I have driven 4x4 Tacomas for over 10 years and loved every minute of it. But, my wife's car was wrecked and it was time to get her a new vehicle. A friend of ours has an 07 Black Cherry and she always loved it. So, there just happened to be a black diamond 2007 FJ at a dealership down the road from my work and we took it for a test drive. She had to have it, so we got it. It is a 4x2, but I really loved driving it... it was lots of fun! This was in October of 2008. I ventured onto a lot in January 09 simply to look at an FJ. The salesman told me they were knocking $6000 right off the top, so I called my credit union, told them what I wanted, traded in my 2005 Tacoma and ended up with a 2008 Brick FJ 4x4 Auto transmission with upgrade package #2 (ATRAC, etc, etc). I actually don't miss the Tacoma at all now! Here it is stock:
Next was to decide what mods suited my needs. This is my daily driver... I drive about 22 miles to work everyday, so I knew I did not want to add heavy bumpers, huge tires, weighty skids, etc, etc. However, I will be off-roading occassionally. So, my first mod was a 3" Rough Country lift:
I also added the OEM rock rails and skid plate. I'm not really a rock crawler, so I only need some protection and I need it to be somewhat light. The OEM should work fine. A little extra lighting never hurts, so I added Hella 500's to the bumper with the OEM switch. For now, they are set up factory, but I will eventually mod them for use without the brights.
Next, I needed some tunes... the factory just was not cutting it. So, I purchased the Kenwood DNX 6140; built in Garmin Nav and bluetooth, dvd player, IPOD interface, etc, etc. Amazing unit! I then upgraded the speakers: JL Audio components in front (woofer in door, tweeter in dash), JL Audio 3.5's in the rear pillars, and a JL Audio 8" sub in the factory sub box. These are pushed with a Memphis 4 channel amp under the seat. It sounds amazing now! I only have pics of the unit and sub:
I had already added the TRD Catback exhaust and decided the TRD cold air intake would be nice to add a little oomph and extra MPG:
After reading about a cheaper way to mount the hi-lift jack (I believe it was Singha who posted it), I bought all the clamps and stainless hardware and a 48" jack and mounted it here:
So that is pretty much where it sits today. Next mods will be new tires (either 285/70/17 BFG AT's or Nitto Terra Grapplers) and some recovery gear, and maybe some rooftop lights at some point. I absolutely love driving this thing! I'm looking forward to hitting Uwharrie soon and really trying it out, other than some mud and little hills.
Thanks to everyone on this forum for the wealth of information and inspiration! I have learned tons of great stuff on here.
__________________ 08 Brick 4x4 FJ with upgrade package #2, 285/70R/17 Nitto Terra Grapplers,TRD CAI, TRD Catback Exhaust, 3" Rough Country Lift, OEM Rock Rails & Skid Plate, Hella 500's, Kenwood DNX6140 Nav, JL Audio 6.5" components, JL Audio 4" rear pillar speakers, JL Audio 8" Sub, Memphis 4 channel amp, 48" Hi-lift Jack, Springtail Solutions MPAC side rack; 07 Black Diamond 4x2 FJ, Kenwood 6140 Nav.
Last edited by Snowdogyyz : 08-11-2009 at 08:45 AM.
Congrats on your purchase! I have an 08 brick. I have to force myself not to drive it as much as I want to. Yours looks nice and shiny in those pics. Thank you for posting them. Is yours the 6m or auto transmission?
Looking forward to hearing what other mods you get in to. This forum is a wealth of information! I'm thankful for it as well. J
Thanks! It is an automatic transmission. I added that to the post, so thanks for reminding me! I'm saving up now for the tires. I know it will lower my MPG, but it will look better and perform better when I go wheelin'. I've thought about getting another set of rims to put off road tires on so I can keep the smaller tires for highway driving. I keep my eye on the classifieds!
__________________ 08 Brick 4x4 FJ with upgrade package #2, 285/70R/17 Nitto Terra Grapplers,TRD CAI, TRD Catback Exhaust, 3" Rough Country Lift, OEM Rock Rails & Skid Plate, Hella 500's, Kenwood DNX6140 Nav, JL Audio 6.5" components, JL Audio 4" rear pillar speakers, JL Audio 8" Sub, Memphis 4 channel amp, 48" Hi-lift Jack, Springtail Solutions MPAC side rack; 07 Black Diamond 4x2 FJ, Kenwood 6140 Nav.
You have a great looking truck. You did a great job modding it, but keeping it close enough to stock to make it easy to live with on a day by day basis.
Fabtech 6" Lift + OME 3" 20" BBS rims Nitto 35"s AT,1.25 spacers,Bushwhackers, VR3 The Toy Outfitters bumper ,55 watt fogs,TG sliders, Manik tailight guards, Stallion Light bar,55 watt Baja lights, Cobra 19 SXIV PA, Bandi 4' fire stick, K & N filter, Locker on demand, ATrac hack, VSC & DRL switches, TRD Cat back, Scuba Mod, Garmin Nuvi 200 BlueSeas 6 fuse Interior: leather seats, dual arm rests, dual factory DVD players, Diamond interior trim, Source 10lb, Rubber mats. TT and FJC Badge.
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