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

First gear...4lo....this dog will hunt.

There is no reason why you can't climb anything you want with the 4lo gearing on the MT.

 

Not a overlay of the two engines but here is a dyno run on a 2016 3.5L manual truck and then a few post lower shows a 4.0L auto
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-tacoma-dyno-time.410608/page-5#post-11611150

The 3.5L definitely has a interesting torque curve

 

Haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I think A-TRAC in 4Lo would conquer this with ease.

 

Thanks TBV. I don't think the traction control would've saved the truck from downshifting to 1st. It purely felt like the truck didn't have the torque to climb in 2nd gear and the RPMs kept dropping.

One item I forgot to mention was the elevation. I was around 10,000 ft up on the mountain and power kinda sucks in any vehicle. Regardless, I didn't have an issue in any of the 2nd Gens I drove (manual or auto). I just hadn't driven a MT 3rd Gen up there. I guess I'm hoping the 4.3 makes a big difference vs the 3.9, with the respective trans gearing, going into places I go.

Honestly, I really want the 3rd Gen Tacoma to work for me. The auto is clearly a no-go for me.

 

After driving my mt off-road multiple times in the past few months and now just these past couple days on only forest service roads, I'm really wondering if stiffer engine/trans mounts are needed.

Driving down rocky washboard winding elevation changing dirt roads at 20-40mph I was going from 2-4th gear often. The stick was flopping around way too much and I was shifting while it was flopping around and caused some gear grinding. I'm not too happy about the excessive movement.

Are there any aftermarket motor/tranny mounts? I'm about to make my own...it was that bad.

 

Jeeze. All that noise even with the Fox's? Sucks to hear about the gear grinding. That type of driving is primarily what I do as well. That grinding would drive me nuts.

 

I have wondered about this too, notice a big difference between how much the shifter bounces around compared to my old 2nd Gens.

 

Why the preoccupation with hill climbing in 2nd gear? Just switch to first... whats the big deal?

 

THE LIGHT JUST WENT ON - I was talking with a friend the other day that mentioned, with alarm, that the engine sounded like it was racing when he stepped on it and his A.T.

 

THE LIGHT JUST WENT ON - I was talking with a friend the other day that mentioned, with alarm, that the engine sounded like it was racing when he stepped on it and his A.T. shifted down. It was then that I started thinking about how many people drive - BY SOUND- and not by looking at the Tach and factoring in the Engines power curve. There is a huge number of people that shift when they detect a certain sound from the engine. This is likely a habit that they've had for years. You give them a modern power plant (Like the 3.5) that has its power 'up-scale' and combine it with their built in - It's time to shift sound' and you have the recipe for a complainer...or for one that longs for the good old days when their old push-rod mill was sounding like it was going to explode as you reached 4-Grand. This explains the comments on this Forum from other users that know that the 3.5 is not under-powered...It's just that its at a higher RPM. Thoughts??? Clay

 

Typically I associate 4Lo in 1st gear with rock crawling or traversing an area where control and low speed is needed. Otherwise, 4Lo and 2nd gear, in my opinion, should be strong enough to drive over gravel at an incline where low speed isn't a concern. Being able to perform climbs like this is my gauge of performance, something I've seen in V6 and larger engine trucks. But, I haven't driven the MT 3rd Gen off-road, hence the inquiry of people's experiences. Otherwise, the 3rd Gen AT to me felt underpowered (at lower RPM's). I just didn't want to jump to that conclusion for 3rd gens in general.

 

I had 4wd hi in 1st this past weekend on a dried up river bed, about 20-25%. No issues. But if you're looking for a real wheeling experience at that pace , I'm sure others can chime in.

 

To say the 3.5 isn't powerful is incorrect (not saying you're saying it). It's just the power comes online at a higher RPM. Part of the complaints in the automatic is the programming of the shift points which, with Toyota's programming, sucks (my opinion). At least with the MT's you can control that 100%. My major complaint with the automatic is the responsiveness of the shifting. I'd press the pedal and it would take a while for the truck to figure out which gear to be in and shift. Something the MT's just eliminates.

I drive by sound too, but knowing where the power comes online, MT users can use that to their advantage to know when to shift. It may sound like you're revving it more, but I think it's just the nature of the engine.

Side note, it doesn't seem like that new Shift Sense addresses the responsiveness of the auto's shifting.

 

Anyone have troubles getting into reverse? Not my first stick but I'll be damned if my fluid is low or something.. even going into first and rolling it i sometimes feel like is locked out do the want to force it.

 

They'll DI and VVT kicks makes it quick at higher rpm. I've found these trucks like to be granny shifted. My 2.7 1st gen loved to revved out, the 3.5 not so much

 

The only time I've ever had a grind while shifting was when I hit a bump mid-shift, but it drives me nuts when it happens. I've noticed as I've hit 10,000 miles the shifting has definitely improved.

I'm beating a dead horse here (and I know I've talked about it on here before), but the power delivery still drives me nuts. It reminds me of a turbo car. If you go WOT and rev high in first and shift into second you're fine, but if you short shift into 2nd second and stand on it, the delay is real. Even if I'm at 3,500 and stomp on it, there's that delay. I've gotten used to it, but I'm definitely still not a fan.

The 4.0L in this truck with the 6MT would be perfect for me. That being said, I still love the truck. I might be the only person here who does. I venture into the rest of the forum and yikes.

 

I'd say that you and i share the same experience of the truck. i love it, but the power delivery holy cripes.. I'm still hoping the orange virus tune shows and works.

 

Yes, my Truck shifts like butter in all gears except Reverse which is a Mother to get in most of the time in my truck too.

 

I had a problem at first getting it into Reverse, now I find that it tends to stay there. I'll push it over to the 3/4 detent and go back to first but find it is back in reverse. As I have to parallel park, it has scared me pretty bad a few times.