What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

What I learned about driving a Tacoma is that it stops, turns, and handles like an aircraft carrier. Seriously. You put me at the helm of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan and blindfolded me and I couldn't tell you the difference.

Driving that benz around I completely forgot was handling and cornering was like. I have this turn I make on the way to school and in the truck I usually have to do a two point turn to clear the intersection. Don't even mention how hard it is to park.

But damn I drove a lot of different cars over the past two weeks (the E320, Civic, and Camry) and they were ass to drive. Windshield defroster never worked, visibility was horrible, throttle sensitivity. I'm so used to laying my foot on the gas to get anywhere or stop in the truck I looked like I was mentally incapacitated driving the sedans around because my foot instinctly hits the floor to accelerate or to stop.

Even at stock height I felt like I was on top of the world in that truck. Visibility was night and day difference from a sedan. I could see EVERYTHING.

 

Comp4x4 has some good stuff.

Use a 2000lb latch found on McCar

 

You just have to find a vehicle that knows more than you. In the taco i rarely need full throttle and it is a super sensitive throttle anyway. The cruiser I barely need to think about throttle, it knows what it wants to do and would probably appreciate it if I just stopped giving my input haha. It can get up and go but really it just sorta does what ever the hell it wants and I use my foot to encourage more or less speed but it decides how long that takes and if it is going to happen at all. I really like that about it though, it is super predictable and always fast enough despite feeling like it just has one continuous speed haha. The taco is different, it needs all the input it can get and reacts instantly.

 

where'd you get your tires from, im dying to have them put on mine.

 

Could be just that the 4 Cyl is gutless but gets there eventually. Maybe because the Tacoma has a mechanical cable throttle versus the other cars I drove that were all electronically actuated.

To each his own. When I ride passenger in the E320 I always feel motion sick, my excuse was that it was "too smooth" handling wise compared to the truck. The truck has its original 1998 suspension and non-existent leaf springs so the cab bounces like hell going everywhere. No idea why but bouncing around in that truck never made me feel sick.

 

Again the auto makes it so, it has plenty of power otherwise. Just like the V6 is way peppier (albiet not as huge a difference as the 4cyl) when hooked to a manual

 

Discount tire direct

 

Never realized how much of a difference it made. I drive it with ECT on all the time because it gives it so much more responsiveness. I mean RIP fuel economy but I can't live without that ECT button.

 

ahhh, i forgot to look there, thanks man.

 

I wouldn't have done the auto to manual part of my swap if it hadn't been so awful to drive, it was bad enough that I added way more work (full wiring swap, crossmember fab, complete interior pull apart). I could have had my truck back after a weekend engine swap otherwise, but it was that unbearably slow and gutless that I took on the extra work. I have to imagine better axle gears could help but wow I don't need them with my setup when there is a manual.

 

You did the swap when you rolled your original truck, right?

 

no its pretty gutless compared to the manual. Though still very acceptable with an auto and is never annoying in that you feel like its robbing you of speed. Unless your heavy haha

 

Yeah, I bought a fully running and driving auto 4cyl truck (grey truck). The engine was super leaky but otherwise fine, so initially I decided I'd just swap over my engine since it was recently rebuilt with less miles and be good to go. Drove the auto truck around for a week or two and it was like driving a video game car with too much lag, the throttle was basically pointless since flooring it was the only thing that made it really move. I really liked the manual in my green truck it was zippy and had plenty of control and I could choose to wind it out and accelerate fast or granny shift and go normal but with the auto I had two choices, stop or full throttle go. So instead of an easy engine swap I was into a full everything swap since fooling the auto ECU wasn't a viable option. Everything from the green truck but the interior plastics is in the grey truck now, including the HVAC piping and wiring.

 

You said the same thing I did...haha

 

Wow. How long did that take you?

Any idea if the v6 manual vs. auto has the same difference in response?

 

Im sure its still a lot better than a 4 banger and an auto though haha

 

I own both. They are different. But its not worlds apart. The auto will cruises around no problem. It'll also get up and go no problem.

But the manual rips if you want to. The auto doesn't.

I also absolute DESPISE how you only get 3 gears in low range on an auto..sucks.

 

He probably gets all the gears because he did a manual hub 4x4 swap with prerunner ECU. It is strange that the taco auto limits gears in low though, my cruiser gives you all the gears but just changes the shift points and makes sure to soft shift 1-2.

Pretty much all of last summer, but really the last month in particular since the first was just parts gathering. I only could work on days off.

Never said it wasn't, just that the auto kills power no matter what

 

HA! he probably does. That would be cool.

Shifts like a bastard in 4lo as well. Hard shifts.

 

Did you do a 4x4 swap? I see manual hubs.