vF Tuner for the 3.5L Tacoma

I don't recall off-hand, but techstream does. You could also get one of the Bluetooth obd2 with the fusion or torque app to see it.

 

As a possible better long-term solution, especially with heavy towing, a Scangauge can report Trans Pan and Converter temps. You have to add the X-gauge commands, but that is fairly straightforward.
https://www.scangauge.com/x-gauge-commands/2016-3-5l-equipped-toyota-lexus/

 

You don't want to eliminate the lock in 4th.
I did some driving around through Cascades and 4th is you primary gear to climb hills, passes while maintaining the speed. I would imagine the towing is somewhat close to the conditions. I saw tc temps going up in 4th, tc locked up to 208° at the top of 5500 feet pass. This was before i made changes to S tables for 3rd, 4th gears. Going unlocked will warm up the tranny very fast

 

Thanks for the input. The whole fuss is over a 200 RPM dip. If it's going to murder my trans, I'll stick with the drop in RPMs. Really learning a lot from everyone. I think I should back off for a bit and enjoy what we've done this far. I literally drive with the radio off to hear and feel better what the truck is doing. It's becoming an obsession.

 

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lol, exactly why I didn't start down this path, my OCD would take over and I'd be in non-stop "just one more change" mode.

I've already tried every tune you, paparee and a couple others have put out.

 

@Mooseditty17 I thought we wanted it to stay locked in 4th, not eliminate the lock. I towed my 4200 lb camper twice from Cincinnati to and thru the Rockies since 2016; last year was to Moab and I monitored the tranny temps; they climbed but never got high enough to worry about. I'm assuming same tune conditions as you @Vlady since this was before VFTuner

 

And boy that first trip in 2016 to Silverton Colorado that little 200 RPM drop was DRIVING ME NUTS!!! lol

 

Well, by going to full lock right away, we could still eliminate the horribly noticable drop in RPMs right? And then still have the benefits of being locked of course. I'll give that a go instead.

FYI, none of my posted tunes have 4th gear TC Lock removed. I'm just experimenting.

 

Read your ECU via vF Tuner (it's easier in my opinion). If it's 04B81 then you're good to go and you don't require any update. Follow the directions in the .pdf that was sent to you. The email response you receive after emailing your ECU info will contain a download link to your tune pack.

 

I would consider removing torque converter lock up in fourth in ect mode if you want to make it a performance tune. I'd consider raising the values in regular mode to let be unlocked more just not all the time. Or add a big cooler and pin the tstat like me and never worry about it.

 

I think we (or at least I) need to revisit this:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vf-tuner-for-the-3-5l-tacoma.662948/page-312#post-24329535
If these notes are correct then my changes to 3rd and 4th on S2 tables were only affecting a slip lock/unlock condition, not full lock/unlock as I understood it.

 

Our goal here is for towing, so I'd imagine we would only have 4th gear lock in ECT to get rid of the unlock and subsequent loss of rpms we don't want. Which according to the above link/post is the TC "3" tables.

 

I've been picking @ForceOfG's brain in PMs. The S maps do certainly appear to take care of slip lock only.

 

I think the issue with your graph is that you plotted % and degree.
I've been looking at accelerator position % and throttle sensor position % and throttle sensor position is always lagging by 10+%.
And it is across a few custom tunes published here

 

I'm assuming you need VF Tuner to flash .vft files to the ECU and not P5 Flash?

Just trying to gauge whether I want to pay more and stray from final 2.0. it is cool to see guys developing new files.

 

If you already have the old flash kit, the upgrade to vF is only $79

well worth it

 

You can download Vftuner and use that flash tool. It comes with the downloaded software.
You can use the vf flash tool with your regular OVTune kit.

 

Stupid question... I just got a 2021 TRD OR. Frankly, performance seems fine... not inspirational by any means, but fine... Would I be wanting to post one of these incredible customer testimonials if I were to spend $770 on the tune pack as well as software/cable? Or are these tunes more aimed at older Tacos?

 

You still have the same motor and tranny as the rest of us..maybe a slightly different factory 'tune'. I just flashed my friends 2017 tacoma with one of these performance tunes and he said its like driving a whole new truck.

If you're fine with how the truck drives now, maybe hold off. But if you start to notice weird/poor shifting and power delivery, drop the $$$. Lots of us love the tunes and they only keep getting better.

 

Made the purchase. Now starts the patient waiting
Interested to try and flash the files here.