[Corey]

Thanks guy's.
FirstToy, does the Cruiser use the same size rear end?
If so, it might.

I would give Jim a jingle over at his shop or drop him an email to find out.

I got another mod I would like to install today, a little chilly here
I have a Ramsey Wireless Remote control for my Warn winch I had on the 4Runner.
Have not got around to installing it yet, but tested it out earlier in the week to make sure it sill works, and it does.

Might shoot for tomorrow on installing.

Then I have 11 days off for Christmas vacation, and plan on getting in some snow time in the mountains to test it out.

[Corey]

Pretty darn cold today to be doing mods, but Santa brought me an early Christmas gift today.
Got a brand new Hitachi cordless drill, so I decided to go out and install my Ramsey Wireless Remote for the winch that I use to have installed on the '91 4Runner.

Piece of cake to install, did not even need the directions, I remembered from the last time.

Basically you mount the receiver box where you want, it needs no power of its own.
You plug in the antenna cable and mount your antenna where you want it, it has a magnetic base.

Then you plug in your winch line that goes to the control box, and the other end goes to the black receiver box.

In the pictures below you will see the parts all laid out in the first picture, the second picture shows the receiver box screwed to the firewall.
The third picture shows the antenna mounted to the ARB bumper via its magnetic base, the fourth picture shows the cable stored by the winch line, and lastly picture five shows the cable plugged into the solenoid.

I am also including a video I shot of me pulling a stuck FJ Cruiser.
Yes, it does happen sometimes, even FJs are bound to get stuck once in awhile.







Click here to view the 1.89 MB WMV format video.
Might be best to right click and save it first, then view it.

Here are some good links to some installs I had linked on my 4Runner section.
Ramsey has a nice video of it in action, and there is some real good reading on this in the other links.
The remote will work up to about 100' away.

Ramseys site with video

More info from Ramsey

Installation and testing from RockCrawler.com

I have used the remote before in the past with the 4Runner, and it sure beats holding the bigger remote that came with the winch.

[focusfj]

Hi Corey,

It's been a while but you may recall my 1990 4runner from a few years back. Maroon with all the regular upgrade trends until it was finally a SAS, rear leaf, 35's, locked, winch bumper, custom everthing monster that was rough on the road :O) I remember your runner....

Anyhow, I too have gone to the new stuff and love it. This truck is being kept at a nice usable "trail" level instead of the complete crawler. I have the same setup for the most part that you have and was wondering if the IPF's were worth the $3bills they are asking for them? I'm curious what makes a fog light so expensive?

Thanks. Just like the Runner you are making a very clean, functional truck. I do have one up on the upgrades for you... Since my FJ is a company truck for the new bike shop I openned, it went as far as to have a trailer painted and lifted to match.

[Corey]

Hi Focus, if memory serves me right, your name is Mike?
I have tons of pics of your old rig on my hard drive.
I always wanted a rear bumper like that for the old rig.

The fog lights are still not wired up yet, we ran out of time during the installation of the bumper and the OME lift.
From what I have read, the fogs are suppose to be top notch quality.

That trailer you have is pretty sweet.
Phil from trdparts4u has matching small camping trailers that can be painted to match an FJ, and also whatever tires and wheels you have on the FJ can go on the trailer too.

I am actually building up this rig faster than the 4Runner.
This rig really excites me, more so than any Toyota has in several years.

[focusfj]

That's me. I drove the Runner for lots of years - wish I could have kept it as a third "toy". Then took the wifes FJ80 and got her the Van. Sold the FJ80 to get the FJ and had the ARB and OME Lift on order before the truck or the ARB even hit the states. I think mine was one of the first blue FJ's in AZ and I know the first with the ARB and lift.

Mike

[Corey]

Drove into work this morning with the Garmin in the new mount.
Useless, it can barely get a lock on the network up in the sky.
It picked up a bit, but not good enough.

I like having the iPod up there though, it is easier to reach the wheel on it to select playlists than reaching below in the other mount.

The Garmin worked great laying it on the dash in the grove of the drivers side glovebox.
I need to find a way to mount it so it points up to read it.
Kind of hard to read it this morning there with it on its side.

Found out my speedo it dead on though, it tracked with the GPS beautifully.

[Corey]

Good news for those wanting to carry a small GPS like the Garmin eTrex line.

I put the Garmin in my lower mount where the iPod use to be.



For some reason even though that mount is lower than my new dash mount, the Garmin on the way home did not skip a lock on the satellites.

Works great there.
From now on the lower mount will be for the GPS, and new upper dash mount will be for the iPod.

Although this does not hold a full size GPS like you would use to find a store or directions, it will hold the smaller GPS units that you take 4wheeling so you can capture your waypoints to put on your PC.

[Kyle95sr5]

You have one nice FJ Corey. I was also a big fan of your 4runner to. You seem to always do very functional mods to your trucks. Keep up the good work.

That voodoo blue trailer looks sweet!

[Corey]

Thanks Kyle.
I try not to over do it on mods, only do ones that I know I will use.

Alas the poor 4Runner, it served me well.
Damn that 3.blow

But I sure love the FJ more.
It has so much more from the factory ready to off road out of the box.

[FirstToy]

Corey, after all you've been thru- you deserve a kick ass new truck!
The mods are looking real good and I bet you win a few more showcar contests than the 91 4R!

[Corey]

Thanks FirstToy, and now for a little much deserved bling

This is purely cosmetic, but I dig it.
Ellis Precision makes a lot of cool aluminum custom stuff.
One item he has been making for the FJ Cruiser crowd is a customized battery clamp hold down.

He can make them in any color you want.
I went with clear anodized, and had YotaTech.com inscribed on it.

The PC remotes are in the first picture to show you the size of the clamp in comparison to them.

