drizzoh's build thread

[drizzoh]

So the Hammer Hangers allowed my downtravel to increase by about 2" which meant my 22" brake lines were no longer sufficient. I called up Crown and had them make me a 25" rear set and now I can flex this thing out without worrying about them being my limit straps. While I had the wheels off, I also swapped on these Durago BD92010402 electrophoretic coated drums. The stock ones had no mechanical issues but no matter how much prep I did I could not keep paint from flaking off of them. Hopefully they will hold up better, but if the Durago's end up flaking then I'll have the OE's sand blasted and Cerakoted.

Vs the stock drums. They looked like absolute crap behind the TE's:

 

[gelsi2033]

So the Hammer Hangers allowed my downtravel to increase by about 2" which meant my 22" brake lines were no longer sufficient. I called up Crown and had them make me a 25" rear set and now I can flex this thing out without worrying about them being my limit straps. While I had the wheels off, I also swapped on these Durago BD92010402 electrophoretic coated drums. The stock ones had no mechanical issues but no matter how much prep I did I could not keep paint from flaking off of them. Hopefully they will hold up better, but if the Durago's end up flaking then I'll have the OE's sand blasted and Cerakoted.

Vs the stock drums. They looked like absolute crap behind the TE's:

You have a link to those coated drums? I only found on ebay but not available. I did POR15 high heat about 3 months ago and I can see it won't be long before I have to redo it.

 

[drizzoh]

You have a link to those coated drums? I only found on ebay but not available. I did POR15 high heat about 3 months ago and I can see it won't be long before I have to redo it.

Time will tell if these last, but I grabbed them from RockAuto. I don't see them anymore on the site to grab the link for though.

How do you like those Archive bump stops? Thinking about upgrading from my Superbumps in the rear.

 

[gelsi2033]

Time will tell if these last, but I grabbed them from RockAuto. I don't see them anymore on the site to grab the link for though.

How do you like those Archive bump stops? Thinking about upgrading from my Superbumps in the rear.

Absolutely worth it and clearly spec'd to optimize travel with hangers. I don't even notice they are there. As you know @ARCHIVE really knows his stuff when it comes to taco rear suspension and this is no exception. Before flipping I had sumos in the rear and they were just the wrong application for me.

 

[drizzoh]

Absolutely worth it and clearly spec'd to optimize travel with hangers. I don't even notice they are there. As you know @ARCHIVE really knows his stuff when it comes to taco rear suspension and this is no exception. Before flipping I had sumos in the rear and they were just the wrong application for me.

Awesome, figured as much. I feel like the Wheelers are limiting my uptravel a bit and feel pretty firm when I do hit them. They're amazing up front, but far from perfect in the rear.

I've heard the Sumo's are pretty stiff if you're not super weighed down.

 

[drizzoh]

Took advantage of the long weekend and cut a big hole in the truck to add the driver side bed cubby that Toyota removed from the 2020+ trucks. I lost a lot of interior storage with the audio install so I wanted to regain as much as I could to use for basic recovery gear and whatever else I haven't been able to carry. Aside from making a huge mess, it was a pretty easy install. Went full OEM down to the bed bolts and I think it turned out pretty good. Picked up a nutsert tool and it is the coolest thing, I'm going to be putting M6's all over the place now lol.

Part numbers:
64742-04010 Pocket Box
64074-04011 Cover
90148-A0006 (x6) Bolts

The OEM bolts are M6 thread pitch and use a t25 torx.

Also picked up a Smittybilt recovery hitch that hopefully I won't need to use. I probably won't leave it installed but I don't hate the look.

 

[drizzoh]

Got the KDMax Pro 10 tune early and am now able to report that it is just better all around than 9 was. Tip-ins and shifts are much smoother, and somehow my mpg actually seems to be going up. Awesome upgrade, definitely worth flashing over 9. +33ft/lbs isn't bad either.

