4 or 6 cyl?

Is yours supercharged? When I tow my enclosed bike trailer and motorcycle, I def know its back there. I know after a day's towing and once that trailer is unhitched it behaves like a V6, not sure what wakes up in there, but I like it! Either way, compared to older 4 bangers, these ones are like rockets. Friend of mine had an old Ford Escort with a 4 cylinder, and a 5 speed, he was always shifting down on even the slightest grade. That car was gutless as hell. Same with the old 89 Mazda B2600 another friend had, great truck, but he had to drop it into 3rd to make a steep hill. I can cruise up most hills around here in 5th as long as I am not towing or there isn't a headwind, or have my 400lb buddy riding along...

 

I'm guessing that his camper is a popup camper, low profile, low wind resistance. It makes a huge difference compared to a full height enclosed trailer, even one that weighs a lot less.

 

Yeah most likely, bet those things are nice.

 

I have the 3.4 V6 and I wish I would have test drove a truck with the 4.0 V6. Do not get me wrong, the 3.4 is a great motor, but once you add bigger tires it helps to have as much power as you can get.

 

Wouldn't it be better just to have the proper gear ratio? If you change to larger diameter tires, you need to compensate by gearing down such that you have approximately the same number of engine revolutions per distance unit as stock. If you gear down appropriately, you won't notice any difference from stock

 

No, I'm not super charged. And my camper has little wind resistance. Check it out:

http://tinycamper.com/raindrop560ultra.htm

It weighs about 1400 pounds dry. Lots of travel goodies bring it in close to 1 ton.

 

cool little unit. thanks for sharing.

 

V6. I sold my beloved Jeep TJ that was modified and had a 4L inline 6. You dont know bad gas milage till you drive a Jeep. Always had to be on the skinny pedal to get it to go. My TRD DCLB gets twice the gas milage and it actually coasts on the highway when i let off the gas.

 

This is just IMO, but I used to have an Expedition before I made the jump down in size. Don't get me wrong when I say jump down. I love my taco, BUT, V8's are like heroin (so I am told, the heroin part that is) once you have it, you always want it. There is something about the INSTANT power of a V8 that is SO satisfying and the V6 just doesn't have it. Almost but not quite. Just IMO is all. I am lucky enough to have a job that I get a gas card and don't pay for fuel. With that said if it was different and I paid for it my opinion would be different but it's not....right now.
If I had the money I would super charge my taco.

 

I love the V6 in my 12. Mine is averaging 18-20 mpg and its pretty gutsy for a v6. I may just be spoiled though, my last truck was a 94 ranger 3.0 which could barely get out of its own way, with my taco I can accelerate up a fairly steep grade in 6th gear. The 4.0 seems pretty torquey too. I would never buy an i4 truck unless it was a diesel, they just don't make enough power for me.

 

well considering we have both a v6 taco and a 4cyl in the family, only difference between the two is that mine is heavier, taller, and has bigger tires, yet the 4cyl only gets ~2 mpgs better than mine when i drive it. so like i said.. apples and apples comparison (meaning me driving it the usual route that i drive my v6 truck, the same way that i drive my truck, and at the same speed, in relatively the same conditions) it consistently gets 2 mpg better than my v6.

 

This. I had a 2.5L TJ, which had to be run consistently at 50-80% throttle just to keep up with traffic. My top speed was 70 MPH. Granted, TJ's have alot more wind resistance than a Tacoma. But, the little four banger could barely manage 15 MPG, because it was always working so hard. Combined with a 15 gallon tank, that made for a lot of fill-ups.

My 4.0L Access Cab is a night and day difference. This is the same engine they put in base model Tundra's. After daily driving a vehicle that struggles just to keep up with traffic or maintain 65 MPH on the highway, I love my V6. However, the 2.7L is a proven engine with plenty of power for daily driving duties.

