InspectahDeck's TRD Pro "Build" Thread

[InspectahDeck]

InspectahDeck's TRD Pro "Build" Thread

Hi, folks. I figured since there is enough interest on the forums about some of these clearance and lift issues, I would post up some shots of my "build" thread. I'm calling it a quote-unquote build thread since there won't be a lot to it beyond the lift, tires, and rack. Maybe, though, it will give some insight regarding height and appearance.

This all started last year (2015) when my wife and I traded in our 2009 Acura RDX and upgraded (to say the least) to a 2013 FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition.

We decided when we got it that we would spend 2 camping seasons with it and now we're unloading it for something without suicide doors. This has been a very capable car and has introduced us to the Toyota family. I'm pretty certain we'll be driving them for a while after that experience. What an awesome car.

When we decided to go with the 4Runner, we loved the look of the Pro and knew that we weren't skilled in the art of the upgrade/modification. So, we put a deposit on an allocated 2016 MGM Turd Pro 7/9/16, which was built 7/15/16, and hit the port 8/8/16.

Ordered the GOBI stealth no-rise on 7/11/16, the Toytec TRD Pro lift kit 8/10/16, and the Ellis Precision stealth black TRD knobs on 8/10/16. Once the truck arrives, I'll be re-shoeing with 285/70/17 BFG T/A KO2s after the lift. Since we have dogs some Wet Okoles would be a nice add and some Weather Tech or Husky liners. Beyond possibly some window tint and maybe some lighting changes, I don't really have other mods planned. I'm open to ideas!

Pictures to come!

ALSO BEFORE ANYONE SAYS ANYTHING THAT IS THE PARKING SPOT FOR THIS CAMPSITE.

 

[InspectahDeck]

InspectahDeck's TRD Pro "Build" Thread

Got the Toytec lift by FedEx today, 8/17/16. Ordered it 8/16/16! That's service!

Truck is on day 8 at port. Talked to dealer this morning, 8/17/16. It has not been released to shipping yet.

 

[InspectahDeck]

Reserved!

9/1/16 update from otherwise non-communicative sales guy.

It's progress, but not much. Looking forward to taking delivery this coming weekend, except I'll be in Cali. Oh, well. What's a little more waiting?

 

[InspectahDeck]

InspectahDeck's TRD Pro "Build" Thread

Finally got a salesman who will respond to me. Here is the latest word.

That was on Monday, 9/12. As of today, 9/13, got another update.

Out of town for the week for work. Should be able to stop in a pick it up on Friday, 9/16! Getting real excited about it!

 

[InspectahDeck]

Well, yesterday was the delivery day. So far, only 1 "mod" has taken place. You'll see the newly- installed Ellis Precision TRD knobs.

Ended up paying MSRP, which was $44,179. Dealer threw in a matching TRD wheel. We were going back and forth over the wheel and clear bra and both were ready to walk away. He gave me cost on the clear bra. I mentioned my plan to add the Toytec kit and 285s. Which is when he said they could get me a buy 3 get 1 free deal starting in October. I was planning to have another shop do the work, but he said they could do it st the dealership. So, they'll be giving me the sales manager's cost on the 4 tires I'm buying, I'll get 1 free and they will be giving me the sales manager's price on the labor and install. All in all, I felt pretty good when I drove away.

So, here's a couple terrible pictures.

[MENTION=139559]Ellis Precision[/MENTION] : I've got nothing but stellar comments regarding the Ellis Precision Knobs. They look and feel great, installation could be done blindfolded, and they feel solid in your hand. If you're even remotely considering these, you WILL NOT be sorry. Such a great product and great service. Having previously had the FJ with similar knobs included, these were a no brainer for the 4Runner.

 

[3rdgenfan]

Very nice. We tired to deal with Autonation Toyota. We had a pretty bad experience. Ended up going to Groove Toyota.

 

[InspectahDeck]

InspectahDeck's TRD Pro "Build" Thread

Very nice. We tired to deal with Autonation Toyota. We had a pretty bad experience. Ended up going to Groove Toyota.

