BLP's 2021 TRD Off-Road 6-Speed Manual

[BLtheP]

Thanks for having me! I just picked up this Magnetic Gray 2021 TRD Off-Road a few weeks ago at Family Toyota in Arlington, TX about two weeks ago. It was an August 2021 build with 4,000 miles that came from Florida. I went over it with a fine tooth comb when I went to see it and found virtually zero flaws with it.

It had a few mods from the PO:

• Standard red tail lights from an SR/SR5
• Lasfit LED headlight, switchback fog, tail/brake, and backup light bulbs
• Hose clamp mod on the tailgate
• eBay special smoked sequential mirror turn signals
• debadged the tailgate V6 emblem
• 265/70R17 Load E BFG KO2s
• 17" x 7.0" TRD wheels in Graphite

Other than the random PO stuff, it's a really nice truck and I'm enjoying it so far. I came from a 2019 Nissan Frontier with the 4.0 & 6-speed manual combo. The Frontier was a fun truck to drive with plenty of power (more than the Tacoma), but the quality was not that great. For a 15 year old design I sure had too many problems. So I traded it for this one:



Here's the Frontier I was coming from:



Tacoma Mods Completed

• Husky Weatherbeater Floor Liners
• Homelink 4 Rearview Mirror from Bob's Automotive Mirrors & More
• Revert the PO-special ugly mirror turn signals back to the OEM ones
• Meso Customs Total Tail Stage 1 (with VLEDS 50-LED brake bulbs)
• VLEDS interior LED bulb kit (dome, map, & vanity in 5000K white)
• VLEDS front and rear footwell lighting kits (5000K white)
• OEM Toyota LED bed lights

Future Plans

I have quite a few plans for this truck. None of it will be insane, this truck will always look relatively stock to others but beneath the surface it will be about as nice as I can make it. The plans include:

• Audio/Video:
  • Kenwood DMX957XR head unit and Maestro RR
  • Kenwood CMOS-740HD backup camera mounted in tailgate camera location
• Exterior:
  • Delete the previous owner eBay special smoked sequential mirror turn signals in lieu of OEM
  • "Topicker" color matched bumper caps from eBay
  • OEM Toyota power tailgate lock - plug and play
  • Gentex Homelink 5 mirror upgrade from Homelink 4
  • OEM tailgate letter inserts (black)
  • Debadged the door "TACOMA" emblems
  • OEM spare tire lock
  • Sa Bell Co tailgate lock
  • Bakflip F1 tonneau cover
  • OEM Toyota bed mat
• Interior:
  • Gentex Homelink 4 mirror from Bob's Automotive Mirrors & More
  • Husky WeatherBeater front floor liners
  • OEM door sill guards
  • TufSkinz glove box letter inserts (MGM)
• Lighting:
  • OEM LED headlights with FBC conversion harness
  • Rigid 360-series SAE selective yellow fog lights
  • 2020+ TRD Pro Tail Lights
  • VLEDS VTAIL tail light conversion
  • Rigid SR-Q Pro flush mounts in rear color-match bumper caps
  • KC Cyclone V2 lights as under-hood lighting
  • Meso Customs puddle pods
  • Toyota LED bed lights - plug and play for 2020+
  • VLEDS full interior LED bulb kit (vanity, dome, & map lights - all in 5000K white)
  • VLEDS front & rear footwell lighting kits - 5000K white
  • VLEDS license plate LED bulbs - 5000K white & front turn signal bulbs
  • License plate light disable in reverse (DIR)
• Performance:
  • Clutch "accumulator delete" hack
  • Overland Torque Tune by Overland Tailor Tuning
  • 2WD Low
  • TRD Catback (not really performance but no other better category)
• Suspension & Tires:
  • 265/65R17 Toyo Open Country ATIII XL 116T
  • Trade for 2020+ TRD Sport wheels (to use with 265/65R17s
• Maintenance/Preventative Stuff:
  • Custom A/C condensate drain relocation
  • Extended rear axle breather
  • MillerCat Cat Shield catalytic converter protection
  • TRD Pro skid plate
  • 85W-140 Currie GL6 gear oil in both diffs
  • Ravenol Semi-Synthetic 75W-90 GL-4 manual transmission fluid
• Upcoming (the list will grow):
  • 4.88 regear
  • Rigid D-SS ditch lights
  • Rigid SAE 30" driving light bar
  • Clazzio or Katzkin seat treatment with heaters
  • AMP power steps

I'm looking forward to enjoying this truck. So far my only complaints are the lack of power with these super heavy tires, and the crappy stock radio. I hope to fix both of those soon. If I do, I think I will really enjoy the truck over time. I'm pretty mechanically minded and hope to be someone that can provide helpful input around here once I learn a bit more about the platform!

