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OVtune for towing

Discussion in '3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)' started by BlasterJoe, May 13, 2020.

  1. May 13, 2020 at 12:17 PM
    #1
    BlasterJoe

    BlasterJoe [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I currently have orangevirus performance tune on my 2018 Tacoma TRD Sport.
    Does anyone know which tune is the best for towing near the tow limit?
    I will be towing about 5500lbs or slightly more from NJ to FL.
    Thanks in advance
    I tried to search but wasn't able to find anything for my specific situation
     
  2. May 13, 2020 at 12:19 PM
    #2
    Anchovy

    Anchovy Rule #1: Never take me seriously

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    In my very recent experience with towing 13,000lbs. I would suggest one of the base tunes, the performance tune tip-in is too aggressive for heavy towing in my opinion
     
    BlasterJoe[OP] likes this.
  3. May 13, 2020 at 1:04 PM
    #3
    Dirk Diggler

    Dirk Diggler Under the Stun Gun

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    ....towing what ? I am genuinely curious
     
  4. May 13, 2020 at 1:06 PM
    #4
    Anchovy

    Anchovy Rule #1: Never take me seriously

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    Had to tow a broke down work truck home. And since I don’t own a trailer (let alone a trailer big enough) I had to do it with a recovery strap
     
    BlasterJoe[OP] likes this.
  5. May 13, 2020 at 2:11 PM
    #5
    Dirk Diggler

    Dirk Diggler Under the Stun Gun

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    Holy crap that must've been painful. I'm assuming it was a short tow and side streets??

    Also what were you hovering at s1 or 3 and turning 5500 RPM ?
     
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  6. May 13, 2020 at 2:36 PM
    #6
    Anchovy

    Anchovy Rule #1: Never take me seriously

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    S1 kept it below 2500 rpm. Mostly main roads for about 2 miles. Pulled it like a champ until the touchy throttle had me jerk the strap tight a couple times
     
  7. May 13, 2020 at 2:39 PM
    #7
    BlasterJoe

    BlasterJoe [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Gotcha. Gonna try that soon.
     
  8. May 13, 2020 at 3:10 PM
    #8
    Dirk Diggler

    Dirk Diggler Under the Stun Gun

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    Nice not gonna lie that's impressive.
     
  9. May 13, 2020 at 5:32 PM
    #9
    trdsilver

    trdsilver Well-Known Member

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    OVTune, King 2.5", Total Chaos UCA's, Icon RXT Leaf, Icon Rear Bumps, Pelfreybuilt Silders, JL Audio, Cali-Raised LED, Toyo RT 285-70-17
    I tow a 5,000 lb dual axle camper with my truck & OVTune. The more performance driven tune, the better in my opinion. Having the ECT button helps as well because the truck shifts earlier, holds lower gears longer and the more sensitive throttle helps me from flooring it every time I hit a hill.. with that much weight, the quicker shifting is a big help. But in all honestly, I use S-mode a lot with that much weight due to driving in the mountains.

    I have also towed my buddies jeep with a tow strap and agree the sensitive throttle was not very fun.
     
    BlasterJoe[OP] likes this.
  10. Oct 21, 2020 at 1:14 PM
    #10
    Taco wannabe

    Taco wannabe Well-Known Member

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    I literally have the tune kit in the "cart", but haven't pulled the trigger. The only thing I'd really like it for is towing. I'm pleased overall with the towing I've done locally. I tow a 7x14 v nose enclosed for work. I never go far, never more than 50 mph roads. It does well. However, I just did a 6.5 hour hall on the 401 with a few little hills pulling two four wheelers on an aluminum trailer and it wasn't all pleasant. The unnecessary downshifting to go up a slight incline is annoying as hell. Convince me the tune will help rectify this.
     
  11. Oct 21, 2020 at 1:57 PM
    #11
    trdsilver

    trdsilver Well-Known Member

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    OVTune, King 2.5", Total Chaos UCA's, Icon RXT Leaf, Icon Rear Bumps, Pelfreybuilt Silders, JL Audio, Cali-Raised LED, Toyo RT 285-70-17
    I have the tune and run it on 91 octane. There is noticeable power gain when driving around without towing. Unfortunately there is no replacement for downshifting to get the engine into the powerband when towing my 4,500 lb dual axel travel trailer up a hill. Is your truck constantly downshifting and upshifting when going up a hill? Or are you just annoyed that it has to downshift to tow a trailer uphill?

