What does sound good, though, are its underpinnings. The FJ Cruiser sits on a modified Tacoma chassis equipped with a long-travel suspension and 33-inch tires. Under the hood is a 3.4L V-6 that puts out 250 hp thanks to a TRD supercharger and TRD after-cat exhaust.
Rollcage Specs Under Development
As the sport of rockcrawling gets more serious every year, one sanctioning body is looking into tightening some of its safety regulations. The Eastern Rock Crawling Championship (ERoCC) Series has commissioned the SFI Foundation to create rollcage design and material specifications to be used in rockcrawling competitions. SFI has set rollcage and other safety standards for many different forms of competition, from dragsters to pulling tractors.
Since rockcrawlers are looking for ways to shave weight off their vehicles, "the proper rollcage design becomes much more critical," said Tim Rettig, a spokesperson for ERoCC. "Our specification will be similar to the NHRA's Driver Pod design, which can fit into many different types of vehicles and is only concerned with the cage that protects the driver compartment. This allows the competitor to do whatever they want in front of, behind, and under the driver pod."
ERoCC says SFI will spend some time studying the forces that rockcrawlers are exposed to, and will then work with the participants and aftermarket manufacturers to create a viable cage specification. ERoCC believes the rollcage spec will become a part of its series in the 2004 season.