drizzoh's build thread

[drizzoh]

Acquired the proper gasket for this last night. Fits absolutely perfect. Borla should include it with their kit because the stock 60mm gasket (that they say to reuse) does not fit over their 62mm piping.

Gasket needed between y-pipe and catback:

Mahle 60512
ID: 62 mm (2.44 inches)
OD: 78 mm (3.07 inches)
Thickness: 5 mm

Installed and clean asfffff. Truck sounds great

 

[drizzoh]

Finally finished my switch/wiring project! A few things still haven't shown up but I'm beyond sick of waiting for this to be finished, so I sent it Friday night to get the truck back to a safe drivable state. I have been working on adding an auxiliary fuse panel, chase light, places to keep relays, etc for a couple of weeks now and keep getting held up by every possible snag I could hit (a pnp wiring harnesses being pinned wrong, running out of supplies, shipping being delayed, etc). But it's finally all wrapped up for the accessories I currently have.

The idea was to pull the dash panel a minimum number of times and run all the switch wiring at once to then be able to just hook up the relay turn-on leads as the rest of the accessories are added. Each switch is ran to the engine bay via different colored turn-on wire to make adding future accessories as simple as possible. So far only the chase light is connected, but there are switches ready to go for an air compressor, light bar and additional aux light. Future accessories can be connected solely in the engine bay now.

Installed a custom MESO 9-switch panel and AOB factory-style push button switches using the pnp illumination harness and daisy chain harnesses. The color match is pretty close but not perfect. Much better than the ABC switch though (I still need to rebuild switch this with a matching led). I am happy with the color. This switch panel required A LOT of cutting but fits and flows perfectly. At first it was a little stressful trying to adapt the Baja Designs relay harness to the factory style switch, but once I decided to completely rewire it the install was much simpler. Really happy how it turned out and IMO it looks much better than a Switch-Pro.

Stock vs MESO:

New cockpit views <3:

Vid of the chase light switch doing switchy things:

https://imgur.com/GAw3RZp

Source: https://imgur.com/GAw3RZp

 

[Smitty]

Where did you get that switch panel? I need one soon but without the window thing cause, yk, old access cab things... lol

 

[drizzoh]

Where did you get that switch panel? I need one soon but without the window thing cause, yk, old access cab things... lol

It's one of the made-to-order custom ones that MESO randomly does. That's the only way to get one from them with 5 blanks along the top. I'm sure you could order one without the window switch. I've seen some other vendors on Etsy that make them also, but haven't looked into them much since I already had this one.

 

[bonifacio]

Which Anytime Camera Kit did you go with?

 

[drizzoh]

Which Anytime Camera Kit did you go with?

They only had 1 for the 21+ models I think, either with or without their camera. I went without and grabbed the RAAYOO camera after seeing a comparison on the other forum. The camera is fine, but the TRD Pro grille puts it too high for what I really want. I wish it was angled lower so I could see the bumper in it.

 

[bonifacio]

They only had 1 for the 21+ models I think, either with or without their camera. I went without and grabbed the RAAYOO camera after seeing a comparison on the other forum. The camera is fine, but the TRD Pro grille puts it too high for what I really want. I wish it was angled lower so I could see the bumper in it.

Where on the grill is it mounted? Have a pic?

The anytime is from Anytime Backup Camera (https://www.anytimebackupcamera.com/?)

 

[drizzoh]

Where on the grill is it mounted? Have a pic?

The anytime is from Anytime Backup Camera (https://www.anytimebackupcamera.com/?)

I didn't specifically take one of the camera mounted. It's the OE 21+ grille so it has the camera hole at the top.

Yes that's the site. I wrote the builder after installing that the wiring is too short to easily be able to connect to a switch if it's mounted on the left side of the steering wheel like I have it. He didn't reply to me, but another 10" for the switch wires and rca cables would have been greatly appreciated. If you plan to mount under the radio you should have a much easier time.

 

[bonifacio]

I didn't specifically take one of the camera mounted. It's the OE 21+ grille so it has the camera hole at the top.

