2016 TACOMA AUTO VS MANUAL

Yeah I'm well aware of the changes to the 2016 models. I have one. What I'm referring to is the fact that it still revs high at highway speed w a manual 6 speed...just like the previous model. Read before you comment.

 

70mph is about 2400 rpm with the manual, not so high IMHO. about the same as a manual Subaru turbo I just sold to my daughter

 

If anyone is interested or has had a similar experience, my truck has developed a lot of Kung Pao and some lovely growl noises around 2850 km. My last vehicle was a 287HP Rav 4 and I swear this thing is faster. Plus, it is orange, so it is like, 12% faster...

 

Haha it's really fast, I've drove lots of 5.7 tundras and 4.0 tacos, they can't hang with it. If your on the highway going about 65, downshift to 3rd, rev match to 4K, and hold on!

 

It also should feel like it has 280 torque. When @Redbusket dyno'd his mt it had more peak torque than horsepower

 

Go look at the difference in the ratios on <=2015. Now compare to 2016.

 

Point being it revs at the same RPMs at highway speed....both years. I've owned both years / models...they had the chance to correct the '16 manual rear gear, and they didn't. There is no reason for a 2016 model year with a 6 speed manual to rev that high. That's the reason the manual gets 3 less MPG...

 

I somewhat agree but it's also better suited for larger tires, with 33's I think 6th will be perfect and The rpms will be just right on the highway

 

I had 33s on it. Made a minimal difference and it revved at 2500 @ 65 mph. Way too high...

 

Something must be different as I have 265s on mine and it is exactly 2500 rpm@ 75 mph.

 

The 2 gen 6MT has a .85 6th gear and a 3.73 rear end for a 6th gear final of 3.17. The 3 gen has a .71 6th and a 4.30 read end, 6th gear final is a slightly lower 3.05. About 4.5% change.

 

Yeah it seems to me that it should be around 1,800 RPMs at highway speed. 2300-2500 RPMs at 65mph is not a good thing...

 

Very interesting thread. Just picked up my new Taco Double Cab TRD Off Road with Premium Tech Pkg and 6 sp. MT. (Blazing Blue Pearl) Love it so far. Very different from my Honda Element 5 sp. The Element has 285,000 on it and the original clutch is still fine. I'm keeping it as a "beater". I have owned 5 vehicles in my adult life, all with manual transmissions. I drive the wheels off the damn things and NEVER have replaced a clutch or had transmission repairs. All of them driven over 200K. All of my friends with automatics have had problems after 100K. That isn't the only reason I like manual transmissions.....I just like driving them. My 1930 Buick has a 3 sp manual non-synchromesh. Now thats a manual lol

 

Dealers in my area do not like to sell MT. They do not stock them and they ask for 2K$ in deposit if you want to order one. The closest I could find to do a road test was about 600 miles away. Plus I have a boat to pull out of the water every weekend, so I got the AT. I do regret the choice for hilly highway, but that is about 20% of my driving.

 

DIFFERENT ENGINE!!!!

 

With MORE HORSEPOWER!!!!!!

 

You think that matters? My snowmobile is a 1.0, makes 150 hp (that's a LOT more power per liter than a 2016 tacoma 3.5), redlines at 11500 rpm, and doesn't even engage its clutch until 3500 rpm.

Different engines run at different speed, and even make their best fuel economy at different speed. The peak power is entirely irrelevant.

Anybody saying that the 3.5 should run at the same or lower speed than the 4.0 doesn't know the first thing about engines.

 

Apparently you're an engineer. Or you wanna be one. Either way, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the higher your truck revs at highway speed, the less MPG you get. The 2016 manual revs higher than the auto and gets 3 less MPG. Same truck. Different rear gear ratio. Different tranny. Other than that, stop being so dramatic. This isn't a teenie bopper site.

 

I'm looking to purchase the TRD Pro model when it comes out in the fall and I'm weighing all the different options and specs I might want.
I'm undecided on manual or auto tranny.
I've owned several manual vehicles over the years including a 1998 2x4 Tacoma.
I currently own a 2015 Subaru WRX that's manual and a 2002 Tacoma Prerunner that's auto.
I really don't feel like I'd be missing anything if I got the TRD Pro in auto.
A manual transmission to me is something fun you have in a sports car as you're carving through turns and downshifting and putting it in neutral to rev the engine to hear the motor and exhaust grumble.
The truck will be just about comfort and convenience for me and I never even considered getting a manual transmission for it. In my brain Truck = Auto. Do they even sell Tundra's in manual?
However I hear so many guys go on and on about the manual and how they'll "never own anything without one".
The new Tacoma will be a second vehicle for me mostly for weekends and occasionally driving to work (keeping my old Tacoma as a commuter, trading in the WRX). So if I did go with a manual I wouldn't be stuck driving it too much in traffic and stuff. Just can't decide yet..

 

It's a bunch of money so, get the truck the way you want it 1st time around. Test drive both, even if you got to go to more than one dealer.

I hadn't had a new one in 15 years, I told the dealer I wouldn't even look at the auto. They found a manual and I bought it, I love this truck but I couldn't or shouldn't say it the right decision for you.

Edit: On the test drive probably won't find a pro to test drive but can get a good idea from a V6 auto and a V6 standard.