OTT vs. YotaWerx vs. my memory

Guys, I hope this doesn't start an uncivil discussion. Genuinely just curious, not very experienced with mods.

I'm looking to upgrade my bone stock 2022 OR AT.

When I went truck shopping last year, I fell in love with a used 3GT because the thing jumped as soon as I touched the pedal. I couldn't believe how responsive it was, it felt like magic. Mind you, I had never owned a truck before, but I immediately associated "Tacoma" with "power." (Yes, I get now why that's funny...)

But with used car prices the way they were, I figured it made sense to pay a bit more and buy new. So I picked up a beautiful 2022 black OR AT with the long bed. It was literally still wrapped in plastic and had just arrived at the dealership. They were selling it without any markup and I was certain it would go quick if I didn't act fast, so I bought it without even doing a test drive.

Zero regrets except for one: the acceleration is nowhere near as responsive as what I remember the used 3GT that I had tried.

I started looking at these forums and learned about the various tuning issues Tacoma owners have and the third-party tunes used to fix them. I figured there was a high likelihood that the previous owner of the used 3GT had tuned theirs, and that's why it felt so different from my new truck. (Also worth noting, I didn't notice a Pedal Commander in the used truck.)

So I have two questions:

1. Does it make sense that a tuned truck would feel noticeably more peppy off the line? I see people here talking about HP and torque...I'm not really a car guy, I don't tow, sometimes I schlep stuff around town, went off-road once. I don't know if HP/torque translates to "damn this thing feels quick" vs. "damn this thing can haul a lot without slowing down max speed." Seems like a big reason why people tune is to eliminate "gear hunting." I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know what that means. All I know is that the used 3GT felt fun as hell, like it leapt when I touched the pedal. I want that feeling in my truck--is a tune the way to get it?

2. If tuning will help my situation, which tune? I'm leaning toward OTT or YotaWerx based on the community's activity around these tunes. Seems like OTT is the favorite but YotaWerx folks highlight YW's professionalism and customer support, which makes me lean toward YW. OTT released some kind of dyno charts supposedly establishing their superiority, but I don't know how to interpret them. I asked YW to comment on their competitor but they wrote back saying they considered it unprofessional, which I didn't really understand. I'm also a little confused by YW's three-tier offering: their "standard" tune, "Blackhawk," and "Stryker." I guess Stryker is for people with Magnuson superchargers, but what's the difference between standard vs. Blackhawk, and which should I go for? And then the OTT dyno charts page mentions a difference between Blackhawk regular vs. Blackhawk premium...why don't these vendors clearly list all of their products on their page with all the relevant technical information and a way to click "buy"?

It feels like there's a whole "honor" culture around tuning/mods and I'm not really used to that, it's a little intimidating. In my industry, people are extremely open with what their products do vs. what their competitors' do, and everyone understands that there's rarely "better," just "optimal for your situation." Honor doesn't have much to do with it, there's no point in hiding anything anyway as the data is all out there. Perhaps the cost of these mods precludes folks from doing side-by-side comparisons, which means that reputation is much more important.

I just wanna know what will make my truck have more zoom zooms while dealing with low-ego and reputable vendors.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/performance-and-tuning.8/

Need to spend a few days in this forum. Talk to your local tuners. Make your own decision based upon what you want/need not what the masses in here say you need to have.

 

So, I have the OT Tune. I can't go back at this point. I know there are concerns about warranty with a tune, but mine was well past that so I went ahead. It basically changes the truck to drive the way you would expect. The only thing I don't care for about the tune is between 1st and 2nd. If the car is rolling at about 4-5mph, the return to the gas is very jerky. Other than that, a tune will get your truck driving like a truck and using the powerband for better driveability. Better mpg? Unlikely.. More power? No.. just better use of it. Ragen, the OT Tune tech was awesome for me.

And as posted above, there's a lot of info on this site. Just takes a bit to sift through it all as there's a lot of useless info and opinions as well.

 

Love my OTT tune! Ultimately went with them because of the R&D, data collection, and dyno info. I come from a profession that heavily relies on data and the detail that they provided on what they were doing and why was a huge selling point for me.
OTT will provide that feeling that you had on the 3rd Gen Tacoma that had some zip to it. Feel free to PM me if you’d like to hear more about my experience.

