4.6i in Tacoma

Yeah a regear would help a lot.
4.88 or 4.56 would work perfect with 33s.
My back up plan is waiting till they have a superchager or putting one on my 2010.

 

Oh that's definitely confirmed. And likewise with Gen Deuce.

 

After you lift it, add tires, lights, bumpers and maybe a rack, mpg is going down no matter what, so a high torque engine is what is needed.
At this point it takes X amount or power to accelerate and maintain speed and the more torque the better.
And I bought a truck not a car, so when I need to tow, I need it to tow and I don't want to rev the crap out of it.

Why not get a Tundra Because you can't off road or park with that huge beast or I would have one.
The Tundra gets a kick a** engine, so why not one for the Tacoma???

The Tacoma is a great truck it just needs an option for more torque, so bigger V6 or small V8 with more torque is not unreasonable.
The 3.5 is great for stock and an overland build, most everyone else needs a bigger engine and MPG will be about the same.

 

What you're describing here isn't a lack of power. You're describing a throttle response that doesn't match your old expectations.

If you're not going WOT, then you're already not using all of the power the truck has available to you. You don't need more power, you just need to press the pedal harder and let the engine and transmission do their thing. Under your definition, if we could reprogram the throttle response curve in the ECU to be steeper at partial throttle, you'd feel like the truck was somehow faster despite not actually having any more power on tap.

This is why I asked above if anyone complaining about lack of power was actually going WOT, or if they were just complaining about a perceived lack of power due to the throttle pedal curves and higher-revving sound of the engine that many aren't yet used to.

 

Honest question: Why do you care? Revving the engine out is just fine. It's designed to handle the revs. There's nothing wrong with letting it spin at a higher RPM.

The idea that a bigger engine with more power will magically produce the same MPG as the smaller, less powerful engine is pure fantasy. At minimum, if you're actually using any of that additional engine power then you're going to be burning more fuel by definition. But more importantly, the bigger engine will almost certainly be less efficient at cruising speeds. There is no free lunch to be had here.

 

Actually had to Google what WOT is. Want familiar with the term. To answer that, yes I was pedal to the medal. Either way, doesn't matter. Love my truck, still want more power in the future

 

After I lift it and add 33s a bigger engine will drive much better and get close or the same MPG...
A lager engine working less or a small engine working hard will use the same MPG.
A bigger and heavier chevy silverado with a 5.3L or a 6.2 gets better MPG than our 3.5 so engine size doesn't matter.

When the 4.0 came out it had class leading power.
So did the tundra.
I know they can have more power and at least the same MPG.
Toyota is just being cheap. I sold Toyotas for 7 years so I know when they are not trying.

 

So why don't you transplant a V8 into your Tacoma after you lift and put bigger tires on it. Then come back and let us know how that worked out for you? You say Toyota is being cheap? Do you think that if they offered the V8 option they would keep the price the same? Obviously they would charge a premium so they wouldn't lose any money. So how is that being cheap? They don't put a V8 in it because it would start creeping into the Tundra price point as well as other full sized trucks. Tacomas have built a niche for itself in the mid sized segment if you haven't noticed. You say you sold Toyotas so how is this a mystery to you?

 

This is not a conspiracy or some unwillingness to respond to the market. The reality: CAFE 2025 standard will kill the midsize v8 pickup truck.

Toyota (and others) have 8 years to get the fleet average to 54.5mpg. That is only one more generation of the Tacoma at best. There is no chance they will squander precious mpg average ratings on the Tacoma which has no actual need for it, and sells fine without it. Everything will go to small displacement mpg friendly designs, saving only the true work horses for the mpg hits to be subsidized by the rest of the product line, aka the Tundra.

 

I haven't driven the automatic, but I don't feel the manual transmission truck lacks power at all. It gets 4.30 gear from the factory. I think it feels great. I never want for power in my '17 DCSB M/T.

 

I currently drive a 2016 chevy 5.3 and it's getting me 2 mpg worse than my 2014 4.0 Taco was getting. Driving the same route to work everyday. So I would guess a 2017 Taco 3.5 would be better. I think adding some juice to a v6 such as twin turbo's or something would be a better option then a v8 for the Taco. But that's simply my opinion. Has anyone tried a programmer or Dyno work on the current Taco v6 ? Would be interesting to see those results.

 

Hey Toyota ! Can you gear me now ?

 

No, that's not correct. A bigger engine will have higher parasitic losses and reduced efficiency at light loads. You spend 90-95% of your driving time at light loads, so any losses in the light load region (cruising) will have a greater negative impact on your fuel mileage than any hypothetical (and questionable) efficiency gains you get for the 5-10% of time you're accelerating, passing, or climbing a steep hill.

Bigger tires and a lift reduce your fuel efficiency by increasing drag and parasitic losses. You can't just put a bigger engine in the vehicle to make up for that. The bigger engine must also generate more power, which uses more fuel.

