Two thumbs up. Looks great.
When are you gonna take the rig in and weigh her

 

Corey, please lower your Comprehensive deductible to zero!

Nice arrangement. My concern is with the rear lateral mount. Twice now I've had the topmost adjustable crossbar loosened and moved back by low hanging branches. Your axe is positioned so that if a branch hit it hard enough it could (theoretically) pivot down into the roof or door. The side longitudinal mount might be safer, though tougher to get to than the rear mount.

 

Not sure what it weighs Todd, close to 5K I imagine.

Bob, the mounts are not mounted to the slats though, only to the round bar that makes up the frame of the rack.

I put it on the back this time to be more aerodynamic.
Without the axe/shovel being there, and it the mounts were on the side, they would create drag like the Hi-Lift mounts do on the other side.

With the bare mounts on the back, it is less drag.
Every little bit helps on the beast.

Got around 18.5 MPG though last fillup.
Not bad for combined city/freeway for such an unaerodynamic rig with weight to it.
But then I am light on the throttle too.

 

Listed weight is about 4500 pounds for the 4x4 6 manual. 2x4 and automatic are both lighter.

 

This is a mod I have been wanting to do for awhile, but have put it off.
Why?
The stock FJ Cruisers exhaust sounds pretty darn good, but lacking that extra loudness and rumble I enjoyed with the Magnaflow muffler my '91 4Runner had on it.

No need to replace the whole exhaust system, as the FJ already has nice 2.5" tubing in place from the muffler back.

I had a local shop test fit the Magnaflow 11226 which has a 14" body, and 20" overall length achieved with 2 x 3" ends.
The fit was great, and it tucks up higher than the stock muffler did.

I tooled around this morning, and it seems I have a bit more low end torque, but the best part is it just sounds so darn cool.
If you do not like anything louder than the stock FJ Cruiser muffler, then this can is not for you!

It is not overly loud like some, just a nice low tone and some grumble/rumble to it.

Whether gently pulling away from a stoplight or goosing it, it lets you know that it is there.

Having really liked the Magnaflow I had on my '91 4Runner, this is a warm welcome to my new rig, I really dig the sound of it.

Here is the stock Toyota muffler.



Here is the Magnaflow 11226 muffler.



Here is a 3.83 MB video I compiled from three shorter ones I shot this morning.
The videos do not do it justice, it sounds so much better in person.
Click here for the vid.

I will get some better ones next time I go off roading, and in 4low, it will sound killer driving up a hill.

If you want a little more loudness from your FJ Cruiser, I do not think this muffler will disappoint.

 

Power........Sounds good.

 

He he, more than I am use to.
The FJ is the fastest vehicle I have ever owned.
More power even than my first car, a '68 327 Hurst Competition Plus 4 speed equipped Chevelle.
The FJ would blow it away.

 

May the (VVT-i) Force be with you!

Sounds great, def louder than the TRD and you can hear a 'whoosh', almost like a CAI.

 

So it is a tad louder than the TRD exhaust.

You can see some of the wind damage too Bob that we had before Christmas in the latter part of the vid, as I was shooting out the passenger window since the exhaust is on that side.

That guy's fence got mangled in a few places by some good size trees getting blown down.

That hill I am going up twice is quite steep too, the 4Runner use to have a hard time going up it when the engine was cold.

I am really happy with the installation of this.

 

Yeah, you've had a bear of a Winter there. I don't mean to discourage you, but a friend who survived back-to-back record hurricane seasons during his time in Florida moved there right before the storms hit.

Good to hear you're happy with the mod, it sounds amazing. Give it a couple more tanks for the ECU and AI tranny to adjust and hold on...

 

So they have to adjust to when you open up the exhaust a bit?

I got a kick out of it this morning.
Coming into work I turned down this one two lane street like I always do.
A semi was in the lane to my left, and he was inching closer to me when I was right behind him in my lane.

I barely pushed the pedal down and it threw me back against the seat and I swooshed on by him at breakneck speed.

It was fast before, but with the hi flow can on here, it opens up quicker.
I would like to see if it improves the MPG a bit, but I can not overcome the temptations to goose it from time to time

I do not remember my '68 Chevelle ever having such low end torque like this.

 

Aye, the systems can compensate for easy mods like exhaust and CAI within a limited range.

