I haven't had a 4 wheel vehicle in 15 years that has "stirred the soul" enough to even care to mod it or personalize it to my own tastes. I've been a pretty hardcore sportbike rider for many many years and have built a couple, IMO, pretty special bikes that were an extension of my personality.
The FJC is now that special vehicle to me. She looks unlike any other vehicle and immediately caught my eye. <3 at first sight. It wasn't till after I had decided on the FJ that I started checking out the various forums and found out the hardcore following for this relatively new and capable vehicle. Since I am a complete noob to offroading I hope to get advice when asked and/or as important when offered by others with more real world experience with carefully picking mods so as not to waste my time and money by going in a direction that offers little practical worth or does not put me in reach of my goals of this build.
So begins my first 4 wheel build thread, let the fun begin....
The base:
2010 / Silver Fresco / 5AT / Upgrade pkg 2 / convenience pkg 2 / roof rack
Purchased on May 19, 2010 w/60 miles on the odo.
The goal: (vague now and subject to refinement)
A capable, aggressive looking, mild offroader that still retains alot of on road driveability manners and retain the currently meager MPG.
First mods I want to go after are the protection mods, gotta keep the investment covered. After a bit of research and tons of recommendations I decided to go with a full ricochet under armor kit;
Complete Set Includes:
Front Bash Plate
Engine Skid Plate
Transfer Case Skid Plate
Supporting Cross Member
Fuel Tank Skid Plate
Transfer Case Skid Plate
Rock Block Set (replaces vulnerable cat tube protecter bolts)
Control Arm Guards
The main reason I went with this setup is for a balance of protection vs. weight.
Installed:
Now that its all mounted up I am even more confident that this was the perfect skid set for my needs.
From ordering to finished install the customer service from ricochet was 5stars. Product quality was top notch.
Ordered monday, delivered thursday, installed on friday. First thing this morning had them installed in about 1 1/2 hrs with technical and brute force assistance from my daughter, Tori.
They definitely seem solid enough to fend off rocks and hopefully dumb ass door dingers in parking lots.
As wonderful as the FJammer is I decided I wanted an upgraded headunit.
Kenwood DNX7160 - tuner/sat/dvd/bluetooth/garmin nav.
So far this deck is doing exactly what I needed it to do. Very happy with it !!
Also added my own version of the "scuba mod" LoL
Since the visibility from the drivers seat is somewhat poor, I went ahead and tried out these lil convex mirror helpers on both sides. They do help ALOT with lane changes and such.
Although not a a mod per se, I added the oem billet door sills. Certainly cheaper than having the dealer install (peel and stick) and IMO look pretty sharp.
Hehe.. one personal touch I've been waiting on for a month finally showed up.
After a couple months waiting for it to come in, just installed the leather seat covers from clazzio. Remarkable fit and finish, I also get to enjoy the new car smell all over again. Ahhhh.
On a sad note, I had ordered a TRD CAI from northridge toyota for my 2010 and after it arrived and I started to install it, a big nogo. I come to find out what they sent me was the CAI for a 2009. Seems that there isnt even one available for my year. Bummer.
Returned it and now time to plot for the next mod.... I'm thinking suspension.. Icon stage1 perhaps.
Mine were ordered as " black pvc outer, grey leather inserts, black stitching"
The grey leather is very complimentary to the silver door inserts. One thing to note is that even though this combo is not listed as special order, it is. It took a couple months for them to come in, but IMO it was worth it. The fit and the seam alignment is pretty spot on. The only thing that I am worried about is how the pvc will hold up where the arm rests rub the seat side. The covers fit very tight but they have some thickness to them and it makes for some friction when you raise and lower the arm rests. Time will tell if they hold up well at that spot.
Edit: in the pics the arm rests are not installed yet. I wanted to leave the covers on a couple days so that the covers could kind of stretch and settle in before I made the cuts in them to mount the arm rests. They are now installed.
After a couple months waiting for it to come in, just installed the leather seat covers from clazzio. Remarkable fit and finish, I also get to enjoy the new car smell all over again. Ahhhh.
Arcanine is a bright orange fire-type Pokemon. My FJ is bright and orange... I call it the "Chihuahuan desert camouflage kit," as red dirt desert is where I love to go.
I'm much handier with electronics than I am with automotive mechanics, so most of what I've done to my FJ so far is small and...
Back Bay FJ - Maine Army Green FJC
As it sits today (UPDATED 4/27/19)
Here is the updated mod list (parts I have added are in RED):
Suspension/drivetrain:
ICON 2.5 Coilovers and 2.5 Rears with Remote Reservoirs and CDC
Toytec HD rear springs
ICON tubular UCA w/ upgraded Delta Joints
Metal...
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I came from a land rover that didn't really need much from factory to conquer most California trails. Realistically, I don't have time to upkeep an old vehicle . But after...
^^Current ^^
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Picked it up Sep...
Hello, a little background on me: The FJ is the first vehicle I've officially owned and I bought it from my dad, 06/19/15 is when I traded in the dirty license plate and was handed a shiny new one. I'm 20 yrs old (as of this post) and attend college for Engineering. I've been hooked on Toyota...
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