 

[Smitty]

Definitely a nice upgrade from a Nissan "truck" to the Taco! Welcome to the club! I'd def recommend you get all LED's it's so worth it

 

[BLtheP]

Definitely a nice upgrade from a Nissan "truck" to the Taco! Welcome to the club! I'd def recommend you get all LED's it's so worth it

It was as much a truck as any other, it could tow and haul as much as the Tacoma and had more power for sure, but everything else about it was worse. It was nowhere near as nice to ride in and it definitely had some quality control issues in quite a few aspects which is probably why it cost what it did. It was fun to drive though.

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, LEDs are in the plan, I am buying the full OEM headlights. The PO already put in LED bulbs but I don't like those. In the tail lights I am running the Meso total Tail stage 1 with all LEDs there and I like that swap. I am doing all interior LEDs and some floor lights next. That's really all that's left for lighting other than the Rigid fogs and ditch lights I want.

 

[Meclizine]

Welcome aboard! The Tacoma has its share of issues but quality control isn't really one of them. You might find the occasional design flaw that hasn't been addressed in a decade but they're manageable. You've listed some solutions in your plans already so you should be fine.

Extending the rear differential breather if you might ever do water crossings is one I can think of right now.

 

[Huck89]

Thanks for having me! I just picked up this Magnetic Gray 2021 TRD Off-Road a few weeks ago at Family Toyota in Arlington, TX about two weeks ago. It was an August 2021 build with 4,000 miles that came from Florida. I went over it with a fine tooth comb when I went to see it and found virtually zero flaws with it.

It had a few mods from the PO:

• Standard red tail lights from an SR/SR5
• Lasfit LED headlight, switchback fog, tail/brake, and backup light bulbs
• Hose clamp mod on the tailgate
• eBay special smoked sequential mirror turn signals
• debadged the tailgate V6 emblem
• 265/70R17 Load E BFG KO2s
• 17" x 7.0" TRD wheels in Graphite

Other than the random PO stuff, it's a really nice truck and I'm enjoying it so far. I came from a 2019 Nissan Frontier with the 4.0 & 6-speed manual combo. The Frontier was a fun truck to drive with plenty of power (more than the Tacoma), but the quality was not that great. For a 15 year old design I sure had too many problems. So I traded it for this one:



Here's the Frontier I was coming from:



Tacoma Mods Completed

• Husky Weatherbeater Floor Liners
• Homelink 4 Rearview Mirror from Bob's Automotive Mirrors & More
• Revert the PO-special ugly mirror turn signals back to the OEM ones
• Meso Customs Total Tail Stage 1 (with VLEDS 50-LED brake bulbs)
• VLEDS interior LED bulb kit (dome, map, & vanity in 5000K white)
• VLEDS front and rear footwell lighting kits (5000K white)
• OEM Toyota LED bed lights

Future Plans

I have quite a few plans for this truck. None of it will be insane, this truck will always look relatively stock to others but beneath the surface it will be about as nice as I can make it. The plans include:

• 2020+ OEM LED headlights
• Rigid 360-series LED fog lights (selective yellow)
• Under-hood lighting
• Kenwood DMX957XR & Maestro RR (pulled from my Frontier and bought the harnesses for the Tacoma - install coming soon)
• Speaker replacements with amp
• OEM Toyota power tailgate lock
• KDMax or Overland Torque Tune
• Bakflip MX4
• Some form of backup lighting (Rigid SRQ or flush D pods or similar)
• Rigid D-SS ditch lights
• Custom AC condensate drain line extension
• TRD cat-back exhaust
• Maybe a tire downsize to the stock equivalent of 265/65R17 - Toyo Open Country ATIII
• Possibly keep the 265/70R17 tire size and go with a TRD lift + 4.88 gears

I'm looking forward to enjoying this truck. So far my only complaints are the lack of power with these super heavy tires, and the crappy stock radio. I hope to fix both of those soon. If I do, I think I will really enjoy the truck over time. I'm pretty mechanically minded and hope to be someone that can provide helpful input around here once I learn a bit more about the platform!