Yes that's the site. I wrote the builder after installing that the wiring is too short to easily be able to connect to a switch if it's mounted on the left side of the steering wheel like I have it. He didn't reply to me, but another 10" for the switch wires and rca cables would have been greatly appreciated. If you plan to mount under the radio you should have a much easier time.

I already have a camera wired in. Was using the Germes RFCC with the factory unit the just had it plugged into Android Unit. Since upgrading to a Sony unit, it's just there. Ugh, just more money into a truck I hate.

I saw Anytime Backup & New Front Camera Kit | '14 - '19 Tacoma (https://trailgridpro.com/products/anytime-backup-new-front-camera-kit-14-19-tacoma/)
With the prewired and soldered option. Might just do that for convenience.

For the bumper, I also have the OEM TRD and OEM Garnish. OEM Crew checking in. I drilled a hole in mine to install the camera. So I was curious about that camera and how it was installed. Haven't seen too much on how others did theirs.

You ready to drive out here and trade me sliders? Beers on me.

 

[drizzoh]

I already have a camera wired in. Was using the Germes RFCC with the factory unit the just had it plugged into Android Unit. Since upgrading to a Sony unit, it's just there. Ugh, just more money into a truck I hate.

I saw Anytime Backup & New Front Camera Kit | '14 - '19 Tacoma (https://trailgridpro.com/products/anytime-backup-new-front-camera-kit-14-19-tacoma/)
With the prewired and soldered option. Might just do that for convenience.

For the bumper, I also have the OEM TRD and OEM Garnish. OEM Crew checking in. I drilled a hole in mine to install the camera. So I was curious about that camera and how it was installed. Haven't seen too much on how others did theirs.

You ready to drive out here and trade me sliders? Beers on me.

I didn't look into the options for the other years so I can't recommend anything for them. I got mine 1.5 years ago so he might have made updates since then. He did not offer a prebuilt harness before that I remember. It wasn't hard to build, but there was no way to know it wasn't long enough before I was in the middle of the install.

The RAAYOO fit okay but an OEM camera would have fit a lot better. I had to make a mount for this. Per Brian from Anytime there is no way to adapt one of these kits to use the factory camera though due to it having like 6 wires or something like that. I have my wiring all covered with loom and ran along the back side of the grille so you can't see it with the hood open and it comes out under the headlight where it plugs into to the ABC kit.

Also hellllllll no you're not getting my sliders lmao. Waiting for those was the longest 2 months of my life

 

[bonifacio]

Yeah, pretty sure TrailGridPro is just the reseller. They do the prep.

You said it was too high, where is it mounted? Is it above the lettering? I'm assuming the OEM one is also in the same spot?

Might be a little hard to see, but since you said it's higher than you like and not angled enough. I want to share what I did and see if I can influence you into changing over. Then I can become a REAL "influencer".
I used the trusty old Natika. Mounted in this position it's angle down. I drilled a hole in the flat part of the grill in front of and against the TSS garnish. Looks better and cleaner than factory in my opinion. It also comes with angle grommits to change the view angle. You could probably also stack them if you want to angle it down lower or just make your own wedge. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should do that. There's plenty of threading. I went for the clean look for mine.

You should do it so I can feel excited about something. So I know I made a positive impact in someone's life today.

 

[gelsi2033]

@drizzoh You have some good stuff on here.

2 things I have been debating.

1) The Borla Y pipe. Would like to hear how that holds up over time and on the trail. I already have the Stinger catback and have been debating to just go and slap on the Y pipe too.

2) Wheel well sound deadening. I just put on SSO high clearance front bumper and I want to ditch the cheap plastic wheel wells.

I ordered liners from gear tech customs and have Ark Splash guards so now I am thinking about sound deadening the wheel wells before I make the liner switch.

I have the second skins spray on/brush on and the mats which I used for my back wall and inner and outer doors.

Since you have done your front wheel wells with the second skin deadening material any thoughts? Tips? Any more pics of when you applied it?