[Corey]

I bought a new winchline from Winchline.com to replace my old one.
The old line was good still, and I will either sell it or have it made into 2x50' extensions.

Went with a new line as I was not happy with the clasp hook on the end of the line.
It has seized up on me to many times, and I really liked the safety thimble I saw on Winchline.com's website.



I put up a Tech Article in the Tech section on my forum with much more detail than I will have in this post here.

http://yotatech.com/showthread.php?t=104679

A link to the line I picked up.

[dsa03cjj]

corey, this fj is wicked awesome! mad props

[Corey]

Yep, I know, I already have some good homemade axe/shovel mounts as seen in this thread way back.
And they work great too, but I have to use a ladder to put them up inside the rack on top of the slats, kind of a pita.

I really dig the Fourtrek Hi-Lift mounts I have, and they can also be seen in this thread way back.

Luke at Fourtrek released a dual mount that can hold two Quick Fists rubber mounts, and each set will bolt onto his modular aluminum rings.
The rings for the FJ Cruisers rack are sized at 1.75".

For a change I decided to mount the setup on the rear.
I can easily reach the shovel and axe by opening the door, stepping on my Warn hitch/D ring shackle receiver, then stepping up on top of the bumper.

The first few pics show the rings 24" apart, as I had emailed Bandi how far apart his were, but his shovel has a straight handle, and not the D ring like mine, so I had to make my rings about 18" apart to work.

Please excuse the gunk you will see inside of the open door near the roof in picture two.
The rig hardly gets washed at all during the winter, and that is a combo of dirt, dust, and gunk from the fir tree that hovers over my rig where the rig sleeps at night.

In picture three you can also see the Fourtrek Hi-Lift mounts with the nice big knobbers on them.
Makes it very easy to spin on/off the knobs.

Fourtreks site
Axe/shovel combo
One set will do both tools
Just the axe mount or shovel mounts
http://www.fourtreks.com/modular_axe_mounts.html
http://www.fourtreks.com/modular_shovel_mount.html
They are identical.
If getting the dual mount like I just installed, you will need a set of rings too.
1.75" is the diameter, and Luke also has the shopping cart link already with the FJ Cruiser listed in there.

[waskillywabbit]

Bling bling.

[Corey]

You ding a ling

[Brazenhead]

Looks great Corey! As usual

[BHMCruiser]

I'm not a big FJ Cruiser fan, but I will say that I think it's awesome what you are doing with this rig. Stuff like this may change my stubborn mind.

Keep up the good work.

[Corey]

Thanks guy's.
It is a work in progress for sure.
And never have I had so much fun and dropped so much moola so fast into modding a rig before.

I just can not get enough of this thing.

BHM, have you taken one for a spin yet?
Once you get use to using the mirrors more to see around you, the rig is a blast to drive.

Feels like a rocket compared to my '91 4Runner.

[BHMCruiser]

Originally Posted by Corey

Thanks guy's.
It is a work in progress for sure.
And never have I had so much fun and dropped so much moola so fast into modding a rig before.

I just can not get enough of this thing.

BHM, have you taken one for a spin yet?
Once you get use to using the mirrors more to see around you, the rig is a blast to drive.

Feels like a rocket compared to my '91 4Runner.

I haven't taken it for a spin. In no way does the FJ Cruiser appeal to me, except that it's new.

I like new. I wish my cruiser was new.

[Corey]

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.

[peepers]

i am in the 80s section all the time but this is a great thread! lets see it wheeled? camped?

[Corey]

Thanks, hope to get some camping in this summer if time allows.

I have two trips here, will get more this month or in March for another snow run upto Greenwater where I like to go.

October, no snow yet
No ARB bumper or OME lift yet either

End of December, snow run
ARB bumper, winch, and OME lift is on

[TrAiLbUs1]

Power, feel the power, nice sound bites- I told you that the magnaflow was magnificent!!! Same one as mine??? Hows the OME kit?Likes dislikes?

[Corey]

Thanks.
Yes, the 11226.
Question, was looking at my stock muffler as I kept it, it looks like it has two tubes on it which hoses connected too.

Did yours?

The shop did not rehook up any hoses to the Magnaflow, as it does not have any provisions on it for hoses.

Love the OME lift.
Handles way better in turns/off ramps on the freeway.

Stiffer, but a rig should not be plush

No dislikes at all on the OME lift.
Not the most expensive lift out there, but I did not need one of those adjustable coilover jobbers, as I knew what I was going to have on my front and back ends, so the OME is perfect.

[Corey]

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.

[bandi]

Drrrrooollll... Drooolll.... ...

[Corey]

Here are a few more Bandi I took Sunday I think.

You can display any picture on your screen during the radio, CD, or iPod, or when the unit is turned off.
You downsize the screen and it still shows the name and artist of what is playing.



Here it is with the iPod screen up, and the iPod wheel is in the same place as my spare tire.

[BRICKTOP]

Hey Corey,

Absolutely awesome rig man. One quick suggestion: I originally mounted my backup camera there too, but after it loosened up from debris getting in behind it, I remounted it on top of the receiver. It should just barely fit and the view is not compromised at all.
Again, congrats man. Great looking rig. I love that speaker box! Did they custom make and paint it for you? What did it run you if you don't mind me asking. My sub box it taking up way too much room in my TRD!

[Corey]

Hi Brick, thanks.

That pic of the box is not mine, I put it in the thread to show what I will more than likely end up getting later.

They are on the pricey side, but very nice construction from what I have heard of those who have bought one.

I have my small camera screwed to the bumper now, it came loose within the first few days with the sticky tape.
Edit:
Here are a few links to those making these type of boxes.
http://www.fjcruiseraudio.com/

http://www.wickedcas.com/