Bro! I've got the same Taco, except for the 19' model. I didn't like the color all that much initially but it grew on me. Also, having the 6 speed manual (which I never use 6th gear) is so much fun to play with. I do hace an amateur hour question....How do I get a build thread to show up on my profile as an option I can click? I guess I'm asking how to I start and make a build thread haha?

 

[BLtheP]

Bro! I've got the same Taco, except for the 19' model. I didn't like the color all that much initially but it grew on me. Also, having the 6 speed manual (which I never use 6th gear) is so much fun to play with. I do hace an amateur hour question....How do I get a build thread to show up on my profile as an option I can click? I guess I'm asking how to I start and make a build thread haha?

Nice man, I love the color myself. I wasn't searching for any specific color, only that I knew I didn't want white. I agree on the 6 speed, much more fun than an automatic. I don't like automatics at all.

For the build thread, just create the thread in this section of the forum. For putting the link in your profile, first look at the web address for your build thread once it is created.

BLP's 2021 TRD Off-Road 6-Speed Manual

Thanks for having me! I just picked up this Magnetic Gray 2021 TRD Off-Road a few weeks ago at Family Toyota in Arlington, TX about two weeks ago. It was an August 2021 build with 4,000 miles that came from Florida. I went over it with a fine tooth comb when I went to see it and found virtually...

tacoma3g.com

Jot down the 5 digit code at the end (mine - 13173). Go to the top of the page and click on your username, then account details. At the bottom of that page you can enter the 5 digit into the build thread box which will then put that link into your profile box on the side for others to access quickly. It's a nice touch, never seen that on any other forum before.

 

[drizzoh]

Nice looking truck (it's the second best color lol). Jealous you were able to get an MTX. When I ordered mine there was no ETA on MTX for 21's :/.

 

[BLtheP]

I don't get on here much, so a LOT has happened since my last thread post, which was basically right when I got the truck. I updated the first post significantly, with a list of all I've done.

The highlights:

• Bob's Homelink Gen 5 mirror
• OEM LED headlights
• Rigid 360 SAE Fogs (yellow)
• VLEDS VTAIL conversion (similar to Meso Stage 1)
• VLEDS Footwell kit and interior bulbs
• 2WD Low
• OTT Tune
• Bakflip F1 Tonneau
• Body color bumper caps
• Rigid SRQ Pro Backup Lights in rear bumper caps
• Downsized from 265/70R17 E KO2 to 265/65R17 XL Toyo ATIII
• Swapped from TRD Sema rims to 2020+ TRD Sport rims
• Radio swap (Kenwood head unit with Maestro RR and Enfig microphone
• Underhood light setup using KC Cyclones
• TRD catback - chrome tip
• MillerCat shield
• TRD skid plate

The future honestly doesn't hold much besides driving, maintenance, and a few plans left:

• 4.88 Regear - keeping stock tires, just want more acceleration/power
• Rigid D-SS Spot cubes as ditch lights
• Rigid 30" light bar in the lower front bumper/grille area
• New speakers + sub and an 8 channel amp to run it all
• Sound dampening in the doors, roof, floor, back wall
• Maybe seat heaters and Clazzios or Katskinz
• MAYBE a Hilux RC60F or RC61F transmission if someone finishes the swap and confirms it's not difficult to accomplish

That's really all I can think of for the future that I plan on currently. I want the truck to look stock. Don't want a lift, don't want big tires, just want good enjoyable performance.

Here are some pics along the way from May '22 until now:




After downsizing to the new 265/65 Toyos



MillerCat Shield installed



Just a pic of my truck on the dirty jobsite, thought it looked cool....



OEM LEDs + Rigid yellow 360 Fogs



KC Cyclone under-hood light setup I built



Rigid SRQ Pros, flush mounted into color-matched bumper caps



Pics of the backup light results after installing the Rigids - super bright and helpful!



