Tacomas are not underpowered

I drove a 300/5speed f150 for a work truck in the past. It was a freight train up to about 2200 rpm. Above that, the power dropped off a cliff. I hated driving it on roads above 40mph.

 

electronically controlled transmission. also on the button is PWR, power

 

I think the Tacoma looks better than the Raptor…by miles. Well, to be honest: many, many miles.

 

You got that right

 

The 4 banger isn't much better. Has to spool to 3800 rpm to hit peak torque. HOWEVER, its also geared better. These trucks need more aggressive gears.

2.7-liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder with VVT-i
159 hp @ 5200 rpm; 180 lb.-ft. @ 3800 rpm

Can you imagine the current 3rd gen 3.5 with 4.88s or 5.29s and the new 4th gen 8 speed auto? I think that would be fantastic. Little bit more gearing for the highway.

Having said that, the new 2.4 turbo makes peak torque down low like the Dodge, so hopefully people will be happy with the new truck.

 

Its not useless, it actually works great when driving slowly offroad. Just sips on the fuel.

However, it is super annoying.

 

I had a 2022 Lamborghini Aventador and I got a 2023 Tacoma OR and man the Tacoma seems underpowered. I can’t figure it out. Oh and don’t get me started on how underpowered the Tacoma is compared to my full size pick up with more HP and torque. I can’t for the life of me understand why these oranges don’t taste like these apples. It’s driving me crazy.

*sarcasm*

 

If it works, could you explain to me how I am able to get same MPGs as stock on regular “Otto cycle” tune, lifted, on 33s and carrying about 650# of extra weight.

Basically truck has more power while getting same MPGs as stock. IMHO “Atkinson cycle” is a huge fail on the 3.5L. I see no benefit.

 

I know nothing of this Atkinson cycle in these 3.5 's, but it seems to work fine in my truck being all stock right down to its chin spoiler. Truck basically delivers as advertised.

 

This ought to get exciting on the next gen 2.7 turbo, no more 3.5

 

I'm not sure. I can only speak from my own experience. When I was off-roading in Moab I actually recorded my highest average MPG ever. I attributed it to the slow and steady driving crawling speeds (lots of Atkinson ticking idle sound).

 

Atkinson ticking sound?

“Atkinson cycle” in a 3.5 is just an intake valve that’s held a bit open during compression stroke at light loads. There is no “ticking” during that.

The “ticking” that you heard is probably direct injector cleaning cycle at hot idle.

 

I think gearing is a key part of it. But I think the people who are complaining about this truck being underpowered are doing so because they have a deeper history of truck engines. Maybe some people have only known Tacoma trucks? Growing up, our family had a 1984 Nissan truck with a 4 cylinder engine. It was a twin spark plug, 2 barrel carb set up that did not disappoint. It was a truck engine. The current 3.5 is a converted Avalon engine.

I traded my 2020 3.5 automatic for a 2023 3.5 manual and the 3.5 is WAYYYYYY better with a manual and 4.30 gears. The final drive with a manual and 4.30 gears is still lower than an automatic with 5.29 gears.

 

The issue with the manual transmission (and I am 56 yrs old and have only owned 3 automatic vehicles in my life), is that yes - the engine makes more power if you rev it past 3500-4000rpms, but when you shift around there, the engine drops back down below the power "surge" and feels sluggish. My S2000 was that way - if you shifted above 8K rpms, the drop from the next higher gear still kept the engine in VTEC and it was fairly quick. If you shifted around 6K, the engine would fall off the sweet spot and be significantly slower (before anyone gets excited, I am not comparing our truck to 2700lb sports car - just pointing out that engine characteristics, shift points, gearing, etc. all play a role in how a vehicle "feels").

Add to this the stupid rev hang and clutch accumulator on our trucks and it is a challenge to be smooth shifting at the higher rpms.

My truck is also one of those that doesn't get near the advertised gas mileage (I average around 16.5mpg of mixed driving), and I get a hesitation/miss below 2K rpms - maybe those are related to the sluggish feeling, maybe not.

 

OVTune stated that the trucks pull timing like crazy. I certainly felt that when I had the 3.5.

I still think I get that with the 2.7 even.

 

Well I don't really know how to describe when you know its in cycle, but after driving the truck every day you could tell when it was out of Otto. The throttle seemed a bit loose/sloppy whenever it was doing it. Been a few years at this point so my memory is fuzzy.

 

Can you prove this?

 

I stopped logging my fuelly thing, but I average 17-18 in city and 21-22 on highway. I do drive conservative.

Just one data point: driving no faster than 65 on highway (showing 21 MPGs) and that’s not accounted for 33s.

My fuel economy read out has stayed pretty much the same on average since my truck was new. I got a bit better MPGs than stock ECU calibration when I tuned my truck and had no modifications.

 

Daaaaamnnnnn!