i posted in the trail events section, but wanted to highlight some of my (yes biased) impressions of my 100 series. first off, i typically only wheel with one other guy who has a short wheel based toyota, custom built for wheeling.. this was my first group run with a variety of other toyotas - there were tacomas, fj cruisers, short wheel based older model toyotas, a bj 40, one 80 series and of course my 100 series. out terrain in central ontario is typical Canadian Shield; this means lots of rock and lots of water (rock doesn't drain). our water holes are usually a mystery.. i've been stuck in holes that suck the side of my vehicle to the headlights, needing a snatch block and 12k winch to free me.. other times we can roll right through 3 feet of water without so much as a hick up; hard bottoms are brilliant. its a mixed bag. this particular day it had been raining and dumping a ton of water on teh trail. every hole was 3 to 3.5 feet deep. some were up to 4 and took the bj40 out, forcing me to extract him with my winch. (continued next thread as i can't see my screen as i type for some reason in this thread)
100 series offroad impressions after group run with toyota club
- Thread starter Jordan345
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First off, i totally agree it takes finesse, consistency and a good understanding of your trucks characteristics, angles, capabilities etc (including your own) in order to be a good driver.. a good driver can take an average vehicle through some tough spots without damage or drama.. an average driver can also do this, but usually includes damage.. a crap driver - well, you get it.. i watched almost every tacoma (the mods on each varied from stock to 2 inch lift on 33's, fairly mild) struggled on the rock climbs.. they just couldn't get traction and just spun the tires without grip (no locker or atrac).. the 4 runners included.. unless you had a perfect line and a touch of momentum, they would just spin on the bottom of the climb and couldn't push up and over the first obstacle.. i had watched this each time. my 100 series is the biggest, heaviest beast of the bunch and walked up everything.. literally.. no drama, just nice steady throttle, smart lines and aware of tire placement and up it went. most of the group was surprised and asked if i was fully locked.. atrac worked very well in this instance. i had the same experience in the mud/water that included slippery exits out holes up and onto rocks. the tacomas were really rammy and had to get lots of momentum, then spun widely trying to get traction and bounced around. this is damage waiting to happen. the trail also gets buggered from this. the 80 series as well - no problem but was aided with a rear locker (he says he didn't even have it engaged). he was very controlled and consistent with throttle - no drama again. he walked right up the areas everyone had troubles with. the fj cruisers were another story. they didn't seem to have issues either, although i had seem some heavy throttle and not much delicacy. they were also modded more heavily and i believe have atrac standard like my cruiser.. they have a shorter wheel based which helps as well.
all in all - the pictures through the day are in the following link to the thread for our ontario forum- you can have a peek if you like.. i really appreciated the day to see how each truck performed side by side and how some mods made it easier, better, safer, on the truck, drivers and trails. I felt the 100 series had no weight or size penalty as i suspected and in fact, outperformed in many cases. i am a believer in atrac, although still looking to lock the rear eventually .. maybe the front.. and perhaps move to something a touch bigger than the 33 inch a/t (which aren't a true 33); like a duratrac or km2..
http://www.sontt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2868&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
all in all - the pictures through the day are in the following link to the thread for our ontario forum- you can have a peek if you like.. i really appreciated the day to see how each truck performed side by side and how some mods made it easier, better, safer, on the truck, drivers and trails. I felt the 100 series had no weight or size penalty as i suspected and in fact, outperformed in many cases. i am a believer in atrac, although still looking to lock the rear eventually .. maybe the front.. and perhaps move to something a touch bigger than the 33 inch a/t (which aren't a true 33); like a duratrac or km2..
http://www.sontt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2868&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
Really enjoyed the photos.
I've only had my 100 for about 2 months now, but I've wheeled it 5 times and was curious to see the effect of the size penalty. Other than already getting quite a few pinstripes on the trail for being wide, I've actually really enjoyed the performance and feel the weight has helped me in a lot of places. I wheel with a Tacoma on 33s, and just like you said he has to get momentum and then bounces all over the place. The trails we've been on, I just keep a really light steady foot on the accelerator and pick a good line and there's zero drama. I know weight can be a huge hindrance in rock crawling and other areas, but in my experience thus far I have enjoyed the size (and seriously amazing ride for being offroad).
