Tacoma - OVTUNE - VFTUNER - Update Info and Original Development

The Nissan Altima is the most stolen car in America as per Forbes, probably because there are so many of them..

 

Yes, all Toyotas. My Honda (and all other Hondas / Acuras) do the same. Definitely not limited to Toyota.

 

Is it possible to change the alternator charging voltage to properly charge an AGM battery on 2017+ trucks without an alt-s fuse?

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-northstar-agm-battery-voltage-booster-upgrade.604478/

 

I believe if your truck has the tow package, it comes with a better alternator so if it doesn't, can always order the part.

 

He isn't concerned about amperage though, he is trying to boost voltage output. Long story short, the truck doesnt put out quite enough voltage to keep an AGM battery happy in the long term, which can lead to sulfating / shortened life.

 

The alternator is rated for higher amperage output, but the voltage is still limited. I have the towing package in my 2017, and a voltage monitor in the cig lighter port. At highway speeds I don't think I've seen over 13.8 volts, and an AGM battery wants 14+ Volts.

 

I am starting with 87 Base tune. Like you, I worry about availability of 91 octane when traveling. In fact, just yesterday, my wife called and said the gas station she always goes to was out of 91... and that was in the city! I also am not always confident that gas stations always have in their tanks what they claim they are selling.

Octane decisions may go away in the future as I've read that Mat is working on using the knock sensor to shift maps and adapt to the gas in the tank. Also coming is an update that will use the crawl control selector to change tunes on the road. Both sound appealing for adjusting while on (or off) the road for long periods of time.

We do love the Cricket! We managed to use it 67 days last year, while still working full time. lol

I'm really digging your ARB awning! I've been considering one for the truck or trailer.

 

With the higher-octane tunes, will the ECU still retard the timing to cope with knock if you put lower-octane gas in?

I am trying to see if it maintains that safety feature in case I lend the truck out (and they don't know better) after a tune or if I get stuck with no high-octane availability during a hurricane. I understand that you'd lose power and whatnot, I am just interested in it not blowing up the engine.

 

Yes the ECU will still default to OEM safety tables which are untouched. However, it has to knock to get to those tables, and we recommend people use the octane for the file so knock doesn't occur.

 

For 2018+, the voltage is ECU regulated.

I wonder if anyone got a chance to play around with that yet to tell ECU to provide more voltage.

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the info. I had a flash-back to hurricane Irma 2 years ago when we had to hit the road and didn't see anything but 87 for weeks afterwards.

 

@OVTune, I guess you gave up on the handhelds since I just received a refund notice. Any chance that it may still happen at some time in the future?

 

it will be re-offered when released.

 

Awesome! Thanks Mat.

 

Do you have any idea or hopes for when the handhelds will be available? I was in on the pre-order and haven't been bothered by the continued wait time, and still intend to get one whenever they're available

Or has it simply reached the point where there's literally zero idea on availability and no point speculating?

 

Keyword there is you emailed zendesk!

 

The issue that was encountered is extremely rare, and easily reversible. Sending a flash command to the ecu 100 times is just going to make it worse. Because the ecu will only initiate on that command once in its cycle. Clear DTC / cycle power would of likely avoided all of it.

 

What does DTC stand for?