Project Mall Runner

[ScottyB]

I had a wind deflector on the hood of my Tacoma and it did wonders.

for rock strikes you mean? i don't doubt it. hate how they look though. these 5th gen 4runners have a major bull nose on them, so i'm not sure if a deflector would make much difference since the hood line is so far behind the grill:

that said, plenty of guys do run them so i'll see what their feedback is.

What's wrong with the factory oil fill? I've heard arguments both ways - factory oil has this that and the other for break in purposes. And, factory oil is cheap and should be changed pretty quickly.

some factory oils have a huge boost of molybdenum, which is an anti-friction additive.  toyota in particular does this for their dealer oil and mazda as well.  probably some others.  its great oil on its own.  but any engine is going to slough off the most metal particulate of its lifespan in the first 5k miles, generally, so to me there's no point dragging it out.  

added to that, i wanted to up the oil grade to a 30 weight anyway since my needs will fall under harder use (towing, off roading, long trips loaded up, extreme heat...it was friggin 101 degrees here on october 4th) that is best served by a slightly higher viscosity oil, so it seemed like an ideal point to change.

if this thing was destined to commute from one parking space to the next for the rest of its life i most likely would have left it alone or just refilled with 20 weight....which, frankly, is what most 4runners do.