    The more I tow the trailer, the more I get used to the higher revs. Just down shift before you get to the hill and ride the revs.
     
    brtnstrns likes this.
  12. Oct 21, 2020 at 5:23 PM
    #12
    Taco wannabe

    Taco wannabe Well-Known Member

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    This last tow was a rare occurrence. Not significant hills, but hills. I find my 2 jetskis tow way nicer than the four wheelers. The quads are lighter, but I understand the diamond plate collapsible tail gate can be a wind grabber. But, to answer your question, yes going up these slight inclines and it would drop to 3rd, go back to 4th and back to third, in all of 2 minutes. Annoying to say the least. So, 95percent of the time, I'm towing my trailer close to home and it does it very well. But going to the cottage or any distance (and at highway speed) any improvement would be an improvement. I did see how you opted for performance tune and another guy did base tune for towing.
     
  13. Oct 21, 2020 at 5:36 PM
    #13
    trdsilver

    trdsilver Well-Known Member

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    OVTune, King 2.5", Total Chaos UCA's, Icon RXT Leaf, Icon Rear Bumps, Pelfreybuilt Silders, JL Audio, Cali-Raised LED, Toyo RT 285-70-17
    The wind is a real bitch. My trailer is a big old sail. OVTune definitely fixes the shifting back and forth and give that extra little bit of grunt. If you don't want to spend the money on OVTune, Toyota has offered updates to fix the shifting back and forth.
     
  14. Oct 21, 2020 at 6:15 PM
    #14
    Taco1701

    Taco1701 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, the truck needs to downshift to make power but the programming wants to upshift ASAP for efficiency. My 2020 does pretty good with holding gears, but when towing I use S-mode and shift around as needed. We took our side-by-side to TN over the summer and I kept it in S4 most of the time. I would anticipate hills and bump it down to S3 and keep there until I topped the hill. Honestly, I really only had to do that on the longer steeper grades.

    I can’t really comment on the OVTune, but using S-mode to lock out the higher gears really helps.
     
    Lt. Dangle, trdsilver and brtnstrns like this.
  15. Oct 21, 2020 at 7:00 PM
    #15
    TacoManOne

    TacoManOne KDMax-Pro Authorized Tuner

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    I tow a 4800 dry TT and it does definitely help on the downshifting on slight inclines. Does well not towing too.
     
  16. Oct 21, 2020 at 7:12 PM
    #16
    RushT

    RushT Amateur Everythingist

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    Check out the vftuner thread. If you have the flash kit, you can upgrade cheap to vftuner. There are some public gearlock tunes available now in that thread. At some point, Mat will release his all-in-one tune.
     
  17. Oct 21, 2020 at 8:18 PM
    #17
    orangeracer

    orangeracer Well-Known Member

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    Have towed multiple times with ovtune on
    my truck with trailers between 4-5k pounds on some decent passes. I think the extra low end helped get the truck moving much easier from a stop, so I really enjoyed it. Just remember this 3.5l shines in its higher rpm, so don’t be scared to rev it up when needed. Also I have a manual so I can’t complain how the truck shifts back and forth, as I have full control over that :burnrubber:
     
    TacoManOne likes this.
  18. Oct 22, 2020 at 4:28 AM
    #18
    Taco wannabe

    Taco wannabe Well-Known Member

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    Grey TRD PRO Wheels with K02's

    You had me at grunt.
     
    trdsilver[QUOTED] likes this.
  19. Oct 22, 2020 at 4:49 AM
    #19
    Taco wannabe

    Taco wannabe Well-Known Member

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    O.v tune is on its way. Does it come with several options? I saw a review of a guy that was very disappointed with 2.0 tune so he reverted to 1.05
     
    trdsilver[QUOTED] likes this.
  20. Nov 5, 2020 at 3:37 PM
    #20
    ndm111287

    ndm111287 Member

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    Can anyone help me revert back to 1.05 Tune i cant download 1.05 anymore in Ovtune manager my ECU is 04A60 i need 91 octane perfomance and gearlock Please help me
     

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