Gonna see it tomorrow (the 15th)

[MoJ]

Going to swing by the Chicago auto show tomorrow evening. Any info you want me to try to pry out of the Toyota guys? Any certain pics you want? Should I steal the prototype?

[lx450landcruiser]

find the toy rep when ur there and tell him about ih8mud. then smack him in the head and say what no solid axle?

[shocker]

Get some good photos of the suspension to see what changes, if any other than wheelbase, have been made to the 4Runner platform. For example: Maybe they've done something to increase wheel travel?

Interior shots, if you can.

Spare tire mount. Is it rear hatch - bracket - spare tire, or rear hatch - spare tire. Might help someone looking to go up tire sizes to know if they can keep it on the hatch.

[mabrodis]

Yeah, some suspension shots, basically to see if it's identical to a 4Runner for example, so a 4Runner lift would work on this too.

How much up-travel does the front and rear have before hitting bumpstops?

What's the 0-60 times?

How many inches front and back do the tires have in the wheelwell? (especially the front)

How long can you sit in it without them yanking you out? (what, they won't let you sit in it, then you aren't trying hard enough!)

Where is the gas tank underneath, is it protected at all?

How long are the rear lower control arms? (most jxxp stuff is too short, so any descent lift requires totally re-engineering that with longer arms not even connected to where the stock ones went, etc).

Bring a creeper and slide under it taking pictures the whole way back..

[firetruck41]

There is no "inside" yet.

[gulp3000]

Get a feel for what the side windows are like. As it sits, the windows look so tiny. if I was sitting comfortably with my arm resting on the open window, my head would have to be poking out the roof.

[T Y L E R]

Screw all that jazz ...


Get a pic of your sitting in it with a sad-ass pout on , and send that to Pimp My Ride ...



TY

[Mr.Bryan]

I saw it yesterday at the chicago auto show. Unfortunatly no pictures. My camera is f'ed in the a... But its pretty cool lookin. Its got an uglyness to it that is just cool. I like the 33" all-terrains, and it seems like it could be a fun truck to cruise around in. I'll defenitly be taking it for a test drive when it comes out.

[freeze]

Originally Posted by MoJ

Going to swing by the Chicago auto show tomorrow evening. Any info you want me to try to pry out of the Toyota guys? Any certain pics you want? Should I steal the prototype?

Thanks for asking what kinda question's we'd like asked!

Let's see... Maybe if you get a chance to ask some of these or let them know we'd like to see these.... hehe!

Winch(s)?

Ground Clearance?

E-locker front?

No spare on the back option?

Suspension Travel?

More robust tire options? (BFG M/T or Krawlers)

SOLID AXLE!!!... haha

4 Low (4:1 or better)?
- Maybe a dual case option?
- center diff lock?
- manual hubs?

Sway bar disconnects?

Sliders standard?

Steel bumpers?

Have they tested it out on real trails yet? (Con.... Moab...Dyce...etc..?)
Will they test it on real trails?

Thank you again for representing us

[woody]

considering the prototype has no interiour whatsoever, I'd be surprised if it's been trail tested...lol

Good questions tho, but most will be addressed aftermarket.

[clemson55]

Ask the Toy rep who the designers are so that we can beat some sense into them.

[MoJ]

Handing them this pic (yooper) along with some print outs of a few MUD threads/info. (Shameless plug for you Woody.) Also giving them a pic of a PIG.

[T Y L E R]

Heres what I'd like to see ..

A transcript of every meeting from every party involved , from the infancy of conception to present .


TY

[FirstToy]

I can answer some of these questions

Winch(s)?= No

Ground Clearance?= about 10.8" (4R listed at about 9.8" w/ 265-65's, so the 70's will give it an inch more height)

E-locker front?= No

Suspension Travel?= IFS about 8"

More robust tire options? (BFG M/T or Krawlers)= No

4 Low (4:1 or better)?= yes, but dont know the ratio
- Maybe a dual case option?= No
- center diff lock?= yes

Sway bar disconnects?=No - but us 4R guys are workin' on it!

Sliders standard?= I think I read this was an option-pictured on the prod. clay?

Steel bumpers?= No

But they did list steel wheels as standard, w/ alloys being an option.

[mabrodis]

Originally Posted by freeze

No spare on the back option?

More robust tire options? (BFG M/T or Krawlers)

Sway bar disconnects?

Sliders standard?

Why would you want no spare on the back? Most people with 80-series Land Cruisers specifically buy a bumper to put the spare ON the back, since it's better than inside and it won't fit underneath (with bigger tires). I can understand some apprehension about whether the factory spare mount back there can support a big heavy tire, but I'm glad they are atleast putting it back there to start. (This could actually be in response to what the Toyota engineers see people doing when they 'offroad' their vehicle, putting on a bumper to put the tire back there, so they figured doing it from the factory could help...gotta give them props for trying).

More robust tires? A all-terrain tire is as good as you're going to get from the factory, I would be shocked if that same tires is on it when it is actually sold. I would expect some lame-ass mostly city crapola tire that Toyota can get for pennies on the dollar. I wouldn't consider the BFG M/T a more 'robust' tire, more aggressive tread yes, but as far as sidewall strength and things like that, I'm pretty sure they are identical.

