Hello,

I have a 2006 4Runner Limited with about 146k miles on it.
For grins the other weekend, I decided to replace all of the interior stock bulbs with LED bulbs.
WOW, what a difference! Even my kids made comments.
Since then, I have caught the upgrade bug, and have replaced the rear tail lights with LED bulbs (rear signals, backups, brakes, etc), and am awaiting the arrival of LED bulbs to replace the headlights, the fog lights, and the turn signal bulbs. The DRL bulbs are a PIA to replace, so I will take care of those later.

I am thinking of the following upgrades, for projects in the future, and am curious what your thoughts are on the following, any comments, suggestions on parts, do it myself or not, etc.

-front brush guard
-replace front and lower grill with billet style grill
-install car seat covers (front buckets and back 60/40 bench)
-install roof basket


Eventually, I would like to ...

-install larger (than stock) tires
-install a lift kit (~3")

nice!
im not a huge fan of brush guards. either keep stock or run a low-pro or full bumper eventually. unless you need the brush guard for deer, i dont like them from looks pov (that might be the consensus because they are prob somewhat effective). billet grill remind me of my yamaha banshee days! id leave that stock, i dont even like the satoshi styles or mesh/honeycombs on these rigs (no offense to anyone). Car covers I can recommend SeatSavers Brand Carhart Covers (a little pricey but super nice)!

enjoy and to each their own

Thanks for your comments!

To be honest, the grill update and the brush guard/bull guard would mainly be for looks. I take my 4Runner off-road, but nothing too serious, like I see some folks.

Another upgrade that I just thought about, which I do not have much knowledge on, would be to swap out the stock exhaust/tailpipe with a dual tailpipe system. Would this be a benefit? What would it take to do this, cost, etc?

Brush guards are generally referred to as "damage multipliers" in the off-road community.

What could have been a little love tap on the bumper with some dented plastic is instead now a dented fender, bent hood, crushed grill, and broken headlight(s) once the brush "guard" gets packed into the front end. I think it could be debated if hitting a deer with a brush guard would be better off. The only upside is it's more likely that the radiator would survive with the brush guard, cosmetic damage aside.

It's essentially a big metal frame mounted on really long levers up on the front of the truck... there's just no way to make them strong enough to take a hit larger than a gopher without mangling all the expensive body work behind it.

Likely a waste of money.