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- #6
i have a bit more damage on my cruiser as our backcountry can be rather tight in canada.. lots of pinstriping, had my drivers door caved in a bit, rear quarter panel dented from off camber slide into a tree etc etc.. thinking about taking up body work as a side hobby
.. the weight seems to be an advantage, and coupled with heated leather seats, nice sounds system and LOADS of storage, i have no complaints.
on the flip side, when the 100 series is stuck in mud it is REALLY stuck.
.. the weight seems to be an advantage, and coupled with heated leather seats, nice sounds system and LOADS of storage, i have no complaints. on the flip side, when the 100 series is stuck in mud it is REALLY stuck.
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- #7
if a person was to only have one locker, ( i will probably do both) why up front only? from my understanding locking the rear and having atrac up front in a best of both worlds scenarios, will allow great traction with the control of having the computer track the front end.. full lockers can sometimes get you in more trouble in some cases and move you sideways vs forward.. this all depends ont eh surface we are talking about as well, plus drivers skills. in addition, most traction issues are climbing, where your wieght typically shifts more to the rear of the vehicle and you lose some traction up front. i recall some points someone made on this particular issue a while back and i just can't find the thread.
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I've understood two arguments for the front over the rear:
1) The factory front diff is a potential weak point for failure
2) The 100 series likes to lift it's front tires much more than the rear, so a locker will benefit front more than the rear
On the flip side I hear folks argue about having more of the weight on the rear axle when climbing, and thus getting more value out of a rear locker...
Having both, I've been using the front locker more often than the rear recently (early on, I used the rear more than the front...)
I had rear locker and ATrac on my FJC ..worked great. I put a rear locker in my FJ60 because of the loaded weight and more traction and it also worked great....but also undertand the front as some times you need help pulling that tire over just a little on a ledge or climb.
I think with ATrac though the front argument doesnt matter as if front end lifts....a locker wont give you more ground contact than ATRAC just both tires will spin in air together rather than independently.
One thing I like about locker in rear and atrac up front...you dont lose your steering as bad....but I would definitely upgrade front diff with aftermarket gears....
I think with ATrac though the front argument doesnt matter as if front end lifts....a locker wont give you more ground contact than ATRAC just both tires will spin in air together rather than independently.
One thing I like about locker in rear and atrac up front...you dont lose your steering as bad....but I would definitely upgrade front diff with aftermarket gears....
I agree, in that it does not give any more ground contact.
However, in my own experience, there have been situations where ATRAC is unable to lock the spinning tire and induce tire rotation on the side with traction (situation most likely to occur when one of the tires in the front has little or no traction--e.g., when it is in the air.) In this scenario, being able to lock the axle has made a big difference.
When both tires on are on the ground (and even when one tire has less traction than the other), ATRAC has to apply less force to induce both tires to rotate...
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- #11
i'm not too concerned with the front diff as its an 01. not too many reported breakages; the ones that did happen are due to more severe abuse. i'm pretty gentle with the throttle and haven't had a case where i've bounced it while spinning tires.
on the other note, if i am cracking the diffs i am putting nitro gears in as replacement.. still contemplating 35's so i may also regear while in there doing the lockers.
on the other note, if i am cracking the diffs i am putting nitro gears in as replacement.. still contemplating 35's so i may also regear while in there doing the lockers.
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- #13
100 series in winter
so its been a few months of winter up here and Canada and cabin fever has struck. Went out with our local toyota club for a winter wheelin run, busting open roads that are unmaintained and essentially aren't accessible during winter. We had a mixed bag of toyota's again - FJC (stock with winter tires), 2008 Tacoma with 3 inch suspension lift, 33's bfg AT's, a triple locked 70 series short wheel base on tractor like tires
. My 100 has toyo mt's, 2.5 inch suspension lift (plus atrac and cntr diff lock). there was about 2 feet of snow on the ground; it had been melting for a couple days and refreezing, so it was heavy, slippery snow.
