMO, but you can probably do all of the port options later for less. The bed step and the bed mat are must haves.

 

1st, just get the off road 4wd.
2nd... the exhaust package... why?
3rd the stock air intake is as good as the 770$ model.
4th the life price seems excessive for spacers and not a real suspension lift.
JMO.. but buy it completely stock and move to the aftermarket world of Canada
https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/canada.44/

 

ya.. I can't do the MT, that was one condition from the wife so she can also drive it. I'm not seeing an LED headlights option for any of the trims, maybe it's Canada thing.

 

Hopefully you can get the LEDs, they are a solid upgrade and reasonably priced. I like the leather and sunroof of the premium package but not everyone cares for it. Anything else you want/need you can add later.

 

Teach the wife how to drive a manual transmission...it will add to her essential "ICOE" skill set.

But anyway...any dealership/Toyota "performance upgrades" are kinda only worth it's value in being under Toyota/TRD brand factory warranty and not really any significant measurable increase on dyno.

If you want to UNLOCK the stock potential, look into KDMax or OVtune. If you want actual dyno performance increases, look into Magnuson supercharger along WITH the previously mentioned KDMax or OVtune.

 

I'm also up in Canada and I got the Pro. I dropped deposits everywhere and made sure they were refundable.

The exhaust is a bit deeper than stock and I have a manual transmission. I do wonder if the stick shift helps the sound. I do have the TRD performance air intake and I can honestly say to pass on it. Unless you drive at 4000 rpm or above, it's not noticeable.

I got a retractable tonneau cover to secure cargo, kids stuff and I love it. I got the Retrax pro XR so it has integrated rails to incorporate a bedrack later and can fit Yakima and Thule racks too.

If you really do want the TRD air intake, install it yourself, it's easy and save on the labour (same goes for LED bed lights, if you have a tonneau cover, you need it and easy to install too, check YouTube).

Off road premium will be a great truck. I love the Pro but you're paying a lot more for it too.

 

Don't get sucked in to all the gimmicks. You don't actually need the TRD intake or the TRD exhaust. Also, I'm not sure about Canada but in the US the Toyota lift kit requires them to remove your stock fog lights and replace them with plastic bezels.

If you want the Toyota brand upgrades I'd definitely go for the LEDs or exhaust at most and do the rest aftermarket. You could even get those after the fact but it's probably easier to get them with the truck if that's what you want.

The TRD Pro skid plate looks cool but if you're serious about off roading there are better options out there.

Also keep in mind that you'll likely want different tires. The tires that come on the TRDOR are the same as the TRD Pro but they are more of a highway tire than an off road tire. I swapped mine before this last winter because I didn't have enough tread left to be comfortable in the winter at 30 or 35k miles.

In the meantime, welcome to TW!

 

I agree with Barrister, get the stuff you have to have under the factory warranty, and then add the stuff you want aftermarket.

Barrister's rationale for the tonneau is sound if you are going to use one. I use a tool box at the cab end of the bed, others with equally valid reasons use a topper, it just depends on how you use the truck.

I own a GenII/2015, tonight in my driveway is a 2021 "TRD Sport 4x4" service rental, with <3k miles on it. I grannied that thing around today, washed it and went over it with detail spray from a big box store. They (my local dealer) are keeping my Gen II overnight for a scheduled (with appointment) 75k mile service that the scheduler told me six weeks ago when I made the appointment, would be done at 1 PM if I was on time for the 0800 dropoff. I was 45 minutes early. Tomorrow I drop the hammer and will run this thing like a rented mule. I have torn the pastic cover off the manual and located the VSD switch on the dashboard.

On paper this thing makes more power per cubic inch than my 2004 GTO did, but 40% of the cubic inches are not under the hood. I will see how that works out about nine hours from now, with distinct pleasure. Owners of the "new goat" used to talk about having an SEG and I haven't had one of those lately. If I "get" to clean wasted tread life out of the fender wells before I return the service rental it will be with a smile.

