HP Tuners for 2005-2015

I should get a back up ecu, re flashing on the road is a little risky, but good so far.

 

BRUH.... would HIGHLY recommend NOT to flash on the road. My bad flash, I had done EVERYTHING the same i always did the previous 25ish times and poof, a brick of a truck. Do it in your garage / space you can leave your vehicle for a week period while you get a backup ecu from ebay if possible... or if you want to flash on the road get a backup ecu and get familiar with how to get it in and syncd with the immobilizer.

EDIT - Better yet, take the 2 min to pull the kick panel, stick your phone up in there to get a pic of the part number and get a backup ECU of the same part number in your hand before you flash at all.... ~ 80 bucks and at a max of ~45 min downtime if shit goes sideways (30 of which is waiting for immobilizer sync)

 

Shout out to @nd4spdbh collaborating with @JustDSM and their combined wisdom in getting my truck to run incredible. JustDSM first got my 2014 DCLB running great with his magic HP Tuner work. I've made a half dozen posts singing his praises here but now I've got to praise nd4spdbh's V11 auto tranny tune + ACIS magic!

Clif Notes Version: Why did I wait so long to flash his V11 + ACIS tune?!? My truck drives/shifts/runs AWESOME!

Long version: It's transformed the truck. If you've got an auto tranny (that you hate as much as I do) and live in the hills or mountains or tow or all of the above, you need this tune!!! JustDSM's tunes were a giant leap forward and transformed the truck's drivability for me. Fuel economy improved, throttle response improved, it pulled smoother yet snappier to redline and it completely transformed my feelings about the truck, so much so (and this won't be a popular statement here) that my super charger funds got diverted into suspension. Now after flashing the V11+ ACIS tune and after a week of driving my test hill a few times (2000+ft elevation gain in 3 short, steep 2-3 mile sections going up to 8900ft), I feel like nd4spdbh's V11 tranny tune +ACIS tuning is the same size leap forward in drivability as JustDSM's first tune was. It's now a better-than-new truck and I couldn't be more pleased.

My impressions of the V11 tranny +ACIS tune (laid over JustDSM's V2.0 VVti tune):
-Truck holds 4th and 5th longer/deeper in the gas pedal stroke without downshifting. Why not use more of the available power to move the truck in that gear? The "absurdly aggressive downshift" is one reason I hate auto trannys and this one was especially dumb in that regard.
-4th is now an effective climbing gear for the big highway hills. This is important to me because when the truck downshifted to 3rd up a long, steep hill, a lot of heat was created because our trannys don't/can't/won't lock the torque converter in 3rd gear for some reason. Because 4th locks up, my original hope for all of this was that the truck would pull the hills at the 60mph speed limit without needing to shift to 3rd. Now...it does that nearly every time. Because of that, I've been climbing the hills 15-20 degrees cooler on my tranny temp gauge (pan temp as monitored on my Scan Gauge II).
-Lower tranny temps are awesome, but I also like the truck is pulling the hills at ~3k RPM instead of shifting to 3rd and pulling them at ~4k+ RPM. Cooler temps = longer tranny life, but lower engine speeds theoretically mean longer engine life, too.
-And a locked torque converter means that instead of taking fuel and turning it into tranny heat, it's more efficient at moving the truck forward. I haven't run a tank completely through this week but my Scan Gauge is showing 1-2 better average MPG numbers on the climb from town (26 miles, Scan Gauge showing 15.5MPG today instead of the usual 14 on the climb section (12-13 before JustDSM's tune), 29.5MPG today going down the hill, so I reckon around 22.5 for the combined trip compared to 18ish before I met JustDSM and nd4spdbh. Not bad).
-the ACIS tuning seems to wake the truck up even more. Lotta fun at stop lights but now that the truck holds a gear without first downshifting, the tuning combo really seems to take advantage of the low-end torque the 1GR makes. Holding a gear and increasing speed or pulling a hill feels more like a manual trans to me instead of just violently downshifting for no reason. Call me a grandpa, but I like this characteristic.
-Even with the V2.0 VVti tune, it used to be that 4th gear wouldn't pull the hill at 60mph (and then it would downshift to 3rd and hunt back to 4th, repeating) but today it pulled it no sweat in 4th and held at 65mph. More dyno power? I don't know but I couldn't really care. The truck is more of a pleasure to drive and does so in a manner that seems more effortless.

I know I'm jumping the gun a bit here as I only have about 150 miles on the tune, but overall, I am very pleased. Better drivability, more intelligent shifting, lower RPM's, lower tranny pan temps, better MPG. I'm a believer. Thanks nd4spdbh!!!! You're the man!