Yeah, it definitely wasn't without some challenges. We had to "fire" one sales guy, and had to call a manager 3 times in order to switch salespeople. There was some back and forth and I was prepared to walk yesterday, but they were able to make me happy enough in the end. They just seem so busy over there. One person told me they sold 800 cars last month. I don't know if that's reasonable or total bullshit, but I was in there today and they were selling a lot of cars in the 20 minutes I stopped in.

 

[3rdgenfan]

Yeah, it definitely wasn't without some challenges. We had to "fire" one sales guy, and had to call a manager 3 times in order to switch salespeople. There was some back and forth and I was prepared to walk yesterday, but they were able to make me happy enough in the end. They just seem so busy over there. One person told me they sold 800 cars last month. I don't know if that's reasonable or total bullshit, but I was in there today and they were selling a lot of cars in the 20 minutes I stopped in.

They told me and my wife that they sale more Toyota's in 6 states. They told us they would match our trade and the price of anothe dealership if we had it on paper. The sales manager came over. He said I don't know how they are selling you a 4Runner for that cheap but you better go get it. The he offered us 4K less on our trade compared to everyone else. The salesman kept telling us they are such a high volume dealer and no one can't beat our price. My wife told them to just give us our keys so we could leave.

 

[InspectahDeck]

InspectahDeck's TRD Pro "Build" Thread

Just posting this up to help people who may have questions about this issue. Getting the Toytec TRD lift installed Tuesday, 10/4, with Nitto Ridge Grappler 285/70/17s. Had a lot of questions about clearance with this setup and my incoming Gobi Stealth no-rise (getting installed 10/12). Here's a few measurements for you.

Garage clearance 81.5 inches roughly (6'9 1/2").

Since I couldn't find a satisfactory answer to this question when I was looking, I measured the height to the roof line. You can see here I have roughly 11" inches of clearance to the roof line, which makes the stock TRDP roof line height ~ 70.5 inches.

If you measure to the shark fin, it adds another 2 3/8" to the height (the math is getting harder) making the vehicle clearance of the stock TRDP 72 7/8 (6' 0 7/8").

In preparation for the lift, I also measured the stock height to the top center of the wheel well. Here is the front passenger at roughly 35 3/4" before the lift.

Here is the passenger rear at roughly 37 1/2".

I know I should have measured both sides, but the garage is small and I only had a few minutes while the Broncos were in a weather delay.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mrmark]

Congrats !!! I'm still waiting for mine and my salesman won't return my calls. Maybe we have the same salesman???? LOL

 

[InspectahDeck]

Got the lift installed yesterday. Again, this was the Toytec TRD specific kit, except that I swapped for the 1.5" SAW rear springs. At the same time, I added Nitto Ridge Grapplers in 285/70r17. Here are the results. Will try to get some better pictures when it's actually light out.

Here is the front passenger after the lift at 38 1/4", a gain of 2.5" over the previous 35 3/4" measurement.

In the rear passenger, the truck went from 37 1/2" to 39 5/8", a gain of 2 1/8".

The overall clearance of the garage was 81.5". Following the lift, I now have 9" of clearance to the low point of the garage bringing the height to 72.5" to the roofline, a gain of 2" inches from the stock 70.5".

Clearance looks pretty good. In normal street driving, there doesn't appear to be any rub at this point. Here's a pic of the clearance.

Driving has definitely stiffened up with the move to the load range E Nittos, but I don't mind so far. I'm looking forward to testing it out on some trails out here in Colorado and will find out more about rub then. Really pleased with the appearance of the Ridge Grapplers and will keep people posted on snow performance when the season comes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TxPunisher]

I wanna get this lift too. Let's a see some pics of the full truck lifted with new tires.

 

[Warpkor]

I wanna get this lift too. Let's a see some pics of the full truck lifted with new tires.

Ditto.

