Old 97's T4R

Old 97

Old 97

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Took delivery of my 2017 SR5 Premium from Charles Maund Toyota in Austin, TX on March 6th, 2017... the same day we brought my newborn daughter home from the hospital. Took advantage of in-laws being in town and my wife napping to run to the dealer to pick up the truck I had ordered three weeks before.

Managed to secure a pretty good price from the salesman, before squeezing the sales manager to throw in the TRD wheels, tube step, leather seats and cargo netting at no cost. Took them a while to find a VIN that matched my criteria, hence the lead time.

Here it is in all it's factory stock glory:
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Moved the family from Austin back to sunny SoCal in September of that same year.

I wanted something to track where the truck had been that could be displayed on the truck itself. Inspired by those maps you see on RVs that show every state the camper has been in, I found a seller online who made motorcycle helmet sized oval state abbreviation stickers, and began adding them to the driver's side fixed window. You can see the general ideal below, with TX, NM, AZ, NV and CA representing the road trip to our new home.

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Also got my CA plates, and you can see my first official addon to the truck, an LA Kings tow hitch cover.

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One thing I did not expect when I got the T4R was that it handled like a boat. The forward roll while stopping was atrocious, and I didn't care for the driver's side lean. So, once we got settled in, I put Bilstein 5100s on all four corners. Set the front at 1.75", and put some 1" Cornfed spacer in the back.

Overall, it improved the ride of the truck and adjusted the rake to something much more appealing.

-- I need to find some original lift pics to go here --
 
I was not a fan of the SR5 grille, so I grabbed the TRD upper and lower kits and swapped out the original. The was surprisingly easy and took less than an hour to finish up.

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With the truck now slightly lifted, and my stock tires getting a bit worn, it was time to put some ATs on the truck. Settled on Falken Wildpeak A/T3Ws in 275/70/R17. I've got about 15k on them by now and I love them. Great in rain and snow, and have a nice aggressive look to them. Had to move the fender liner forward a touch and took a Dremel sander bit to the fender where it was rubbing (only removed about 1/16"). Not too tough.

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In March of this year (2021), I took advantage of some time off work for a 2 week road trip with my now 4 year old daughter.

We went up through Utah to the Golden Spike Historical Site, hitting both Zion and Bryce Canyon on the way up. From there, we headed east through Wyoming and Idaho to reach Mt. Rushmore. Next we swung down through Nebraska and into Boulder, CO for a few days, before heading back west.

Hit three rather large snowstorms throughout the trip, and the truck handled like a champ.

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Also, got to add some more stickers to the travel window.

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Okay, long term goal identified... road trips with a RTT. Will help cut down on hotel costs, and will get us out into nature a bit more. First step towards achieving this is a roof rack, and after a six month wait my Gobi Stealth finally arrived.

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Wasn't too hard to install. Took about 4 hours for two people from start to finish, but I will say that I recommend at least 3 or 4 people to get the rack up on the roof without damaging the car... especially if you have people under 6' helping out.

Still diagnosing a little bit of wind noise at high speeds (65+), but overall am very pleased with it.
 
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With the Gobi in place, it was time to give those Bilstein's a little help with the lift and the planned RTT. Grabbed some Dobinsons coils (C59-302s in front, C59-599s in back) after I ordered the Gobi, and decided it was time to get them installed.

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The additional lift with the Gobi did present some problems with my rather short garage door clearance, which I somewhat solved by raising the opener motor about an inch. I may need to redo the entire mount point to raise it higher.

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Picked up a TRD CAI on the cheap and decided to do the install myself. Looked easy enough, and you have to start somewhere I guess.

Turns out, it is really simple to install, thanks to some awesome posts here on T4R that have everything you need to know. Add some great youtube vids, and voila! Took about 90 minutes from start to finish.

I can't tell if I'm getting any significant MPG benefits as of yet, but I have a road trip coming up that should help generate sufficient data. The "butt dyno" does make it seem like there's a bit more pep from the engine, and the sound while accelerating is a bit more throaty without being annoying. So far, I dig it.

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Sonoran_Desert said:
Great to see an SR5 with all these mods and looks great with the lift.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I sometimes wonder if I didn't make a mistake by not getting an ORP when I bought it. But my primary goals are road trips and backroad camping/sightseeing, rather than any real rock crawling, so I think the SR5 should get me where I need to go.

Doesn't mean we can't spruce her up a bit though, right?
 
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Finally got around to installing the Gobi ladder. The one that came with the rack didn't fit properly (it was about a 1/2" too long), so I called Gobi and after a quick discussion with Paul about the problem, they shipped out a replacement that same day that arrived two days later. Say what you will about their lead time issues, the company clearly cares about their product and customer satisfaction.

You can see that the shape of the original ladder (bottom) looks like it got bent/flattened a bit in transit with the rack.
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As you can see, the replacement fit like a glove.
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Overall, an easy install (took ~45m) that looks and performs great.
 
Added some driveability mods today:

1. Pedal Commander - Figured I'd see what all the fuss is about. Chose the PC due to the bluetooth functionality, so I wouldn't have to have to worry about mounting a controller on the dash.

Super easy and quick install (unclip skinny pedal, clip PC to skinny pedal and drive wire to the PC. BAM!) and was able to tuck it behind the kick panel once I got the bluetooth connection up and running. After some testing, I've settled into using City +2 for daily driving.

Overall, I like it. I get the argument that it's fluff and that you can just mash the pedal down harder. I agree it doesn't add HP or anything the pedal can't do, but it does make the throttle more responsive. The comparison of a sponge to a brick is apt. And at the end of the day, it makes the T4R more pleasant to drive. And *that* makes it worth it to me, not any improvement to actual performance.

Controller:
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Simple Connections:
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Hidden behind the kick panel:
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2. New pedals:

This is another purely cosmetic mod. I got these for cheap when I ordered my T10 from CTH, and they arrived way early (headunit is still en route), so I threw them on. Pretty easy to install. You have to remove the brake pedal rubber covering and replace it, which required some finagling to get fully attached. The gas pedal just clips right on top of the existing one.

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Seat Jackers arrived. Super easy install and does noticeably change the seat ergonomics. I'm tall (6'), but have shorter legs (30" inseam), and the new configuration will take some adjustments and getting used to.

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Old 97 said:
Seat Jackers arrived. Super easy install and does noticeably change the seat ergonomics. I'm tall (6'), but have shorter legs (30" inseam), and the new configuration will take some adjustments and getting used to.

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Click to expand...

whats the point of the seat jackers?
 
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