Random driveway pic with old Sema wheels



Random driveway pics showing the Sport rims and chrome-tip TRD catback

So that's about it for now. I really like this truck. My only complaint and it's not even a big one, is the lack of power. Regear happens on February 4th which I am just dying for. 4.88 is going to be sick and will fix my power complaints.

 

[TCOTUE]

Great start! I honestly preferred the Sema wheels, but either way truck looks great! Those E loads were probably killing your power.

 

[BLtheP]

Great start! I honestly preferred the Sema wheels, but either way truck looks great! Those E loads were probably killing your power.

Thanks, I liked the Semas but they just didn't give me the "pop" I wanted. The E loads were rough, I got rid of them first back in around July, then just a week ago did the trade for the rims. Definitely felt a noticeable power increase by going from 265/70 Es back down to 265/65 XLs. About 16 lb difference plus the inch of leverage.

 

[BLtheP]

I don't update this thread much anymore, mostly due to time and laziness, but I did want to talk a bit about to upcoming project....regear day!

Back in June, I reached out to @Texoma on TacomaWorld (Triple C Chop Shop) about regearing my truck. I decided to pull the trigger and scheduled for his nearest day, Feb 4 2023. It has been a long 7ish months. Not only was the wait long and difficult, but it gave me a lot of time to decide and re-decide on the route I wanted to take. I initially chose 4.88 gears and said I would stick to stock tires. I'm really not a big tire guy as I don't want to do the work to fit them and I don't need them...i.e., there are very few benefits and pretty much all cons to me running a larger tire besides stock. I ordered the 4.88's and planned to use them.

A month or so later, I made the decision to go with 5.29 instead to get the most gear change for my buck. It's not an inexpensive project and I'd hate to regret the decision. The plan was to also step up the tires from 265/65R17 (30.6") to 265/70R17 (31.6"). 4.88 absolutely would be a solid choice on the 30.6s, but if I ever changed my mind on tires or anything later, I'd regret all the money I spent on them.

5.29s on 31.6" tires will be a bit revvy, about 2900 rpm at 70. This is actually right where 5th gear lands in stock form, so I basically threw away my stock 6th gear in exchange for much better low end performance. I think that will be ok. I'm a 70-80 mph driver, which means 2900-3300 rpm. MPG will likely take a small hit but not much worse than it already is. For the most part, my mpg is the same in 5th vs 6th gear anyways.

Another factor in this gear change is that eventually I want to run the Hilux Transmission (RC60F or RC61F) instead of the stock RC62F. The reason for that is gears 1-3 are shorter (higher rpm) and 5-6 are taller (lower rpm) making for even more low end performance while making the highway rpm lower which makes the highway cruise reasonable while having fantastic performance overall.

Stock RC62F Ratios:

1 - 3.982
2 - 2.017
3 - 1.321
4 - 1.000
5 - 0.848
6 - 0.713
R - 3.385

Hilux RC61F Ratios:

1 - 4.784
2 - 2.423
3 - 1.443
4 - 1.000
5 - 0.777
6 - 0.646
R - 4.066

I will also be running on the 265/65s I have for a little bit until I get new tires. That will be about 3000 at 70 and 3200 at 75. I'll probably cruise those speeds until I get the larger tires. It will be a wheelie popper but it will also be enjoyable.

4.30 and Stock Tires

5.29 and 31.6" Tires

5.29, 31.6", and RC61F Hilux Transmission

As you can see, the Hilux transmission would significantly boost low end performance in 2nd and 3rd gear. 1st would nearly be a granny, while 2nd would be good enough to start in. 3rd could be used at low speed, and 4th will be the same. Then into 5th and 6th for slightly better highway gears than stock (higher rpm but not over the top). Combined with 5.29 gears though?? Pure awesomeness. Not to mention reverse, which would be a HUGE improvement from both the 5.29s and going from a trans ratio of 3.39 to 4.07. It ends up being like a 50% gear reduction for reverse alone.

Even if the Hilux trans doesn't pan out ($$$ and need to immediately tear down the new transmission out of the box to install the correct input shaft), I will still know that I got the best gearing I could get on my stock trans and I'll have tires that look good and will balance it out decently. Like I said, it will rev a bit on the highway but that's fine, the V6 does not care at all and at least it will perform really well.

Can't wait for Feb 4th!