We had 2 to beat on today, an auto with the BFG's and a 6 speed on the street tires. Man they are fun! Played with the traction control on some ice, that is something wierd, shuts the trottle right off on ya. Was really surprised on how low 1st/low is with the 6 speed, the auto offered no downhill assist at all. I was able to follow the AT equipped truck with my open/open 'Runner, but had a lot harder of a time. Anyway, just thought I'd let ya's know they are quite cool but the running boards gotta go!

 

Man, you are a lucky dog! Cool!

 

I like the new grill too!

 

Nice...
I thought the at came with the downhill assist?

What do you think of the auto and the 4.0?

Did you get to try out the rear locker if it was equiped with one?

 

I've read it has downhill assist, maybe we didn't have it on. There are lots of toys, no time to read the manual so maybe I'm not giving it a chance. Yah, they both had the rear locker, and it works. We also bent a running board and marked up a couple of wheels. Oooops. The traction control was the most dramatic thing on it. When in 2WD with the locker off it is engaged. We got on some ice above 15Kph and got it seriously sideways. An alarm sounds and lights up the dash and seriously detunes the motor and applies brakes until things are under control again. One thing I did notice when we had it 'all twisted up' (ok, front tire up a hill till we lifted the rear on the other side) was the crossover pipe for the exhaust, runs right behind the t-case crossmember and sits a little lower. It'll be crushed for those of us who drive stock vehicles beyond what the manufacturers intended. The auto was nice, but we were driving in an enclosed space but it has a ton of power and gets up and goes. Then again, I'm used to driving a 3.slow.
One thing that I'm not sure I like, the side mirrors have forward facing white lights that come on with the headlights, I'm not sure of their intent, don't seem bright enough to offer any road light, and as markers they look just plain weird. I guess I need to see it in the dark.

 

Those lights on the side mirrors are part of the $1.8K upgrade package I did not spring for.

I am sure I will be shocked with 239 HP compared to the 150 of my 3.slow too

I did not opt for the A-trak, just the rear locker.

 

So you ordered base package then? Isn't it standard fare in B package and up? Or is it a deletable option? Or are things different in the States? I'm judging this by the toyota.ca website.

 

I wanted a plain jane rig and add stuff from there.
Base auto tranny 4x4 rig comes with air con, power windows which I want for sure.

All I did was add in the rear locker and factory rock sliderz, that is it.

Stereo I could care less about, I will be transfering my 15" JL sub over to it sometime along with a good head unit in the future.

First mod will be a DEI alarm like I have now which will give me auto lock/unlock of the doors and peace of mind.
I am not a fan of factory alarms, I have read quite a bit here on the forum here of them acting up.

You can add tons of stuff to the rig such as roof racks, tinted windows for the rear, those lights on the mirrors, GPS, ect.
I am trying to keep the cost down on the rig.

What excites me is even the base stereo system has the aux. plug, so I can plug in my iPod and play all of my MP3s over the stock stereo system.

 

That's cool for sure. The guys in our club said the same thing, buy base with a few options and add stuff from there. We could have use dthe factory sliders today (have only heard about them, not seen), the running boards took a beating.
The 6 speed we had was a B package, which was well equipped. The auto was a C package, which had all the bells and whistles. We couldn't make the backup sonar work, or didn't have it, we don't know. We spent more time testing it offroad, the reporters can test all the other options. Just found out I get to drive it again tomorrow...sweet. We do have pics from a digital camera, not just my cell phone pics, just have to wait to get them. Waiting is the worse.
The C package stereo was decent, but I still preferred the 10" JL and Boston Acoustics in my Runner.

 

awesome pics .. keep em coming!

 

Let us know if you get the chance while climbing a rutted grade how it does unlocked, then kick in the locker.

That little RR button I have seen so many pics of here gets me excited too.
There are a lot of trails up at Greenwater where I go that I would not take my 4Runner on since it is not locked.

I will take the FJ for sure.
These trails can be done with zero body damage, you just need to be locked to rock & roll on some of them.

Can you get vids too with the digicam?

 

I'll do the best I can. Would have had better pics with my digi, but found out (the hard way) that it no longer works. The big wigs will be there tomorrow, so prolly won't get as long behind the wheel, or get to beat on it for that matter.

 

the ATRAC shouldn't be shutting down the throttle, only the VSC does that. Lock the center diff and that should disable the VSC, at least it does on the 4th gen Runners.

 

It wasn't. We were trying to get the VSC to work, to see what it does. As soon as you enabled the locker, or the ATRAC, VSC is off (as the dash indciates). VSC only works in 2WD, unlocked, above 15Kph.

 

I do believe the A-trak does throttle down the rig from what I have been reading and seeing elsewhere, and it does operate way differently than the 4Runner.

 

The only thing I really know, to get ALL the dash lights off we had to turn off every damn switch in the thing. As soon as you turned something on, it lit a lamp or a light somewhere. With all the lights off, get it in a slide and it pretty much shuts down, was a fun experience.
Was cool to see the onboard AC inverter too, although I never did find the output outlet for it...

 

You mean it has a 12 volt to 110 volt converter?

If so, I may not have to add one of these again.

 

It does, but it's only 400 watts (IIRC).

 

That is what my present one is.
Plenty to charge digicam, cordless drill batteries, a laptop, ect.

 

True. The outlet must be in the back somewhere. I guess I need to pop the hatch tomorrow. The last thing I was concerned with was cargo sapce. LoL