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Does anybody post here any more?

7K views 58 replies 23 participants last post by  Dick Foster 
#1 ·
I still consider myself an active member.

So here's an update for anybody that's bothering to look.

I was driving home from work 7-14-15, and this dickhead darts out of a gas station through the traffic in the right lane- right in front of me.

BLAMMO!

I hit him in the driver's side front fender and spun him around 180 degrees.



Yeah, it totaled.

Too bad, too. That was a good truck. I pretty much had all the bugs worked out of it and it ran and drove awesome.

Turns out that dickhead wasn't covered, so my insurance payed me for the truck.

I bought this with the money:





Yeah, it's two wheel drive, but it's straight, and it's clean, and it doesn't need any major work.

I've already fixed a couple small things and I'm kinda digging the comfort level.

Compared to the '01 Taco it's like riding in a limo! It's got a fairly badass stereo in there and the AC kicks ass.

I'll be back in a 4WD pickup again as soon as I can finance it, but for now this is the new ride and it's just gonna have to do.

What about you guys? Is there anybody out there?
 
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#33 ·
No Comment?

Wow. This place IS dead, isn't it?

Oh well.

I put a set of BFG AT KO2 tires on it. Went from 265-70-16 to 265-75-16. Just a little taller. No rubs so far and it doesn't look like stuffing a tire is going to make it rub either.



It seems to like it.
I like it.

Like I said before, I'm going to continue having fun regardless of what this forum does. :winking:
 
#36 ·
O.K., I was out and about a little bit tonight.

So, when I got to an empty and dark section of road I turned the light bar on.

HOLY CRAP! That thing is badass. It was aimed a little low, but I easily adjusted it and it puts out a big, broad beam of bright white light that makes the stock headlights look like a punk.

This thing is totally the best offroad light I have ever driven behind.

It lights up the ground, the road in front of the truck, and even the trees around the road.

If you run up on a surprise using this light you are going WAY too fast!

I got the bar and mounts from Rough Country, and I recommend it two thumbs up. I like the discreet way it tucks up inside the grille, too. Looks like it's supposed to be there.

As if any body was reading this...
 
#38 ·
The new Tacoma's are nothing more then a chevord with a Toyota badge.
But will likely cost the buyer more coin to purchase then the equivlent detroit iron.

But I'll suppose it's purdy to look at... if that makes yer day !? :dunno:

Would seem the old TTORA users are running amok with nowwhere to post !? Lol
I think every purposeful forum has lost out to the FB/twitt 'tard users.
sad really

Must be due to the popular e gizmos installed on 4X rigs these days
obviously instant e gratification is more valued then needing any serious off road capability.

My 1st gen Tacoma is the last Tacoma I'll ever buy from Toyota.
'cause now Toyota just produces another detroit copy.
And I have no "L" tattooed on my forehead.

Tho' I did throw my money at a low mileage '10 Corolla
so's my 1st gen Tacoma isn't utilized as the dd any longer.

I think it's nearing my time to leave this crappy new world...
But I have to out live Dick before I give up ship :D
 
#43 · (Edited)
Yeah. Here's some "How Bright Is It?" shots for that light bar.

I know- My cell phone adjusts for brightness in order to achieve a correct exposure so there's no real comparison here.

In real life the LED bar is substantially brighter than the headlights but these pics do sort of show the the way that the thing lights up more than just the road, and the color difference of the beam.

Here's my low beams on a dark road.

Not too bad of a view, but limited. I can see the road, but not much else.



Here's my high beams, shot from exactly the same position. It's blurry (Must have wiggled it when I worked the shutter button), but here you can see that there's a telephone pole on the right, and a lamp pole on the left. Better than the low beams for sure.




And here's the low beams again with the light bar on.

Yeah. The road in front the truck looks washed out in this pic, but in real life it's clearly visible and bright as fuck. Note that you can clearly see the entire telephone pole on the right and the light pole on the left. Also note that the NEXT telephone pole down the road is visible too. If there was a deer there by that light pole about to jump out in front of the truck, he would be clearly visible as well.

This light bar is badass.



Get it HERE: http://www.roughcountry.com/toyota-tacoma-30in-led-bumper-kit-70621.html
 
#44 ·
Hey Frank... of all the different gen Toyota trucks you've had, which do you like best so far and think was most capable and joyful to drive? I realize your latest one is brand new so that should probably jump to the head of the list, but I'd be curious to see what you thought after spending some more time in it.
 
