Performance upgrades.

Tune first (still waiting till I can afford one myself) then you can consider other things like a supercharger or turbo if you still need more power than the tune gives.

 

I upgraded my muffler and my wife hates it! Don’t think it made any real difference.

 

The Taco suffers from low power (torque) at low rpm. This due to the factory Atkinson Cycle tune that creates engine efficiency but the downside is it produces poor power at low rpm. An aftermarket ecu tune that eliminates the stock Atkinson ecu tune for about $300 is the best bang for the tuning buck.

 

FWIW, it seems he does this in pretty much every thread that he reads where tunes are brought up.

Super focused on something that isn't going to change anytime soon.. I don't get why though.

Meh

 

Someone needs to do a Kickstarter. Dyno results from businesses mean nothing. Ideally, I would like to see the results from 2 different trucks.

If we reach $, Dyno the stock truck
If we reach $$, Dyno with intake
$$$ exhaust
$$$$ etc.

I would happily throw $20 into this.

 

I went with a borla cat-back and like the sound and look. As far as performance my cvc tune with Chan made a huge difference in my shift points so that I’m now cruising around 2000 rpm’s on the freeway instead of the ridiculous 3500 from factory. Also have 285s and still getting 17mpg despite tires and extra weight. Enjoy your truck!

 

Anecdotally........... Nothing in the airbox or air filter is restrictive. After I installed my supercharger I had it dyno'ed. On the last pass for fun I popped the airbox open and propped it up. There was zero change in the numbers.

From my experience the following made the biggest difference and price is directly proportional to how large the difference is:

Supercharger $7500+ Huge difference
5.29 Gears $2600+ Large difference
Tune $700+ Big difference especially with drivability
Full exhaust(Block to tip, with second cat removal) $2000+ Maybe a little difference
76mm throttle body $300+ Maybe a little difference but not worth it if you don't have FI.

For the money the Tune is the best option. If you don't care about money get a supercharger.

 

Overland Tailor Tuning
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/overland-torque-tune-ott-by-overland-tailor.759590/

 

I installed the S&B intake knowing there would be zero performance gain. That being said, it 100% looks and sounds amazing.
Exhaust on a Tacoma, as Ive found out in the past, just sound bad. Period. Tin can-ish, rice, and drone at interstate speeds.
I tuned with High Country Tuning out of Aspen, Co and that has made all the difference.
So, bolt on what you wish, just understand the limitations on the 3.5

 

A tune is a poor choice for power. The tune helps with drivability by boosting pedal response. That’s about it. The dynos are optimistic, my truck doesn’t have any more noticeable power tuned with OTT than stock. It does respond much more nicely to my pedal input than it did before but that’s about it.

if you want power, regear or do the supercharger or both.

 

The stock intake pipe has a resonator to muffle intake noises. Changing the intake pipe might make a tiny bump in hp. Keep the factory airbox and get some sort of reusable filter if you want but dont expect any power gains. Exhuast is kinda hard because you need cats. The bang for buck exhaust is to get a blow through muffler and resonator and bolt it into the factory system. Then get a tune. Probably get 30hp.The bigger thing is best shift points for your trans. Regear can make a big difference if you have bigger wheels and tires. Other then that fi is the way to go.

 

This dude could move a family and pets, plenty of power w/o "S" mode

 

You're thinking pedalcommander. A tune does so much more than adjust throttle position. No, it doesn't add ponies like a supercharger, but they do much more than adjust pedal response

 

I’m talking real world experience with a tune. There is not that much more power added once you get beyond the drastic pedal change. Yes, I know what a pedal commander does.

The tune can optimize the engine performance a bit but the seat of the pants results are far more disappointing than the advertisements would lead you to expect.

 

My truck definitely has more power running premium SFOB on 94 E0. The biggest difference is at low rpms.

 

I’ve noticed no performance increase after I installed my Borla cat back
And “poor man’s” TRD intake. They do sound amazing though.

I was pleasantly surprised after I flashed my ECU, made a pretty big difference, + roughly 15 hp and tq.

 

i added this for increased beer consumption. Here’s how it works…

First, spend a stupid amount of money on TRD intake kit and install.

2nd, pop the hood on a frequent basis & pretend to be a mechanic checking things. The wife will be impressed by your manly auto “skills” and think you’re working & therefore, leave you alone.

Lastly, proceed to enjoy numerous longnecks (everytime hood is popped) while admiring your truck and that good looking engine bay courtesy of the TRD intake.

Now, that’s a performance gain that’s hard to ignore.

 

Mods don't make a big difference on there own until you get an actual tune to utilize it. Ask me how I know...cough cough subaru. With a tune an intake and exhaust might net you 10hp.

 

Agreed. I wasn’t looking for any performance to be honest, just hated how quiet my truck was.

FWIW on my 07 ranger, K&N ram intake and flow master weld in muffler definitely made a difference. I noticed better throttle response and better low end torque with intake and once I installed the muffler few months later, I noticed slightly better MPGs. 20-30 miles more per tank.

But yeah, on modern vehicles all these bolt on “performance” upgrades don’t do much.

 

Modern engines are pretty much all tapped out for efficiency from the factory. Exhaust and intake are the only real things that can be improved by sacrificing quietness. Every upgrade has a downside. Older cars has some free hp in the intake exhaust clutch fan etc. If you're looking for exhaust stuff look at vibrant exhuast. I love their stuff. Really nice quality cheap and all blow through so you get the flow of a straight pipe without the constant drown or rasp.