I4 power????

Hey toyota land, I have a 74 fj40, 99 extended cab taco v6, 07 4door taco v6, and I am wondering how the oweners of the single cab I4 engine or the extended cab I4 owners feel about the power of the smaller engine. I do alot of offroading, mainly with the 99 taco, because of the set up on this taco. I have not really liked the 07 4door just because of the new body style (drags everwhere) I would like to run 31 inch tires and I drive alot of bad roads with snow and mud...everyday. I was wondering if the smaller engine has the power to fight through 10-12 inches of snow and 6-8 inches of mud after a thaw. I am looking to purchase a 08 but would like the shorter wheel base and they do not offer a single cab with a v6... so what should I try next?? thanks for some input on this..

 

what do you mean when you say it "drags everywhere"?

 

oh ok, htat makes sense. thats one of my concerns about having the DC for offroading. Is the access cab wheel base any shorter than the DC short bed? i know the cab is shorter in the AC but the bed is longer, so shouldn't the wheel base be about the same? for a DC short bed and a AC regular/long bed?

 

The I4 is powerful enough IMO. It has a lot more
useable power than the old 2.4. My dad has an '03 extended cab with the 2.4 and my truck just feels a lot more powerful. Drive it, if you don't have enough power for mud and snow (I doubt it) you can always go to a lower geared 3rd member. for a little more low speed power.

(are you looking at a prerunner or a 4x4?)

 

It has PLENTY of power dude. Its not a beast but it will move just fine. I have never felt underpowered in mine. It's definately not a sports car but it will move just fine...it feels invincible in 4 low. It will plant you in the seat in 4 low.

 

thanks mud bug. I will be test driving one soon to give it a thumbs up or down. The new body style on these tacomas are just horrible. They are not meant to go in the hills. I beleive toyota is loosing there reputation on being one of the best out there. I call them carks,,, half truck and half car. I still wish they were just plain simple and a real truck.

 

i dont get people who "need" more power. i towed a camper trailer with my parents 98 4 banger 4Runner from Phx to Pismo, Ca. my buddy with an 05 5 lug tows a trailer that we throw a couple three wheelers and our 550lb baja car in and it tows up the mountain fine. i am impressed with the 2.7L since i've been driving it.

my 91 landcruiser had a 155hp 200ftlb torq I6 and outfitted it weighed well over 5500lbs...topped out at 80mph but why need more? being about to floor it on the freeway and do 90 hauling a trailer? good job bro-truck drivers you just paid for an AK in the hands of Haji

 

*grabs popcorn*

 

Ya know, I love my 2.7L until it is fully loaded going 80 MPH with a 30 MPH head wind. That is the only time that I was disappointed with it - once in 36,000 miles.

If I didn't need a 4 door, I would be keeping my 2.7L PreRunner. I love my truck!

 

I was really worried about the 4 cyl... I really didn't want the extra cost of the auto-tranny and v6 and worse gas mileage. So, I test drove one and it felt more powerful than my mom's 99 v6 prerunner.

I got it last Friday and love it. It's got enough power and I'm sure if you tow a lot you might want more but that's not my situation so it's fine for me. I'll use it to commute 90% of the time and haul stuff the other 10%.

Drives great and can't wait to put the first 200,000 miles on it....

 

sorry, little rant. tacoma owners arent that bad, even if they are bro-trucks. im just tired of all the F-350s on 20's around here. i can understand the X-runner and v6 tacos, but people that have the money to build 37inch tired trucks should have the money to buy a corrola and use that as their dd.

 

Congrats on the truck, it is impressive, i wish you many happy miles.

 

I got the 2.7 because that's the only one that comes with the standard cab if I understand correctly...and I needed the standard cab so it'll fit in the garage. I've been really happy.

It is rated 1 (one) less horepower than my 1994 Lincoln Continental 3.8 Liter V-6, and with it's 5-speed, it will out accelerate the Lincoln.
I believe it is also higher HP rated than the current Ranger 3 liter V-6.
It'll go faster than I will ever need it to go on pavement. And off pavement? fugedaboudit.


Rob

 

The 08 ranger 3 liter is 148 HP. My coworker bought one saying he liked my truck's looks but "4 cylinders don't have enough power." Now he has the "power" of a whimpy 6 cylinder further neutered by an automatic tranny. I laughed my ass off at him because he's getting 15 mpg and I can out run him.

 

Yeah, that's the other thing...how can they manage lower gas mileage with a weaker engine? When I did a comparison the Tacoma beat it in about everything.

Rob

 

Tonight I found a site that lists 0 to 60 for the Tacoma regular cab I4 at 8.7 seconds and the access cab at 9.0 seconds. They have times listed for almost anything you'd commonly find on the road but I'm betting they're just estimating times based on HP torque and weight.... Not that I'm really worried about it because on a normal day I'm in front of half the people on the road.

 

I have the I4 and it seems fine this is my third toyota truck all 4 cyl a 22re 1993 indesrcutable /bulletproof ,a 98 tacoma 2.4 decent never a problem and now this 2.7 I4 plenty when I first looked under the hood I was like wow its tiny for this truck but after driving it I like it and on the beach it does great and I seem to average 20 to 22.5 miles to the gallon so far I am glad I got the I4 gas is likely not gonna get cheaper in years to come !

 

I love Variable Valve Timing. It makes engines do so much more than they used to. My old GTI with a 1.8 turbo motor had 180 horse power and the same torque 173 lb ft torque. Without VVT and 5 valves per cylinder I'd have barely made 130 hp. The flat torque curve of the Tacoma makes hauling loads and towing much easier.