Took advantage of the Memorial day sale and picked up these sweet Charvonia Designs billet tie downs. These things are stout. I ordered them in the textured black powdercoat. They are a nice upgrade from the wimpy factory pieces. The only downside is they came with polished hardware which stood out way too much against the black, so I painted all the hardware black with frame paint before installing.

I think they're the last mod I'm doing to the bed and they finish it off pretty nicely. I flipped them to hide the branding as it was a little too busy for my taste. They aren't very noticeable from the rear, but they look significantly beefier when you see them from the side view (alsoooo mmmmmm that storage compartment tho).

While the paint was drying, I thought it would be the perfect time to yank out the most obnoxious speaker in the world. No more beep when opening the door now! This was the last super annoying thing about this truck. The silence is beautiful.

Beep speaker removal vid: How to Remove Warning Beeper From a Tacoma - YouTube

 

[GTGallop]

Took advantage of the long weekend and cut a big hole in the truck to add the driver side bed cubby that Toyota removed from the 2020+ trucks. I lost a lot of interior storage with the audio install so I wanted to regain as much as I could to use for basic recovery gear and whatever else I haven't been able to carry. Aside from making a huge mess, it was a pretty easy install. Went full OEM down to the bed bolts and I think it turned out pretty good. Picked up a nutsert tool and it is the coolest thing, I'm going to be putting M6's all over the place now lol.

Part numbers:
64742-04010 Pocket Box
64074-04011 Cover
90148-A0006 (x6) Bolts

The OEM bolts are M6 thread pitch and use a t25 torx.

Also picked up a Smittybilt recovery hitch that hopefully I won't need to use. I probably won't leave it installed but I don't hate the look.

Part numbers:
64742-04010 Pocket Box
64074-04011 Cover
90148-A0006 (x6) Bolts

Just ordered from Toyota?

 

[drizzoh]

Part numbers:
64742-04010 Pocket Box
64074-04011 Cover
90148-A0006 (x6) Bolts

Just ordered from Toyota?

Yup. I found a bundle on eBay with a full new kit from a Toyota dealership. It would be significantly cheaper to buy used, but all the used boxes I found were damaged and thought my truck with 5k miles deserved parts that matched.

I just needed the tools to cut the bed and a nutsert tool + M6 nutserts to use to secure the box to the truck. A dremel with plastic cutting disk cut thru the composite bed without any problems. I also used a step-bit to drill the corner holes first to hopefully prevent any cracking from adding this.

 

[drizzoh]

Had a free day this weekend so was able to knock out some small front end mods I've been meaning to do.

The first was to finally throw on the WarFab tie rod sleeves that I got with the group buy like a year ago over on TW. I widened the inner ends of these with my step bit and they threaded on beautifully over the inner tie rod hump. These are heavy, stout pieces, and although they don't completely prevent the tie rods from having issues, they for sure beef it up from stock and should give a bit of protection as well. I think the newer design of these have been shortened a bit to prevent them needing to be modified.

Then I replaced the lower shock bolts with the OEM ones from the 4Runners that have a solid shaft instead of a tapered one. P/N: 90105-14104. Hoping they help extend the life of my misalignment bushings.

And lastly, I finally pushed my front splash shields forward a bit to cut down on the rubbing when turning while flexing. Gained about 1/2" - 3/4" of clearance from this and it looks like it fixed the rubbing on the front side of the wheel well. I still have a bit of rubbing on the back of the fender area under the same conditions, so I get to figure that out next. Thinking the pinch welds might need some persuasion. Pretty successful weekend though.

 

[drizzoh]

Another smol update. Finally fixed my bubbled Qi charger, tested it to confirm it's still useless (lost 1% of battery after 15 min with my Pixel 7 Pro), and then disabled the pad. At least it should stay flat now with no power going to it. Wish the pnp aftermarket one was still available.

Anyways, pic of my center console finally looking proper for the first time ever, since when I picked the truck up with 4 miles on it, it already had the bubble.

Have a plan to repurpose the Qi button, but need to figure out how to do it, and gave Archive some more money, so hopefully another update soon.

