Kishan Sr5 Build Thread

[kishanSR5]

Forgot to post this in order before the new tires, but this happened in between painting my hood and getting the new tires. Buddy came in from UT to hang out and install some Rally Armor Mud Flaps on his 2015 STI. We got that done and then we went to some backroad for some pics and to put his new mod to use.







and of course one for the snapchat

 

[kishanSR5]

The day after this photoshoot I went to a buddys newly acquired property with him and a friend in a raptor and decided to have some fun. My truck did damn good for 2wd and near bald 35s. I was very impressed.
En Route to the property. It was literally about 2 miles from campus, right off Hwy 6 which is very convenient.

Right after going through some nasty stuff


Flexing out the 35s




So in those pics above I actually got stuck. not because my tires didn't get traction, but more so because my driveshaft kept rubbing against my gas tank skid and I didn't want to risk not being able to drive out. There was another time I got stuck as well and I high centered my rear axle that time. So my buddy in his raptor pulled me out.
Posing with my buddy


How she looked when I left the property

And the next day...


And here is a video of the nasty stuff I made it through. 2WD ftw!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/me0F79Uf6w0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This day was a lot of fun, I even got to take the raptor offroad and test it out. The property was very lengthy though not really deep, so most of the offroading was just running fast through the area. I learned a lot of strengths and weaknesses about my truck and I know what all I want to change. This definitely left me wanting 4WD while still being proud of the capabilities of my 2WD Truck.

 

[kishanSR5]

Not really much going on with the truck right now. Focusing on finishing up school and starting my 2nd term as an intern with Toyota. This time I'll be placed at the TMMTX location in San Antonio. For those that don't know, that is where the tundra and the tacoma are manufactured and I'll be working very closely to those trucks. Not sure what vehicle team or specific division I am in though, but as soon as I know I will post it on here. Also if anyone in San Antonio wants to go wheeling over the weekends PM me!

Test flexed the suspension just to see how she tucks the new duratracs.



I'd say she tucked them pretty well. Still rub a lot on the driver front. I need to do the pinch weld mod very badly but just haven't gotten around to it. If anyone has any tips/suggestions, I'd be more than willing to take them!

Got my Puristar Ionic Car Purifier in.

Obligatory pic with the fancy box and the truck in the background.


Looks pretty sick at night



I think I'm going to take it apart and paint the whole thing satin black or flat black though. Just leave the clear plastic the same. I don't have anything silver or shiny in my car so it doesn't really go. Also if I can change the LED to a red one I'll try and do that.

Well as far stuff that broke/needed fixing. This time it was my rear driveshaft U joint (the one at the diff). One morning the truck was vibrating/shaking real bad as soon as I started going faster than 20mph. I was trying to figure out what it could be. Checked my u joints and sure enough the rear one was basically about to fail.

I got the drive shaft out by myself, and the interior c clips on the rear u joint, but I could not for the life of me get the old u joint caps off.

Looking at the inside of the bad u joint, I see this:

I ended up getting the u joints swapped out at a local shop; Bryan Drive Train & Diagnostics. I bought new front and rear u joints from Orielly's for $32 and the shop installed them for $75.


Not a bad deal. Got the driveshaft back within an hour, got it back on the truck and she drives great now. Also forgot to mention, my headlights are still leaking water, my projector shroud got knocked loose on the driver side, and my truck still leaks water when it rains... I'll have to fix this things as soon as I get can in the summer.

 

[kishanSR5]

Random update. Decided to give this a shot in the 4runner; JDM Rally Wink Panoramic Mirror. I see them all the times on cars but I wanted to see how it would work in my truck. It was only $25 and amazon shipped it within 2 days.

Here is what the box looked like.



Took out my stock mirror


Installed




Thoughts: The visibility is incredible, but it shakes quite a lot. I'm going to look into the windshield mounts to reduce the vibrations and to mount it better. Also so I can hang my parking permits.

 

[kishanSR5]

Finished up junior year and now I'm in San Antonio, TX for my second term as a co-op for Toyota. I'm in the assembly pilot division of the TMMTX plant. I can't wait to get started on my projects, I'm pretty stoked.

