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FJC

FJ Retrospective (part 4)

Eric Sison

• 3 min read
FJ Retrospective (part 4)
Group photo at the trailhead

[January 21 2007] I joined a small group of 6 (mostly FJs and a Honda Passport) for a trail run on Rincon Shortcut. A scenic trail and there was still some snow that hadn’t yet melted. Got a good chance to try the new Mickey Thompson Baja Claw tires that were just installed. I’m trying to remember my reasoning for getting these, but it was mostly likely along the lines of “these look mean as heck”. They did make the FJ look very aggressive but the road noise was really something to get used to. Thankfully I guess the rubber was pretty soft and they didn’t last long before the treads wore thin. In addition, I had installed a Demello front bumper and skid plate, so I was itching to get out and hit up a trail. For recovery (I didn’t need it here), I got a shackle hitch receiver and D-ring.

Rincon Shortcut

[January 28 2007] The following weekend, I made a quick run up to Beek's Place (the first part of the Santiago Peak trail) with some other FJs. Nothing new, but I needed a reason to try out some comfort upgrades including window tint for the side windows and an Alpine IVA-W200 head unit.

Beek's Place meetup

[February 4 2006] Third weekend in a row and it's another trip down to Anza Borrego. This time a solo run with a friend riding shotgun to revisit some trails, Coyote and Sandstone Canyons. It was SuperbOwl weekend, so we pretty much had the park to ourselves, except for running into a solo Sammy coming back down Coyote. It being a solo run, I felt like I needed a Hi-Lift jack mounted with some FourTreks rollbar mounts.

Superbowl weekend trip to AB (Sandstone Canyon, Coyote Canyon, Wind Caves)

The build so far (🟢: added)

  • Tires: BF Goodrich All-Terrain KO (265/70R17), 🟢 Mickey Thompson Baja Claw (33 x 12)
  • Suspension: Donahoe Racing 3-inch lift, Donahoe Racing billet upper control arms, Demello Offroad body mount chop
  • Armor: Toyota skid plate, Demello Offroad sliders, 🟢 Demello Offroad single-hoop fornt bumper, 🟢 Demello Offroad skid plate
  • Performance: TRD cat-back exhaust
  • Exterior: AVS ventshades
  • Interior: Toyota rubber floor mats
  • Audio: 🟢 Alpine IVA-W200 head unit
  • Comms: Midland CB Radio, Firestik antenna (on Bandi mount)
  • Gear: generic 12v air compressor, Staun Tyre Deflators, 🟢 D-ring shackle hitch receiver, 🟢 Hi-Lift jack (on FourTreks mount)