#45 ·
The new truck is very similar to the second gen in the way it drives and feels. But its a lot quieter and smoother. It feels more solid.

The second gen frame was flexier...

More later. Let me drive it some more. (750 miles now)

Sent from my cellphone by TapaTalk
 
#46 ·
The first gen trucks were small. A lot of people want to say that the small size was better for off road use, but I find the roomier cabs on the second and third gen trucks a lot more comfortable. (I'm 6'4")

The third gen truck is far quieter. They have done their homework and fixed all the wind noises.

The seats in the third gen are better, too. They are covered in a fabric that feels sorta like denim, and the foam padding is firm and well shaped. I noticed that the road trip down to the beach and back didn't wear me out like it did in my other Tacomas.

I'm not sure, but I think the suspension is softer in the third gen and it has more damping. It just seems to have more "Cush" to it.

I know that 9 inches (Give or take) is what Toyota quotes for clearance under all three series of trucks.

But when you drive them, the first gen feels harsh and bottoms easier. The second gen is better, and the third gen feels like it has more travel.

The numbers might not back that up, and it might just be the way the springs and shocks are tuned- I don't know. But that's what I feel when I drive them.
 
#47 ·
The motor in the first gen was awesome. It made 190 horses. They ran good and cause few problems.

The motor in the second gen was awesome. It made 240 horses. They ran good and caused few problems.

The motor in the third gen is an unknown... It's supposed to make 280 horses. It's high tech as fuck.

11.8/1 compression ratio. It injects fuel directly into the combustion chamber. It has the ability to move all four camshafts around at will and is reported to get far enough away from "Conventional" valve timing that they are not calling it an Otto Cycle motor any more. Now it's an "Modified Atkins Cycle" whatever that means.

I can tell you that I found the first gen motor to be adequate, but not exciting. It would get you around just fine but it never really shined. Lots of folks supercharged them for that exact reason.

The second gen trucks would stomp a mud hole in the first gen trucks ass in a drag race.

Even when the first gen truck was supercharged.

Even with the first gen supercharged and extra injectors and stand alone ECU systems.

No contest. I beat up several of them with all of Gadget's goodies on them.

The second gen truck had grunt all over the place and I really enjoyed that motor. My fourth gen 4runner has the same motor and it runs great and does about 20 MPG. Love it.

The third gen motor claims more peak horsepower, but it seems mild when just driving around.

At half throttle, it accelerates like a first gen does at half throttle. It does the job, but it's not exciting.

I think Toyota has manipulated this motor to produce good gas mileage at less than half throttle. They have the cam timing and fuel delivery setup so it won't gulp fuel just driving around.

I got 19 1/2 MPG on my first tank of gas. Not bad for a tight motor.

So far, I have not done a full throttle pull, or even a 3/4 throttle pull, so I cannot comment about what happens up there.
 
#48 ·
My first gen was an off road. It had a locker and a three speed automatic transmission, and a manual shift transfer case. The locker was electric. I did the "Grey Wire Mod" so it worked at any time. There was no traction control, no anti-lock brakes, or any other electronic traction devices.

The electric locker worked fine and never caused any problems. It clicked in and out at will.

The transmission was pretty Plain Jane- it worked well and really never got noticed. It did it's job.

The popular opinion is that the manual shift is the best option, and it did offer a neutral position- and an extra warning light because park doesn't work when the transfer case isn't in gear. I thought that the "J" shifter took up much needed room in the little truck, and never saw the supposed reliability advantage because I have never had a drive line failure in any of my Toyotas.

My second gen was a Sport.

It had a four speed automatic transmission, an electric operated transfer case, and a limited slip differential. It had anti-lock brakes, and no other traction devices.

The electric transfer case worked well. You had to operate it the way it wants to be operated, but it worked every time. You couldn't just grab the knob and go from 2hi to 4lo. It had to fully engage 4hi first, then stop and find neutral for 4lo. I liked it.

The transmission was a little different. Some people complained that it shifted too much, and others didn't like the way the fly by wire system worked. Obviously, having more gears makes for more shifting. The problem the spastics were complaining about was just the fact that continuously moving the gas pedal around caused continuous changes in how the motor tried to provide what the driver was asking for. It drove some of them crazy. There were some hilarious threads on that. I learned early on that a steady gas pedal allowed the system to work smoothly and liked the way it drove.

