Operation: Take the TRD Sport Off-Road. At least once.

Starting a new build thread for:

2008 Silver Streak Mica Double Cab TRD Sport

Options I've found so far:
Tow Package
JBL 6-CD Changer Premium Sound
Side air bags in the seats (why is this not documented anywhere?)

Bought this with slightly more than 83,000 miles. However, it's pristine. It appears that the prior owner never took it off road. How can you own a 4x4 and not take it off road at least once?

 

A couple of months ago a friend of mine went hiking with his family. When they returned to the trailhead, their truck had been stolen. So, task #1 was to install a security system. Apparently long gone are the days when a car alarm simply made noise when jostled, or involved a fuel kill switch. Now they shut off all the computers on board. Hopefully that means no one can hotwire it without a laptop.

Mod #2 involved replacing the stock headlight assemblies with...stock headlight assemblies. Yes, I know that is the expensive way to do it. However, the rest of the truck is pristine - only the headlight lenses showed the age of the truck. I know there are a variety of after-market options that are less pricey. And if you look around a parking lot, you may see some older Toyotas and Lexus vehicles with those foggy headlight lenses. In fact, it may be the only way to tell which vehicles are older.

On this vehicle, the headlights weren't completely bad - but had a lot of little fractures and the beginnings of fogging. It was more noticeable when the headlights were on and reflecting off the foggy lenses. It seems silly to add auxiliary lighting when the primary street-legal lighting is in bad shape. So, I decided to fix that first.

Besides, one of the keys to eventual resale is preserving the core stock functionality. When I replaced the headlights on the 2004, it immediately made the truck look newer. On the 2008, it makes the truck look brand new, and improves headlight performance. Assuming I don't hit anything, they should look good and be functional for several years now.

 

Apparently Toyota took a while to decide that this MP3 player thing might matter to truck owners. Despite a wonderful JBL sound system, there was no AUX plug. Other 2008 vehicles have them.

Reviewing the various threads on mods for this, they ranged from the much-maligned FM transmitter to various soldering and other options that require taking about everything from the dash to every single screw in the stereo.

Well.

I did it in three easy steps:

1) Go to Al & Ed's Autosound
2) Pay for parts and installation
3) Go watch a movie at the theater next door

Seriously though, there were a couple of guys recommended by the dealer. They apparently couldn't be bothered to call me back. I walked into this place which had installed a nice stereo in my Mazda six cars ago. I explained the 2008 Tacoma situation. He reached back...and right off the shelf pulled the Toyota/Lexus part USA SPEC PA20-TOY. I believe you can find the installation instructions for this part in a few other posts.

In any case, I asked him to describe what the result would be. He clearly knew his stuff. In the case of the JBL, it sees the iPod or iPhone as an external CD changer. It can recognize playlists and the steering wheel controls work. For the $65 installation price, I don't think I could even buy all the tools to do the job, and I'm certain these guys could do it more efficiently than I can. So I let them do it.

They ran both the iPhone and MP3 cables to the center console box so the device can be left plugged in and out of sight. With the new voice instructions on iPhone maps, it will automatically lower music volume when it's time to turn.

Sound quality is superb. It's going to take a while to figure out everything it can do. And it will work with passengers and their phones. I know a few women who are quite insistent on being able to plug their phone into whatever vehicle they are riding in. It's nice to have this one done right and completed already.

 

When I purchased the vehicle, it looked like it had passenger tires. I was mystified - why buy a 4x4 and put passenger tires on it?

My guess is that the prior owner used it as a daily driver, which is why it was otherwise in such good shape. The tires were BFG Long Trail Tours 265/65/R17.

At first I thought I might just wait until these wore down. However, once I determined from the BFG web site that they had a 60,000 mile warranty, and were a 3 out of 10 for offroad use...well, that was going to take wayy too long.

So they were replaced with a set of 265/70/R17 BFG All-Terrain T/A KO.

The old ones are for sale - they have 8/32 of tread left.

But it still drives squishy...Is that normal for a TRD Sport? What to do, what to do...

 

Op, as for your operation, it won't be a problem. I have seen stock sports wheel places most trucks won't go.

But nice build so far!

 

Thanks! I used 4x4 regularly in the 1st gen, but never needed the locking differential. Hopefully that is indicative of what I need going forward. If not...I hope someone nearby has a winch...with my luck it will be a passing herd of Jeeps...

 

All TRD sports have street tires on them from factory!

Great start!

 

Nice build and great choice of tires. You should come out to one of our meets if you are in the Los Angeles/orange county areas. We also have a Socal 626/909 section and an Orange County section here on the forums. Should be easy to locate if you search under "forum list"

 

Thanks. Truck did perform very well in the rain yesterday, even in 2WD. Years ago I wondered about the 4x4s that would drive up the flooded streets during a rain storm. Now, apparently, I'm that guy.

