Sport or Off Road

Yes, kind of. Haha

If all 4 tires have equal traction they should all be applying power to the ground. If one tire on each axle hits a low traction spot the power follows the least resistance and both of those tires will spin, at the same speed, and the opposite tire on that axle will not be applying torque.

That's the way I think of it, I could be totally wrong.

 

Back before A-TRAC and ALSD on a 4x4, if you had a tire start to lose traction and spin (front or back) the trick was to apply the brake to get the spinning tire to hold back as if it was getting traction and divert the power to the other wheel. Heavy brake pedal with just as heavy gas pedal. Got me out of tight spots a few times.

 

gotcha. So related question: does the SR or TRD sport 4x4 have lsd at least? I noticed some trucks like ram will have lsd as an option but don’t even the base model taco 4x4s have it?

 

The TRD Sport 4x4 has what they call Automatic Limited-Slip Differential, not a real mechanical limited-slip. I believe it uses the brakes to get the power to transfer when a wheel starts to slip, kind of like what I was talking about in the earlier post but done automatically by the computers.

 

We all have Traction Control, you are going to have to experiment with your truck to figure out how everything works.

 

Is a rear mechanical l-s better than automatic?

 

It's more complicated and requires more maintenance. And it's expensive to fix.

Brakes are cheap to replace. And almost as good.

 

Guess the only advantage of having a 4x2 OR is being able to use the locker in 2wd.

 

Watch the Rock Part about 6:30 of the video, he basically gets the truck semi-stuck and engages the Rear Locker to continue on.

 

The non off road trucks like the sport is still 4x4

 

Yes, but if things slip, then one wheel on each axle "works" and the other does nothing. That is my way of seeing it.
With a locker (or A-TRAC), then both wheels on that axle are "working" no matter what the surface is like.
This is worth watching, enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFdJza0AbeA

 

How short a fella are you, son ???

Get yourself some phonebooks to sit up on like a grownup and the scoop won't bother you.

 

I tried out an SR5 and an OR. From what I read on here, the Sport rides like the SR5. I found that the OR rode much, much better and that was what helped us make our decision. We go camping a lot, but will likely never intentionally do any off-roading. The Sport is very, very sharp looking. I saw a Barcelona that was quite a head-turner.

 

And that's why I never even thought about the off road until I joined TW.

 

Hell....I never even knew about many of the models until I joined TW.

 

Thank you ALL, for the great advice, which was key in my making a decision. I, unintentionally, struck a nerve in the debate which was interpreted as the passion of ownership.

Purchased a 2015 TRD OR, with 27k miles. About 1 in 4 of the new ones I drove had an odd upshifting/downshifting issue that none of the dealerships would acknowledge or explain. This one shifts much smoother, and last of the 2nd gen should (I hope) should be much more reliable.

Thank you again,

 

Congrats on the Truck.

 

the new ones shift like crap. my dealer said yea we get a lot of complaints about that sine we went drive by wire. they know about it just don't care apparently...

 

Drive By Wire has been on Tacoma's since around 2003, the weird shifting is probably due to programming as it's trying to get the best MPGs

 

well when i mentioned it the other day to the service woman thats what she said.. so they know people aren't happy with whatever is causing it but they don't care.