I can't imagine there are significant power gains available by changing the cat back exhaust to something that sounds better. Whatever power is available at the flywheel, the stock factory exhaust should not restrict if the engineers are worth keeping on the payroll. They just aren't going to leave available power in the table in all the competition. The engineers are supposed to (in factory trim) keep the truck quiet without giving away available power.

Cold Air intake you should be able to get aftermarket. Keep your factory parts until the warranty expires. Want a snorkel with the intake above the roofline?

What kind of offroading? There are folks here that turn off the paved road at Las Vegas or Denver on their way to Moab. I use my truck for work at people's homes in Fairbanks, Alaska with a small amount of tools and materials in the cab, year round. The worst surfaces I drive on are driveways that last saw a bulldozer 25 years ago and haven't seen a snow plow this winter. On Nokian Hakkapellittas in 4WD high I am unbeaten, I haven't needed 4WD low yet on those tires to make a driveway. The Gen II I own is SR5 trim with the big that year V6, 4WD, auto because my winter boots are bulky. You can go bananas on lift kits and shocks and springs and so on, aftermarket support is good. If you are going to upgrade to aftermarket suspension anyway, it makes no sense to buy premium suspension components from the factory; you can just as easily take off the SR5 components.

Don't sniff at the tow package. I haven't followed developments on the GenIIIs here closely, but I feel real good about having a factory installed transmission cooler on my Gen II.

My 2015 truck came with I don't remember what sucky (summer) tires in factory trim. Dunlop something They can be more exciting than I desire when dealing with my boat on a muddy river bank. I am on my second set of Hakka winter tires, and will be replacing the factory / stock Dunlops (that work fine and get reasonable gas mileage on dry pavement) with something a little more agressive for mud and wet sand this summer. I do have two sets of rims, it just makes sense up here.

I will say the 2021 I am borrowing has the upgraded floor mats in it. If I were to order one I would get those, but once they get a hole in them I will go to a box store for the second set. Also the door jamb protectors. I have tube steps on my 2015 for my wife, but I generally step over them and the door jamb for the driver on my 2015 has taken a beating.

I find the special thingy bed hold down loop screw tighten whachamacallits are worthless on my Gen II. I think the truck came with four of them. I took them to the dump in 2016. The 2021 in my driveway tonight has a hardpoint loop in each corner of the bed, just like my 2015. Skip the fancy doohickeys, go to Walmart and get a set of four ratchet straps or tie down straps for $15. If you cannot figure out how to use them go to the dump on a Saturday and look for a dude with holes in the knees of his work pants.

I don't know who else rented this truck before me, put there are a ton of stone chips in the paint. It goes with the territory here, but the paint on my 2015 honestly looks better. Probably because I bought it new and personally clay barred it and applied three coats of synthetic sealant before the odometer passed 200 miles. If you are planning to keep your truck long term either clay it and seal the paint yourself, or have it done ASAP. I am a "zaino fan" myself, searchable on this website, dunno if that product is available in Canada. Whoever details the Ferarris in your town will know. Just get it done quick off the lot for best resale value later. Synthetic wax is not the same as bullet proof armor, but there is some really good stuff out there these days. Ideally pick a sealant over which (cured) you can apply a carnuba wax.

I have a standalone GPS (garmin) in my Gen II that meets my needs. I haven't fooled with the nav in the Gen III I picked up this morning, but it works up here and shows me all the nearby gas stations. If I have it long enough I will program it to show me nearby BBQ joihnts. You might search on "birddawgtech" here to see if they came up with a gen III solution. I have five ball mounts in my Gen II, four of them in daily use. Depending on your use of your truck those can be super handy. I have had really good luck with the (I think) Ram X brand doohickeys that go between my ball mounts and my phones and GPS and paper clipboard. I will be adding a windshield camera to my truck in the fairly near future, there are a lot of idiots out there driving vehicles doing stupid things. I want enough RAM in the system to hold 30-60 minutes of video so when I see something really spectacular I can park safely and deal with creating a sharable file for the police.

