Ode to FGT; a refresh story

The terminal block has two large inserts for the larger positive and negative cables. Has 2 smaller, 8ga or so for accessories

 

That's soooooo purdy.

 

123 Fake St.

 

Stuck on a boring work call for a while, so I figured I would do a follow up on some of the projects I've competed on the truck, and how well they've performed.

1. Suspension refresh up front (LBJ, UBJ, CV axles, wheel bearings, steering rack bushings): Truck steers and rides great. Have some cupping on the outside of the new tires, so a redo on the alignment is in order.
2. Rear leaf spring replacement with Husky HD 5 pack leaf: Not as much lift as I had expected, truck sits almost dead level. Hoped for an additional inch (TWSS) for towing. The leaves do a good job of supporting weight vs. the worn out stockers. Haven't been able to bottom it out since. Rides pretty nice still too.
3. MagnaFlow 3" straight through muffler: Overall, fuck this thing. Too loud, too much off-tone and drone at cruise when towing. Sounds great at full throttle and startup, has a nice deep burble at idle. Plan to replace with another FlowMaster 50 series like I had before. Probably do the super this time, which is larger and a touch quieter.
4. Camper shell: I will not have another truck without one. Love it. #winning. The interior LED lights I added are great. The rack looks good, but has not been utilized.
5. New OEM blower motor: Replaced a non-OEM one that made funny noises and didn't blow very hard. OEM is the way. Smooth, quiet and forceful.
6. LED mini-projectors: These have performed well. Both still going, great light output in low beam, good cutoff pattern. High beams are weak sauce though.
7. Phillips 9006 LED fog light bulbs: These are game changer bulbs. Bright, lots of light fill, great color temp that matches the LED minis.
8. Stepping up from 265s to 285/75/16s: I enjoy the look of the 285s for sure. Got an aggressive tread pattern and aggressive side wall as well. Don't ride terrible for E rated. Gas mileage took a hit. Lost about 1.5mpg. Also feel the power loss when towing. Not a good functional upgrade as I do not off-road often enough, or in situations that would require tires like these. But...33's!!! Except.... I measured them the other day and they measure out at 31.75" with the weight of the truck on them at 38 psi......
9. Wireless OBD2 reader: I got the Veepeak MX OBD2 plug in on big gurl for about $30 and downloaded the OBD Fusion app for free. $19 for the Toyota PID pack for my truck and away we go. Gives me the ability to see things like trans temp, throttle position, O2 sensor info, fuel trims, Gear indicator, torque converter lockup etc. Worth it when towing for sure. Some live data logging also available.
10. New Russian door check plastics: These worked so good right outta the box, and they've already worn back out.....
11. Hella Twin tone trumpet horns: Legit upgrade over factory. Much louder, way better truck like tone. Not air horn loud, but appropriately loud for a truck. Also came in high speed red. Still happy with them.
12. Aftermarket front 3/4" shackle mounts: These worked great with minor trimming of the front skid plate. Still solid, still look good.
13. 7 pin trailer plug relocate into the bumper: This worked out excellent. Fit in there great and has been flawless when towing. One less thing hanging down under the bumper behind the truck.
14. Ditch lights: Meh. These were very underwhelming from the start. Probably just lower quality LEDs being Amazon specials. Might swap for some decent output DD or something later. Not impressed.
15. 3 Row LED 20" lightbar under the front airdam: This turned out great. Already had the light and all of the wiring, so this was free.99. Most said to mount in the bumper opening, but this light bar would have been largely obscured there. Fully visible in it's location now. Good light output for a cheaper bar. Happy.
16. Sound deadening: This turned out great as well. Definitely quieter in the cab with less resonance. Also free.99 as the materials were left over from the system install on my sons Mustang. Daddy tax.
17. Sub box in the storage compartment: This turned out well beyond my hopes and dreams. Fits in there great, sounds amazing, even better than the original box it came in from Crutchfield, and it's out of the way, and the seat can be left down all the time and still sounds great. Only regret not doing it sooner. $40 bucks worth of materials. Win.
18. Front window tint: This rocks of course. Only took 20 years. Happy.
19. Door sill protectors: Like these. Don't notice them most of the time, but it covers up the worn paint from 25 years of dragging a foot across the sill. Nice touch.
20. Battery terminals: Was leery about these, but they've worked out great. Love the extra insert areas to manage the accessories that have been added. Win.