Any "wish I would've known that before I started" moments?

 

[drizzoh]

Yeah, pretty sure TrailGridPro is just the reseller. They do the prep.

You said it was too high, where is it mounted? Is it above the lettering? I'm assuming the OEM one is also in the same spot?

Might be a little hard to see, but since you said it's higher than you like and not angled enough. I want to share what I did and see if I can influence you into changing over. Then I can become a REAL "influencer".
I used the trusty old Natika. Mounted in this position it's angle down. I drilled a hole in the flat part of the grill in front of and against the TSS garnish. Looks better and cleaner than factory in my opinion. It also comes with angle grommits to change the view angle. You could probably also stack them if you want to angle it down lower or just make your own wedge. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should do that. There's plenty of threading. I went for the clean look for mine.

You should do it so I can feel excited about something. So I know I made a positive impact in someone's life today.

View attachment 60521

View attachment 60522

Was going to do something similar but the 21+ grille has a provision for a camera so I used that hole since it was already there. I don't think the height makes much difference, just wish it was angled more to see the ground instead of straight out front. I might change it one day but keep this as a placeholder so it doesn't look unfinished.

I don't have much use for a front camera on the road but it's useful as hell when offroad to see a little more of what's in front of you. Just whatever I see takes 3 business days to feel in the tires. I'm sure I'll get used to it after a while.

@drizzoh You have some good stuff on here.

2 things I have been debating.

1) The Borla Y pipe. Would like to hear how that holds up over time and on the trail. I already have the Stinger catback and have been debating to just go and slap on the Y pipe too.

2) Wheel well sound deadening. I just put on SSO high clearance front bumper and I want to ditch the cheap plastic wheel wells.

I ordered liners from gear tech customs and have Ark Splash guards so now I am thinking about sound deadening the wheel wells before I make the liner switch.

I have the second skins spray on/brush on and the mats which I used for my back wall and inner and outer doors.

Since you have done your front wheel wells with the second skin deadening material any thoughts? Tips? Any more pics of when you applied it?

Any "wish I would've known that before I started" moments?

View attachment 60525

As far as the Borla goes, it's a beautiful piece after taking into consideration the gasket you need to acquire. I also needed to use beefier springs on the donut gasket flange in order to get it to not leak there. I sent Borla my findings and they said they'd forward it over to their r&d team but not sure if or when a fix will go in. I don't imagine it will have any quality issues otherwise being stainless. If you have installed exhaust components before I don't think you'd have any issues figuring this out. It's really close to perfect. The clearance is fantastic and the exhaust actually sounds a little less droney while cruising - but beefier while accelerating. With the y-pipe it definitely has less restriction that you can feel on the top end.

As for the deadening in the wheel wells. Spectrum is good stuff and if you already have the means to spray it on, you can't go wrong. Might do a better job than the butyl sheets since it can get into all the nooks and crannies and you can layer it. I have only ever worked with the butyl sheets so that's what I threw on everywhere. I have both sides of the front wheel wells done (inner and outer) and it definitely took the edge off of the road noise up front + hid the bright white painted surface what was super visible after lifting the truck. It wouldn't be the worst idea do use Spectrum outside and the Damplifier inside. I have deadened the wells in a few cars and it's always gone as expected, just make sure you clean the area much more thuroughly than you did with the inside. I generally clean the outside area with some kind of cleaner and then rub the area with isopropyl a few times until the cloth is clean. It won't stick to anything that's not perfectly clean. The only photos I took of it are the ones posted on the first page of this thread.

I'm also planning the SSO bumper and was going to try to reform the plastics to keep it as finished as possible, but interested in how yours comes out. I want to jump up to 34's and I'm already rubbing the shit out of the fender liners with my caster settings lol.

 

[drizzoh]

It's finally time to overhaul the terrible audio in this rig. This is the longest I've ever gone without having a sub in any vehicle I've owned so I'm beyond excited to finally do this upgrade. I have had the truck torn apart for the last 2 weekends working on a laundry list of upgrades and tweaks that I needed to get done before starting/finishing the audio but wanted to share my progress.

