Tacoma with an attitude

Anyone in cold climates and MT know what OP means. Drives like a tractor for first 15 mins and up to temp.

 

Mine drives like a tractor for first 5 mins or so. Soooo not so bad

 

So some of you guys can dish it out, but not take it? Come on fellas.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with those that say this motor is a great one. And like the OP, I experienced nirvana in this truck on two occasions. And unfortunately, I only experienced the 3.5’s stock tune prowess two times since 2018. First time was pulling out of a mobile station and dam if the powertrain didn’t kick ass. It has a sack when it wants to move! It was on rails. I was tripping to say the least. Well, didn’t happen again in the six years I’ve been lucky enough to own the 3rd Gen. Second time was cruising up the 395 and went around a semi. Fuck, unreal power. BUT…that’s it. It never happened again.

I recently got a tune after being on the fence forever. The drivability around town, roads, and highways makes it a pleasurable drive now. Good motor. Good stuff.

 

Yeah, and just wait for “those” days…

 

switching to a good gear oil and DOT4 LV brake fluid (low viscosity) might help.

 

Changed to this at about 80 k.
Less notchy but that's about it.

 

Just wanted to join the party to concur with everyone. I swear after pulling hard on the highway for atleast 45mins especially towing when everything is nice and hot, the truck never runs smoother or quieter.

Some days I hope in and every gear I grab feels like a young stallion ready to run. Other days the truck feels like i've placed a burden on it's soul by asking it to accelerate with a little more haste.

It's nothing new but with all manuals I usually get slightly annoyed driving with the a/c on because I feel like the moment I sink the clutch, every time without fail the compressor will cycle on and throw off my shift.

This is petty of me but, along with pulling timing they should momentarily cut the a/c compressor power for a second or two just for consistent shifts unimpeded by the compressor clutch cycling

 

Yea it's a bit clunky till it warms up. Weirdest manual transmission I've ever owned...

 

Will be very interesting to see what the new Manual and what tranmission (same maybe? ) and direct injection turbo 4 will do for the driveability of the Taco. If all the "quirks" the 3rd gen has are ironed out and people dont have to tune it to make it "smoother" this will go down as one of the Late Great Gens (4th).

Surely 5th gen has to kill the MT!?.....

 

Mine runs smoother before the transmission is fully warmed up. Once the temp hits 175+ on Fusion I get the transmission stumble. No major stumble when the temps is closer to 150 on a cold day.

 

I think I heard from a friend of a friend's cat one time that the 4th gen will use the Rc60f transmission. I believe it's one used overseas in the diesel Hilux.

Tbh i'm not too hopeful of the next gen not feeling nerf'd. CAFE standards are ruining internal combustion vehicles on purpose

 

Not sure why but for whatever reason after I had it tuned my truck shifts much better when in S vs D on the shifter. As in it will be getting stuck in a gear in D but in S it will happily upshift and downshift properly. I'm almost tempted to put in the TRD shift knob with the manual gear shift markings on the top to see if that makes the truck happier to shift itself in normal Drive mode by letting it identify as a Manual. For context, my untuned work truck doesn't behave any differently in either mode in the same locations.

 

That would make sense if they're slowly compressing the desired traits of an ICE vehicle to the point that people no longer want them, leaving them with the choice of EV and all it's conveniences.

 

*Sorry for derailing the thread*

Fact check true. Yes vehicles are more powerful and luxurious but compared to some older models, the fuel economy is the same or worse than before.

Biggest examples is diesels and even the diesel cars/suvs. They get marginally better fuel economy than the same model gas job and have faults from all the emissions control garbage... at what point I wonder does the increased fuel consumption from the emissions controls lead to a total net negative in comparison to the same power plant consuming less fuel but un-emissions controled. Or what bad emissions are created from the emissions control device. Dpf, egr and catalytic converters make sence. Def does not, it's combustion by product is ammonia. You spill def or idle your diesel with it near vegetation and that vegetation will die. It's even killing vegetation along side highways

 

She better watch out, your truck might be like Christine, lol.

 

I buy a six-pack at a time from Amazon, Octane 104+. It does make a difference. When you calculate the cost of premium gasoline vs buying the Octane 104+, it makes more sense to buy that instead premium gasoline.

 

Of course they do! 99% of people assume a vehicle is nothing but thousands of metal and plastic parts put together to serve a transportation related function. The other 1% of us know they are living, breathing beings with personality and feelings. Ever notice how much nicer the ride feels with new tires? That's just the vehicle showing its appreciation of your love and consideration for getting it new shoes.