DT04R
New member
Howdy Folks!
Decided to register today, and put together a little "intro" type post
I'm on deck to buy a 4Runner very soon, so I'm sure I'll be a regular visitor to this site!
The wifey and I live in Vilano Beach, FL - just the intracoastal north of St. Augustine, and about 30 miles south of Jacksonville. (FWIW, Chuck had just about pooped about by the time it reached us, so we barely even have any tree gut in the yard).
My recent car histry: Just prior to my current ride I had a GS300 as my daily and a **highly** modified Supra built by Titan Motorsports out of Orlando. The Sup' was a really fun car, custom Graphite Grey paint, everything polished, 750+ HP single, 14" AP 6-piston brakes, etc., etc. If you've been around any import sites and/or mags, you may have seen it (I have tons of pics, links if anyone is interested).
The single was an HKS T04R setup which is where my handle came from, and I just kept using it. I was a member of T04R.com, so this site was only a character away
I consolidated down to a single car - wanted something that would be strong on track (I do a bit of roadracing/DE's/etc), so I picked up a Z06. We bought it through a special purchase option called the museum delivery (RPO: RC8) so we flew into Tennesee, and "rentaled" up to the Vette plant in Bowling Green, KY, took a big tour of the plant, the National Corvette Museum, then fired up the car and drove it home 800+ miles through the smokey mountains! Really some beautiful country we came through!
The Z06 has a few cosmetic touches (custom hood, rear, interior, engine) and a few bolts-ons, with some CCW wheels (18x10, 18x11.5's, pretty meaty rubber). Lots of pics of this too, if anyone cares at all, heheheh. This car is likely get DE-modded and traded on the 4R.
I plan on the 4R being the daily-ish type car, and if I do trade the Z in (which is advantageous from a tax standpoint) I'll start on another project car for weekends, maybe another Supra or possibly a Viper? We'll see what happens
In my previous "engaged-so-lets-buy-a-car-together-too-soon", life, I owned a Landrover Discovery which is the only SUV I've ever owned. It was a nice ride, had the sport package with the 18" Speedline wheels, and mysterious hydrolic dynamic stability control, that actuated the swaybar linkages to keep it steady around turns (and worked pretty well actually). It had the pretty enemic V8 of the time (this was pre-acquisition LR using old school tech), I think it was rated at 180-ish HP, with so-so torque.
Anyways...It's time for me and wifey to have an SUV, and I've always been pretty convinced Toyota makes some of the best cars in the world (especailly factoring in their Lexus brand). My Dad who was a staunch Chevy-man, converted to Toyota trucks several years ago, and has gone on to put HUGE mileage on them, yet have *zero* problems. His current ride, a V6 Tacaoma, has 130K+ on it, and the doors still close as solid as a brand new car. I think in the 5-6 years of ownership, he's had the alternator replaced.
So when it came time to decide on a beach/tow vehicle, Toyota was the first (and last) brand I considered. We don't need massive interior space, so I decided on the 4R -v- the Sequoia, and the 4R seems to have plenty of towing capacity for our needs.
Here's what I'm solid on as far as specs: definitely the V8 and AWD. I like the standard suspension option on the SE (and I really like the hood, even though I know it's not "functional"). It seems like a decent amount of extra goodies for a minimal extra price.
I like the DVD/NAV combo in the Limited (though I was thinking about getting a Garmin Streetpilot III for use in other cars as well). Plus I'm not sure I want to pay for the extra options in the limited I don't think will make a difference for us (?)
Has anyone towed a decent sized trailer? I'm thinking of a car/trailer combo for the weekends (race events, etc.), which would be a good 4500-5000 lbs total. Just wondering if it's pretty stable with this kind of weight? Again, I'll have a V8/AWD model.
Now I've read that the new 4.7L V8 for the Sequoia and Tundra will have VVTi and little more TQ, and pretty good kick of extra (higher RPM) HP. I think from a marketing position, your V8 really needs to have a decent amount of extra power over the lower displacement motors, so this is an excellent move by Toyota. (Plus of course, it makes for a stronger, quicker car using it).
I also understand the 4R is slated to get this as part of the '05 model year? With maybe a slight change in peak HP in this implemention? (~270 ?)
I was also pretty excited that TRD would be offering a dealer installed supercharger, that would not effect the car warranty (and would carry it's own coverage). The idea of a 350+HP, 450+ TQ 4R just makes me grin ear-to-ear. But from the messages I've seen it's been held up indefinitely? Maybe as part of a factory option for 05? Will the new V8 mean _two_ different 4.7L supercharger kits (or at least different tuning), meaning one may not make it?
On the 05's, does anyone know how soon I could get an '05 V8 model? Getting the Z06 back to stock will probably take a good month anyway.
If I get everything squared away, I guess an '04 at this point wouldn't be a good idea (kind of getting a whole year of depreciation up front) - *unless* of course, there's a relly good discount. Speaking of which - are there any "internet" type dealers that offer good discounts? Anyone out of state that might be more competitive than my local dealer?
Well, thanks for the long ramble! Great site you have, hope to make good use it for info, events, modifications, etc. Look forward to any insight on 04 vs. 05, SE vs. Limited, towing effectiveness, options, you-name-it.
