sluggercz's '05 Build Thread

[hearno]

Any update on the ride height? The most recent pictures look like the front hasn't settled yet. I'm getting ready to do the same lift to mine and I'm trying to avoid redoing it because the front is too high. Which setting did you put the front 5100s at?

Great work so far by the way. I wish I had the time/money to do what you've done so far.

 

[sluggercz]

Any update on the ride height? The most recent pictures look like the front hasn't settled yet. I'm getting ready to do the same lift to mine and I'm trying to avoid redoing it because the front is too high. Which setting did you put the front 5100s at?

Great work so far by the way. I wish I had the time/money to do what you've done so far.

5100's are at the lowest setting. It has only been a little over a week, so I don't think it has settled much - if at all- but once I'm done washing the dirt off I'll remeasure the height.

And thanks man, I haven't spent too much on it yet since I've been installing most everything myself, I'm expecting the biggest costs to be the roof rack & bumpers.

 

[sluggercz]

[MENTION=97032]hearno[/MENTION] My mistake man, they are actually at the 3rd setting- I'm going to take them down a notch this week. If you want the front and rear level do the second setting, if you want to maintain a ~1" front rake, set the 5100's to the lowest setting.

 

[hearno]

[MENTION=97032]hearno[/MENTION] My mistake man, they are actually at the 3rd setting- I'm going to take them down a notch this week. If you want the front and rear level do the second setting, if you want to maintain a ~1" front rake, set the 5100's to the lowest setting.

That's good to know. I have a V6 so I have less weight than you do but I still planned on running the 885. Apparently its the same spring rate as the 884 but they're 10mm longer so they don't stretch as far to achieve the same lift.

 

[sluggercz]

That's good to know. I have a V6 so I have less weight than you do but I still planned on running the 885. Apparently its the same spring rate as the 884 but they're 10mm longer so they don't stretch as far to achieve the same lift.

Yeah they might ride a bit stiffer on a V6 considering it weighs around 200lbs less. Just make sure you set your 5100's at the +0" setting. I'm planning on getting the DO bumper by the middle of August, and will post some before and after pictures of the ride height.

Let me know how your install goes and the ride quality etc.

 

[sluggercz]

Headlights sealed

Here's some pictures of the headlights after being cleaned, polished, then sealed with UV Spar Urethane/Mineral Spirits:

 

[sluggercz]

Rear cargo area trim Plasti-Dip'd

Credit goes to [MENTION=97032]hearno[/MENTION] for the idea. Quick and easy to do, and gets rid of the ugly faded grey color on the plastic trim.

 

[maulihiwa]

Best thread I've seen on here yet! Great job bro!

 

[J.A.]

Nice Work! Let us know how you like the puck leds for footwells. I've been interested in them as well. V-Leds does not list the lumen rating so I'd like to see pics of how bright they really are.

 

[sluggercz]

Best thread I've seen on here yet! Great job bro!

Thanks dude

Nice Work! Let us know how you like the puck leds for footwells. I've been interested in them as well. V-Leds does not list the lumen rating so I'd like to see pics of how bright they really are.

The footwells are great, they definitely help the height challenged passengers get in the runner now that its lifted haha.

I'll get some night shots posted up for you soon, and by the way I've got to give you credit for having a fantastic website with great write-ups - I wouldn't have been able to do half of my mods without your website, much thanks!

 

[sluggercz]

Teaser

Here's a little teaser of what's coming up next:

Satoshi-06 grille on 05 4Runner

Spidertrax...

 

[earthrealm]

the headlights look good!..LOOKS LIKE REAL RETROS...Not SOME DRop in kit

 

[sluggercz]

Nice Work! Let us know how you like the puck leds for footwells. I've been interested in them as well. V-Leds does not list the lumen rating so I'd like to see pics of how bright they really are.

Hey JA, I finally got around to taking some night shots of the footwells. If I recall correctly they are rated at 5000K for color temperature, which matches the interior LED kit from PFran perfectly.
Click on the pictures to view them in high resolution.







*Side note: I had a polarized filter on the lens of the camera, so the lights are actually a fraction brighter to the human eye.

 

[J.A.]

Nice job, color and brightness looks great! FYI, I had to tie up the flap on the seats to get full coverage for the rear footwells, and play with the angle of the bracket to get it just right. Looks like you may need to do the same as well.

 

[sluggercz]

Spidertrax

Put the Spidertrax on today, real simple install - if you can take your wheels off/on, then you can do this.

Before:






After:




*I'll put up some vertical shots showing how flush the tire sits in the fender tomorrow.

 

[sluggercz]

I'm guessing that last pic is me high tailing it out of the sand on my pancake tires hahah

 

[zopperman]

looks great, i like the stance with the spider trax. They are by far one of my favorite mods

 

[sluggercz]

Mike was kind enough to lead a trip through part of the Mojave desert on Sunday, it was a blast, a good mix of some higher speed desert terrain, some deep sand - which I ended up buried above my exhaust in - a nice flat dry lake bed, and even a couple water crossings.

Here are some pictures from the trip to the Mojave:


Mike's beast 4Runner







Our first stop at a caved-in mine on a hillside 35.039625,-116.823906



In the middle of the dried up lake bed 35.068783,-116.758846


The dog was getting hot, so he got to chill in the cargo space with the AC blasting and rear gate open.


In Afton Canyon next to the railroad, we found a train engine parked.
By random chance a train rolled around the bend not 2 minutes after us parking:


Interesting graffiti.


In Afton Canyon.

The three trucks on our trip:

1. Mike's 4Runner


2. My brother's FX4 F150


3. My 4Runner


Underneath a railroad bridge at the end of Afton Canyon

At the end of our trip we went to see the Dr. Springer's spa at Zzyzx, which is now a Mojave desert study site for the BLM:


[MENTION=15853]Redswan[/MENTION] Let me know if I got any of the info wrong, I couldn't remember the name of the first lake bed - maybe it was Coyote Lake, not sure.

And a couple things I learned from this trip:
1. It's a good idea to have some way of airing down and measuring air pressure - and if you have the funds a way of airing up is nice too.
2. Momentum goes a long way in keeping your truck from burying itself knee deep in sand.
3. Disabling TRAC + VSC is also pretty helpful.
4. When all else fails, a monster 4Runner with a winch can pull you out hahah

 

[4RunnerChaos]

Nice truck man. How do these 4th gens handle the trail? I'm assured they are incredible.

 

[sluggercz]

Nice truck man. How do these 4th gens handle the trail? I'm assured they are incredible.

For a 2WD mine handled great...when it wasn't in sand haha. With the Bilsteins and OME coils I was able to go pretty quick through some small whoops, and was never nervous cornering - I even got the tail to kick out a couple times and slid through some turns Stig-style.