Engine tuner

Lol yes. But you get the f#^@*! Point

 

Hey we agree again. Turbos fail and Toyota doesn't build things that fail in large numbers. That's why their resale and original sale values are so high. Gas and diesel engines in these sizes will not last much longer. Electric on battery will soon take over all small vehicles

Turbos fail. That's all there is to it

 

The Yaris disagrees

 

Ehh yeah whatever

 

Oh and the echo and the Tercel

 

Tuners, wasn't this about cracking Toyota's encryption codes? No one has cracked Toyota's computer code. No Tuners on the market that work. If there was we would see them by the palettes on here. No one markets a Tuner because no one can get into the computer to change any parameters. Almost everyone on here would buy one, how many of us have them? Anybody?

 

Microsquirt or haltec aftermarket ECMs would work fine. And plenty of tunability

 

It replaces the stock engine control module? And still keeps the stock info enough to pass an emissions test? So they haven't cracked the Toyota codes, just replace the whole unit? Interesting, wonder how they cover all the related systems.

 

Doesn't keep anything. But will run the engine and trans

 

So not really a daily driver upgrade? Bummer, would like to see a tuner that worked on our trucks. Potential for more power is there in both engines, and might be able to help with the 6 speed transmission issues, which is what I think is hurting the 3.5 engine.

 

The NEC 76F00xx based ECUs used in other Toyota and Lexus cars were reverse engineered late last year. Tuning vendors are just beginning to offer tuning services for 2GR-based engines: https://www.ovtuned.com/products/toyota-ecu-phase-1-reprogram

There are multiple ways of reflashing ECUs. The brute-force way involves opening up the case and reading/writing to it directly via JTAG, which is the mechanism the mail-in tuners are using.

The less invasive method of reflashing is by using the built-in bootloader to reflash via the OBD2 port. The challenge here is in reverse-engineering the bootloader functionality and the checksum (not encryption, as far as I know) used to verify the flash was transmitted properly. Usually this is done by extracting the ROM via JTAG and then reverse-engineering the code to figure out the protocol and checksum. On other platforms people have partially reverse-engineered the process by logging the data sent through the OBD2 port during a dealer TSB reflash.


The bigger problem is that people tend to expect a standalone "tuner" device that they can plug in to their car and magically get more power. Basically, a device that automatically flashes the car with a generic map. As much as people love the simplicity, those don't really buy you much power on an N/A platform like the Tacoma. Real tuning involves more hands-on work to dial in the particular car, which is why these tools are marketed toward professional tuners rather than the average forum-goer.

The even bigger problem is supporting such a product. Putting tuning hardware in the hands of the casual user is a recipe for massive volumes of support e-mails and calls, and the vendor will always get blamed when something goes wrong with the car, no matter what. That's why the hand-held tuner market for N/A cars just isn't as big or as lucrative as you might expect.

But I'm still interested in getting something more open-source friendly for our platforms. If anyone can get ahold of a ROM for our cars, send me a PM because I'd like to look at it.

 

that's like, facts and solid information.... what the hell?

 

Ovtuned looks promising compared to anything else I have seen. Wonder if they have support for the 2gr fks yet

 

On point!

 

thats because with toyota you can't flash them. You'd need a stand alone system from what I understand.

GIAC wont touch toyota lol. Toyota isn't flashable like VW and audi are.
GIAC is a great company but ya not their line of tuning. You'd need a stand alone system with toyota, something that stays plugged in all the time from what I understand.

I know Unichip does toyota tuning maybe they'll make one for the tacoma.

 

Nah you can flash them by OBD, Google club Lexus tune

 

Coming from a long line of turbo cars like a VW GTI and a Subaru WRX, this is 100% on point.

Cobb tuning and others make really solid handheld tuners, but that has a lot to do with the fact that you can gain a lot of power safely on a turbo car just by altering a few parameters. Change the wastegate duty cycle to build a little bit higher target boost, alter the fuel curve and richen it up to make a very conservative, safe off-the-shelf map, and you can hand out a flash loader that gains you an impressive kick in the pants of power. That's the great thing- you're not pushing the system to its limits, but you can go from a 15 psi target to a 17 psi target and get that extra power.

N/A cars and trucks can't really do that. We don't have a parameter we can alter to push more air into the engine. It takes a lot more sorcery and a lot more familiarity with the engine, because you've gotta work with spark timing and valve timing, and fuel curves are a lot more sensitive (you can't really just say "screw it, run pig rich so it's a safe tune" as easily if you're not turbo).

That said, I would certainly love to get a little more power and torque out of my 2.7L, but it's not exactly the poster child of the tuner scene. My LCE header kicks ass, but anything else you get seriously diminished returns on your money. So, I'm not holding my breath for a tune.

 

I know Garret personally... he custom tuned my V-dub. That was a one off. He's a great guy, and did it for me I think just for the challenge. Enough Taco guys hit him up he might cave and do it.
He's out in Cali now, he was in Philly when he was going to med school and hooked me up. Car on dyno.. flashing chips and doing runs. I got my monies worth for sure, and look at him now.

It can be done... it will be done. Now that Porche and VW are basically SUV based, who knows. There's probably more $$ in Tacos than the Audi/Porsche/VW sports cars if you think numbers.

 

Still no dyno results...snake oil maybe?