Ariakas' 2011ish Build Thread

[Ariakas]

Ariakas' mild build and family fun

Finally getting around to starting a build thread. I called it 2011ish because many of my mods have to do with using 2014+ parts to make a very unique look.

Still need to take and upload some decent pics.

I bought it used with 42k miles on it. It is an SR5 Premium 4x4 that has tan leather interior. The driver and pass front side windows were already tinted.

Here is what I have done so far.

Replaced tail lights with 2014+ LED's
Before

After


(TYC aftermarket)

Replaced rims with black TRD Pro style


The brakes were squeeling so I replaced all the rotors with DBA T3 4k rotors and put on new red TRD pads. (Best mod so far) No more squeels and stops great.

I have ordered a relay and fuse block to build a control system for the lights and accessories I plan on adding. (Here is a great write up)

 

[Ariakas]

I have been ordering parts like crazy.

I decided to go with Bilstein 5100's as I am not really a hard core off-roader.

Ordered:

Bilstein 5100's (plan on using second notch)
OME 2885 for front
OME 2889 for back
Camburg UCA's with Moog BJs
52inch curved LED
Rago 52inch curved stealth brackets
TE rockers, flare extensions, and rear door molding
Compustar Pro T11 remote start/alarm
Rocky Road Outfitters Supersliders


Will try and remember to take measurements and pics during the lift as well as before/after pics.

 

[Ariakas]

**Beware Tint World**

I was on a mission to have an alarm/remote start installed and wanted Compustar for a lot of reasons. The Austin (TX) area is inundated with Viper dealers and if you check the Compustar site to see dealers in the area they are all Best Buy stores, with the exception of a couple. I perfer not to have Best Buy work on my vehicle. I looked into the other and one was permanently closed. The other Tint World I decided to contact. After a week of emailing I was ready to schedule the install. The day I asked for an appointment, the guy tells me that like the factory remote start, the aftermarket will also shut off the engine when the door is opened. I know that not to be true from several members posts on this forum and told him so. I said I know that not to be the case and said maybe your team needs to do a little more research or have some training on the products. I sent him several links to posts and videos showing it working and cited what parts would be needed for the setup I wanted, but never heard back from him.

I decided to drop by their shop on my lunch break since it is near by. When I talked to the counter guy, I asked if he answered the emails and he said yes. I asked to talk to a more experienced installer, or the manager, and was told he is the Owner. That's when I started feeling this wasn't going to work out.I told him of the situation, and identified myself as the e mailer. His face darkened as I spoke, and when I finished up by mentioning I had not seen a response, he rudely said he did not appreciate me saying they needed to do more research or get product training.

At that point I could see this is not someone I care to have work on my vehicle. I let him know that I stood by my statement and that someone in his business that tells the customer something cant be done, when it clearly can, definitely needs more info or training. I let him know he was a moron for letting his pride get the best of him, and that he had no business sense at all.

I promptly went back to work and messaged the Tint World franchise headquarters and wrote several reviews on my experience. Unfortunately the Vice President Jeff Stark, who called me back right away and left a message was not very helpful as I had specifically told him in my message not to call me, but to email if contact is necessary. The same exact issue I had initially encountered with the franchise owner.

On to better days!!

On the up side, I found this thread from [MENTION=93434]gshadow325[/MENTION] who was able to help me out with the system I wanted. He had it flashed and prepped for me, so the wiring loom was already started and done very well. He had documentation to help me with the wiring.. I did find some of the notes a bit confusing and all over the place, but I didn't expect him to have step by step install manuals.

I was able to install the system over a weekend and now have the great system I wanted.

And most importantly, I have remote start that doesn't shut off when I open the door!!!

 

[gshadow325]

Feedback like this is good. I'm my mind it seems correct in the install.

I'm going to revamp it going forward to give more of a step by step. You're right, I'll make it better thanks for the suggesting that. I'm going to be reaching out to you for help with the drafts i come up with it you don't mind. Again, I appreciate your support and I'm glad to see you got it installed!

 

[Ariakas]

New battery

My Runner still had the original Panasonic battery. I had been noticing that it sounds tired for several months now. I don't drive far for work so it could have been a matter of not getting enough drive time to charge..