 

[GTGallop]

Initially I was excited about the Qi pad. But my iPhone 14 Max Pro inside a Pelican Case doesn't fit right to charge and the 2023 does not have wireless car play as promised. So now I'm thinking it just needs to become a better button that does something cooler than, well nothing. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

 

[drizzoh]

Initially I was excited about the Qi pad. But my iPhone 14 Max Pro inside a Pelican Case doesn't fit right to charge and the 2023 does not have wireless car play as promised. So now I'm thinking it just needs to become a better button that does something cooler than, well nothing. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Agreeeeeed on this. It charged my Pixel 5 okay but won't make a dent on my Pixel 7 Pro. Ordered the stuff yesterday to repurpose the button so hopefully it turns out how I planned.

 

[drizzoh]

Realllly smolllll update (literally) but I'm geeking out about it too much to wait to post it with other things.

Last night I swapped out the white cubby light for one that comes on the RAV4 that matches the rest of the blue interior lighting. It's way cooler than it should be and it is a direct swap. No idea why this wasn't the standard part to begin with.

P/N: 81080-42040

 

[drizzoh]

This weekend I replaced my Wheelers U-Bolt Flip Kit & Superbump bump stops with the much nicer Archive Garage Stealth HD U-Bolt Flip Kit & Yellow Speed Bumps bump stops. The Superbumps are fantastic up front, but they're not a good design for the rear and were causing harsh bottom outs and limiting my uptravel due to their foam design and high pedestals. The Archives are a softer but progressive layered material that dampens bottom outs much better. They're also solid on top to not allow for water or dirt to get trapped in the center and can be replaced without removing the base plates. I really like Archive Garage; all their products are so well designed. When the rear end was apart I also added 1/2" axle shims & center pins from Toytec to regain the height lost from adding the longer Archive 3.6" shackles that I installed with the Hammer Hangers. I didn't necessarily do this to make the truck higher, but the ADS shocks are very long and I wanted to allow for maximum uptravel without the shocks bottoming out. With these shims, the truck is only about 1/3" taller than it was before the hanger & shackle upgrade. After installing the shims and Archive Speed Bumps it looks like I gained ~1/2-3/4" of uptravel in the rear and I can no longer feel when the back end bottoms out. Makes the rear feel even closer to matching the front as far as smoothness now. On the quick loop I use for testing it looks like I still have about an inch of uptravel remaining on my shocks which will be perfect for the harder hits and flex I'll experience offroad. Very successful weekend.

Wheelers vs Archive Flip Kits:

Sexy fully-functional pillowy rear suspension <3:

 

[drizzoh]

You have a link to those coated drums? I only found on ebay but not available. I did POR15 high heat about 3 months ago and I can see it won't be long before I have to redo it.

Looks like these are available on RockAuto again: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=13255585&cc=3446952&pt=1744&jsn=947&_nck=HllVxRCey1+2aVRDo41oQcMse1xIL9SL3KmW9dQXSf+AJlcOi2imTXTfOFLWd/Z7qi3oWcgQbtUbHWnXqgzgJhionI8BhWofOMfYWAzcAnoJcOQKDkH4Q7O+u3VsUO2CL4kdpvuduoPHMtlFSB9iymxO/4JXqlkmV61Y8FmRhTSN/Zs7892MG/Zraqm4mYlSinLxKC+5XjGVMz8zLkJl2hZG0dwzHMksgVHTkw/byVx0IbayZwUS7gbBv/JGSs/n1gQzZTIdGb0oyeBT9SRGuHmXvdw5UQa8peH41msBNP//VPQuolKzUwt0cDlWZuU9

It's only been a month, but mine are still holding up beautifully - which is more than I can say for the paint when I did them the last time.

 

[drizzoh]

Spent this weekend knocking out a couple interior upgrades that I've been meaning to do.

