Picked up and FJ this weekend.

[wfo9]

It is for my daughter, but I have been driving it and verifying all is well with it...

It's an 08 trail team edition totally stock with the BFG K0 tires it came with...

Man does this thing drive nice, but what I thought was worth mentioning here was how much better the 1grfe feels in that thing.

Throttle response is dare I say "excellent". It is a total joy to drive. I know the truck is lighter and all.. but there is way more at play with the way the ECU is setup. They did not have any of that ECO stuff going on an I guess the single vvti motor just has a much better tq curve. I was shocked at how good it feels.

I drove a 2010 and it sucked just like the 5th gens.... Might be hit or miss though because i drove another 2008 that also felt sluggish. This one rocks.

 

[MinecraftGriefer]

is it a manual? I drove a friend's 2007 manual FJ and that thing was really fun to drive. Too bad you cant see anything out of it :/
Edit: Can I ask you how much you paid for it? FJ prices are crazy :0

 

[gm350reratliff]

That's how my 4th gen feels as well. Even with the 255/80's, it just feels lighter on its feet and peppier. It's always been able to get better mpg as well. Less downshifting on the highway too.

 

[Saker]

It is for my daughter, but I have been driving it and verifying all is well with it...

It's an 08 trail team edition totally stock with the BFG K0 tires it came with...

Man does this thing drive nice, but what I thought was worth mentioning here was how much better the 1grfe feels in that thing.

Throttle response is dare I say "excellent". It is a total joy to drive. I know the truck is lighter and all.. but there is way more at play with the way the ECU is setup. They did not have any of that ECO stuff going on an I guess the single vvti motor just has a much better tq curve. I was shocked at how good it feels.

I drove a 2010 and it sucked just like the 5th gens.... Might be hit or miss though because i drove another 2008 that also felt sluggish. This one rocks.

Man, it looks nice!

 

[wfo9]

is it a manual? I drove a friend's 2007 manual FJ and that thing was really fun to drive. Too bad you cant see anything out of it :/
Edit: Can I ask you how much you paid for it? FJ prices are crazy :0

Its an auto... Visibility is not the best, but I did not feel it was a major problem at all. I've driven many vehicles that are much worse. Very overstated concern if you ask me... It provides a neat driving experiences with an airplane like cockpit. Something about the way the short windshield sits in front of you...

Prices were mid to upper teens (14-18k) for an 08/09 with avg miles for the year. This one was in mint condition.. has ATrack, rear locker... but ~130k on the OD. Prices were slightly higher than a 4th gen 4Runner of the same age but 4wd 4runners with a locker are basically non existent from what I could tell. Even simple 4wd ones are a little hard to come by around here or have super high miles. A few people were trying to get crazy money for their FJs... but as usual... just takes some time to find a decent deal. Took a few weeks to find it and had to travel a bit...

Some people are trying to sell theirs because they think they are worth more than they paid... LOL. That is just stupid. These are not collectors items and doubt they ever will be. Turns out the one I picked up is actually 1 of only 3k trail teams produced (the first year of the trail team edition), but I don't think that makes it any more valuable. Just not that common. And most people modify them anyway... Think this one will stay stock.

 

[wfo9]

Another interesting feature of this truck is something called a cyclone air cleaner. From what I can tell it is some type of a dust trap assisted by a fan blade. It has some place to empty it out. Have not really messed with it yet, but thought it was kind of neat. I wonder why Toyota/TRD never promoted it further. First time i had heard of it.... but a brief search seemed to indicate it works pretty well for trapping dust and keeping it out of the filter.

 

[wfo9]

Man, it looks nice!

Yea, She is bonkers about it... Can hardly get her out of it.... Wife even wants one now LOL. I think the excitement just transferred over to her temporarily. I'm sure she will come to her senses....