 

I have purchased tunes from the three makers and flash them myself. These two are the only ones I would run on my truck. You've done your homework and have chosen wisely. Either one would be a great tune for you. Reach out to those who make these two tunes and figure out which one would best suit you and your driving style. Stick with OTT or Blackhawk and don't settle for anything else. You'll be glad you did.

 

If you talk to your local tuners they may let you try them for no or a low cost.

We have dyno sheets too but, honestly I wouldn't use them as your deciding factors because they can be fudged in various directions unintentionally due to many different reasons.

However, basically what you'll find most valuable when reading a dyno chart is

A.) Smooth power lines all the way across the chart.
Lines with sudden direction changes will give you a "vtec" feeling or surges of power through the rpm range

B.) Not the peak power output in general but the difference between power stock vs. tuned.
Reason being is because as mentioned above, unintentionally the data can become fudged. Like an example would be doing the first run on a cool dry day then having to do the second run the next day when it's really warm out and raining cats and dogs. In that scenario even testing the same tune back to back both times will give significantly different power numbers. Or even just two different tanks of gas.

 

This is from OTT's site with regard to running their dyno testing. SAME day, SAME fuel, SAME truck:

A Toyota OEM 04A72 Calibration, OV2.0 SFOB (Regular) & (Premium), KDMax Pro, KDMax Pro 10.0, YW Blackhawk (Regular) & (Premium), OTT 9.0 were all run on the dyno on the same truck, the same day, on the same fuel, without being unstrapped from the dyno.

https://overlandtailor.com/truth-be-told-dyno

 

This whole thread should be moved to the tuning forum. This is nothing more than people bringing one tuning group to the top of the 3rd gen page, for advertisement, to circumvent the rules. I have been noticing this has been happening every so often, and usually one tuning group is asked about. Just my opinion. Ski

 

i don't get it. why is this funny? my truck is faster than my sports car.

 

You should see the "curiosity" for a certain tuning group on platforms like facebook

 

Got an OTT tune and have 0 regrets.
Way better acceleration, no gear hunting and the responsiveness of the truck makes it feel like a different truck.

Now that OTT has announced that they are soon going to be legit for inspection/certification, I feel even better about my OTT tune.

I can't speak for any other tune, but my OTT tuner (as well as his after the sale service) has been excellent, including most everything from others I've read on their OTT tuners as well.

Most definitely worth the price.

 

OK, I’ll bite.
Just what is this sports car that your Tacoma is faster than?



@somecrazytaco , I have the OTT tune. They (and others) offer different levels of throttle responsiveness. It sounds like you’d be interested in that aspect of any tune. Find any local reputable tuner and have a discussion with them.

Welcome to the forums.

 

I agree. Unfortunately, there's a 60 day account minimum to post there and I just created this account to post about this. If any mods want to move it over, please be my guest.

 

my subaru ranger. but it's way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast truck slow!

 

Fair, and I appreciate the sentiment.

I tracked this last year with friends at a 2 day enduro and had a blast.
Still think calling our Tacomas ‘fast’ is a stretch however.




Keeping thread on topic,
OP I still think you just want any tuner to do their thing and adjust throttle responsiveness.

 

Is your Tacoma supercharged, last I checked the BRZ is a hair faster than our Tacomas. Not by a large margin but they are.

 

It’s ok. Don’t give it a second thought. You’ll always hear this kind of response from their group. Look at the tuning forum and see who is bumping their thread with useless “we added a tuner” and “I tuned this truck today” pictures and videos. All perfectly timed for when their crap isn’t the top post. If it wasn’t for that useless fluff, their thread would probably be 20% of what their post count is now. You had a question, get the answers and don’t apologize for seeking information.

 

Miata?

 

..... Truth that !!

 

After I put 500 miles on my ‘23 Tacoma Limited, I was after one thing — improved drivability with regard to transmission gear-hunting and mushy accelerator response. I did what I feel was a reasonable amount of research and arrived at the OTT tune due to the reported heavy and ongoing sorting by the developer. I was rewarded by just what I paid for — the level of drivability that I should have gotten for the price of my purchase. Not looking back or wondering if I got the best tune out there. Going to enjoy my truck for what it is.