Ownership Review | 2012 Toyota Fortuner AT | Story of another Ageless Rockstar

Introduction

Bhpian @RAHS had the following to say on his ownership update on his beloved 2012 Toyota Fortuner

Once again, he was keen that I do the honors on updating you all with a small gift that we gave this wonderful machine on @RAHS' second anniversary with her - the gift of a sound and light upgrade.

Background

My association with Fortuners dates back to even before I met bhpian @ RAHS, but his car has been rather special, coz this is an example that's done over 2,60,000km and still looks so fresh. When bhpian @RAHS has an itch, he has to have it done, and doesn't look at options this way or that way. For his second year celebration with the car, he was keen on the following:

1. A new head unit to replace the archaic silvery head unit that came in the 2012-2015 Fortuners
2. New speakers to replace the meooow speakers that came with the car
3. New lights for the headlamps and fog lamps

The task on hand

To find the right place to perform this upgrade, he hsd examined a few places in south Bengaluru, and JC Road. Fresh after a DIY on my own car, I offered him a few options of him sourcing stuff from elsewhere and getting them installed, but he was keen on an end2end solution in Bengaluru. He'd got some stuff installed on his then Swift at Car Shringar JC Road some 10 years ago, and also had a few options in Koramangala. After some due diligence on options and pricing with a few places, he zeroed in on Car Shringar Mission Road for this mission!

Mission Mission Road

I was returning late night from Pune after an official trip and @RAHS asked me if I was okay to accompany him on this mission the following morning. Knowing him, he was earnestly looking for support to help him make some informed choices, and I agreed. So off we went to Car Shringar early in the morning. The budget he'd kept was approx INR 60k for the audio upgrade and approx INR 15k for the lights.

Statutory Warning: Sound and light upgrades can be injurious to one's wallet!

Options available

Audio and audio support systems

1. Head Unit - Pioneer 5290BT, Sony 5500, Sony 4000, Pioneer 5450BT
2. Drivers - Components + coaxials - Hertz, Morel, Helix, Cerwin Vega, Alpine, Infinity, Audison
3. Damping - Nautilus, Moco, Pioneer
4. MDF rings with leatherette covering plus silicone water protection covers

Lights

1. Plenty of options from INR 6k a pair to 15k a pair

Final choices

1. Pioneer 5290BT
2. Audison APK165 components and APX 6.5 coaxials
3. Pioneer DS-N180R damping
4. X-7 Seven LEDs

Reasoning behind the choices

1. 5290BT - tried, tested, best seller, and a good tradeoff between price and quality
2. Audison drivers - stretch and get the best that your budget allows
3. Damping - well, the best priced among options available
4. No reasoning

Let the show begin

Let the pictures do the talking.

Audison Components


Crossover fastened to the door - switch set to zero dB


Stock front speakers and tweeters


Damping of one door in progress - a total of 12 sheets were used for four doors


Front left door damped


Rear left door before


Rear left door - damped and speaker in position


Head Unit being removed


Head Unit removed - a sight one would never like to see in one's beloved car


Wiring interface to retain OEM functions - steering control, OEM camera, mic etc - teaching the new head unit to receive inputs from the steering controls was so easy, like in the Android HUs


New HU in with the OE metal frame


Head Unit final finish with a dash kit

The show comes to an end

After the audio came the turn of the lights. The left LED foglamp bulb had turned blue, and warranted a replacement. From among the options available, a rather expensive option was chosen - on the store owner's recommendation. This was X7- Seven LEDs. Time will tell if this was a good choice - fingers crossed

New LED Bulbs - the old fog lamp bulbs were of a brand called Sonilex


The Fortuner light show - BEFORE - with stock HIDs on low, Philips 100W halogen bulbs with relay kit on high, and Sonilex LEDs on fogs


The Fortuner light show - AFTER - with stock HIDs on low, X-7 Seven 60Wx2 LED bulbs on high, and X-7 Seven LEDs on fogs


Driving back enjoying the sound and light show


and rewarding myself with a well earned Neer Dosa


Day well spent and some key takeaways

I really enjoyed Baby's day out with the Fortuner and did learn a few things:

1. With LED lights, it is a money spinning story out there - so many brands, so many explanations, and no one knows what is the legitimate price that one must pay for a pair of bulbs
2. Again with LEDs, there are no regulations on the maximum wattage allowed - we even saw 110W per bulb
3. For the first time in my automotive life so far, I found good workmanship and no sense of urgency in an installation at an accessory store - kudos to Taj Pasha who did the job
4. Do not expect discounts of more than 12-15% on MRP on standard products like branded HUs and speakers
5. When on an upgrade project, resist the temptation to overshoot one's budget; the thrill will soon give way to some shrieks
6. Getting a double din dash kit for a 2012 Fortuner has become a challenge now

The spend

1. Head Unit INR 24k
2. Drivers - Components plus coaxials INR 23k
3. Damping - INR 10k
4. OEM integration kit, wiring, installation, dash kit INR 10k
5. Lighting upgrades INR 18k

What could have been done better

1. If one was sure of not upgrading to an amp set up in the future, two pairs of lower priced components ( eg. Morel, Hertz, Alpine) could have been used instead of the Audison Component - Coax set up
2. Wiring harness - it is better to source this from a recognised brand eg. Metra /dhc instead of going with whatever was available without planning. Reason : the commercially locally available OEM integration harness wiring which connects the Head Unit to the stock wiring may not have good enough cables resulting in a signal loss.
3. If the properly functional Toyota archaic head unit had been used, the money saved could have been used to provide speaker level inputs /via Hi-Lo converter to an amp which could have powered all four speakers and created a better upgrade. Yes, here the opportunity to upgrade to an Android Auto - Apple car play set up would have been missed

In my view, expenses at points 4 and 5 were a little over the top, but the quality of work and the satisfaction of seeing a good end product more than wiped that away. It was a day well spent!

@vigsom,

Many Thanks for being with me the whole day to get this work done at Car Shringar and also for taking the time to update this thread with all the details

Guys at the store were pleasantly surprised with your immense knowledge in Automotive field.

Hats off to your patience, energy level and passion for cars. Next level

Cheers,
RAHS

Thank you @RAHS and @vigsom for this wonderful thread! The facelifted Fortuner [2012-2016] stands out to be the best Toyota for me ever produced. A dream car since the first TVC was released. Although I am late, Congratulations for the beast! Please continue posting more updates in the thread

Great to see your beauty. Did you consider having a dashcam when you planned the audio upgrade?
Great to have an expert like @vigsom by your side for assistance.
Rgds, Balaji