I felt i had a tough time comparitively - i broke alot of trail but had to ensure i had momentum (like 15 mph) and keep it going. atrac would engage non stop and would shut down because of heat. i found the m/t's dug down 'into' the snow (they're new) and got me more bogged down than anything. i tried a number of things to keep from spinning, which dug me to china. i'm new to m't's, so maybe this is normal. i tried 2nd start, high range, low range, low range and center diff locked etc. it seemed like low range and 2nd start was the best of the worst. overall, i had to get pulled out on two occasions, once when breaking new trail and getting through a 3 foot embankment to which i was high centered on my rear axle, and second, just to get started after i cleared out of that. the trick was moving backwards on my existing track to get a run at it, then maintain as much speed as i could.
the stock fjc had winter x-ice tires from michelin - he seemed to have the most traction and seemed to get through without having a lift. it was like he floated on the snow but gripped at the same time (i understand winter tires work in this way).
the triple locked 70 with tractor tires (35's) walked through everything without any drama and literally drove circles around everyone.
the taco on 33 bfg a/t's struggled as well, but seemed to track alright once trail was forged. i wonder if the profile being less of a 'digger' allowed easier travel.
At the end of the day we had to get over a 4-5 foot mound of snow that a snowplow had piled at the terminal end of the road. the 70 spun up and over with a little drama, but essentially first attempt. the taco got high centered and had to be tugged back on three occasions to try overa nd over again. it was a mission to yank him backwards.
the FJC took a few attempts to get over as well, but made it in stock form.. i took up the rear and made it up and over in one attempt. i was surprised! i think part of the top had been shaved off, i had gotten the momentum right and i had atrac working over time. i was very concerned of how i would get off that thing if i was high centered on before getting over the crest.. there was nobody there to pull me backwards.. i couldn't see getting pulled over it as the pull would have been downward and create more friction.
anyways, i thought the atrac would have been more of an advantage in the heavy deep hardpack snow, but ended up being limiting by having to cool down. i think the other lesson was that m/t's arent' the best for snow - they dig and get you sunk fairly quickly.. here is a photo of the snow mound with the taco stuck on top.
any comments or similiar experience?
so its been a few months of winter up here and Canada and cabin fever has struck. Went out with our local toyota club for a winter wheelin run, busting open roads that are unmaintained and essentially aren't accessible during winter. We had a mixed bag of toyota's again - FJC (stock with winter tires), 2008 Tacoma with 3 inch suspension lift, 33's bfg AT's, a triple locked 70 series short wheel base on tractor like tires
. My 100 has toyo mt's, 2.5 inch suspension lift (plus atrac and cntr diff lock). there was about 2 feet of snow on the ground; it had been melting for a couple days and refreezing, so it was heavy, slippery snow. I felt i had a tough time comparitively - i broke alot of trail but had to ensure i had momentum (like 15 mph) and keep it going. atrac would engage non stop and would shut down because of heat. i found the m/t's dug down 'into' the snow (they're new) and got me more bogged down than anything. i tried a number of things to keep from spinning, which dug me to china. i'm new to m't's, so maybe this is normal. i tried 2nd start, high range, low range, low range and center diff locked etc. it seemed like low range and 2nd start was the best of the worst. overall, i had to get pulled out on two occasions, once when breaking new trail and getting through a 3 foot embankment to which i was high centered on my rear axle, and second, just to get started after i cleared out of that. the trick was moving backwards on my existing track to get a run at it, then maintain as much speed as i could.
the stock fjc had winter x-ice tires from michelin - he seemed to have the most traction and seemed to get through without having a lift. it was like he floated on the snow but gripped at the same time (i understand winter tires work in this way).
the triple locked 70 with tractor tires (35's) walked through everything without any drama and literally drove circles around everyone.
the taco on 33 bfg a/t's struggled as well, but seemed to track alright once trail was forged. i wonder if the profile being less of a 'digger' allowed easier travel.
At the end of the day we had to get over a 4-5 foot mound of snow that a snowplow had piled at the terminal end of the road. the 70 spun up and over with a little drama, but essentially first attempt. the taco got high centered and had to be tugged back on three occasions to try overa nd over again. it was a mission to yank him backwards.
the FJC took a few attempts to get over as well, but made it in stock form.. i took up the rear and made it up and over in one attempt. i was surprised! i think part of the top had been shaved off, i had gotten the momentum right and i had atrac working over time. i was very concerned of how i would get off that thing if i was high centered on before getting over the crest.. there was nobody there to pull me backwards.. i couldn't see getting pulled over it as the pull would have been downward and create more friction.
anyways, i thought the atrac would have been more of an advantage in the heavy deep hardpack snow, but ended up being limiting by having to cool down. i think the other lesson was that m/t's arent' the best for snow - they dig and get you sunk fairly quickly.. here is a photo of the snow mound with the taco stuck on top.
any comments or similiar experience?