Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

I have the exact same issues, including what seems like gears grinding in between 2nd and 3rd. I am taking my truck in on Friday.

I have to pause in between shifts for multiple seconds with the clutch in in order to shift smoothly. Not very safe and does not seem normal to me.

 

You guys are crazy! I downshift all the time to slow down and it works just fine for me. When I first got the truck I downshifted from third to second, let the clutch out too fast and basically put a huge skid mark in the middle of the street as if I slammed on the brakes!

 

Yeah mine engine breaks just fine. I came from a civic si to the tacoma and its relatively similar.

 

My engine braking is in the middle ground. I use it often and it works, but it is definitely not as strong as it was in my previous 4 cylinder 5 speeds.

 

I have a feeling that was more of a rev match issue. I admit it engine brakes "okay" in higher revs like you probably experienced when coming down from 3rd to 2nd too quick. In my experience so far in the Taco anything below 2500 rpm has little affect compared to other manual transmission cars/trucks I have owned.

Oh well, its still a manual.

 

Agreed. I drove down Molas and Coal Bank passes yesterday in 3rd and 2nd, and it did fine on braking, above 3k rpm.

 

In my experience (a 2014 off road), the "smart" throttle can interfere with engine braking. To see what I mean, try going slowly down a slight incline in 2nd. As the RPMs get down to 1000-1200 or so, the engine will accelerate and cancel out the compression braking. Also try putting the truck in neutral and coasting downhill. The RPMS will go as high as 1300 when you're coasting at 50 or so. As you slow down while still in neutral, the RPMs drop. I have no idea why they did this. Throttle hang may be for emissions, but why on earth would they make throttle position speed dependent???

YMMV if you have a different year or model than I do....

 

Occasionally going down steeper grades with curves on hwys around 65/70mph, I'll just go from 6th directly to 4th as it engine brakes better than going to 5th.

 

I have noticed this especially when wheeling in first gear. It is super annoying and very unsafe.

 

That is some interesting stuff man, would love to know the reasoning behind it.

 

Only have about 500 miles on it (2.7, 5 spd) but seems to be almost just like my jeep was. The big difference has been the travel on the clutch peddle. Taco seems way longer but we are just getting to know each other (have "killed" it more starting out than any other standard I have driven). Sure I will "crack the code" soon, just takes practice. Clutch peddle travel just seems longer than it needs to be.

 

This occurs because above 1000-1200 the engine is in deceleration fuel cutoff DFCO using no fuel. When it gets to the low range rpm it decides it better give it some gas. Not part of whatever you are calling smart throttle, this happens all the way back to 1st generation on Tacomas and on most all vehicles with EFI.

 

Ah ok thanks for the explanation. Makes me feel better that it's not just a 3rd gen thing.

I gotta say and I hope everyone on this thread agrees with me that it is just so refreshing and so much fun to drive a manual. Going back and driving an automatic now just feels boring/frustrating. Although it has its quirks and I drive in traffic almost all the time I couldn't be happier with my decision and am super stoked on this truck.

What is EFI?

 

Engine braking (downshifting) in the first gens is easy enough, not as comfortable as doing it in my Scion tC I had before (that thing shifted like a hot knife through butter), but it's possible. The only thing that ISN'T possible is downshifting from 2nd to 1st, unless I'm going under 5mph. It simply won't go into 1st otherwise. My Scion I could get it into 1st gear at 30 mph if I wanted to, the engine would hate me for it but it there was no resistance in the trans.

 

I've test driven four (!) manual 3rd gens and found the engine braking to be adequate. Didn't notice any weirdness at all, surprised to read these posts. I felt the same about first gear too. Sure, it's short, but I see no need to avoid using it. It does its job, then you move on.

Wife is pretty bummed I'm leaning towards manual. I'll have to teach her. Any tips/advice/anecdotes there?

 

Be patient lol. That's the key. When I was teaching my ex, she actually picked up on it pretty quick but I had a hard time biting my tongue when she'd drop the clutch too hard or grind a gear.

 

I've taught a handful of people clutch feel using a 4WD truck simply due to the fact that you don't need the gas pedal to get going in low range 1st gear. It's far more desirable to use a truck with unlocked manual hubs for this, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it with my current truck as long as going simply going straight is possible.

 

Electronic Fuel Injection. Post carburetor era.

 

The gear ratio difference from 1st to reverse is crazy. I was trying to back a trailer up a steep driveway with a dogleg and I could not do it without slipping the clutch way to much, or completely stalling out the truck. Maybe I just need more practice backing a trailer with a manual, but it seemed liked if reverse was as low as 1st is, I could have came of the clutch all together and just used the breaks without stalling..

 

This is a common complaint of all gens. Not sure why they think reverse needs to be able to go fast? They should Make reverse a super low gear in my opinion.