Tacoma - OVTUNE - VFTUNER - Update Info and Original Development

Is it just me or does my truck get much better mileage with ECT on?

 

I haven't tried it, but depending on your specific driving conditions that may be the case. There is a whole thread here on TW somewhere with some folks getting better mpg on ECT in older Tacomas...

 

On 1.05 93 (almost all highway) I was getting around 15mpg. Then I decided to turn on ECT and I watched the average climb up to around 16.5mpg

 

[QUOTE="Shellshock, post: 19499977, member: 170338"

Custom tuning will fix your shift points.[/QUOTE]
What do you mean by custom tune. Is this an option?

 

What do you mean by custom tune. Is this an option?[/QUOTE]

It will be... in upcoming weeks. Please don't pester Mat about it now.

 

It will be... in upcoming weeks. Please don't pester Mat about it now.[/QUOTE]

Man, I dunno. I feel like he really opened a can of worms by offering that to guys. How would you even articulate the changes you want?

 

By using your words. Especially if you have significant mods that don't play nicely with the base form of the tune, like huge tires and regearing and lots of armor

 

Or even a heavy foot

 

As luck would have it, the final 1.05 dropped as I was heading back home from a week where I logged nearly 2,000 (on TSB) on the odo over the holidays. Having run dozens of versions / tests of Mat's files over the last year and a half, I have actually been overall "ok" with the TSB since it dropped... but of course eager to get my truck's power back

Initial review after over 100 miles (1.05 93) of driving, mostly city, some highway:
-Engine purrs. Very very quiet. In fact I can't hardly hear the engine on the highway.
-Shifts smooth. Even smoother than the TSB and those shifts were pretty damn smooth
-Highway. I drove a 15 mile stretch of interstate 65-75 mph this morning and I never dropped from 6th even when I needed to accelerate a bit. I even merged onto the interstate in a spot where I always needed to get into 4th to come up to speed, but it didn't... it accelerated (down and on ramp) while maintaining 5th gear.
-Throttle. Not too touchy, but responsive.
-Coasting. Very nice this has been addressed so that the transmission will upshift and spin freely if you're foot isn't on the brake... BUT
-Braking. Anytime I've seen the above tempted it came at the expense of braking. The truck still behaves the way the TSB does when braking (downshifts helping to slow you down) where as not all versions of the tune has this been the case (some versions have resulted in a hard forward braking motion that causes the front end to bounce at every stop - not the case w/ 1.05).
-Clunks. No clunks on a cold transmission yet, but certainly never warm so it's an improvement over the TSB so far.
-Power. Smooth power, making the truck feel much lighter on the 93 tune.
-Idle. Stabilized with the latest 1.05. I had tons of idle fluctuation w/ the initial file I loaded but none present on the latest 1.05.

I'm still trying to see if I can get used to the way 5th/6th behave at slower speeds. It's an adjustment for sure. I was driving in a 25mph zone with quite a bit of hills downtown and it wanted to just stay in 5th - and it was actually pulling at that gear in very low RPMs but it just didn't feel "right" when you're used to it being in 4th in that same scenario where there's more giddy-up. Not necessarily an issue, but it IS different and will require some adaptation on the driver's part unless going the custom route.

Also noticed I have been getting more idle surge in scenarios such as pulling into my garage and finding I have to be super vigilant on the brakes for fear of the truck bucking and hitting my water heater. This is a characteristic that was present on all Toyota cals before B04 but had been addressed in the TSB. Again, it's something I can live with but it is another adjustment.

All in all, I like 1.05 thus far. Will give it a good 3-500 miles to settle in and finally go in and update the review thread.

 

I agree with you on the idle surge in reverse. 04B04 was perfect in that aspect, 1.05 not the case.

 

This is exactly how my 1.05 is behaving, which for me is perfect and much better than 1.04r. I do have some new funky idle revs going on (when cold) that i don't like, but I only have about 40 miles and three cold starts on it, maybe it needs to "learn", IDK, I will do a few hundred miles and another tank of gas and report back after that. I haven't seen any comments on idle revs, but lots of other comments that have not experienced yet, it seems some trucks behave different that others.

 

A heater for hot water?

I kid. Excellent post

 

We like it extra hot. What can I say?!

 

I got the latest 1.05 loaded and only got about 50 miles of driving done with about 30 of those being highway miles.

This latest tune makes the drive..well.. boring. I found myself not having plan ahead to get downshifts to 4th before climbing hills/over passes. I could maintain speed in 5th/6th going up hills which before I was in 4th gear.

 

I'm getting worst MPG all around. Tried everything... 3 mpg less than i use to get with 1.03

 

Excitement over a new tune usually results in people driving more spiritedly than they typically would, which translates to less mpg. The maps usually need a solid full tank of gas to really set in too, so if you haven't driven that much, please do so.

 

Yup - that damn idle surge, same here (fortunately i have room in front of me in my garage, but backing out is embarrassing). One other odd thing, and I am 100% certain this was not present in 1.04r, or stock, i now have a 'click' and a surge every time I initially move the steering wheel. Minor, tolerable, but definitely new with 1.05. Oh, and I use to have this surge when i put the brake on and off when cold trying to back up, and that seems to be gone now, it just idles up on it's own (but again, i need to do much more testing, like you did).

 

The tick and surge while moving the steering wheel initially is on stock too

 

I don't get all these people being upset about it shifting into 5 or 6 at a lower speed. It helps give you better gas mileage. Want it to go to a lower gear, press the pedal down. Don't want it to shift higher than 4th, use S-4.