I am not sure what audio system comes in the TRD sport 4x4 with navigation. I heard three or four of my favorite 50 songs on FM today, and I am not impressed. Brickhouse by the Commodores, The way that you use it by Clapton, Never Surrender Corey Heart I can remember. Yes, 80s. I think my loaner/rental has a blown midrange driver on the passenger side. There was a Kiss song in there too, not Beth or Detroit Rock City. Thanks goodness I didn't hear any Bob Seger, I probably would have been in tears if it had been on of my favorites. I don't even want to think about what the tom drums would have sounded like if John Cougar's Won't drive me Crazy had come on, I don't think this truck could have handled it.

One question for Toyota. I am confident they follow this site even if they never post. When, please God when, will the USB audio input on a toyota product accept and play back .wav files acurately instead of only these weak sauce frat boy .mp3's? Jesus' genitals! mp3's suck. Has anyone in Japan ever played back anything Led Zeppelin ever recorded as an mp3 at 95 dB? Mozart? Beethoven? Mettalica? Give me fuel, Give me fire (squeal) give me that which I desire (distortion). Hard drive space gets cheaper every ten minutes. May I please please please have my audio quality back? Do they not crank metal in Japan? Have they never cranked Moonlight Sonata and just cried? It absolutely rakes my coals to rip my extensive CD collection twice, once to .wav so I can play it loud at home through my Sony receiver and again as .mp3 so I can play it sedately in my Toyota truck. Am I the only living American who looks forward to Black Friday so I can crank my Twisted Sister Chritmas album? Can I please someday play some Grieg through the factory sound system on a river bank with my wife present, the motor off , and no squealing oboe in mp3? My wife loves Grieg. I don't care for Grieg at all, and my wife isn't enamored of Grieg reduced to mp3.

Praise Jesus my Gen II has an actual CD player in it. Chef movie soundtrack, track nine. It needs to be played loud. Every time. Gente el zone!

The tacoma is a good truck. Don't buy what you are going to replace anyway. Take care of it and your nine year old will be begging for it when s/he is ready to start driving.

I have some parallel black stripe to attempt to lay down tomorrow, thanks for starting the thread. I think I will leave early and come back home for some cinder blocks to put in the bed if I can get the rears smoking without hooking up.

 

One other observation. My 2015 is magnetic grey, and can carry a LOT of dirt around without looking scruffy. My service rental 2021 is Harlot red, I mean whorehouse red, excuse me Barcelona red. It looks filty with two grains of pollen on it, and water spots showed when I washed it with out detail spray to follow. If I wanted to own and maintain a show truck I would move back to LA and consider lipstick red. As a user up north, magnetic grey or cement for me, please and thank you. YMMV.

 

@Pointdexter:
so... what are you like when you get started for real? I don't know exactly what it is I just read, but it was a thoroughly good read and enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for the wealth of info and entertainment.

I just checked out the US version of the toyota build/price section and it seems you guys get a lot more options with this and that package, like the tech package that gets you the LED lights or the option for a 6ft bed on an off-road. Not surprising I guess, same deal with everything else really, oh well...

 

I agree with previous posts. Also avoid buying any "port side added options". Most of those are "plug and play" and can be enjoyable to do yourself, plus at about half the cost and still be OEM. An added bonus is it will shorten delivery time.

 

Your last sentence pretty much sums up what you require.

 

Just my thoughts on what you mention:
TRD Intake - not worth the $$$.
TRD performance exhaust - Had it on my '06. 14+ years and one minor gasket leak at the exhaust manifold. It's 100% stainless and will last. Don't know if the standard exhaust system is also stainless. I like the sound - others do not.
TRD lift kit - First question is why? Do you really need it for what you do?
LED headlights (mentioned by others) - OEM LED is the way to go BUT do you need everything else (in the package) that you have to buy to get them?
JMHO