After disabling the useless Qi charger, I really wanted to repurpose that button to do something better. I don't like tapping into factory wiring (and this is my first time doing so on the truck) but it's needed in certain situations, like changing the behavior of a factory switch. And since I'll never be reusing the factory Qi charger again (all it did is bubble its pad and heat up my phone), I was okay with doing so. When I pulled the Qi charger a few weeks ago, I inspected it and figured out what wires controlled what. This weekend I tapped it's power and ground wires to power a set of footwell lights from VLEDS. I figure the Qi charger drew a lot more power than a small lighting kit would so it should be fine using the prewired ground, but if this becomes an issue I'll change it. I pieced together my own footwell lighting kit instead of grabbing the pnp kit offered by VLEDS. I don't like how you can't turn them off while driving, and piecing together my own kit with a dimmer was $80 cheaper. It also still provides me with the option to wire them to come on when the doors open, but for now I have only run them off the Qi switch. I really liked how the VLEDS setup is all modular, made running the wiring and doing the actual install very simple. The dimmer control module and all of the wiring is hidden under the center console where I tapped the signal from, and I installed everything with disconnects in case I want to repurpose the button again at some point. Install came out really clean and I'm pretty impressed with how well these tiny LED modules fill the footwells.

Next up was to remove the Anytime Backup Camera kit and rewire the front camera directly to the DMH-WC6600NEX. The ABC kit worked fantastic with the stock hu, but was not besties with the Pioneer. It's not a huge loss though, that was the only switch that didn't match when lit up. After removing the ABC kit both cameras also seem to load quicker. I then reflashed my Maestro to have the backup camera come on if I hold down the End Call Button, so I still have a physical button to load the rear camera. Haven't figured out to make it toggle the front camera with a button yet, as there's not an option that says 'Secondary Camera' in the settings, but hopefully can soon.

Removal of the switch allowed me to install something else in its place so I added the OEM Glass Breakage sensor along with the small style Tundra mic (P/N: 08192-65810). The mic's are exactly the same on the back, but this fits the smaller cutout.

 

[bonifacio]

Nice progress!

 

[drizzoh]

This weekend a buddy and I finally did the cab mount chop that I've been needing to do for a while. Even with the caster at 4 degrees, I still had some gnarly rub with my 285/70's when flexing at full lock. We used the Total Chaos plates and the install took about 4 hours to do - which included a lesson in welding and waiting for a few coats of paint to dry. He did the initial cuts with the 6" wheel and the welding and I did the precision griding and cutting of the cab mount to get the plates to fit just right. That said, the plates fit fantastic with minimal manipulation and allowed for an additional 1.5" of tire clearance. We also folded the pinch welds over and resealed them inside and out with silicone. Doing the full on CMR looks a lot cooler, but I really did not need to go that aggressive as my goals for the truck are only 285/75's. Anyways, install pics:

The homie throwing sparks with the 6" grinding wheel:

Capped:

Painted with VHT Chassis paint:

So much room for activities!

 

[NoirTaco]

Amazing build, just got my new Tacoma yesterday and you gave me so many ideas!

 

[drizzoh]

Amazing build, just got my new Tacoma yesterday and you gave me so many ideas!

Appreciate it! It's an expensive addiction but it's cheaper than drugs.. probably.

 

[bonifacio]

Tell me about this...

Was it just a piece of scrap bent to hold back the liner? I was using Flex Tape and it finally gave up.
Could you post a pic of the cabin mount from underneath? I gotta see how far back they should be and if you cut the opening and weld it shut.
Did mine twice. Think I'm gonna do a third.
Did you see the SDHQ plates?

 

[drizzoh]

Tell me about this...

1) Was it just a piece of scrap bent to hold back the liner? I was using Flex Tape and it finally gave up.
2) Could you post a pic of the cabin mount from underneath? I gotta see how far back they should be and if you cut the opening and weld it shut.
Did mine twice. Think I'm gonna do a third.
3) Did you see the SDHQ plates?

1) Yup, I just cut and bent some spare metal to size and keep pressure against the liner. Secures using the screw under the liner. Painted black with frame paint. It actually started life as one of the brackets that holds the OE horns on the truck. Used them also for mounting my amp rack behind the seat.

