Can you use the Orange Virus tune to maximize gains out of an aftermarket intake and/or exhaust?

Hey guys, so this is my first post on TW but I’ve been following some of the threads since before I bought my Tacoma back in 2019!

Little bit of history on my taco, I bought it in August of 2019. It’s a 4x4 TRD Sport, AT (I don’t have a ton of off-roading around my area but I get out when I can, nothing too challenging so no need for a locker, although it would be nice lol) it’s got a 3” block in the front and a 1” block in the rear from motofab (again not a ton of off-roading so the articulation isn’t a huge deal to me, however the ride is rather unpleasant to those with older behinds). I’m currently running 17x9 Fuel Vandals wrapped in a 285,70,17 Hercules Mud Terrains. Only rubs at full lock when the suspension is flexed over 50%, no cutting or trimming was required. I’ve got a few other aftermarket mods like Tacomabeast headlights with the sequential turn signal as well as aftermarket taillights, Carven exhaust, K&N “cold air intake” and a few other cosmetic mods.

Being that my truck is a 2019, I heard of something on another OV tune thread that you can figure out if your truck has received the latest ECU flash from Toyota via VIN, but I’m not 100% sure (if I recall correctly only about half of the 2019 model year got the final ECU update from Toyota).

Sorry for the drawn out backstory but for those who are interested I figured I’d tell my setup.

QUESTION STARTS HERE!
For those of y’all with the OV tune as well as an intake and/or exhaust (like me), has anyone been able to pull some more power out of those by using the OV Tune? Not sure if there’s a way to change the timing around or air fuel ratio that would be able to maximize the efficiency and power of an intake or exhaust (yes I’m fully aware that most of these mods do not add much, if any horsepower, they were bought for sound, just curious if anyone’s messed with it. I mean who knows it may even make the tune even better!)

If you hadn’t noticed already I’m not exactly a tuning wizard so don’t expect me to be the guinea pig lol.

I’ve already ordered the OV Tune and received a confirmation email but nothing set in stone in the way of delivery date. So as you can tell I’ve got my heart set on the tune regardless, so the feedback isn’t really going to change my opinion of getting it or not.

Thanks for the feedback, glad to be a member of a community with such strong support for their trucks!

 

I have an 18 DCLB sport, sitting up on 1500s on the 4th perch and a 1.5 tapered block. Im on 265/70/17 toyoat2s on trd 4runner pro wheels, so the tires and wheels are slightly lighter than stock. I run the TRD CAI and the TRD Pro exhaust. I noticed a smoother fell in the truck, nothing too noticeable but some improvement. Then the OV tune woke it up, better shift points and more crisp shifts, more power in the lower rpm range, better mpgs as well. I have done a lot of mods but this one is the best, makes the truck drive like it should, no gear hunting and I would like to think I picked up maybe 15 hp to the rear wheels, maybe more or less. It feels great!!!!

 

Intake and exhaust gain nothing either way.

 

You can modify the timing and the afr, and just about any other parameter you can think of with the vF Tuner software.

 

You will need some dyno time to verify the changes you make are doing what you want. If you are not familiar with tuning, I would not mess with it the kinds of parameters you would need to adjust for this. Unless someone else already made a tune optimized for your intake and exhaust and is willing to share it with you, you are talking about a significant time and money investment for 2 whp.

 

good headers might get you some TQ/HP or let you broaden and shift the curve, intake and exhaust don't seem to be a bottleneck on this vehicle without significant engine hardware changes.

 

Great advice, definitely not something I plan on messing with personally, just curious if anyone had maybe played around with it.