"SLW N LOW" Build (2013 Reg Cab)

Well, today was rather embarrassing. My truck met his real father while I was off riding my bike.



I was going to tell him that I was not his real dad, but you know... there's just never a good time to bring-up an uncomfortable conversation like that.

As you can imagine, the ride home was full of uncomfortable questions like...

"If I eat 100 octane gas, will I be tall like my dad?"

"Will I be a 4x4 after I hit puberty?"

"Who is my real mom? Is she a Lexus LFA?"
​

Let this be a warning to you guys... just come clean with your new truck while your in the dealer lot. It's just easier that way.

 

crap it would be really hard on black and any areas i mess up would stand out bad! damnit lol

 

lmao classic

 

I'm not so sure about that... perhaps you could buy a small mirror kit or something and try it? I'm really glad I did it... I just cleaned my truck for the first time this year and the bumper looks perfect. A little dirt got under some of the seems in the bra, but no nicks at all. Sweet.

 

Hey you should get a TRD Sport Hood for your truck and some fog lights that would really set off you truck!

 

Damn this is sick

 

It pains me to report this, but the Bilsteins are coming off the truck.

I'm a big fan of Bilsteins, but truth-be-told, the only available Bilsteins for base model Tacomas are designed for the extended cab model, which is a heavier vehicle with a longer wheelbase. Therefore, having them on my regular cab with 19" wheels results in a ride that's so stiff that it's just not tolerable to me any more. Most roads in my area remained horrible all year long and that's only going to get worse with winter on it's way.

What's super-stupid is that I sold my OEM shocks and struts in the spring, so now I have to order what I once already had. I purchased some KYB shocks and struts from Rock Auto... hopefully they're of sufficient quality and will give me a better ride. Look for my Bilsteins to be in the classifieds in the not-so-distant future.

 

x2. It would be one of the cleanest truck ive seen.

 

Although I like how the hood scoop and fog lights look, I don't really miss not having either. For me, I think "form follows function"... since the hood scoop doesn't do anything and my truck is a total gutless wonder, I'm just going to keep the stock hood. I've had fog lights on previous vehicles before and I feel like they're more of a hassle than they're worth. They don't really help in fog and with all the rock trucks that are near my house, one always has to worry about the lens being shattered.

Anywho, I replaced my Bilstein shocks/struts with some KYB models last night. Although it took me most of the day, the work wasn't too bad. The rear shocks are always a no-brainer job, but the front struts require a bit more work. I used the el-cheapo spring compressors when I put the Bilstein struts on the truck last year and they were a total pain to use. I was determined to find a way to not use them this time w/o killing myself working with the springs.

Here's what I did:

1. Removed the top nut off the swaybar end link.
2. Removed the bolt that holds the brake line to the strut.
3. Put my hydraulic floor jack under the lower A-arm to support it and keep the spring compressed.
4. Loosened the top nut off the strut so the strut would not prevent the spring from unloading.
5. Removed the two large bolts that hold the lower A-arm onto the spindle.
6. Slowly lowered the lower A-arm until the spring was completely unloaded.
7. Removed the lower strut bolt and removed the strut.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to figure-out this technique, but it was so much easier than removing the entire strut and using the spring compressors. Since I never removed/unbolted the top shock plate from the truck, I didn't have to mess with lining it up the bolts when I put the strut back in.

For reference, here are the KYB part numbers for the shocks and struts:

• KYB 341459 - Front Left Strut
• KYB 341458 - Front Right Strut
• $55 KYB 349011 Excel-G Gas Shock
  KYB 349011 - Rear Shock (x2)

The total cost from Rock Auto was $181.72 which is considerably cheaper than OEM Toyota parts.

Although my truck still rides like a truck, some of the harshness is gone that I was experience with the Bilsteins. I'm sure the Bilsteins would be great for an extended cab truck, but they're just too rigid for a light weight regular cab. To eBay they go...

 

Update on my vehicle after having owned it for 3 years.

• The Bilstein shocks and struts were taken-off and sold. Being designed for an extended cab, the Bilsteins were way too stiff for my taste, especially since I live in an area with really bad roads.
  
  
• The Raybestos front brake rotors with "black fusion coating" (
  $66 Raybestos 980461 Advanced Technology Disc Brake Rotor
  Amazon) are giant rust balls after 3 years. The black paint didn't hold-up at all against Wisconsin winters and road salt. The rotors still work just fine, but a rusty rotor isn't typically the thing you want to see behind a very open 19" wheel. I just purchased a set of ATL Autosport performance rotors (
  $145 Fits 2013 Toyota Tacoma [RWD-5 Lug -W/1 Piston Calipers] FRONT PAIR ATL Autosports Performance Brake Rotors ATL31428-08SO
  Amazon) which are zinc coated and slotted, and I hope they hold-up better. I had a similar rotor on my previous truck and I liked them a lot. It's pretty hard to find a zinc coated rotor for the Tacoma that isn't cross-drilled. (I personally think cross-drilled rotors don't make any sense for street vehicles, but I'll save that conversation for a different day.)
  
  
• The balancing weights on my rear brake drums rusted off apparently, making the rear drums look horrible as well. I ordered a new set of drums that I sure hope don't come with balancing weights on them which I intend to paint again. I wish there was a more permanent solution to keeping the rear drums rust free w/o having to paint them all the time.
  
  
• The DJM lowering kit squeaks like mad and makes me nuts. The top zerk fittings are really hard to get at with grease gun because the trucks frame is in the way. That and I must not have done a good job of drilling a good passage way for the grease to get to the outside of each poly bushing because grease never seems to get where the squeaks are. I know poly bushings are always marketed as being "performance bushings", but I hate them and would prefer something more like the OEM bushings that don't require constant attention.

 

Spent the past few days stripping off the crappy Dupli-Color caliper paint I originally put on the front calipers and repainted them with G2 epoxy caliper paint. The G2 paint costs a lot more, but is absolutely worth it. After letting the paint dry over night, it was already really tough and didn't chip off with the slightest touch like the Dupli-Color paint does.

The rotors are from ATL Autosports (Amazon). Hopefully the zinc coating will keep these rotors from turning into rust balls like the other rotors did.

 

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