2) This pic is ugly but it's what I have right now, the TC plates allow for a pretty aggressive chop: This pic is at full lock while compressing the suspension a bit - look at all the clearance now.

This pic shows how much we cut off before fine-tuning the fit (we just followed their instructions):

3) Nope, didn't consider anything other than TC. I like that they're a solid piece, simple, and allow for a far cut. You can't really chop any further than these - if the TC's don't provide enough clearance then you need more caster or a CMR.

 

[bonifacio]

Guess I gotta find my horn mounts. Nice reuse.

 

[bonifacio]

I wish I had this image when I did mine.

We were guessing and just didn't cut far back enough twice.

I think I actually clear it now.
Just rubbing on the plastic.

Just figured I'll just finish it off for piece of mind.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2493/2184/files/55-1330-G3_Install_Instructions.pdf?18650

 

[drizzoh]

Grabbed the MESO Steering Wheel Control Fix kit pretty much the second it was released and threw it on this weekend. With going back and forth between driving a few different vehicles regularly, I could never get used to the ass-backwards setup this truck came with. Was originally going to just swap out the button and then reprogram my Maestro to match, but it was too easy to just throw in the MESO board while it was apart since the stock board needed to come out anyway. Was a very painless install. Using a magnet helped to pull the 2 T25's for the airbag out so it was able actually come out of the car. They're kept bolts but didn't just fall out of the airbag after loosening like the video would have you think. I also kept the factory-colored steering wheel trim and I like how it looks with the rest of my interior color scheme, but I removed both to add some felt tape between them and the wheel itself to help it sound less plasticky and feel a bit more solid.

I got used to the button placement immediately. With the touch screen Pioneer HU, I rely on the steering wheel controls almost exclusively while driving and it's so nice to not have to think about what button is what anymore. This upgrade worth it just for the 3d aspect with the tactile feel of it.

Comparison:

Installed:

 

[bonifacio]

Beep speaker removal vid: How to Remove Warning Beeper From a Tacoma - YouTube

Eek. Super easy to turn off with Techstream or the Carista app.
Oh yeah, you might be interested. Techstream is worth having. Had to use it a few times. Save me time and money.
I can try to dig up the links and stuff if you want. A lot of options you can configure.

 

[drizzoh]

Eek. Super easy to turn off with Techstream or the Carista app.
Oh yeah, you might be interested. Techstream is worth having. Had to use it a few times. Save me time and money.
I can try to dig up the links and stuff if you want. A lot of options you can configure.

You can't turn the door open beep off with Techstream. I have it lol. I don't miss any of the beeps and this was a very simple solution.

 

[bonifacio]

Grabbed the MESO Steering Wheel Control Fix kit pretty much the second it was released and threw it on this weekend. With going back and forth between driving a few different vehicles regularly, I could never get used to the ass-backwards setup this truck came with. Was originally going to just swap out the button and then reprogram my Maestro to match, but it was too easy to just throw in the MESO board while it was apart since the stock board needed to come out anyway. Was a very painless install. Using a magnet helped to pull the 2 T25's for the airbag out so it was able actually come out of the car. They're kept bolts but didn't just fall out of the airbag after loosening like the video would have you think. I also kept the factory-colored steering wheel trim and I like how it looks with the rest of my interior color scheme, but I removed both to add some felt tape between them and the wheel itself to help it sound less plasticky and feel a bit more solid.

I got used to the button placement immediately. With the touch screen Pioneer HU, I rely on the steering wheel controls almost exclusively while driving and it's so nice to not have to think about what button is what anymore. This upgrade worth it just for the 3d aspect with the tactile feel of it.

Comparison:

Installed:

I was holding off on this saying I'd live with it. But you make me want to get it.

 

[bonifacio]

You can't turn the door open beep off with Techstream. I have it lol. I don't miss any of the beeps and this was a very simple solution.

Oooh. The open door beep. Forgot about that one. That crap would annoy me but I guess I just block it out now.
It is a silly notification. Like no shit, I know my door is open. But then when you close and open it again, it doesn't.
I might have to look at mine again.

Stew really needs a rewards program...