As far as the truck is concerned, I've done a few things for it over the past month or so. Hardwired my GPS and relocated it next to the radar detector, painted my little air ionizer thing, installed an aux/usb connection and I did some maintenance.





Cleaned/re-oiled my air filter, MAF, throttle body and replaced the throttle body gasket with a TRD one.

 

[kishanSR5]

Finished my first week of my new co-op.

Loaded up full.


My new place


Saw this double rainbow on the way home one day after work. Also shows my new cockpit look.

 

[kishanSR5]

Felt basically the death wobble on the way here and on highway driving locally so I decided to get my tires balanced/rotated and an alignment done to correct it. She drives perfect now. So straight, so smooth and very solid.



Tires with the weights on them. They took quite a bit to balance.






I'm going to try and paint the wheel weights black sometime in the near future. Hopefully it comes out good. I also hope I can score a new rear bumper sometime this summer, and hopefully some other small mods along the way.

 

[kishanSR5]

Felt basically the death wobble on the way here and on highway driving locally so I decided to get my tires balanced/rotated and an alignment done to correct it. She drives perfect now. So straight, so smooth and very solid.



Tires with the weights on them. They took quite a bit to balance.






I'm going to try and paint the wheel weights black sometime in the near future. Hopefully it comes out good. I also hope I can score a new rear bumper sometime this summer, and hopefully some other small mods along the way.

 

[Unner]

Looks good. Could you not get them to balance the wheels using the stick on weights on the inside? I'll never have a shop using anything else since you can't damage the wheels with them.

Cool to see another automotive enigneering co-op on here. How is it working for Toyota? I take it you like it from what you were posting.

 

[kishanSR5]

Looks good. Could you not get them to balance the wheels using the stick on weights on the inside? I'll never have a shop using anything else since you can't damage the wheels with them.

Cool to see another automotive enigneering co-op on here. How is it working for Toyota? I take it you like it from what you were posting.

Thanks! I had the stick on weights on the inside before but they flew off since they don't adhere well to the steel. Since they were steel wheels I said screw it and I'll just balance them correctly. Function>Form basically.

I really enjoy it! I had a great time last summer, got to travel a bunch, experience real field issues and was involved in the quality control process. This time being at the plant is really what I enjoy. I walk in and see the trucks being made and it's just incredible. And to know that my projects will directly affect how production works is awesome.

 

[Unner]

Thanks! I had the stick on weights on the inside before but they flew off since they don't adhere well to the steel. Since they were steel wheels I said screw it and I'll just balance them correctly. Function>Form basically.

I really enjoy it! I had a great time last summer, got to travel a bunch, experience real field issues and was involved in the quality control process. This time being at the plant is really what I enjoy. I walk in and see the trucks being made and it's just incredible. And to know that my projects will directly affect how production works is awesome.

That's awesome. You're right, being at the plant is the best. There's always something going on, something cool to look at, or learn about. Do you go to a different location each rotation? I tried to get into Toyota but I couldn't find a way in if your school doesn't participate with them directly. The plant where they build the V6 and V8 motors is like 25 minutes from my house, if you're ever out here in Huntsville let me know.

 

[kishanSR5]

That's awesome. You're right, being at the plant is the best. There's always something going on, something cool to look at, or learn about. Do you go to a different location each rotation? I tried to get into Toyota but I couldn't find a way in if your school doesn't participate with them directly. The plant where they build the V6 and V8 motors is like 25 minutes from my house, if you're ever out here in Huntsville let me know.

Yea it definitely is. Well I guess you can go to a different location each time but you don't have to from my understanding. Ohh, well school doesn't exactly participate with them but they came to my career fair. Thats how I got my original co-op. Oh thats awesome! I actually didn't know that the engine plant is in Alabama. But yea if I end up there I will definitely let you know!

 

[Bandit Runner]

Your 4Runner is awesome, and its really cool that you are working for Toyota. I'm just curious, Do any of the engineers you work with ever comment on your 4Runner? What do they think of it? Maybe some of them drive older Toyota trucks?

