Victory 4x4 Belly Skid Plates

First New Vehicle

AomoriTaco · 2025-12-03T03:11:31+00:00

Howdy folks, I picked up my first new vehicle this past September. A 2025 Tacoma TRD Offroad. I’ve had nothing but vehicles no newer than 2006. Military’s to blame, constant overseas moves and what not, but mainly because I take pride in keeping old things alive. The most constant being a 2002 WRX, my second car that I refuse to let go (bought in 2011). And a 2001 4Runner I finally parted ways with after purchasing the taco. 15 vehicles in total, but finally at 33, I wanted “the finer things”. The 3rd gen 4Runner was my intro to off-roading, and I was heartbroken to make the switch, but after a $5,600 bill… it was time. I truly thought I would drive the 4R till the wheels fell off, but two projects was a little burdening. Luckily she’s staying in the family as my nieces first car. So one day, well, after completing a 2k mile roadtrip where my ears were ringing and lower back hurting, I decided to open CarGurus and “just look”. I was dead set on a TRD Off road, premium package, bronze oxide, and… a 6 speed manual. As luck would have it… there were 2. One in North Carolina, and one in Seattle. Well… I have friends in Seattle… Ticket bought Wednesday, landed Friday, signed the deal that night, drove from Seattle to Colorado Springs over the weekend, and work on Monday. What a great break-in period. Coming from a pretty sick 4Runner (IMO), the taco wouldn’t stay stock for long. Here’s what’s happened so far: - WeatherCraft mats - 33”-ish Wildpeaks - SSW Raptors (do NOT recommend, I’ll explain) - 1.5” leveling up front (again, gimme a sec) - ARB rear hooks - Toyota front hooks, the red ones - TRD Skid plate - SIXTH Element exhaust dump - Banks cold air intake - KC ditch lights - Lazfit front blinkers/DLRs - PPF wrap and tint - OTT tune Here’s my thoughts: No regrets. 6mt for me was the move. And the highest trim possible to boot. I’m a happy camper moving into a newer vehicle. My back appreciates. Lessons learned: Wheels… yeah I did my research, but still decided to send it with a -12 offset. I thought the Enkei RPT1’s I had on the 4Runner were the sexiest wheel out there. JDM with F1 heritage, but without the price tag of a Volk. Original plan was to transfer them over to the taco, but their 16” diameter wouldn’t clear the front calipers, and the PCD bore was too small. M12 vs. M14 on our trucks. Center bore was off too, but hub centric rings were the solution there. Either way, didn’t work out, and so, enter the SSW’s. They are WIDE. Something the Cummins boys would appreciate. But a little too rollerskate-ey for me. Will be changing in future. In the meantime, I had the truck PPF wrapped pretty extensively to protect the paint from the horrendous splashings my truck experiences on a rainy/snowy day. +25 is around the ballpark I’m aiming for next. The leveling kit. Look, I get the whole “$200 lift on a $60k truck” argument. I really do. But I do want to get some bang for buck on the stock suspension. Believe me, King lift is in the shopping cart, but I can’t go TOO hard in the paint right off the jump. Leveling kit helped with rubbing in the front. Removed the crash bar do-hickies, but even with the leveling kit I rub at full lock and when backing up. Specifically the outer edge of the tire contacting the front bumper. This goes back to the aggressive offset. No bueno. Enough with lessons learned, here’s what I enjoy: The 2.4 turbo is a GEM. I had a TRD supercharger on my 4Runner, so induction noises are appreciated. Torque is admirable, and getting up to highway speed is a blast. Add the Banks cold air intake, and now we’ve got some noise! And with the OTT tune?! TOYOTA… WHY MUST YOU TEASE US!! This is how the truck should have been delivered. Aside from that, it’s a new truck… it’s niiiice. Creature comforts are awesome. The cons: 1st gear. It’s short AF. Towing gear I suppose. Coupled with Toyotas ridiculous rev-hang, it made the 1-2 gear change unbearable. Though when off-roading up a steep incline in 4 high, I see the appeal to a short 1st gear. Quick off the line, straight into the longest gear shift. Enough to annoy drivers behind me at the light. The clutch. This thing engages right at the top. Something to get used to. But it’s the positioning of the clutch pedal that bothers me. It’s closest compared to the other pedals, and the lever is a weird angle. Like too vertical. Makes wearing boots unbearable because the tip of my boot hits the lever when pressing, and throws my ‘feel’ off. I am 6’1” with a 34” inseam, so that may have something to do with it. I’m sure there’s some adjustability to play with here. The interior. Toyota did a bang up job designing the interior. Me guesses BMW had a hand in this. But the plastic… lord is it flimsy. The head unit screen and surrounding trim squeak. The sunglass cubby feels incredibly thin in comparison to my 2001 4Runner. And the leather scratches easily, especially when exposed to the nails of an elderly pug. This is my first vehicle with leather seats… so this may be on me. Also the center console handle that every passenger I’ve had goes, “what’s this for?” I wish it were sturdier. And can we talk about the rock climbing hold Toyota decided to install as an oh-sh** handle in the passenger seat?? Just odd. The sensors. Some can be shut off, but damn are the warnings loud! Will be exploring the owners manual for solutions. Honorable mention: Dude, the OTT tune. It’s a must. Butt dyno says we’ve got some buff ponies under the hood, and the rev hang is manageable now. I’m no longer having to wait to shift into 2nd. I come from custom tuning and telling people that off the shelf tunes are trash. This is honestly nice, the folks at OTT made a bad ass tune, and Colorado Toyota Tuning did a fantastic job getting me in on short notice. Took 20 mins, and I couldn’t stop laying into it on the way home. Far more responsive. MPG’s are about the same, but it feels like I’m on stock tires again. She zips. #OTT # PoweredbyOTT #gOTTuned To conclude, I’m incredibly happy. Next is the camping bits and bobs, but for now, I’m just going to enjoy it. Happy to be here.