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It’s one thing to have a 4×4 that earns the respect from your friends and family, but it’s a whole other thing to become “internet famous.” One man from San Diego, California, managed to do both when he took a 2000 Toyota 4Runner and made it unstoppable. That man is Weston Miller.
Weston Miller managed to create not just a killer 4Runner, but an internet celebrity as well thanks to sites like Reddit and Instagram.
We at Off Road Xtreme are no strangers to the online fame game, as we peruse the 4×4 subreddit on Reddit.com from time to time. Weston goes by the handle salad_dressing_dude there, and has posted several pictures of his epic build on that site as well as to his personal Instagram page. We were excited to finally speak to Weston after learning that he had a connection with Magnuson Superchargers, seeing as he runs a blower on the 3.4-liter V6 powering the 4Runner.
“I am a marketing director in La Jolla by day and an outdoor freak all other times,” he said. “I have been working on 4Runners since 2006. My first was a ’97 and looked very similar to the one I have today. I sold it in 2010 and tried to buy it back in 2013, but it was totaled in the process.”
“By that time, it was a pretty well-known rig and it was an eye opener how many people were as bummed as me,” he continued. “I decided to start the process over again with an identical platform, this time a 2000, and from there try to build an icon of the third-generation 4Runners.”
Weston has taken the 4Runner to several off-road hotspots in Southern California, including the Mammoth Lakes region southeast of Yosemite, as seen here.
Asked why he went for supercharging his 4Runner, Weston said: “Well, the desire is there for most all 4Runner owners. I’ve always dreamed of supercharging my engine. But the weight added up as we built, and the need for more power became very obvious. I was weighing an engine and transmission swap, but the 3.4-liter setup is extremely reliable and I have always wanted to see what she’s capable of with some special attention.”
Magnuson picked up where Toyota and TRD left off after supercharger production was terminated by the automaker. Above is Magnuson’s supercharger made for the 3.4-liter V6 in 1990s and early 2000s 4Runners and Tacomas. It increases horsepower and torque by 25 percent.
Weston was distraught to learn that after deciding to supercharge his V6, Toyota was canceling production of all future superchargers. However, Magnuson was there to turn Weston’s luck around. “Magnuson manufactured TRD’s superchargers, and when TRD killed the program, Magnuson kept it alive by continuing production under their own brand name,” he said. “LCE Performance has a long-standing name in the Toyota community, and it was no surprise they were one of the first to start selling the newly branded superchargers.”
Since installing the supercharger, Weston has had nothing but good things to say about the modification. “It’s a game-changer, plain and simple,” he said. “These trucks are fun to drive as is, but the supercharger system complements the stock setup so well. I still need to re-gear to 4.88:1, as well as add a 7th injector with a tunable ECU.”
Weston has driven his 4Runner all over Southern California, and has a blast doing it, too. “I’ve been to Anza Borrego, Palomar Mountain, Corral Canyon, and up in the Minarets near Mammoth Lakes account for most of the trips,” he said. “I still have lots to explore and discover.”
We tip our hats to Weston and his adventuring ways, and look forward to seeing where he heads to next. If you’re ready to see about supercharging your own rig, then check out Magnuson on its website and Facebook page.
