Project Deepwoods Part 4 - Going Under Cover

Cold-air intake, bed cap and other upgrades add to deepwoods' functionality

By Bruce W. Smith

In the last installment, we upgraded the exhaust on our 2007 Tundra Double Cab 4x4 and installed a couple of bed storage boxes. This month we continue improving Project Deepwoods’ utility and performance. Our goal at the end is to have a truly unique 4x4 for the avid off-road adventurer. When form follows function, good things happen. Namely you get added value out of whatever it is you purchased. So it is with the latest upgrades we’ve done on our Project Deepwoods Toyota Tundra 4x4.

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

An area we’ve wanted to address with Project Deepwoods is achieving better engine fuel economy while improving functionality and performance; a tough balancing act. An engine is nothing more than an oversized air pump: Make it easier for the air to go in one side and out the other will improve efficiency. We already added a Maganflow cat-back exhaust to improve the air exiting. Now it’s time to address the intake side of the equation. So under the hood we go, taking aim at the 5.7-liter Toyota V8’s air-intake system. The Toyota intake design isn’t as convoluted as others we’ve seen. But it still employs a circuitous route for the air to take on its way to the intake manifold.

This is because the engineers favor lowering sound levels over higher engine performance. That’s understandable as the majority of today’s vehicle buyers are looking for pickups that have the soft ride and quiet sound similar to the cars they drive. Not us. We’ll sacrifice a little increase in the in-cab sound levels for a gain in power — and maybe fuel economy. We looked to Airaid (www.airaid.com; 800-498-6951) for the solution.

Their new Tundra 5.7L Cold-Air Intake kit #510-213 is designed to provide a relatively straight shot for the air, coming in around the passenger’s-side headlight, to get to the intake. Included with this system is an intake tube that is specially designed to accommodate all the factory hoses and control devices found on the new Tundra V8. At the heart of the system is an Airaid Premium Series high-flow conical air filter that is protected from the engine by their innovative Cold Air Dam (CAD) design. The air filter itself does an excellent job of providing a good flow of clean air in the worst conditions, thanks to the combination of Airaid’s proprietary SynthaFlow design and multiple cotton gauze layers. The filter is 100% reusable and carries a Lifetime Guarantee. Installation takes about 30 minutes. It’s straight-forward and uses very few tools.

In fact, the only items we needed from our GearWrench tool sets were the following: a 3/8”-drive ratchet & extension; 5/16” & 10mm sockets; 7/16” open-end wrench; 3/32” & 5/32” Allen wrenches; and a Phillips Head screwdriver. The results of the Airaid cold-air intake upgrade are the 5.7L Tundra V8 gained 9hp and 12 lb.ft. torque! Full-throttle sound levels in the cab rose about 5dB, and fuel economy appears to have remained the same. Overall, we’re quite happy with the results.

JUICE IT UP

Another area that bodes well for an off-road adventurer’s truck is having plenty of juice in the battery department. In most vehicles we’d double-up the batteries, which doubles both reserve power and cranking amps.

A bigger reserve is a good thing to have when you’re adding heavy electricity eaters such as a winch and auxiliary lights. But the new Tundra doesn’t make dual-battery installations easy. Truth is we couldn’t find any spare real-estate under the hood to put a second battery. So we did the next best thing. We swapped the factory battery for a more powerful replacement from Optima. The model we chose is an Optima Yellow-Top — a dual-purpose starting and deep-cycle battery designed for heavy-duty commercial use.

Optima says there are two key advantages to using Yellow Tops instead of their Red Top batteries under heavy electrical loads. One advantage is a higher voltage, which provides stronger cranking power than the traditional “flooded” battery found in the Tundra. The other is the deep-cycle capability that the battery provides, like when it’s powering a winch. Our new battery not only provides more juice, its spillproof, smaller, and lighter than the factory battery it replaces. The Yellow Top is also 15 times more resistant to vibrations than standard batteries.

These are all good traits in the world of off-roading.

ROYAL TREATMENT

Speaking of juice, we also made another change to Deepwoods: lubricants. We intend for this truck to see a lot of use in some harsh conditions. That means the engine and drivetrain are going to get a workout — and what better way to protect the vitals than to immerse them with synthetic lubricants designed for racing and other severe uses. We turned to the folks at Royal Purple (www.royalpurple.com; 888-382-6300) for assistance. In turn, they sent us their synthetic lubricants to replace the engine, differential, and power steering fluids. According to their claims, Royal Purple Motor Oil typically improves horsepower and torque up to 3%; reduces fuel consumption by as much as 5%; and typically reduces emissions 20% or more. (We’ll see what we get when it comes time to do the dyno runs and fuel-economy tests later in the project.)

