gaterose build thread

[riceman36081]

Nice Runner. I live just east of Birmingham in Odenville. I have the 05 sport edition 4WD. I plan on doing the fj spring/bilstein lift. How did you decide on the 1/4 spacer? How much higher is the driver side before and after the spacer install with the fj coils being slightly different in length. Any suggestions that I could use when I do my install. Also, who powercoated your wheels?

 

[gaterose]

Nice Runner. I live just east of Birmingham in Odenville. I have the 05 sport edition 4WD. I plan on doing the fj spring/bilstein lift. How did you decide on the 1/4 spacer? How much higher is the driver side before and after the spacer install with the fj coils being slightly different in length. Any suggestions that I could use when I do my install. Also, who powercoated your wheels?

Thanks! I got the 1/4" spacers because I was afraid there would be too much rake with the 1/2" spacer.

I have the bilstein 5100s now, set to 0.85" which is about 1/8-1/4" higher than the 1/4" spacers.

I think the driver & passenger side appear even (at least on mine), the difference in coil height is to counteract the effect of the added weight of the battery. I think there is a slight difference in height of the stock coils as well.

If you're doing the install yourself just take your time and make use of one of the many write-ups you can find here or toyota120.com it's not very hard at all. It helps a lot if you can get someone to help out in a few situations but it can be done alone.

I got them powder coated by powdercoating solutions inc in Montgomery for $350, a place in birmingham (coyote coating i think) wanted $440 to do it.

 

[riceman36081]

Thanks for the info. I plan on doing the coils and the spacer together. I am looking to equal out the front and back. do you know of any local salvage yards that have a good supply of 4runners?

 

[gaterose]

Thanks for the info. I plan on doing the coils and the spacer together. I am looking to equal out the front and back. do you know of any local salvage yards that have a good supply of 4runners?

No sorry I don't.

 

[zstampe]

How easy was the satoshi grill? I've been wanting to do mine and ditch my custom light bar.

 

[gaterose]

How easy was the satoshi grill? I've been wanting to do mine and ditch my custom light bar.

It was a PITA because I used an '06 grille on an '03.

It would be a lot simpler for yours since you have an '06. I had to change the height of the grille but you would just have to cut out the inside and fiberglass/bondo up the cuts.

 

[07RunnerV6]

Love your 4Runner!!! I just bought one, and I really want to go the same route as you. Going from a car to an SUV is no fun, soooo much research to do.

 

[gaterose]

Love your 4Runner!!! I just bought one, and I really want to go the same route as you. Going from a car to an SUV is no fun, soooo much research to do.

Thanks a lot! I'm very happy with mine so far.

Haha, I made the opposite transition-- Full size truck to midsize SUV and it was pretty tough as well (it's still difficult not treating the 4R like a truck)... I guess any big transition like that is difficult once you become accustomed to a certain mode of transport.

here are a couple of recent shots of my 4Runner with the new roof-mounted 5000K HID-converted Pro Comp 55 5" lights and Expeditioneers front skid.

 

[gaterose]

I went out with the University of Alabama Off Road Club (UAORC) today and got a few pics. We went out to the Talladega National Forest here in Tuscaloosa. We got split up from the main group pretty early on because we thought we were taking an easy line around a pretty gnarly hill but we later found out the way we went wasn't going to meet back up with them.

I only struggled on one hill where we had to turn around because the Hepe in front of me (on 37s) said it didn't look good and we needed to turn around. They thought they were going to have winch me back up but the 4R proved em wrong and hobbled to the top.

My 12 year old Yorkie checking out a dog in the Hepe

This was at the top of the hill I almost got stuck on right before we went down.

I also took these pics afterward of my "budget" rock lights and cheapo HID roof lights. They're pretty bright.

"budget" LED rock lights - these were basically free because I had the stuff already but would've been around $60

cheap HID roof lights - not bad for $120

 

[snowbrdr033]

Those rock lights/LEDs on the bottom look awesome at night!

 

[A10MileHusker]

Love the rock lights! Well done.

Where did you get the HID lights?

 

[gaterose]

Those rock lights/LEDs on the bottom look awesome at night!

Love the rock lights! Well done.

Where did you get the HID lights?

Thanks, the rock lights are just running board lights with high power LEDs. They aren't the cheapest thing but I bought them a year or so ago to use as running board lights and they have been sitting around so they were cheap (now) to me. The ones above my sliders are a SuperBrightLEDs.com light strip cut into 4 pieces with new leads soldered on.

The roof lights are cheap Blazer 4x6 off road lights ($25/pair) I picked up at Advanced Auto then converted to 5000K HID with micro G4 ballast kits ($35/pair)

Here's a better shot of the roof lights

 

[gaterose]

A couple of people have asked for pics of the Expeditioneers skid so here it is

I don't have a wide angle lens, so I had to make a panorama. That's why the corner is missing. Guess I forgot to get that corner in a pic.

 

[darkie3495]

Hey Matt, those look good!!! Really liking the transformation. Did you end up creating pods for your ballasts?

 

[gaterose]

Hey Matt, those look good!!! Really liking the transformation. Did you end up creating pods for your ballasts?

Thanks Kevin! I could say (and I think have) the same about yours before. No I ended up just mounting the ballasts as they were, I couldn't find any boxes like yours. I found some that snap together but none seemed sturdy.

The ballasts claim to be waterproof and aren't completely exposed. The Gobi rack has a flat bar running under the light mounts and behind the fairing. They fit under/behind there completely so no direct rain hits them. I've seen guys running these on motorcycles so I think they'll be ok. For $35/pair I figure I'll give it a shot, if the rain shorts them I'll go from there.

Here are the G4 ballasts I used, they're the smallest on the market right now.

 

[Trdmedic]

Lookin good! What mesh did you use on the grille?

 

[gaterose]

Lookin good! What mesh did you use on the grille?

Thanks!

I used this 1/2" LWD 0.090" thick expanded sheet I got from Amazon. It was too big and I still have enough to do three more grilles but it was still the same cheaper than ordering a piece from customcargrills.com. And it's thick and stiff so it won't bend.

As the person who recommended it to me (Quint on toyota120.com) said, you could grate cheese on this stuff.

 

[gaterose]

Installed a pair of Sway-Away 1.5" lift rear coil springs and reinstalled my factory front coils and cranked the 5100s up to full lift They lifted a little more than 1.5", I believe, but I will have to measure and post later.

The front end was only lifted ~1/2" by doing this (due to removing the FJ coils springs) but I will level it back up after I sell my FJ springs and buy some adjustable COs for the front (probably the Toytec Ultimate conversion for my 5100s)

Before:

After:

Hopefully some 275s or 285s and UCAs coming before too long.

 

[kosan]

Installed a pair of Sway-Away 1.5" lift rear coil springs and reinstalled my factory front coils and cranked the 5100s up to full lift They lifted a little more than 1.5", I believe, but I will have to measure and post later.

The front end was only lifted ~1/2" by doing this (due to removing the FJ coils springs) but I will level it back up after I sell my FJ springs and buy some adjustable COs for the front (probably the Toytec Ultimate conversion for my 5100s)

Before:

After:

Hopefully some 275s or 285s and UCAs coming before too long.

Thoughts on ride?

 

[Clemsonfan15]

You think you can fit 285's up front? It looks a little tight already.