Builds MadToy build

[madtoy]

Can't answer your question but I think bud built is in your neck of da woods

Yep. Bud is about an hour away. I had all BB stuff on the Tacoma. However, I promised myself (well, the wife made me) that this would be a low cost build. And Bud's stuff, while worth every penny, is far from low cost. I'm still trying to figure out sliders. To me, that's the most crucial.

 

[wingysataday]

Wood grain is working on some low cost sliders as we speak. I'm holding out for those. Last time I jumped the gun and bought another companies product, I was a little disappointed

 

[madtoy]

Wood grain is working on some low cost sliders as we speak. I'm holding out for those. Last time I jumped the gun I was a little disappointed

Yep - I'll try to hold out a bit too to see what they come up with.

 

[madtoy]

Finally got to take it off road, although a bit nervous without sliders at the moment. Overall, it did well in the snowy rocks - although I'm very unimpressed with ATRAC. It seemed to hinder forward motion up slippery rocks, always killing any momentum I needed. I'd say ATRAC is barely better than open diffs - and certainly nowhere near as good as plain old limited slip diffs. So lockers will be on my list of must haves, for the sort of wheeling I do.

 

[GXO]

That wasn't ATRAC, you were trying to crawl ice vs. using forward momentum and ATRAC. I was in the same conditions yesterday and had a blast with no issues. Could have also been tire pressures depending on what you were running. Like I said elsewhere, ATRAC is a different style of driving than what most are used to. It takes time to figure out how to use it.

 

[GXO]

That said, that is a nice looking trail!

 

[wingysataday]

Yes I agree I'm really having trouble trying to figure out this atrac thing.

 

[madtoy]

The ATRAC would work well if it smoothly started spinning the opposite tire, like LSD would. But instead it pulsates the tire, making it difficult to keep any momentum gained. I'm sure there are ways to use it that would work, but when in a precarious spot, and needing some traction without having to spin, it was difficult. I can only compare to my quadra drive with vari-lok lsd's in that same spot and conditions, which would smoothly just spin all 4 wheels - nearly as well as lockers. I would just much prefer having limited slip axles front and rear instead of ATRAC.

That trail is up near Blowing Rock in NC. I've ridden it many times in similar conditions, which is why I'm making the comparison of the ATRAC vs Limited Slip. My Tacoma was locked front and rear, so that was no comparison. It made it too easy - which in some places on that mountain, would be nice. But on the bright side, The ECGS Rubicon in front of me had an extremely difficult time on that small ice covered hill that was after the second little rock climb. Took about 15 minutes to get up it, while the GX cruised right up without spinning a tire The All Terrains far out performed the Mud Terrains on the icy sections.

 

[madtoy]

This spot is much more difficult than it looks. Basically, when you start to try and move forward, the back end just slides sideways to the left, and precariously close to the edge - which drops a hundred feet or so. This is a spot where an open rear diff is preferred. Why don't we have a switch to turn off ATRAC like the FJ's have?

 

[madtoy]

Different view of the first climb. In this one, you can see the pulsating of the ATRAC. If there's a trick to getting the tires to spin smoothly, I'm interested

 

[GXO]

More throttle going in with straight tires, then left foot on brake and steady throttle smooths out ATRAC in that situation. Your tires are also looking street pressure and losing psi to 20 would have changed the game


Sent from my iPhone

 

[madtoy]

More throttle going in with straight tires, then left foot on brake and steady throttle smooths out ATRAC in that situation. Your tires are also looking street pressure and losing psi to 20 would have changed the game

Ha! You've got a very good eye! I was at full pressure on the first few obstacles, just to see how things behaved. Aired down to 20psi on a particularly icy incline that came up a bit afterwards. I would normally air down at the beginning of a trail, but since the top of the mountain was in the negative digits with the wind chill, I was hoping not to have to get out to air back up when we got there.

But I'll give the brake technique a shot. Since with or without airing down, it's the pulsating of the rotation of the wheels that is killing me (which it also did on smaller hills further up with the 20psi).

 

[GXO]

You will see. ATRAC works great with entry momentum with slight braking to control the bounce followed by "let it eat" at sub 2000 rpms at the right tire pressure. Don't give up yet

 

[madtoy]

I'll be sleeping in the GX if my wife finds out I bought lockers for it - so it's best to give the ATRAC a stay of execution for now....

 

[THeGeNTLeMaN]

Wood grain is working on some low cost sliders as we speak. I'm holding out for those. Last time I jumped the gun and bought another companies product, I was a little disappointed

Yep - I'll try to hold out a bit too to see what they come up with.

We'll be installing a set on @freddydt 's this weekend. ...
What do yal consider low cost?
Not sure these are low cost but they are a lower cost than the ones I made for "The Gentleman"

 

[ciesel]

So here is the question I have about sliders. I know it seems no one makes sliders to fit the GX with KDSS, however they do now make sliders that fit the 150 platform 4Runner with KDSS. Is the frame rails on the 150 the same as the 120? Seems the Prado 150/120 skids are interchangeable.

And that said, wouldn't it make more sense for slider manufacturers to make them fit the KDSS vehicles, since if it fits KDSS, it should also fit non KDSS? Seems there's a decent market out there for KDSS specific sliders to make it worth a small change in design to fit both.

Sliders are usually the first piece of armor I get, since I do use them quite a bit on the trails I ride. Just no longer have a welding machine, so can't easily modify the non-KDSS sliders to fit.

These guy list sliders with and without KDSS GX470 Rock Sliders: Lexus GX460 and GX470 Rock Sliders

 

[ciesel]

disregard my post. that option is for the 460. how can i delete? =(

 

[madtoy]

disregard my post. that option is for the 460. how can i delete? =(

No need to delete it. They will have a KDSS slider for the GX very soon....

 

[madtoy]

Added some ARB skids last week. Certainly not as beef as the Bud's, but should be fine for what I need.

 

[madtoy]

And did the coil conversion this morning. Didn't get install pics since I was solo, and only had a couple hours to do it. Added some trim packers and rubber spacers from MSC to add 3/4" to the Toytec 2" lift springs. Finished it off with Bilstein shocks. Rides great, and I love the rake.