More power?? How!

Only the people with their vehicle listed as such as myself, wtf these others doing here should take a long drive off a short cliff imo or beat it lol. Btw if I were you I would keep that 99 Runner it's one of the most sought out ones on my island "Oahu" . A friend of mine would buy that in a heartbeat!

 

OP, get a manual transmission...

 

Yes get a MT or use the S mode if you need to shift like a manual

 

the MT is awesome over here.

 

I think I just found one of the issues with the drivability. It seems Toyota has programmed a deliberate lag in to their electronic throttle control system. I found the following illustration in some tech literature.



Essentially, the dashed line would be a traditional mechanical throttle. The solid line is the electronic throttle control curve (or drive by wire). Notice the throttle opening lag and then the throttle closing lag? Essentially the engine doesn't get full power for a certain time period after throttle application. That seems silly.

If the ECU could be cracked, perhaps this lag could be removed?

There are other controls inside the engine including a variable intake runner shutter, and a change between direct and port injection that likley contribute to some of the uneven power deliver that can be felt at times during acceleration.

Here is the literature I found. Some very good technical details on the new engine!! Page 146 in the document has the details on the above image.
http://www.toyotareference.com/guts/tacoma16_engine.pdf

 

that's why i was asking. i like hearing information from actual owners of the vehicles I really love the 99'. It's wonderful. I'm pretty handy with engines. I've pulled it out- polished it, and put it all back together. I'm sure you know though- over time the cylinders, piston rings, and everything wears out. I just don't know if the car is honestly worth the total engine overhaul.

 

it's all software controls. it's all possible. will it get cracked? that is the question. if yes, then we find what's actually possible with the hardware.

 

Yep. Cock-blocking the driver will ultimately save some fuel. Instant throttle response gets a little addictive and before you know it you're using a lot of fuel. I'd still rather have instant throttle. That's one reason I loved my 2002 so much.

 

Crawl control!

Crawl control!
No? what if you get stuck in the sand?!

 

in manual trans vehicles of this size you can rock the vehicle back and forth shifting quickly between R & 1 and slipping the clutch to keep it smooth. you can rock vehicles with city tires out of dry sand using this method. i have done this in two previous vehicles but never a Toyota yet... the shift pattern is pretty new to me in that regard.

anyway, that's what you do if you get stuck in the sand.

 

Oh man! My buddies lexus has some lag, but i figured it was because it was one of the first electronic throttles from lexus. That's absolutely insane they'd do it on purpose! I rely on instantaneous throttle when i'm in serious situations. I actually relied on it today when i was crossing 4 lanes, and a speeding driver flew towards me. I floored and fortunately got out of the road. This was my main reason for wanting more power, by that purposely delayed throttle is just insane. I'd imagine ripping out the engine control module and putting a new one could fix a lot of problems. A company makes them for mercedes, but none for the toyota.

I'd imagine it can be cracked. The question is will the developers see a market to invest all that time and money into r/d.

I find instant throttle kind of a requirement of a machine. I'd never imagine doing it on purpose.

Are we saying to 'counteract' the throttle lag you put your food down twice as far?

 

Do you have any lag on the manual throttle response when engaged in a gear? I'd imagine it's still electronic other than physically pushing in the clutch. I love manuals- just not when traffic finds me haha

 

A simple "sport" button or something to go to a more responsive throttle map would have been nice.

 

You have that haha. Toyota doesn't label it sport though, as lots of people would be ruining their fuel economy. Its the little button which says ECT. It's even on my 99'. Technically people think it's for towing, but it stands for electronically controlled transmission. Instead of torque sensors but works to higher the shift points to use more of the engines power and rev higher. Really helps me out

 

That is only for the transmission. I'm talking throttle map. Plus, mine doesn't have an ECT....I'll decide when to change gears thank you!

 

aha just saw manual. My bad. I see what you're talking about. They should totally take advantage of an electronic throttle by different throttle designs. Progressive, linear, etc. That would be absolutely amazing.

 

So, I read some of the theory of op in this link. Exciting stuff, thank you for posting it. Preliminarily, it looks to me that the engine is designed with an eye to emissions at every system. With that said, during heavy and rapid throttle movements, the air feul ratio will deviate from the desired stoichiometric ratio of 14.7/1 quite significantly. In order to control the deviation, slowing the response time of the full throttle input could allow the deviation of the stoichiometric ratio to be limited to a more eco friendly condition. Controlling the throttle positioning in this manor could easily be justified by the knowledge that the total engine RPM has not had a chance to climb up as fast as your foot can step. So while the engine is in a low load state and then commanded to a high load, the computer can slow the input down because your engine would not have yet attained the power you desire in that moment the lag is programed in anyways. The advantage of this input buffering is probably just to control the deviation from the ideal stoichiometric air fuel ratio at the expense of throttle response.

This is all cojecture, it probably has no basis in real life. Please have mercy, first post here.

 

I'm sure that is at least part of the reason for it. Can't count how many times I have ridden in a car where the driver is constantly acceleration and letting off. They are usually completely oblivious to it to. Not paying any attention to trying to keep a smooth throttle. Horrible for fuel economy and emissions due to what you discuss!

 

It hasn't for you. And I'm sorry about that - I do understand the disappointment, but the majority seem to be happy with the way their 3rd gens are performing. That tells me either there is something wrong with your truck or it simply didn't do what you expected it to.

 

Maybe most folks like the way their 3rd gen performs.... but if it isn't two or three times a day here, at least ONCE a day we see someone (often new) post a thread about wanting more power, wondering why the truck is shifting poorly, or questioning if the lack of bottom end grunt is normal