For our first Toyota Fantastic Four, we're tearing into a brand-new '06 Tundra Access Cab 2WD V-8, with only 1,000 miles on the odometer. Toyota Tundras have been relatively unchanged since its model year 2000 debut, so there are plenty of aftermarket upgrades available for this truck. We even had a couple of options to choose from when looking for a 2WD lift kit, which isn't always the case for trucks outside of Chevy, Ford, and Dodge. Also, seven years of production V-8s has given intake and exhaust companies plenty of time to get engine upgrades to market, so there are plenty of choices there. As the owner's first new vehicle and first truck, he was eager to get some wrenches turning, so the True Flow intake and Flowmaster exhaust were installed in the garage as soon as they arrived. The remainder of the modifications were left to more qualified hands, as the Tundra made the trip to Precision Grilles in Santa Fe Springs, California, for its billet grille, and finally to SKG Motorsports in Poway, California, where Bob and Chad handled the most labor-intensive portion of the build and installed the RCD lift. To add the finishing touch, they also bolted upthe Hot Wheels' wheels and Nitto tires that we had received from DiscountTires.com. They were on our doorstep in just a couple of days after we ordered them-not to mention that they were mounted and balanced for free, and came wrapped in cardboard to protect the wheel finish. Check out the next few pages as this '06 2WD Tundra undergoes its transformation from stock to head-turner after just two days of work.
We started with a factory-fresh...
We started with a factory-fresh Tundra that was clean, shiny, and boring.
The Flowmaster kit came with...
The Flowmaster kit came with everything we needed to go from the factory resonator to either dual rear, or dual side-exiting tips. The larger-diameter tubing and reduced back pressure from the muffler were designed to increase torque throughout the powerband.
A word of warning: what looked...
A word of warning: what looked like a nut and washer on the factory exhaust clamp were actually welded to the clamp. Trust us, even a name-brand socket will fuse to the nut before it will budge. Once the exhaust was free of the hangers, the front was dropped, and it threaded out without a problem. The forward-most piece of the Flowmaster exhaust was flared to reuse the original clamp and met the two pieces of tubing that were bent over the axle.
The kit used all of the factory...
The kit used all of the factory exhaust hangers, except for two in the rear that were included in the kit, which were bolted through the frame using the rear factory trailer hitch bolts.
With the rear hanger in place,...
With the rear hanger in place, it was time to choose between dog-leg bends for the rear exit or the elbow for the side exit. We chose the dual rear-exiting tips, and tightened the U-bolts once everything was level.
The True Flow air intake kit...
The True Flow air intake kit included the powdercoated tube, foam filter, and all of the necessary hardware. Its new tube provided a direct path for air, while the foam increased filtering capacity.