Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

I agree and feel like the oddball in this conversation. I'm find myself in 5th a lot as it gets me in an OD gear in that 40-50 range, but 6th would be more of a bog. That was always my problem with the auto is it would constantly put you in 6th in that range and bog the truck. I also like the way first is too. Not great for the 1-2 zone as discussed, but it's easier to move slow and moving a load.

 

I wouldn't mind at all having a lower 1st and 2nd so that I can just start out in 2nd every time and use 1st for only special circumstances when it's needed, basically just have a 5-speed with a creeper/crawler gear. I imagine swapping to 5.29s with stock tires size would pretty much accomplish that (along with helping reverse), but then of course you end up with a much lower 6th gear. I don't drive on interstates that often, but when I do it's usually for 8+ hour long trips.

Of course that's why the Hilux transmission is so appealing. Shorter 1st/2nd/R AND taller 6th.

 

I mostly top out in 4th or 5th gear driving around town. I like 5th for 45-50mph cruising. 6th on the interstate, but it hardly feels like much of a step up from 5th.

 

Could make it a 7 speed with a crawl gear like ford did on the bronco

5/6 could def use some separation

and reverse could be like 10% of what it is now

 

I'm in 3rd at the speeds you mentioned unless I'm cruising there then I'm in 4th, but I really like 5th for steady cruising anywhere from 60-80 in fast moving traffic. If I'm on a more open road going 70-80 then I'll use 6th.

I do like 1st, I don't like 2nd. I've never wished for a taller or lower 1st. Definitely want a lower 2nd.

 

Hmmm, looking at those gear ratios, I'm thinking first gear would become even less useless than it already is.

 

Yeah, crawling in traffic w low 1st would be great. And hill starts, especially when towing or heavy.

I’ve been using 2 low to get out of my driveway every morning. Just makes it easier to lift my left foot all the way and feather the gas.

I think 777 would be rad for 5th. Use 4th if you want/need balls. 4th is fine to 65 really with stock gears and tires. I agree that I use 5th on the freeway in traffic but that’s mostly because it’s next in line and I have an OCD habit of 4th to 5th. There is no real point to go to 6th from 5th unless the freeway is empty. I agree that 5th has a tiny bit of balls to navigate at a consistent 65-70 with small speed changes but most heavy traffic slows to 55 at times and jumps to 70+ where a mix of 1.0 and 0.777 could be great. Really, I think 5th and 6th being so close make them duplicative so splitting the difference at 777 and gaining an extra gear make a ton of sense. Sixth then becomes the “fuel economy” gear for desolate roads and doubles as a path towards regearing without losing mpg due to excessive rpm if not super oversized on tires.

If I had a choice, 4 gears below 1.0 and two above would be nice. But how much of that is based on the lack of low end torque due to running a stock tune is a great question I don’t know the answer to myself. My Tundra has 4 gears and is awesome, mostly because of the wide powerband. My ‘05 has 5 gears and all of them suck because of the engine. Oddly, 16-18 mpg vs 20-22 isn’t a massive difference though I definitely prefer the size and weight of the lighter truck.

Wish I could stuff the 4.7 in the ‘05 with the 5 speed trans. That would be fun!

 

My 17 Pro 4x had fifth gear as the one-to-one ratio and only one overdrive and six. The lower four gears were pretty tight but man that thing could scoot. And it didn't have a hill hold feature the way my 18 taco sport does. All in all, that frontier had the gearing right. That being said, the axles are geared lighter than our tacos which does make a difference and how you apply the power. But at the end of the day, the Frontier can actually get a lower crawl ratio than the taco if you're into that sort of thing.

Basically to me, my Frontier felt like a proper Japanese truck. The taco is Japanese designed American built with American sensibilities. But I would definitely prefer to have a loaf first and get rid of the top end overdrive (6th)

 

New Frontier fixed the styling problems, I'll say that much. I rather like it. I don't believe you can get a RC MT Frontier though, that would definitely raise my eyebrows if you could. We'll see who of the mainstream automakers is the first to potentially bring back a RCSB pickup in EV once it happens. I am planning for a long wait

 

Frontier trans gearing was excellent, I did not like the 3.69 axle ratio though. I put in 4.56 and yeah it revved high on the highway, but felt like it would blow the doors off (mostly joking but it was awesome). That truck needed 2low though, and there was no way to get it. Even with 4.56 and a 3.97 reverse, trailers still sucked. The Nissans have no diff disconnect or anything so you are stuck with 4low on the pavement or burning the clutch. All the front equipment spins all the time.

But man it was a fun truck to drive. I definitely preferred 5th being 1:1 so that 1-4 would be close ratio like they were.

I’d love to pick up an old 07 or so Xterra, gear it to 4.56 for the stock tires and just go stupid with it. That transmission was also a lot smoother than the Taco I think. Was just a great platform. Wish mine hadn’t been a lemon.

 

They have an offered a manual since 19. I believe. I had a 22 for a little bit, that was a great truck. To be honest. A nicer ride around town than a taco. But for off-road and silly stuff, I would definitely take the taco. And it was the little things over time that you started to notice that Toyota just had a high quality control on.

I hear ya there. My 17 was excellent.... Until a Chevy SUV took the front end off. Fantastic gearing though. Had a 95 Pathfinder 5sp that I rarely used to first to start in. Usually only if I was facing uphill. That was also the smoothest clutch I've ever driven. All original up to 300,000 miles.

 

No RC though. For DC, I’m for sure staying with Tacoma, more mods and better resale. The RC MT’s just drive differently, short wheelbase and light has more getup and go.

 

Looked back through some pages, didn’t see anything on the transfer case fluid specifically. Any of you guys run the transfer case stuff from redline or is the common consensus to run MT90 in both cases?

 

Most people use the factory stuff or the Ravenol 75W. But the Redline LV should also work.

 

Lots of good discussion on the transfer case fluid in this thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-manual-transmission-6mt-fluid-change.481719/

 

I was running Redline MT-LV in the transfer case but have switched to MT-90 just to keep inventory of different oils down. Now Transmission, Eco-Crawler, and Transfer Case are the same. I have not noticed any difference.

 

Good to know thanks. Looking in to that eco box for this winters project

 

Anyone use a Raceseng knob?

 

Is it just me or does the dead pedal area feel a little cramped because of the big plastic clutch pedal? Seems like i'm very commonly maneuvering around it with the top of my foot.

 

Yep. I much prefer the size, placement, and throw of my old frontier’s pedals. It had a dead pedal too which was much less cramped. And it’s funny because our pedal surface area is actually smaller than the Frontier one was.