The limited slip diff was a hoot on wet pavement. By punching the throttle, I could make it grab, and break both rear tires loose. That allowed some cool drifter type shenanigans, but it really didn't interfere with normal driving. Off road, it was nearly useless. It required a pretty heavy application of throttle to make it work, and driving through a ditch at an angle would not cause it to do anything at all. It acted like an open diff in the dirt.

The anti-lock brakes on the second gen were OK, but the rest of the brake system sucked. It took more brake pedal pressure than any power brake vehicle I ever drove. There were many complaints about the air conditioner cycling, and the increased idle speed would make the truck move- because you had to STAND on the damn pedal to make it not move. Also, the rear brakes would get out of adjustment easily. You had to use the stupid pedal operated parking brake to adjust them. When they got loose, the leading side of the brake shoes would pull away from the top post and wedge in the drum.

Then, while you were sitting there at a red light, the shoes would spring back into position. This released the rear brakes and also let go of the spring wrap created when you stopped.

It made a thump sound and the truck moved backwards about an inch or so. It felt like the guy behind you bumped the back bumper. LOTS of threads complaining about THAT! I put badass pads on my front discs, and used that dumbass parking brake every time I got out of the truck and found the brakes barely acceptable like that.

My third gen is an off- road. It has an electric locker, an electric transfer case, a six speed automatic transmission, anti-lock brakes, traction control, vehicle stability control, and crawl control.

This six speed transmission appears to be very similar to the second gen in the way it works, it just has more gears spaced closer together. Like the second gen, it has some folks complaining that it shifts too much and acts crazy sometimes. Like the second gen, I found that a steady foot provides smooth operation and so far I like the way the transmission works. It has a "Sport Mode" where the shifter becomes a sort of manual control. Push forward to up shift one gear, pull back to down shift one gear.

It seems to work OK, but there is a little delay between shifter operation and the actual shift. It should allow good control off road.

The transfer case looks and operates the same as my second gen, but the actuator that does the shifting is bigger. Like twice the size of the second gen. What that's about is a mystery to me. It seems to work fine.

The locking diff is different than what was in my first gen. The first gen had an electric motor on the driver's side of the diff. The third gen has a metal shield on the passenger side of the diff with a wire going under it. Not sure how it works, but it's changed. The second gen had issues with the locking diff and a bunch of folks broke them. Maybe this is how they solved that problem? It seems to work the same as the old one did, but doesn't make noise when it goes in and out. My first gen made obvious clicking sounds and this one is quiet.

The brakes on the third gen are EXCELLENT! They eliminated the vacuum boost and went to an electric brake assist system. It offers good feel, good power, and so far they have done nothing stupid at all. Happy! Happy! Happy! Far better than the first two gens.

The traction control devices are serious on this truck. Toyota introduced A-TRAC on the FJ cruiser, and everybody loved it. That system uses the brakes to stop a spinning wheel, and forces the opposite wheel to push the truck forward. This truck has that system on the front and rear, and it's on a switch. Normally off, I can hit a button up on the ceiling and activate it.

Where this truck gets different is the crawl control. That system also controls the motor while manipulating the brakes. You have probably seen the video where they intentionally dig the truck in until it's sitting on the suspension and then just drive it out of a seriously stuck situation. I played with that system a little at the beach and it's interesting to say the least. The damn truck sounds like robocop because of the brake actuators and it sure seems to be working the shit out of making all four wheels pull.

When you couple those systems with the locker, you get a lot of options that should make this truck more capable than those that came before it.

We shall see, won't we. :smile2:
 
#56 ·
Yeah exactly. Talk about assumptions. LOL
What anger is the clown talking about anyway? Wyatt and DeMello's stuff just ain't cheap. Nice it is, even first class but cheap it ain't. I still remember their first swap and wondering where the hell they were going to put the Panhard bar half way though. It was one of those oops moments.
 
#57 ·
So now you resort to name calling. How childish are you intending to get here? If jealousy and name calling isn't enough what will you do next? Hold your breath?

Like I said... Sucks to be you.

Sent from my cellphone by TapaTalk
 
#59 ·
I wonder if he knows that it's likely that I paid more in just income taxes last year than his total income for the last two years combined and that I've been retired for some years now. I guess some folks just like talking out of their asses. :grin2:
 
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