Also, question regarding the ride stiffness. Do attribute the change to the tires only or do you think the lift kit added to the stiffness, too? Personally, I think the stock TRD Pro ride is pretty comfy. The other cars on the fleet (a 2 door G35 with the sport suspension and a 1975 3/4 ton Chevy Cheyenne 4X4) gives me the perspective that the TRD Pro rides like a Caddy. I've been looking at the Toytec lift kit for the Pro, but would probably run the stock tires until the need for replacement.

Please tell me that you kept the FJ in the fleet...:biggrin2:

 

[shrub1]

Got the lift installed yesterday. Again, this was the Toytec TRD specific kit, except that I swapped for the 1.5" SAW rear springs. At the same time, I added Nitto Ridge Grapplers in 285/70r17. Here are the results. Will try to get some better pictures when it's actually light out.

Here is the front passenger after the lift at 38 1/4", a gain of 2.5" over the previous 35 3/4" measurement.

In the rear passenger, the truck went from 37 1/2" to 39 5/8", a gain of 2 1/8".

The overall clearance of the garage was 81.5". Following the lift, I now have 9" of clearance to the low point of the garage bringing the height to 72.5" to the roofline, a gain of 2" inches from the stock 70.5".

Clearance looks pretty good. In normal street driving, there doesn't appear to be any rub at this point. Here's a pic of the clearance.

Driving has definitely stiffened up with the move to the load range E Nittos, but I don't mind so far. I'm looking forward to testing it out on some trails out here in Colorado and will find out more about rub then. Really pleased with the appearance of the Ridge Grapplers and will keep people posted on snow performance when the season comes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did you end up swapping out the black springs (which I presume are the 2') pictured in one of your earlier posts for the SAW's? Just inquiring as of late I've only seen the SAW's in sliver.

 

[InspectahDeck]

I wanna get this lift too. Let's a see some pics of the full truck lifted with new tires.

Will try to get some posted soon. Might be tomorrow before I get there though, and of course next week once the Gobi stealth goes on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[InspectahDeck]

InspectahDeck's TRD Pro "Build" Thread

Ditto.

Also, question regarding the ride stiffness. Do attribute the change to the tires only or do you think the lift kit added to the stiffness, too? Personally, I think the stock TRD Pro ride is pretty comfy. The other cars on the fleet (a 2 door G35 with the sport suspension and a 1975 3/4 ton Chevy Cheyenne 4X4) gives me the perspective that the TRD Pro rides like a Caddy. I've been looking at the Toytec lift kit for the Pro, but would probably run the stock tires until the need for replacement.

Please tell me that you kept the FJ in the fleet...:biggrin2:

Was riding like a caddy til the lift and tires. Now feels a lot more like the FJ which was a pretty stiff ride in the 13 TT. Since that didn't have modified suspension, or at least not beyond the stock suspension of the TRD 4Runner, I'm inclined to attribute a lot to the tires themselves. I've read a few people on the forum however saying they don't expect a switch from c to e load range to be noticeable. So, what do I know

And, yes, sadly we did unload the FJ when we got the 4R.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[InspectahDeck]

InspectahDeck's TRD Pro "Build" Thread

Did you end up swapping out the black springs (which I presume are the 2') pictured in one of your earlier posts for the SAW's? Just inquiring as of late I've only seen the SAW's in sliver.

I did. The original picture from unboxing day was of the superflex rcc 2.0s. I'm definitely glad I went this route to reduce rake, which only decreased a little. The SAWs are silver, but you can't see them on the truck anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[shrub1]

I did. The original picture from unboxing day was of the superflex rcc 2.0s. I'm definitely glad I went this route to reduce rake, which only decreased a little. The SAWs are silver, but you can't see them on the truck anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got it, thanks. Looks good!

 

[InspectahDeck]

Sorry for the shabby quality of these pictures. I am no photog. Here are a couple of pics at the dealership after the clearbra was installed and fronts windows were tinted to 35% using 3M CS today.

One more in the driveway just for fun.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[InspectahDeck]

Here's a couple shots after the addition of the Gobi Rack.

Photos were taken on South Fork Lake Creek road near Twin Lakes Village.

Here's one of my passengers, in case you spot them in the truck.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk