Austin Area TW Chapter (all gens welcome, even T4Rs; heck, just make it a Toyota and we're good)

Remember when "getting into a girls jeans" meant something completely different?

 

Just did Big Bend last weekend.

 

That's awesome. Big Bend is still on the bucket list.

 

Howdy all,

I am new to Tacoma's and TacomaWorld both. Bought my first Tacoma last week after selling my 2010 FX4 F150. I was in the market for used with good pricing and got a 2011 Red TRD-Sport, with a three inch lift, cold air intake, and throttle body spacer, all in perfect condition. I am in the Temple/Belton area right now but Austin is the closest group I could find. I do not mind driving down for meets and to talk to you guys about advice and suggestions! I am looking to head down to Big Bend here in the next couple of months and would love to hear do's and don'ts and things to look for while there. I have never been so this will be my first off-road trip with it! I do not know the limitations of the limited slip differential in my truck yet, so again, any and all advice is welcome. I've posted pictures of what will eventually be my build!

Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to TW! DCLB TRD Sports are cool!

I'll add you to the list, and we look forward to seeing you around!

 

Welcome to TW and Toyotas in general! Its good to see people realize the importance of reliability.

A good testing ground which is local is HF. Its the most popular place for Austin/San Antonio/Houston and surrounding areas to take off road trips too. Large, versatile park with someone for everyone.

If you're interested in off roading, i'd suggest throwing that bull bar and side steps on Craigslist, using the money to purchase some adjustable front 5100 shocks and ditch those spacers. The ride quality will spike and you'll still get a desired lift.

The LSD in those isn't the best system in the world. However, the capabilities of this truck in damn near stock form will continually surprise you, in a good way. Soon you'll be feeding the addiction.

 

You're just a junkie who doesn't want to trip alone.

 

Okay, so complete rookie question here, but what brand do you recommend, do I need to put anything on the back, and do you adjust them yourself to desired height?

Also, as far as tires go, does anyone have input one direction or the other. I used BFG TA/KO2s on my f150 and liked them, but I understand Tacoma's might like a different tire. Appreciate the add Cedar, look forward to catching up with ya'll in person before too long.

 

Depending on how much money you have in your budget, on which lift you get. Cheapest good all around lift for these trucks are front n rear Bilstein 5100's. If you lift the rear, cheapest good all around is an add a leaf. Then from there you move on up to Fox suspension, but be prepared to drop some coin. If you ever want to meet for a Friday lunch in Round Rock, we can discuss various options.

 

That'd be great, I don't know how fast I look at purchasing anything until I get a good idea of budget, but it would be a good idea to know roughly how much I'll spend on parts and installation etc.

 

Psh i'm on that Fox game

I talked to some guys who compete in class 3 at the Baja 1000 about the same question as when I had my Tundra. They said "the rear is simply just following the front". You don't need 'em, its up to you. Its nice to have an upgraded rear end, i'll be doing mine over the summer. I have stock leafs with Fox 2.0s in the rear and it works fine. Again, all about your budget.

And as for the KO2s.. there is a cult following for those tires.. Discount Tire gets some sort of deal if they sell a certain number of them ect ect. There are much better all terrain tires out there with better tread wear and much better performance, such as Cooper Maxxs and Goodyear Duratrax to name a couple..

Tex is right, its all about your budget. Bilstein 5100s are the cheapest best route you can go. Spacers and blocks break shit. Get what'cha pay for.. I know you didn't pay for it but don't off road and pay for the previous owner's mistakes.

 

Most people here, including myself, will charge members a third of what any shop will charge to do basic installs.

 

Cedar I will probably be talking to you and Tex both then when it comes to installation. I'm looking at all of the difference's in shocks, anyway you can hyperlink somewhere to purchase the Bilstein 5100s or the Fox 2.0s? I want to make sure I am looking at the right thing.

You are exactly right about this, I used to work for discount tire before I went down to Texas A&M and we pushed them hard. Tires will probably come soon after I take the spacers out.

Already glad I jumped into this feed, ya'll are clearing up a ton of grey space.

 

Polyperformance does an excellent job of outlying part numbers. I then match the part numbers with 4WheelParts and have them order from there. A lot of people complain about 4WheelPart's price matching, but they always do it for me.. Then again I know the manager decently well.

When I was doing this same process with @Toyboata, we went to 4WheelParts and they got his shocks (5100s) ordered up. Went to Discount Tire and I convinced him in the Nitto Trail Graps. A cliche tire, but they're a solid preforming tire at a good price. You pay to play, though. My MTRs have taken an absolute beating, have more rock rash than anyone i've seen before, and after 15k miles still have 70% tread.

As for Foxs, as well as Icons, Kings, Stay-A-Ways, ect, unless you off road hard an often, Bilsteins are a fine route. OME is also an excellent way to go, I often wish I had gone that way since I opted for 2.5 coilovers w/o upper control arms, now i'm going to have to rebuild the coilovers when I get a TC kit this summer. Live and learn.

 

What size did his clear with the Bilstein 5100's.?? I've got a good connection at Discount Tire up in Oklahoma so they might happen sooner then I planned.

and I'm really glad you said this, I'll stick to the Bilstein's then.

 

265/75R16s, same size I had stock height, but I had to trim a shit ton, his not to much. I plan on running 285/75R16s next with 3" of lift in the front and 1.5" in the rear, we'll see how that goes... but I should have glass up front.

 

Cool, that'll give me plenty to work with @CedarPark, I appreciate all your help man. Look to catch up with everyone soon

 

@OkAdventurist'15 Welcome to TW!

Listen to @CedarPark, he's about as addicted to that 4x4 life as I have ever seen and knows his stuff. But be prepared for that Bilstein install to take a little more than the 30 minutes he might promise lol

 

@Toyboata haha I will keep that in mind! I'm probably going to give them an order at the end of this month, I'll get paired up with him and we'll see how it goes, you're welcome to come out man. Look forward to meeting everyone

 

Still don't even know wtf happened there.