I still don't understand how it would deliver better fuel economy while developing more power.

 

So new Pioneer does not even have any info on their website yet.
Cartoys where I bought and had it installed has some good into on it.
http://www.cartoys.com/Default.cfm/p...tion_Receiver/
Click the full description link to get tons of info on it.

This will work out great later when I decide to add back in old school Rockford Fosgate 500a2 amp.
Will have to look into a good subwoofer setup, as there is not enough room back there for my JL Audio 15" W6.
Darn!

Here are a few pictures of the unit.

The backup camera, mounted above the recovery shackle.



A few shots of the iPod interface on the touch screen.
You control every single function of the radio, iPod, navigation, settings, by the touch screen.
You only have to turn the volume control know and two other buttons to get the main menu or to show the map of where you are when you are driving.



Here is the radio station that shows on the screen



Here is the navigation map that shows on the screen



Here is a 5.5 or so MB WMV file showing the D3 in action.

This is my first navigation headunit I have owned, and I am very impressed with it.
The store manager came out personally to give me a quick run down on how to operate it, although I had been reading the manual there for two hours while it was being installed.

I punched in my home address and the unit instructed me exactly how to get home, even when I deviated from the route to try and mess it up.

Eventually I will have the stock speakers replaced, and then my sub amp and a dual 10" subwoofer setup installed in the back.

I really like this unit, and if you are looking for a good DVD navigation headunit, go demo one out at a car audio store.
I think you will be impressed with it.

You can also play videos off of your iPod on the screen too.

The backup camera is very impressive, and the way he mounted the camera I have a nice wide angle field of view.
You can see that in the video I made.

 

That is so nice. I like the back up camera.
I'll try and swing by "AGAIN" to check out the new toy

 

Thanks Todd.

The backup camera works great in the dark too, just got back from grocery shopping, pitch black out still.

I never thought I would be a candidate for an in dash DVD navigation setup, but let me tell you:

1. No fumbling for a road map, having to take your eyes off the road to look at it.
2. No fumbling for a Mapquest/Yahoo map you print off the Internet, and no taking your eyes off the road.

I use to use road maps all the time while traveling to Eastern WA. many years ago.

You do not even have to look at the screen and view the real time moving map, you just listen to the voice commands telling you ahead of time you have a turn coming up, then when you get near the turn she tells you again where to turn.

Same exact principle as the Tom Toms and other GPS units that sit on top of your dash.

I could have added a Blue Tooth gizmo to it too for truly hands free cell phone, but my cell phone does not have Blue Tooth, and I am not into talking on the tele while driving anyways.

 

Very clean installation, looks factory, congrats!

I've used both a backup camera (Prius) and rear parking sonar (FJ) and prefer the sonar. The Toyota backup camera distorts with the fisheye lens, especially to the sides. Hope yours is better.

I couldn't tell from the specs, can you load other maps like Natl. Geo. topos? That would be cool, then you could slip in your "How To Get Unstuck" DVD when needed!

 

Thanks Bob.
I do not think this does Topo.

The backup camera is not distorted.
Here it is.
http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=943688

I found out earlier this morning I can have it on all the time instead of just when you hit reverse.
It automatically comes on whenever you move the shifter to reverse, but in the map menu is an option to have it on all the time.

It is distracting though, almost as bad as if you were watching a DVD while driving

Just went out again for a quick errand, and I could see the people in the vehicle behind me when we were stopped.

I will have to shoot a video later of how it looks like when you are driving forward and have the cam on the screen.

 

Nice setup Corey. Did you have the factory Sub before? I looked at Crutchfield and it says you would loose both the factory sub and the aux jack.

 

Thanks Wayne.

No, I did not opt for the factory sub, as I knew I would eventually be putting some type of setup in the rig in the future.

I will get one of those 2x10 or 2x12 enclosures that fit where the factory sub went.
http://www.smartcart.com/FJCruiser/c...item_num=Boxp1

http://www.wickedcas.com/gallery/mai.../fjcruisermbx/



The only time I used the aux input was for the iPod before I got the DICE unit to run the iPod, which was better sounding that using the aux input.

 

I'm sure I could wire in the Aux jack but it might take a bit to do the factory sub.

My head hurts after chasing wiring diagrams


Oh - and where did they put the GPS antenna?