 

This is a mod I did to my last truck since I couldn't see one night trying to back up in a dark field being used as a parking lot. It turns out that my reverse light switch had failed, so I was trying to back up with brake lights alone.

Nevertheless, the Duallys are fun to have as back-up lights. At a distance, they light up an entire parking lot, or a few of your neighbors houses across the street.

The Dually flood lights only have a 20 degree spread. The LED lights also have a very hard edge at short distances. The result was that when pointed straight back, within 20 feet or so there is almost no light spillover to the sides. That's fine if you can see in your rear view mirror and are backing straight back.

On the other hand, if you are backing and turning around an obstacle, or if you have someone helping you back up who is visible in your side mirror, they are not illuminated. Can't see the obstacles or them in the dark.

This time I made a change. The lights are pointed outboard a few degrees. At about 15 feet back they adjusted them so the light patterns touch in the middle. It means that there is a lot of light on each side - where cars might be parked on either side, and where I have to use my side mirrors to see an obstacle.

It looks a little weird up close, but I took it out and it seems to be very functional. I was able to back around a curvy gravel road with concrete obstacles using only my side mirrors.

I left the daytime running lights on. They are the stock 2008 ambers.

 

The one thing that I didn't like about the 2008 when I bought it was that it was so squishy to drive. I wasn't sure if this was an inherent difference between the TRD Sport and the TRD Offroad.

On the 2004, the shocks were gone when I bought it, so I installed a 5100 kit. It was like night and day, and so much fun to drive afterwards. It was nice to level it out a bit. (Though, even at 1.75" front lift, when the back was loaded, it tended to drag a bit.)

I didn't particularly want to void the drivetrain warranty on this "certified" vehicle by installing any sort of lift. But the squishiness just kept bothering me. Is a 2nd gen supposed to drive like an old Lincoln Town Car?

Lo and behold, visiting REI I found myself nose-to-nose with another silver TRD Sport. Immediately I noticed their hood was about three inches higher than mine. I had to go look closely. I saw some chrome inside the coils, and suspected a 5100 kit.

The owner soon emerged from REI. SHE confirmed that it was a 5100 kit on her 2013. We had a chat about the differences in handling before and after on this model. I also checked with the dealer. As far as we can tell, the prior owner never replaced the shocks. So, these were the stock shocks with 83,000 miles on them. But no evidence of off-roading at all.

So, that's about time for shocks to go anyway. The 5100 kit is on now. It seems a bit nose-high even at 1.75". We'll see if it settles down any. Ride is firmer and handling less squishy. The 2nd Gen still seems to be a smoother ride than the 1st Gen. I'm not entirely saying that is a bad thing. What I am happy with is that the 2nd Gen is certainly much quieter at freeway speeds, even with the same shocks and tires as I had on the 1st Gen.

This brochure was also interesting:

http://www.bilsteinus.com/fileadmin/user_upload/user_upload_us/pdfs/Bil_LevShks_WebArticle.pdf

 

So when are we taking this guy out to play?

 

This weekend it needs to be clean, but I'm done with functional mods for a while. As soon as I identify some good locations that don't require armor or sliders, but are nevertheless off pavement...

 

What part of SoCal are you in?

 

Second gens have weak rear leaf springs and could be aiding to ur squishy ride.

Try an add a leaf.... Preferably a progressive aal.

Also Google "chalk line test" for proper tire inflation... If ur running them low, that can cause a soft lofty ride...... Also new tires have a release agent that wears off after a few heat cycles that could be adding to tread block squirm.

Don't count on ur door jamb inflation numbers to be right on an aftermarket tire..... And don't go by the number on the tires sidewall, that's max psi and usually overkill for the Tacoma.

 

Oh - for purposes of identifying local trails, I'd be starting out from the 909 area code. I was thinking Lake Arrowhead/Big Bear before the snow sets in. Not that I can't handle snow, but I'm getting used to a new vehicle.

 

I don't know much but I remember reading that big bear is pretty gnarly requiring sliders and lift and under armor a recommenation

 

To address the 5100s settling, just for reference, I have the same setup currently and i've settled between 1/8'' and 1/4'' over the first two months.

 

Oh, thank you. They've been on for 24 hours now, and in certain parking situations, it looked nose-high. I dreaded the idea of lowering them down again immediately, hoping that maybe they would settle down some. We'll see what it looks like after I put the shell on the back.

As for trails, I want to find some nice forest-service roads once the government re-opens them...

 

I've seen other people talk about the rear leaf. I'm going to keep that idea in mind and see what it looks like with a full load. That might be a good idea.

And I guess I do need to figure out the PSI thing since these tires are +1.