First up was to finish insulating the truck. I insulated the back wall and firewall last year but was waiting to do the doors until it was time to do the audio when they'd need to come apart anyway. Last weekend I added a layer of Second Skin Heatwave Pro thermal insulation to the doors over the Damplifier Pro that I installed last year around this time. Will see how it feels come summer but so far it's blocking the last little bit of road noise I've been hearing from the other cars next to me on the freeway.

While the doors were apart for this I also test-fit all the Focal speakers for clearance and modified the back side of the door panels as necessary.

After that I started building the amp rack to house the JL VX700/5i. I didn't want to delete the panel to mount the amp directly to the wall behind the rear seat and I didn't want to just shove it under one of the front seats on the off-chance that one of my adventures allows water into the cabin. I'd hate to fry an amp this nice because of water damage so mounting it as high as possible seemed like the best idea. The amp would not fit under the rear seats inside the storage bin so the only other viable option was to figure out a way to mount the amp inside the panel behind the rear seat. Keeping with my theme of doing everything extra on this build, I also didn't want to just screw it into the panel or put it on a flat sheet of material, so I came up with a wedge shape that matches the angle of the pocket. I've never built an amp rack before so there was a bit of a learning curve and I have way more hours into it than I'd like to admit, but it came out pretty nice. It's made of 1/4" expanded PCV and there is a bunch of internal bracing and structure behind it while keeping the center as open as possible to allow for cable management. I then added some oval grommets to the rear panel for the cabling to fit thru that were donated from my old Corsair 600T computer case.

Amp rack before wrapping:

Amp rack after carpet-wrapping and in its home. Trying to keep it as factory as possible, I modified and repurposed the brackets from the OEM horns to use as the mounts to keep the rack in place. It looks fantastic sitting next to the Stealthbox on the floor, hoping it feels like it came as a set once installed. I'm really excited to see how this amp performs.

Last on my list was to tackle a small mod that has really bothered me since I noticed it. I didn't like how unfinished it looked under the bottle jack being body colored (bright af super white in my case) so I took some leftover carpet from the amp rack and wrapped the floor underneath it. Felt good to complete a smol mod to keep me sane while I keep chiseling away on one of the most demanding audio installs I've done. Hopefully the next update will be completed pics.

 

[mgmyota]

How much of a pain in the ass is it to lay the sound damping inside the doors? I definitely want to sound dampen the whole cab this year I think

 

[drizzoh]

How much of a pain in the ass is it to lay the sound damping inside the doors? I definitely want to sound dampen the whole cab this year I think

Not too bad at all, just clean the surface before applying. I was able to fit entire sheets in each door and then peeled the backing off as I went, starting with the hardest to reach areas. You can't see in there very well but there is enough room for average-sized hands/arms to fit without too much trouble. Each door took about 3.5 sheets of the stuff I used and I got ~95% coverage. I noticed the biggest differences from doing the back wall, both sides of the front footwells and the area under the rear storage tray though. However doing the doors does help them to have a much better closing sound and it does block some unwanted sound waves.

 

[mgmyota]

Not too bad at all, just clean the surface before applying. I was able to fit entire sheets in each door and then peeled the backing off as I went, starting with the hardest to reach areas. You can't see in there very well but there is enough room for average-sized hands/arms to fit without too much trouble. Each door took about 3.5 sheets of the stuff I used and I got ~95% coverage. I noticed the biggest differences from doing the back wall, both sides of the front footwells and the area under the rear storage tray though. However doing the doors does help them to have a much better closing sound and it does block some unwanted sound waves.

Alright cool. Yeah my truck is pretty loud lol. And with the 40% rear seat delete I've been wanting to cover the back wall for a while.

 

[drizzoh]

Alright cool. Yeah my truck is pretty loud lol. And with the 40% rear seat delete I've been wanting to cover the back wall for a while.