 

Snudley, what does one of those campers cost? You're pulling it with a four?
So life is all relative, I went from a 95 yota with the 4cyl 22RE, great motor...for a great small truck....but a dog..no acceleration to speak of and you really needed to use the tranny to keep it moving with a load or inclines on the road. SO the new 4 is like a demon in comparison, I do notice that it looses speed on highway hills, gotta downshift. I'm used to it. It is slightly under powered. I don't think you will save significant fuel with the 4 over the 6.

 

Haha, I know that feeling. My 80 CJ5 has the older AMC 4.2 258 inline six, on a good day when it is running right and I keep my foot out of it, I've gotten 15, but once I start stepping on it, or the carb is out of tune, it can drop down to 4 mpg in a heartbeat. Tough ass motors though, I've put that Jeep through some shit and that motor has never left me stranded. Easy to work on too, all kinds of room under the hood to get around in. Jeep really fucked up with the new JK when they put that weak ass minivan V6 under the hood, that is initially what made me get into a Tacoma instead of a JK Rubicon. I am willing to bet my 2.7 has more power than the minivan V6 in those Jeeps has!

I agree, nothing like good ole V8 muscle! If the Tacoma had a V8 option like the 4Runner, that is what I would be rocking right now without a doubt.

 

The same is true for ALL engines in ALL vehicles, except those that are geared incorrectly. The objective of the final overdrive gear ratio is that it will sustain you on flat highways or slight inclines, but not on heavy inclines. The purpose is to save fuel. You could easily gear it to sustain speed on heavy inclines, but you will be running the engine faster than it needs to be under normal conditions, and therefore using more fuel.

Well, that would really depend on how you define "significant", wouldn't it? For stock vs stock comparisons, the V6 will burn something in the vicinity of 25-30% more fuel. In my books, that is VERY significant.

 

^^^ proof the 6 speed has a crappy overdrive. You can do at least a 6% grade on the cruise control, maybe more!

Shoot I don't even downshift to pass and it still moves around like my Honda Fit when it was balls to the wall.

 

I agree. With that engine and the existing 3.73:1 axle ratio, it should be able to pull an overdrive ratio of 0.65:1, yet it has 0.85:1. The AT is 0.716:1.

IDEAL gearing for that vehicle, in 6 speeds;
R: 6.5:1
1: 5:1
2: 2.5:1
3: 1.5:1
4: 1:1
5: 0.85:1
6: 0.65:1

Note the double overdrive instead of the retard ratio shoved in at 1.2:1.

And for the real championship, I'd throw in a couple of granny gears...
0: 8:1
R0: 10:1

In fact, I'd love that on a 4-cyl too, with one ratio change:
5: 0.7:1 (same OD ratio as the AT's).

Edit:
Toyota, please begin manufacturing the following transmission:
R0: 10:1
R: 6.5:1
0: 8:1
1: 5:1
2: 2.5:1
3: 1.5:1
4: 1:1
5: 0.85:1
6: 0.7:1

Ensure that lubrication is provided by the motion of the OUTPUT shaft (not some shaft that is stationary while in neutral). Use this transmission on both 4 and 6 cyl (and maybe 8 as well), adjusting to the specific vehicle through axle ratios, and make this transmission a CHEAP upgrade for R155's, and FREE upgrade for RA60's.

 

Merkman,
My Camp-Inn 560 Ultra Raindrop has a base price of $18697 and you add however many options you want to that. There many other teardrops out there for a lot less money, but the Camp-Inns are the very best and hold their value. Kinda like a Tacoma does.

They pull very easily with vehicles down to the size of a Mini Cooper (for the smaller 550 models) and studies have shown the tapered shape and wing-like lift effect on them have actually improved the mileage on some vehicles, ie- square shaped, poorly aerodynamic cars and especially pickups. Probably not so much with a midsize 4 banger, though.

 

I say stick with the 4 cyl. The v6 is a solid engine but every reliable source I have says that while they aren't by any means a bad motor, the 4.0 is a little MORE prone to issues than the 2.7. I stick with ol' reliable

 

V6