Swaybar disconnects? Ha, don't think you'll ever see that from a factory, IMO it would be stupid for any company to have such a safety feature as a sway-bar and intentionally tell you how to disable it. I think that would be major lawsuits immediately.. "The vehicle rolled because Larry Thompson had used Toyota's new swaybar disconnect, designed for offroad use, but Larry did not know the implications of disconnected the swaybars for normal street driving..." I'd rather have Toyota leave it all together and then whoever wants to yank it and do whatever, they can.

Sliders standard? Maybe, but I wouldn't trust them. To most a 'slider' or nerf bar is great for stepping on, not for pushing up with enough force so the whole vehicle is suspended on the two of them. So even if they are there from the factory, I'd yank them off and put on something better (i.e. Christo quality) made.

[freeze]

Originally Posted by FirstToy

I can answer some of these questions

Winch(s)?= No

Ground Clearance?= about 10.8" (4R listed at about 9.8" w/ 265-65's, so the 70's will give it an inch more height)

E-locker front?= No

Suspension Travel?= IFS about 8"

More robust tire options? (BFG M/T or Krawlers)= No

4 Low (4:1 or better)?= yes, but dont know the ratio
- Maybe a dual case option?= No
- center diff lock?= yes

Sway bar disconnects?=No - but us 4R guys are workin' on it!

Sliders standard?= I think I read this was an option-pictured on the prod. clay?

Steel bumpers?= No

But they did list steel wheels as standard, w/ alloys being an option.

Thank you very much for asking these questions... interesting to see how this unfolds

[freeze]

Originally Posted by mabrodis

Why would you want no spare on the back? Most people with 80-series Land Cruisers specifically buy a bumper to put the spare ON the back, since it's better than inside and it won't fit underneath (with bigger tires). I can understand some apprehension about whether the factory spare mount back there can support a big heavy tire, but I'm glad they are atleast putting it back there to start. (This could actually be in response to what the Toyota engineers see people doing when they 'offroad' their vehicle, putting on a bumper to put the tire back there, so they figured doing it from the factory could help...gotta give them props for trying).

Interesting point, it's too bad it might not fit under the rear floor. Having it in the way of the window does have some negative aspects

Originally Posted by mabrodis

More robust tires? A all-terrain tire is as good as you're going to get from the factory, I would be shocked if that same tires is on it when it is actually sold. I would expect some lame-ass mostly city crapola tire that Toyota can get for pennies on the dollar. I wouldn't consider the BFG M/T a more 'robust' tire, more aggressive tread yes, but as far as sidewall strength and things like that, I'm pretty sure they are identical.

Jeep's been putting on MT/R on the Rubicon even if half the people will never use them to their potential. Granted yes the difference between BFG's M/T and A/T are the tread and side lugs. However, it would be nice to have Krawlers as an option without having to get rid of one pair and buy another.

Originally Posted by mabrodis

Swaybar disconnects? Ha, don't think you'll ever see that from a factory, IMO it would be stupid for any company to have such a safety feature as a sway-bar and intentionally tell you how to disable it. I think that would be major lawsuits immediately.. "The vehicle rolled because Larry Thompson had used Toyota's new swaybar disconnect, designed for offroad use, but Larry did not know the implications of disconnected the swaybars for normal street driving..." I'd rather have Toyota leave it all together and then whoever wants to yank it and do whatever, they can.

It's possible that companies might start using hydraulic swaybar control for offroad use instead of BMW' on road use. Who knows what toyota has up their sleeves!

Originally Posted by mabrodis

Sliders standard? Maybe, but I wouldn't trust them. To most a 'slider' or nerf bar is great for stepping on, not for pushing up with enough force so the whole vehicle is suspended on the two of them. So even if they are there from the factory, I'd yank them off and put on something better (i.e. Christo quality) made.

Depends on how seriously Toyota takes this off-road idea!

Idea for a winch could have the same liability issues as well. *Snap*

[usmcruiser]

Well??? what did we find?

[bkg]

Originally Posted by mabrodis

More robust tires? A all-terrain tire is as good as you're going to get from the factory, I would be shocked if that same tires is on it when it is actually sold. I would expect some lame-ass mostly city crapola tire that Toyota can get for pennies on the dollar. I wouldn't consider the BFG M/T a more 'robust' tire, more aggressive tread yes, but as far as sidewall strength and things like that, I'm pretty sure they are identical.

MTR's on the Rubicon were already mentioned.

Swaybar disconnects? Ha, don't think you'll ever see that from a factory, IMO it would be stupid for any company to have such a safety feature as a sway-bar and intentionally tell you how to disable it.

Tell that to DC - swaybar disconnects available on the Power Wagon...

Sliders standard? Maybe, but I wouldn't trust them. To most a 'slider' or nerf bar is great for stepping on, not for pushing up with enough force so the whole vehicle is suspended on the two of them. So even if they are there from the factory, I'd yank them off and put on something better (i.e. Christo quality) made.

DC put some very nice sliders (.120 rolled) on the Grand Cherokee Orvis edition...

The point? Other manufacturers are doing it, why not Toyota?