When installing the remote start system I noticed I left the headlights on while playing around with settings and found it was too low to start. Luckily I have a charger and was able to get it running for work.

I knew I wanted a Northstar replacement but could not find one nearby. I finally found an X2Power 27F locally (Rebranded Northstar for Batteries+). I picked it up and installed it at lunch and it starts up quick.

Now it's ready for some accessories. LED bar goes in soon! Just waiting on my Shrockworks power distribution bracket..

 

[Ariakas]

TE Rockers

I laid out the extensive funds to swap the rockers over to TE ones in prep for future rock sliders upgrade. I did not opt for the Mud flap addition. I am very fond of the new look. It really lessens the soccer mom look. Makes it feel taller and gives an additional 4-6 inches of rocker clearance from the huge SR5 rockers with faux chrome...

 

[Rhino11]

I laid out the extensive funds to swap the rockers over to TE ones in prep for future rock sliders upgrade. I did not opt for the Mud flap addition. I am very fond of the new look. It really lessens the soccer mom look. Makes it feel taller and gives an additional 4-6 inches of rocker clearance from the huge SR5 rockers with faux chrome...

If you don't mind sharing, what did it end up costing you to make the swap. I'm considering doing this. I took my rockers off a year ago and do not plan to put them back on until I sale. It looks okay, but I have considered these to give a little more of a finished and clean look. Thanks!

 

[rainmn]

Your truck looks great, but I may be a little biased.

Here's what it would look like with a Trail roof rack and door handles:

 

[Brew1]

Looks great, I always like the white with black!

 

[Ariakas]

If you don't mind sharing, what did it end up costing you to make the swap. I'm considering doing this. I took my rockers off a year ago and do not plan to put them back on until I sale. It looks okay, but I have considered these to give a little more of a finished and clean look. Thanks!

I got the two TE rockers, the flare ends and the rear door flares and paid $538.55 shipped from toyotaonlineparts.com

You could leave off the rear door fender flares if you are ok with the look of the original ones. The are thicker in depth to the door. The swap is super easy.

There is a heap of info on this from other members like [MENTION=55815]Okki[/MENTION] Here, [MENTION=97134]IronManKansas[/MENTION] here, and a pretty awesome list of parts from [MENTION=8206]harper7[/MENTION] here..

Here is a screeny of my bill..

 

[Ariakas]

Curved 52" LED bar

Was able to get the new light bar mounted this weekend.

Used the Rago brackets. I think they are a bit too pricey for what they are, but I sure can't fault their customer service. Mama Rago emailed me status updates several times during the process, they put some candy in the box for my kid, and hand wrote a note on the box wishing me well and asking me to post pics.

I went with a cheapy bar from Amazon. I am an electronics guy, so I figure I can try and rebuild it if there are issues. I went with the Ridgidhorse one because it showed a measurement without brackets, claimed it had better more waterproof breather, had the '3d' dome optics on the LED's, and said it had OSRAM LED's instead of falsely claiming CREE like alot of the other cheap ones.

So far I am ok with the build quality. I can see some manufacturing nastiness deep between the cooling fins on the back, but it will be unnoticeable by others and should not impact function.

I still need to secure the wire in the side channel on the windshield, finish building my wiring, and wait for the fuse/relay/breaker mounting bracket from Shrockworks (Look for write up on my experience with SR later)..

I will try and get some lit pictures later..

 

[Ariakas]

Lifted finally!!

Ok, I carried the suspension components around for almost 5 months until my buddy was ready to help me install everything. The nice part is he has access to a 2 post lift and hardly charged me anything to do it.

Here is the kit as installed:

Bilstein 5100's on second notch (Would'nt go any higher using OME's)
OME 2885 in front
OME 2889 in back
Camburg UCA's with Moog BJs

With a lift it only took 3.5 hours.

I was lazy and forgot to take before measurements, Sorry...

I have taken after measurements and will add them here when I find the paper I wrote them down on. The front is just under half an inch higher as I am sure you will notice. This should even out when the new front bumper and wich are installed. I have already placed the order for a 4x4 Labs early 5th gen bumper with headlight tubes.

In an attempt to make this post worthwhile, here are the pics!