I'm not sure why this myth is so prevalent here, but no, an equally-equipped (4x4 vs 4x4) Silverado does not get better gas mileage than a Tacoma. The Silverado is actually a pretty good truck for what it is and they've done a good job with fuel efficiency. If you're looking to tow on-road, it's a really good choice. But it's still a heavy truck, which is why city fuel efficiency is worse than the Tacoma in every engine configuration. Take a look at the front-end of the Silverado and how low that front air-dam sits to see one of the ways they improved highway mileage. That low front air dam is the opposite of the Tacoma's high front ground clearance and as far as you can get from the 33s and lift you were talking about above. You're comparing apples and oranges, but either way it's incorrect to suggest that the 3.5L Tacoma gets worse gas mileage than the V8 Silverado.

The outgoing 4.0 has less power than the 3.5L in the 3rd gen. If you look in to the design papers for the 2GR-FKS, it's obvious that Toyota did not go the cheap route with the engine design. There's just no free lunch when it comes to pickup trucks. If you want a tall, off-road capable, high-ground clearance pickup with a full-featured (heavy) interior, then it's going to be unfriendly to gas mileage. Toyota actually did a pretty good job of matching up the requirements with the engine.

 

My truck sometimes feels under powered when I'm towing (5000 lbs travel trailer), specifically when merging onto a highway at WOT. However, it still tows well overall and the 345 days a year when I'm not towing, the 3.5 certainly has adequate power. Since I have a manual, it's easy to rev it out and it really comes alive above 3500 rpm to the redline. It's more fun to drive and noticeably more powerful than the 4.0 I'm still really happy with the truck and do not want a full size.

Speaking of which, the "if you don't like it, sell it and buy a full size" argument is juvenile. Most of us in this thread aren't whining or saying the truck is an under powered piece of crud, we're just offering constructive criticism that a little more power and torque would be really nice to have and we'd be willing to pay extra for it.

 

I very much agree with you. I have the manual transmission and have not one complaint about the power. I have complete control over the power delivery at all times. It actually feels quite powerful to me. I think Toyota did a fine job putting this engine in the Tacoma. It may not tow like a full-size, but it still does tow well. But at the same time, I think Toyota knows that most who buy a Tacoma aren't really towing anyway and they know the limitations vs a full-size in this regard.

I am very happy with the new Tacoma on all fronts. However, I would not complain if they offered an engine with more abundant low end torque to make it a little more truck like engine. That said, I certainly have nothing to complain about with the 3.5L

 

Damn...I don't know where you are getting those mileage numbers. My '16 Tacoma V6 SR5 gets easily 23-25 on the highway. It will drop to 22+ at Interstate speeds (75-80). In town (many stop signs/short trips) it never gets below 17 mpg and usually averages 18-19. I sold a '12 SR5 TRD Tundra with the 4.6L V8 to get the Tacoma. The in-town mileage sucked (13-15) but on the highway it easily got 19-20 mpg. In all honesty it was under-powered for the Tundra but I never really noticed it that much as I only towed a 5 X 10 enclosed m/c trailer with a Harley on occasion. Then the mileage would drop to a consistent 15 mpg. I rode in a friend's 5.7L Tundra and the difference was night and day. That damn thing would pull a building down. Would I like the 4.6L in my Tacoma? You're damn right! I honestly don't think the drop in mpg would be all that significant. IMO, if mpg is an issue then this thread is useless to you. But then again, I only drive about 1000 miles a month and gas in LA (Lower Alabama) consistently stays below $2 per gallon (current price $1.88) so my outlay for gas is only $50-60 per month. Bottom line, I'm happy with my 3.5L Tacoma. I was reading a thread about the ECT?...never even used it...worthless option IMO (yes, I know MANY use it often..some consistently).

 

I do not get the dislike for the 3.5L we have .
Are my memories of my 84Toyota 22R (22re?) misguided ? I had a 84 -manual and it had a lot of low end torque , BUT , it fell on its face in a hurry . It seemed as if the clutch was slipping at higher rpm's after 30 feet because it was all noise and no go . I prefer the new 3.5 , as it kicks in like a turbo at 3500 rpm . For stock tires and 3.5 ,it would benefit from a little higher gear of say at least 4.30 or even 4.56 and this truck would be perfect.

 

I just want a boost in power. Honestly the 3.5 can make good power. Think it's rated at like 300+ in the lexus variant. Toyota just detunes them for longevity. I would like a turbo or supercharger....No need for a v8...

 

Totally agree

 

Lots of folks poo poo'd GM for sticking with a pushrod V8, but truth is, they don't need big ole Big Block Hemi sized heads on a small displacement engine to make gobs of power. The LSx is a great platform for making power even with push rods. Plus it's small in overall size.