 

NONE of this wouldnt of been without feedback from you, @snowsk8air2, @mightytacoman etc etc... this is how i progress! And lets absolutely NOT forget @JustDSM for all of his complicated engine tuning.... something that my simple brain can not wrap its head around. All of my trans tuning has been trial and error with a smidge of educated guess and some excel visuals, so thank you sir for the kind words. ACIS tuning has been simply a good look at logs to see where cruising values are vs where trans shift points are vs where I would like acis to be based on some data collection that HPTuners has allowed me to gather... again, simple methods of my mind determined what was "best".... an educated guess, but it seems to be working well!

Been rocking my v11 trans tune for some time and have been REALLY enjoying it, around town driveability has been greatly improved over previous, and on the highway locked gear pulling is SOOOOOO nice. 4th gear has been probably my biggest thing on them long hauls when loaded.... its amazing how nice it is to just be able to roll into the throttle and keep speed as things get steeper without anything going on as far as trans.... them MT guys might have something on us here... MIGHT.

 

Am I even on the full v11 tune? Truck has been parked since my 2-3weeks of tuning and data logging to get my @JustDSM tune dialed and help you with the trans stuff while I work on engine cage/ big tire clearance.

 

im pretty sure you are, I know you were the one that provided feedback to make me look at minimum speeds for TCC release in 4th and 5, causing me to make v11. I THINK i made the v11b version (with reduced shifting retarding) for you and thats what you are currently running.

 

Also for those wondering what ACIS changes I have done (i think i posted them somewhere back). Based on crusing logs of my truck, I determined that a "high tps" of 35* was Ideal. This allows one to cruise without being in long intake runner mode for MPG sake, but then be able to roll into the throttle without gear changes for the most part and get into a long intake runner mode for more power.

I have also changed the activation settings to include "Low rpm - high tps" set to 1. That makes it to where long intake runners are active from 0 to 4100 rpms if the tps (throttle blade) gets to 35* or more.

 

I’ve found very similar figures to work well. I generally use my ACIS Hi TPS equal to my PE threshold.

 

So spelunking around VCM editor found something interesting spark correction due to VVTi stuffs. Pretty big hole in the spark adv offsets around the biggest vvti values which also just so happen to be the typical cruising loads n rpms.

 

Are you saying my fuel map has a nasty hole? Is that why I'm unloading in third?

Sorry, took me back to the original fast and furious and I'm a little drunk.

You think pulling the timing back in the cruising area was for emissions testing purposes?

 

Haha you n me both buddy... cheers.


I need to do some more research on timing and how maps relate to VVTi / intake cam variable valve timing advance as well as how the base timing maps look in that area... there are so many things that affect timing on these trucks its hard to see exactly whats going to be your actual timing number!

 

Hey @JustDSM

Did you ever hear back from @HPTuners about the VE calc tables being added?

https://forum.hptuners.com/showthread.php?77610-Toyota-Tacoma-VE-Table&p=566318

 

I have not. @HPTuners

 

I'm looking at doing the v11 trans tune soon. It there engine tuning worth doing on a stock engine? I am wanting to delete the Air Injection system before it lets its self go, but that's all I can think of for a stock engine. I'm looking into local tuners. I have a couple buddies with the old HP Tuner but according to the website it looks like it will not work on our trucks.

 

When I first started down the HP Tuner road, I had a stock motor. JustDSM's tune made a massive difference in drivability in addition to significant fuel economy improvements. The motor just felt snappier, smoother; happier. Since then I've added a URD Y-pipe, some VVTi and ACIS tweaking and nd4sdbh's V11 trans tune. My basically stock motor, with a bunch of heavy mods to the truck, runs awesome. I'd do it all again without a second thought, in addition to the control you have of other functions. Wink wink cough cough.

And yes, pretty sure you need the MPVI2 cable. The old one won't work.

 

DesertRatliff pretty much summed up my thoughts. Running a JustDSM V1 tune without vvti changes (still exploring those), plus my v11 trans tune and acis changes... the truck is SO MUCH more of a pleasure to drive and behaves way better to how id like it to behave.

Id do it again without a second thought as well.... though I would plan on spending ~80 bucks for a same part number ecu JUUUUUST in case.


Im curious as to what @HPTuners has up their sleeves about the aforementioned unbricking procedures, and software updates for better / quicker flashes.

Has anyone who has flashed since the 3 or 4 of us bricked stuffs mid august in a short period (and my subsequent logs to hpt and their finding) had a bricked ecu?

 

That’s great to hear guys!! What is done to the ACIS to make it preform better? Does it open up sooner or later?

Luckily I live in the Midwest, the land of LS’s so I’ve got some friends that have HP Tuners and I’m talking with one that had the MPVI2.

 

In conjunction with the V11 trans tune i have ACIS high TPS moved down to 35*, and have the activation table set to turn on long intake runner mode in both Low RPM - Hi TPS and Med RPM - High TPS areas. (stock is 60* and only in the Med RPM - High TPS range)

 

Nice. Do the engine tunes make the throttle more linear as well? That’s probably my biggest pet peeve in the winter. I was about to pull the trigger on a pedal commander until I saw this come up a few months ago.

 

Yes