 

[kishanSR5]

Your 4Runner is awesome, and its really cool that you are working for Toyota. I'm just curious, Do any of the engineers you work with ever comment on your 4Runner? What do they think of it? Maybe some of them drive older Toyota trucks?

Thanks I appreciate it! Well, none of the engineers I work with have seen it yet or at least seen me driving it. So they haven't said anything. But as soon as they do, I will ask! There are maybe a few old trucks, but mostly people drive the new tundras. This is only based on the parking lot that I have to park in.

 

[papabeach]

Just saw you are in San Antonio for the summer. I live up near the Quarry Market...if you are ever up here lemme know.

 

[kishanSR5]

Just saw you are in San Antonio for the summer. I live up near the Quarry Market...if you are ever up here lemme know.

Will do! Where I guess that relative to the city? I'm on the south side by 410 and 281S. Also are there any wheeling spots close by that are 2wd friendly?

 

[papabeach]

I am just south of the airport...as far as 2wd you can probably do part of PINS/Mustang Island (Port A) if you like beach stuff. You might check out Texas Overland on Facebook as well as Central Texas Offroad (CTOR) for some other ideas.

 

[kishanSR5]

I am just south of the airport...as far as 2wd you can probably do part of PINS/Mustang Island (Port A) if you like beach stuff. You might check out Texas Overland on Facebook as well as Central Texas Offroad (CTOR) for some other ideas.

Ohh okay. And ahh alright, how bad does the stuff get? And will do!

 

[kishanSR5]

Got some updates on the truck after a few weeks of being in San Antonio. But first of all, I wanted to say how much I love working at the Toyota plant. It's an incredible feeling walking in everyday just knowing that all these badass trucks are built where you work. I even got to take shop safety classes and was able to practice my hand at welding.




I haven't welded since 8th grade, but I think I did alright.


On to the mods...

Ever since I saw metal lugz spiked lug nuts on instagram I had to have them. I thought they would set the look of my truck off just right and boy was I right. They are definitely pricey, $143 for the full set. But I feel like these things are worth it just because I appreciate them.





While I was at it, I painted the outer wheel weights gloss black so that the whole rim was one color. I hated the silver wheel weight look. Thinking about it now, it probably was a stupid idea to paint these at night and kind of half ass it. But I was bored and had time to kill so why not.





One of the best mods I've done to date. 231mm Tundra Brake Upgrade. I used a set of NAPA remanufactured calipers, Stoptech Powerslot rotors, and EBC yellow stuff pads. All I can say is wow. I am in love with my brakes. The pedal feel is much softer like others have mentioned, but I can deal with it for now. I may upgrade the master cylinder to get a better pedal feel but that'll come later.

Stock brakes that I actually replaced a few years ago. They still warped and nearly run my truck off the road every time I used them.



And they were replaced with....





These brakes are just massive. They made an even bigger difference than I thought they would. The truck just nose dives, even with the 35" duratracs. One of the best upgrades anyone could ever do.

 

[kishanSR5]

So of course after some wrenching on the truck I wanted to test it out. I had yet to put the duratracs to use, and I wanted to see how well they did. I joined a couple of buddies that were headed to one their ranches with 100+ acres of land to mess around in. I just keep getting more and more impressed by my truck. I wish I had videos and pictures of everything but I was just trying to concentrate on wheeling so I wasn't able to get any. The truck didn't get stuck in anything whatsoever. Made it through mud just fine. She could even crawl up steep inclines, a little bit more throttle was required but still she made it up with minimal tire slip. I was feeling ambitious so I decided to really put the suspension to the test and I hit a jump at like 25-30. The sinking feeling in my stomach when I was in the air is unlike any other feeling I've experienced. I had a blast and I can't wait to get out and wheel more.

Here's a vid of me getting a little bit of air.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sHK2_4yRZ0I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And here are some still frames from that video






Surprisingly, and knock on wood; nothing broke, and I didn't rub at all during that landing.