New Rav4.2 owner on the board

[astroboy]

Just picked up a new to me Rav (01 2WD 5SPD) a few days ago. So far I am enjoying it with exception to the lackluster stereo and noisy truck tires the po put on it. I took a quick peak at the fuel economy and I am getting 28ish mpg (50/50 city hwy) or 340mi per tank of fuel.

It is quite possibly the most unattractive car I have owned in a while (Impulse Red Pearl) but I think with a few tasteful mods it will be better. Intentions for it is to make it perform better in its element (which is the road) so I am looking at getting some slightly larger and lighter wheels, some improved shocks (koni/bilstein), get its center of gravity down an inch or so without making it uncomfortable, get the engine breathing a little better, and a better audio setup (touchscreen navi, new speakers all around, and a stealth sub enclosure). Lastly it WILL get painted a different color but am not sure where to go with that...it will be silver or white though


Just so you guys don't think I am going down an uncharted path here are my other "projects"

Daily went From:


To:



And my track toy (project that never ends):


Lastly I am coming from a love/hate relationship of an 01 Audi A6. The thing is very comfortable and capable but horrid to work on and not so easy on the wallet for petrol (22mpg avg and premium fuel).

So thanks for giving me a minute of your time, I'm looking forward to seeing what this thing can do for me and my fam.

[JuneBug]

Wow! You took a run-of-the-mill Nissan and made it look like a BMW! Very nice! How about some pictures of the RAV4? And what's wrong with red? I like red!

[astroboy]

Thanks man, she's almost done. It is a really fun +32mpg daily driver.

The red doesn't contrast well with the gray imo, if it was black plastics there is a chance it would look better but I'm not convinced...and mine is really sun scorched so it is reddish orange. I'll have some pics of it up later today/tomorrow.

[astroboy]

Here's the pic, been super busy with other projects. This thing is going to get sound deadening material (second skin roll on and closed cell foam) along with some LED's and the front light courtesy wired.

I would really like to figure out a way to get it about 2" lower and not ride like sh!t but I don't think there is a practical way to make this happen.