 

[Saker]

Another interesting feature of this truck is something called a cyclone air cleaner. From what I can tell it is some type of a dust trap assisted by a fan blade. It has some place to empty it out. Have not really messed with it yet, but thought it was kind of neat. I wonder why Toyota/TRD never promoted it further. First time i had heard of it.... but a brief search seemed to indicate it works pretty well for trapping dust and keeping it out of the filter.

My 2013 FJ TT had one. Wished they would have carried it over to the T4R's.
It makes some of the larger particles drop to the lower part of the air box, IIRC.

 

[Bevo]

Another interesting feature of this truck is something called a cyclone air cleaner. From what I can tell it is some type of a dust trap assisted by a fan blade. It has some place to empty it out. Have not really messed with it yet, but thought it was kind of neat. I wonder why Toyota/TRD never promoted it further. First time i had heard of it.... but a brief search seemed to indicate it works pretty well for trapping dust and keeping it out of the filter.

It has a little rubber thingie on the bottom of the air cleaner that you squeeze which then opens up and the dirt falls out. I don't know how much good it does, but I was always surprised how much dirt came out of it on my 2011 FJ.

 

[Quentin]

Throttle response is dare I say "excellent". It is a total joy to drive. I know the truck is lighter and all.. but there is way more at play with the way the ECU is setup. They did not have any of that ECO stuff going on an I guess the single vvti motor just has a much better tq curve. I was shocked at how good it feels.

Lighter weight and throttle tuning more so than the torque curve. They are equal up to 3000RPM. The single VVT engine makes 6% more torque at 3500RPM. They are equal at 4000RPM. The dual VVT makes 8-11% more torque from 4500RPM to redline. Basically, the single VVT engine has a better curve from 3200-3800.

The throttle tuning of the FJ was designed in an era of cheap gas. The 5th gen and 10+ FJ were done in an era of $3.50+ gasoline.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[InspectahDeck]

I'll say, having just sold my 2013 FJ TT, that my 16 TRDP feels slightly more responsive, and overall is a much quieter and more comfortable ride. We'll see how much that changes when I get rid of the Terra Grapplers for Load E Ridge Grapplers tomorrow and put stiffer springs on.

 

[(none)]

It has a little rubber thingie on the bottom of the air cleaner that you squeeze which then opens up and the dirt falls out. I don't know how much good it does, but I was always surprised how much dirt came out of it on my 2011 FJ.

Interesting. The LC80s have the big cylindrical air filter housings that was supposed to do the same thing. They even have a small cup on the bottom of the housing that unclips so you can empty the dust out, and it has a one way valve to automatically drain out any little drippings of water which might make it in. Oh, and the stock filter is washable.

They don't build them like they used to. :ranger:

 

[Thirty4]

Congrats! Loved the FJ, one of the best vehicles I've owned.

 

[wfo9]

I'll say, having just sold my 2013 FJ TT, that my 16 TRDP feels slightly more responsive, and overall is a much quieter and more comfortable ride. We'll see how much that changes when I get rid of the Terra Grapplers for Load E Ridge Grapplers tomorrow and put stiffer springs on.

Yea, the 10-13s seem to suffer the same ECU calibration as the 5th gens.

 

[MLPbrian]

IIRC the earlier FJs required premium gasoline. The later models have more horsepower but accepted regular gas.

 

[SSDuck8]

Still have and love my 08. I have 201k on it now and it still rides, and wheels great. As a matter of fact, when I got back from summit this July, I had 150 miles until 200K. It is an awesome vehicle, congrats.

 

[96r50]

Another interesting feature of this truck is something called a cyclone air cleaner. From what I can tell it is some type of a dust trap assisted by a fan blade. It has some place to empty it out. Have not really messed with it yet, but thought it was kind of neat. I wonder why Toyota/TRD never promoted it further. First time i had heard of it.... but a brief search seemed to indicate it works pretty well for trapping dust and keeping it out of the filter.

Check out this thread for more info on the 2010+ version of the cyclone airbox:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...-intake-assembly-installation-comparison.html