Tacomas are not underpowered

Obviously with a statement like that proves you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground !!!

 

You guys need to switch to an electric truck 0 to 60 in 4 sec. I'm in the wrong group mine is a 4L manual.

 

It's relative. When I traded my 02 F150 with the 4.6L V8 for my 07 Tacoma I only gave up 10 HP. I also gave up 1500 lbs of weight. Gearing was the same, but the Tacoma easily outperformed the Ford even with towing and was 3-4 mpg better on gas.

On the other hand, my 2014 F150 with the newer 5.0 easily outperforms my 07 Tacoma in every way and gets the same fuel mileage.

The problem with Tacoma is that the power is in the wrong place for a truck. Yes, they can be fast if running enough rpm's. But trucks used to tow and haul need that power at lower speeds. Even my 2nd gen gets it's power at 3600 rpm, 3rd gens at 4600. Old school trucks got it at 2500 rpm.

 

If you think this truck is “underpowered and slow” for everyday driving then I’m not sure what to tell you.

What’s the issue with torque? I live in 1.5-2.5k RPM range 90% of time. Im carrying ~650# of constant weight, 33s and lifted. Stock tune, my motor lived in same RPM range.

What’s your struggles with torque? Please explain.

 

Exactly. Maybe some folks expect stump pulling power out of a v6? It has plenty of power for everyday driving. I barely go over 3k RPMs.

Everytime I drive it, I try to find a scenario where the truck might be “underpowered and slow” but it just never happens.

When I’m driving through mountain passes over payload, RTT sticking up and trying to maintain 80 or so uphill fighting a headwind yes, she will be turning 4-4.5k RPMs or so. But that’s completely normal and expected out of a N/A v6 engine.

Tuned on 94E0, this truck is a little beast.

 

In my case yes, 100%. My tune eliminated “Atkinson BS cycle” and it feels like it added about 20-25% more torque down low.

Premium SFOB on 94E0.

 

Has nothing to do with learning to drive. When you mash the pedal, there is simply nothing there unless you're in the high range of the rpm band. I can not possibly fathom how you live in the 1.5-2.5k rpm range.

 

So what RPM are you now at when your Taco kicks in most power. Mine kicks in about 2400 RPM which is normal going by what I hear in here.

 

Ok. So if you mash the pedal at low RPMs on any v6 there will be very little response correct?

I can take a video for you? My tach doesn’t go over 3k normal driving.

 

Push it around the block while your wife steers. Then, drive it around the block. I think you will come to find that it has plenty of power.

 

I mean, no engine likes to be lugged at low rpm, but other V6s (Frontier 4.0 for example) pulled out of it immediately and started to ramp up speed quick. The Tacoma just slowly lumbers on and on, bringing up speed slowly. That has not changed no matter what tune I've run, and it's better with gears but it's still there.

My main problem is comparing this truck to others. It just has nothing compared to others I've driven.

 

Most power is at 4.5k RPMs+. She flieeees

But seriously ~2300 RPMs is when it starts to feel good.

 

So how does that hinder your normal everyday driving? Do you feel unsafe? Can’t merge in time? Have troubles going uphills? I really wanna understand this.

When I’m aired down to 18 psi off-road, over payload and starting uphill in 1st in 2HI, she will struggle a bit. That’s not a problem with the engine though, my truck is heavy and on 33s.

 

Lol, no, none of that. It's just an annoyance of the truck that I feel every time I drive. Doesn't mean I dislike the truck or want something else, just something I wish was better.

I don't like when I get slowed down to a crawl for a stop light or whatever else down around 5-10 mph, have to choose between 1st or 2nd, and if I choose 2nd, it literally bogs down for 5 or so seconds before it has finally picked up enough speed to not feel terrible.

 

Hook up a trailer and try to start from idle and pull up a hill or boat ramp. It has no low end and makes that a mess. 2LO mod makes it actually usable for low speed towing like that but the engine just doesn’t have the bottom end to be useful for a lot of truck tasks. Couple that with living at 6000’ and it’s simply not adequate in some cases. For normal daily driving it’s really not an issue and the truck does decently well but it’s nothing impressive.

 

https://youtu.be/dX38e5UbE3s

https://youtube.com/shorts/Jxtl2MIYOZU?feature=share

Found some old videos. In first video you can barely hear the engine cuz RPMs are so low.

 

Umm any MT v6 truck will do that in 2HI. That’s why 4LOW exists, or better like you mentioned 2Wd low. I have it and used multiple times, lifesaver.

So you expect a v6 MT truck to pull out a boat off idle in 2HI?

 

Yes the 5-10 mph is a bit annoying at times, I agree. 2nd should have been a bit lower.

 

That is by far the worst part. The rest of how it drives is not bad to me. My brother was buying a few months back and we went to check out a 3.6L Jeep, 6 speed manual. You could cruise around the parking lots in 2nd and if you stomp the pedal, it immediately starts to go. The Tacoma just seems to hesitate and bog down and then slowly starts pulling itself out of the slump. 2nd gear should have been around 2.4-2.5, but I'm not 100% sure it's a gearing issue, as mine still does it regeared. Though lower 2nd would certainly help a lot.