Check out this post for more info on my past deadening: drizzoh's build thread (https://tacoma3g.com/threads/drizzohs-build-thread.13423/#post-90350)

 

[drizzoh]

About 30 more hours put into the audio install over the last week and it's getting close to being wrapped up. All speakers installed, crossovers mounted, almost 100' of speaker wire ran, and amp rack modified a bit. Pushing 12g wire thru the door accordion tubes on this truck is up there with the least fun things I've ever done. It's so much work to make it look like you didn't change anything, but at least my speakers match my wheels lol.

 

[bonifacio]

Just noticed the TEIN banner. What was your previous vehicle?
STAHHHPPP. tC.

 

[drizzoh]

Just noticed the TEIN banner. What was your previous vehicle?
STAHHHPPP. tC.

Lol the tC is on Flex Z's and currently serving as my dd and is the best car I've ever owned.

Build thread here if interested: drizzohs 2014 tC2.5 thread - Scionlife.com (https://www.scionlife.com/forums/scion-tc-2g-owners-lounge-1824/drizzohs-2014-tc2-5-thread-233075/)

 

[bonifacio]

Lol the tC is on Flex Z's and currently serving as my dd and is the best car I've ever owned.

Build thread here if interested: drizzohs 2014 tC2.5 thread - Scionlife.com (https://www.scionlife.com/forums/scion-tc-2g-owners-lounge-1824/drizzohs-2014-tc2-5-thread-233075/)

Nice build.
I had an 06. I still have that FB group for tC's. Used to be the largest one til the one dude deleted it by accident. It was the original.

Used to have iForged wheels and Work XD9's. I miss it. Think I liked it more than the Tacoma.

Dude, I really like your Tacoma. I wish I took my time with it and upgraded as stuff came out. I rushed it early, upgraded some stuff and then even better stuff came out.

 

[drizzoh]

Nice build.
I had an 06. I still have that FB group for tC's. Used to be the largest one til the one dude deleted it by accident. It was the original.

Used to have iForged wheels and Work XD9's. I miss it. Think I liked it more than the Tacoma.

Dude, I really like your Tacoma. I wish I took my time with it and upgraded as stuff came out. I rushed it early, upgraded some stuff and then even better stuff came out.

I think the 1g tC's were better to drive from the factory than the 2g's were, but mines so dialed by now it's going to be hard to get rid of to get the next project.

Thx d00d, the truck is getting pretty rad too but it's definitely taken more work than I was expecting. with how popular these trucks are, I really thought it would be a lot more polished from Toyota. All the work will be worth it in the end but damn does it hate me. The last 2 things that really bug me about it are the audio and the rear ride quality (even with all the other upgrades and suspension tuning I've done) so I'm hoping that finishing the stereo + installing the Hammer Hangers that are sitting in the floor in my parts room will correct both issues.

 

[bonifacio]

I think the 1g tC's were better to drive from the factory than the 2g's were, but mines so dialed by now it's going to be hard to get rid of to get the next project.

Thx d00d, the truck is getting pretty rad too but it's definitely taken more work than I was expecting. with how popular these trucks are, I really thought it would be a lot more polished from Toyota. All the work will be worth it in the end but damn does it hate me. The last 2 things that really bug me about it are the audio and the rear ride quality (even with all the other upgrades and suspension tuning I've done) so I'm hoping that finishing the stereo + installing the Hammer Hangers that are sitting in the floor in my parts room will correct both issues.

Did you check out head units? When you do don't forget to check and see if you lose the factory settings. Like the locks and lights. I know that the Chinese Android units retain those options, but it's sketchy. I replaced the Android after it died with a Sony XAV AX-8100. It's nice I guess. But then I realized I was playing with cluster color. It felt weird since it was blue for so long. It was red. Then it dawned on me I'd have to plug in the factory head unit to change it back. Unless there's a way to do it through Techstream.

 

[drizzoh]

Did you check out head units? When you do don't forget to check and see if you lose the factory settings. Like the locks and lights. I know that the Chinese Android units retain those options, but it's sketchy. I replaced the Android after it died with a Sony XAV AX-8100. It's nice I guess. But then I realized I was playing with cluster color. It felt weird since it was blue for so long. It was red. Then it dawned on me I'd have to plug in the factory head unit to change it back. Unless there's a way to do it through Techstream.