Cheers!
DT
Decided to register today, and put together a little "intro" type post
I'm on deck to buy a 4Runner very soon, so I'm sure I'll be a regular visitor to this site!The wifey and I live in Vilano Beach, FL - just the intracoastal north of St. Augustine, and about 30 miles south of Jacksonville. (FWIW, Chuck had just about pooped about by the time it reached us, so we barely even have any tree gut in the yard).
My recent car histry: Just prior to my current ride I had a GS300 as my daily and a **highly** modified Supra built by Titan Motorsports out of Orlando. The Sup' was a really fun car, custom Graphite Grey paint, everything polished, 750+ HP single, 14" AP 6-piston brakes, etc., etc. If you've been around any import sites and/or mags, you may have seen it (I have tons of pics, links if anyone is interested).
The single was an HKS T04R setup which is where my handle came from, and I just kept using it. I was a member of T04R.com, so this site was only a character away
I consolidated down to a single car - wanted something that would be strong on track (I do a bit of roadracing/DE's/etc), so I picked up a Z06. We bought it through a special purchase option called the museum delivery (RPO: RC8) so we flew into Tennesee, and "rentaled" up to the Vette plant in Bowling Green, KY, took a big tour of the plant, the National Corvette Museum, then fired up the car and drove it home 800+ miles through the smokey mountains! Really some beautiful country we came through!
The Z06 has a few cosmetic touches (custom hood, rear, interior, engine) and a few bolts-ons, with some CCW wheels (18x10, 18x11.5's, pretty meaty rubber). Lots of pics of this too, if anyone cares at all, heheheh. This car is likely get DE-modded and traded on the 4R.
I plan on the 4R being the daily-ish type car, and if I do trade the Z in (which is advantageous from a tax standpoint) I'll start on another project car for weekends, maybe another Supra or possibly a Viper? We'll see what happens
In my previous "engaged-so-lets-buy-a-car-together-too-soon", life, I owned a Landrover Discovery which is the only SUV I've ever owned. It was a nice ride, had the sport package with the 18" Speedline wheels, and mysterious hydrolic dynamic stability control, that actuated the swaybar linkages to keep it steady around turns (and worked pretty well actually). It had the pretty enemic V8 of the time (this was pre-acquisition LR using old school tech), I think it was rated at 180-ish HP, with so-so torque.
Anyways...It's time for me and wifey to have an SUV, and I've always been pretty convinced Toyota makes some of the best cars in the world (especailly factoring in their Lexus brand). My Dad who was a staunch Chevy-man, converted to Toyota trucks several years ago, and has gone on to put HUGE mileage on them, yet have *zero* problems. His current ride, a V6 Tacaoma, has 130K+ on it, and the doors still close as solid as a brand new car. I think in the 5-6 years of ownership, he's had the alternator replaced.
So when it came time to decide on a beach/tow vehicle, Toyota was the first (and last) brand I considered. We don't need massive interior space, so I decided on the 4R -v- the Sequoia, and the 4R seems to have plenty of towing capacity for our needs.
Here's what I'm solid on as far as specs: definitely the V8 and AWD. I like the standard suspension option on the SE (and I really like the hood, even though I know it's not "functional"). It seems like a decent amount of extra goodies for a minimal extra price.
I like the DVD/NAV combo in the Limited (though I was thinking about getting a Garmin Streetpilot III for use in other cars as well). Plus I'm not sure I want to pay for the extra options in the limited I don't think will make a difference for us (?)
Has anyone towed a decent sized trailer? I'm thinking of a car/trailer combo for the weekends (race events, etc.), which would be a good 4500-5000 lbs total. Just wondering if it's pretty stable with this kind of weight? Again, I'll have a V8/AWD model.
Now I've read that the new 4.7L V8 for the Sequoia and Tundra will have VVTi and little more TQ, and pretty good kick of extra (higher RPM) HP. I think from a marketing position, your V8 really needs to have a decent amount of extra power over the lower displacement motors, so this is an excellent move by Toyota. (Plus of course, it makes for a stronger, quicker car using it).
I also understand the 4R is slated to get this as part of the '05 model year? With maybe a slight change in peak HP in this implemention? (~270 ?)
I was also pretty excited that TRD would be offering a dealer installed supercharger, that would not effect the car warranty (and would carry it's own coverage). The idea of a 350+HP, 450+ TQ 4R just makes me grin ear-to-ear. But from the messages I've seen it's been held up indefinitely? Maybe as part of a factory option for 05? Will the new V8 mean _two_ different 4.7L supercharger kits (or at least different tuning), meaning one may not make it?
On the 05's, does anyone know how soon I could get an '05 V8 model? Getting the Z06 back to stock will probably take a good month anyway.
If I get everything squared away, I guess an '04 at this point wouldn't be a good idea (kind of getting a whole year of depreciation up front) - *unless* of course, there's a relly good discount. Speaking of which - are there any "internet" type dealers that offer good discounts? Anyone out of state that might be more competitive than my local dealer?
Well, thanks for the long ramble! Great site you have, hope to make good use it for info, events, modifications, etc. Look forward to any insight on 04 vs. 05, SE vs. Limited, towing effectiveness, options, you-name-it.
Cheers!
DT
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