Another claim, one which we are pretty confident in its accuracy, is Royal Purple engine oil extends the oil-change interval from the customary 3,000 miles to 12,000 miles. Even at $7/quart for Royal Purple, this makes economic sense even if nothing else matters. The same holds true for the Royal Purple Max-Gear differential gear lube. Max-Gear is an ultra-tough, high performance, GL-5 synthetic automotive gear oil designed to provide maximum protection to heavily loaded gears while maximizing power output throughout the drive train. We drained the engine oil (not easy on the new Tundra) and rear differential, replacing the lubricants with our new favorite color, purple. We also changed the oil filter as our truck had just surpassed 3,400 miles. We’ll change out the front differential and power steering fluid when we do the front suspension work.

PIAA IN THE RAIN

One of the biggest safety issues while driving is clear vision in inclement weather. This is especially true when the roads are narrow and/or unimproved, as is the case when exploring the backcountry. Keeping the windshield clean and clear is a challenge that the typical windshield wipers lose more than they win. Those who live anywhere there’s a lot of rain — summer or winter — know that from the number of times they replace windshield wiper blades each year. One option is applying a silicone coating over and over again to the windshield. Or, you can take our path of swapping out the factory rubber wiper blades for the silicone-impregnated wipers from PIAA (www.piaa.com; 503-643-7422).

PIAA offers several wiper inserts and replacement wiper blade models. The ones we installed to keep Deepwoods’ windshield clean and clear are the Super Silicone Wiper Blades. They are specifically designed for curved windshields, like that found on our new Tundra. In a nutshell, the PIAA Super Silicone blades squeegee off the water and at the same time put down a microscopic layer of silicone making the windshield waterrepellant. The rain drops just bead up and slide away. Another slick aspect of these wiper blades is the silicone acts as a lubricant so the wiper blades never chatter or squeak. The design also greatly extends wiper insert life which would otherwise be shortened by the effects of smog, heat, cold, ozone, and ultra-violet rays. They clearly make a difference.

TOPPING IT ALL OFF

To top the truck off, literally, is the latest bed cap from A.R.E. (www.4are.com). A.R.E.’s popular “Z Series” bed caps are custom designed and manufactured to the customer’s specifications, in our case for the 2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab. What sets these caps apart from a lot of other models is its soft rounded curves combined with the Z Series cap’s recessed windows, doors and LED brake light which offer an overall sleek design that gives the truck more of an SUV look.

We also opted to have the cap’s interior covered to match our gray Wise Bedrug. The cap came with easy-open side vent windows with screens for ventilation purposes. The tilt-down sliding front window is another nifty touch, making it easy to clean the side facing the cab. But the coolest feature is ours came with a rear latch that automatically locks and unlocks when you use the Tundra’s keyless entry system on the fob. Of course A.R.E. paints each Z Series fiberglass cap to match the truck’s OEM paint code. The cap and its painted finish are backed by a limited lifetime warranty from A.R.E. for the life of the pickup truck it is originally installed on. (We’ll be putting the camo body wrap over it, so the paint will stay well-protected from the elements anyway.)

Installation is fast and simple. While the manufacturer recommends a professional installation at one of its authorized dealers (we had it installed at Topper World in Gulfport, Mississippi), the unit has a mounting rail system that eliminates drilling holes so it can easily be clamped on with a common 9/16” wrench. It can be removed just as easily when needed. As has been proven many times in wind tunnels tests, adding a bed cap improves a pickup’s fuel-efficiency at highway speeds. So while keeping the elements at bay from ourselves and our gear on backwood’s forays, we should see some incremental mileage gains from adding the A.R.E. Z-series bed cap.

COMING UP NEXT

In our next installment, we’ll be getting into the nitty gritty of Project Deepwoods transition from plain-Jane street driver into a head-turning off-road adventurer. First we are going to wrap the entire truck in Mossy Oak camo. Then we’ll be slipping a brand new 6-inch suspension kit from Pro Comp under the chassis, along with a set of 35s wrapped around some very cool wheels. Those two changes alone will set Project Deepwoods apart from any other four-wheel-drive Double Cab Toyota Tundra on the road — or off.

We still have a lot more upgrades beyond those. We need to install our Viair on-board air system; a Westin Safari roof rack; lots of PIAA lights with custom wiring from Painless Performance Products; an ARB bull bar; a Mile Marker winch; and proximity sensors from Rostra Precision Products; and a rear-looking camera system from Visualogic. But those upgrades are still a couple more issues out. Until then, let your imagination run as you visualize exactly what Project Deepwoods is going to look like when we’re finished. It’s going to be a really sick off-road adventurer’s 4x4 — guaranteed.