The output from the factory headunit to the amp was absolute trash so I have a Pioneer DMH-WC6600NEX showing up next week with the Maestro kit. Absolutely love the Maestro in the tC. It should retain most of everything, but I don't mess with those vehicle settings hardly ever once I get them set.

I did look into the Stinger too but it's just not good value for money. Loses a bunch of settings and doesn't support wireless AA. They had good customer service but did not give me any of the answers I wanted to hear.

 

[bonifacio]

The output from the factory headunit to the amp was absolute trash so I have a Pioneer DMH-WC6600NEX showing up next week with the Maestro kit. Absolutely love the Maestro in the tC. It should retain most of everything, but I don't mess with those vehicle settings hardly ever once I get them set.

I did look into the Stinger too but it's just not good value for money. Loses a bunch of settings and doesn't support wireless AA. They had good customer service but did not give me any of the answers I wanted to hear.

Nice. I was looking at that and the 7600 since I used to have an Avic-D3 way back. But I was reading a lot of the 7600's were dying on people. Impulse bought the Sony and grabbed an AAWireless. I'm just meh. I'd be curious if the truck's settings carry over. Is that what the Maestro does or just steering controls and stuff?

 

[drizzoh]

Nice. I was looking at that and the 7600 since I used to have an Avic-D3 way back. But I was reading a lot of the 7600's were dying on people. Impulse bought the Sony and grabbed an AAWireless. I'm just meh. I'd be curious if the truck's settings carry over. Is that what the Maestro does or just steering controls and stuff?

Carrying over isn't the issue, being able to adjust them after the fact is. It ties into obd2 and adds the option to view gauges and cels, look at tire psi, etc, also. It's hard to say exactly what will be different without having the unit but it should be at least mostly the same. Will find out when it shows up but either way audio quality and usable features > ability to change how long my interior lights stay on.

 

[bonifacio]

Carrying over isn't the issue, being able to adjust them after the fact is. It ties into obd2 and adds the option to view gauges and cels, look at tire psi, etc, also. It's hard to say exactly what will be different without having the unit but it should be at least mostly the same. Will find out when it shows up but either way audio quality and usable features > ability to change how long my interior lights stay on.

Yeah. I'm now regretting the easy route and jealous of your HU on the way. Damn impulse purchases.

So... in the wheel well. I'm guessing you removed or cut the fender liner then lined it with the Second Skin? What layer did you use there? I never got my liner to lay flat and was thinking about making my own with a HDP roll I bought, but keep putting it off. Never thought of lining it. Considered trashing it and just shit coating it with paint or spray on liner. But that just sounded horrible. Mind sharing pics?

 

[drizzoh]

Yeah. I'm now regretting the easy route and jealous of your HU on the way. Damn impulse purchases.

So... in the wheel well. I'm guessing you removed or cut the fender liner then lined it with the Second Skin? What layer did you use there? I never got my liner to lay flat and was thinking about making my own with a HDP roll I bought, but keep putting it off. Never thought of lining it. Considered trashing it and just shit coating it with paint or spray on liner. But that just sounded horrible. Mind sharing pics?

View attachment 60620

Not sure what you're asking about the liner. There was nothing there so I just put a layer of Damplifier pro over the section against the cab. There is a small splash shield on the outermost part of the wheel well and I put some heatwave pro on the back side of that. There's nothing where the front arrow is pointing to, that's where the Ark's end, factory never covered that part either.

 

[bonifacio]

Not sure what you're asking about the liner. There was nothing there so I just put a layer of Damplifier pro over the section against the cab. There is a small splash shield on the outermost part of the wheel well and I put some heatwave pro on the back side of that. There's nothing where the front arrow is pointing to, that's where the Ark's end, factory never covered that part either.

Like angle of a photo. Asking if you'd take a pic so I can see it.