Pros and cons about TRD supercharger

Why so secretive?

Just curious....... We are here to learn yes?

 

I got the SC kit today along with TRD exhaust, now I just have to find an installer. There is one shop in town that will do it for $800 and in this town that is probably the best I will find.
Has anyone installed the TRD exhaust? They ship it as one complete unit so it is like 8 feet long. Does anyone have any tips on the install? Any help is GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks,
Ken

 

WD-40 for the exhaust hangers.

 

DAMN, Y'all must be flooring it all the time. I found I actually gained 1.5 - 1.9 MPG if I take it easy. IF

This tank and the last tank not so much, but def not a 239 mile range.

 

haha. My roommate found one of my supercharged stickers and put it on the underside of the toilet seat. hahah. I laugh every time I piss.

 

I am getting about 16 to 17 mpg now BEFORE the install, I can't imagine it will get much worse unless I am flooring all the time. Does anyone with a SC have their MPG figure out? If so, care to share? Trying to avoid sticker shock at the pump.
BTW Gas around here is closer to $4.50. I think we have some of the highest prices in the country.
Ken

 

Thanks for reminding me about that, that is a good idea. I usually use a silicone spray and it definitely makes all the difference. I am wondering about the length of this thing though. The setup is like 8' long, so I was wondering if there was an "easier" way or any tricks to get it into place.
Thanks again,
Ken

 

We all have our MPG's figured out.....and none of us care...smash the pedal on the right at will......it's why you spent the $4-5 grand.....#FloorItAndFillIt

 

Curiosity more than anything I guess, but I heard from another mechanic today that the SC will actually give you a mileage boost as long as the pedal isn't glued to the floor.

 

It's true, since there's less throttle required to go the same speed if you have more power.

 

True with just about any fuel powered engine....

 

See post #46

 

WOOHOOO!!! So shouldn't Obama in his infinite wisdom be giving rebates for the SC since it improves mileage?

I saw that chart but was not sure if that was with the SC installed or not. Anyone know?
Thanks again guys,
Ken

BTW Scheduled install for next Monday. The dealership here in town wanted over $1300 to install!!!! CROOKS! I found a local shop that will do it for $800 and it retains the factory warranty. Cool thing is that the tech doing the install used to work at Toyota and owns a 2012 just like my rig.

 

In my sig I have my fuelly chart. S/C was installed 1/15/2013.

I'm not sure if you get the S/C installed outside of a Toyota shop if the warranty will be valid for the remainder of the factory warranty. As it was explained to me by multiple shops the Factory Warranty is only honored when a Toyota shop does the work. My VIN number of my truck for the S/C installation is in Toyota's system (plus I keep the receipt in the glovebox). All three Toyota shops explained to me that is how they will know if they actually performed the installation.

Yes...it was a lot more, but my truck only had 19K miles and less than 2 years old so the added cost was worth it to me.

I'm including my receipt so so you can try and negotiate down from $1300.

I also had issues with this dealer as can be seen here:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/pe...r-dealer-install-times-costs.html#post6305269

Good Luck with your new toy. After all the frustrations I had getting it finally installed I'm very happy with the truck. Check out IPT Valve body mod if you want a little more out of your tranny with the added power.

 

Let the dealer install it. It's worth the extra $$$ for keeping the remainder of you factory warranty.

My dealership wanted $1350+

I haggled with them over install and parts costs. I finally got them to $1100 on the install and $4400 on the SC w fit kit. I threatened to drive to Phoenix to have it installed by Earnhardt Toyota for $443 out the door. The parts manager used to work at another Phoenix dealership and had some disdain for Earnhardt. He got the service manger to drop the price to $1100. Not even close to the $443 but I didn't have to drive 8+ hours one way, gas, and my time. It also kept the entire purchase and install at one dealership and was also my selling dealership. I felt that this could help w/ any future issues. We'll see I guess.

When I dropped it off I told the service writer I was given the $1,100 install price and I added "out the door" just to see. After she went back and forth for about 20 minutes she finally gave me the service order to sign and she could only get it to $1104.xx. This was fine because it included EVERYTHING. There's no tax on install but they like to add shop materials and other incidentals after the fact. I paid the $1104.xx when I picked it up.

The tech who did mine had done 12 Tacomas before and installed one on his Tundra. I'm pretty confident about his abilities after talking to him after the install. He's was more than happy to go over it with me. In fact, he initiated the conversation after I said I had no questions. He took me over to my truck and we talked superchargers, Tacomas, and Corvettes for awhile. They had to pull us apart so the service dept. could close up for the day.

It took him the majority of the day. I dropped it off the night before so that he could get it in the bay ASAP. This may have been the difference between picking it up that night or the next morning/afternoon.

 

Hold on, I was told that if the install was done "professionally" by a Toyota shop that the warranty stayed valid. The place that is going to do the install told me the same and they work on Toyotas all the time. I asked them specifically about it and they told me that the warranty WOULD stay in effect if they did the install. I also called and spoke to Tim at TRD Sparks that referred me to THIS page on their site. He confirmed that as long as the kit is installed by a professional, that the warranty would stay in effect. The only exception that I can see is if the installer does something VERY wrong in the install process. They are using Toyota parts, Toyota fluids and have TIS to re-flash the ECU. The mechanic has a 2012 Taco like mine but a year older that is in excellent shape.
Anyway, the warranty is important to me as I got the certified used warranty from the dealership because it was a "demo".
Thanks again guys,
Ken

 

I just got a follow up call from Tim at TRD Sparks. He confirmed what you guys had said about having the dealership do the install. If they install, I keep my warranty. If I install or have another shop do the install the SC kit is waranteed for 12 months or 12k miles whatever comes first. I guess I need to start calling some other local dealerships.
Bummer

 

Yep. That's why I attached my receipt to help you negotiate. I see you have a brand new truck and it would make sense to keep the factory warranty intact by having a dealership do the work. I'm sure the other place can do it (probably even better than some Toyota shops), but the warranty (at least to me) is too important.

 

Thanks man, I really appreciate that! You guys saved my bacon on this one, I had an appointment to get the work done at the other shop on Monday!
I could have sworn that someone posted the warranty particulars in one of the Super Charger threads and it said that it was ok for another shop to install, but I cannot find the dang post now.
You are right, three different Toyota dealerships have told me that the work HAS to be done at a dealership or I void the warranty. I don't mind spending money to upgrade the truck or improve on it, but hate when I have to fork out coin to get it fixed so I really want that warranty in place.
I have been calling dealerships within a 100 mile radius and have found one about an hour away that will install it for $1000. I am hoping that the local dealership will match, but I doubt it. It is worth saving $300 to $400 to drive an hour to the shop. I am still waiting for calls from some of the other dealerships I called.
Anyway, thanks again, MUCH appreciated!
Ken

 

I am going to be clear on this, these superchargers are self lubricating. Above that they have bypass valves and so you are not always on boost the supercharger only kicks in when your engine is stressed which is great. Compared to a Naturally Aspirated engine which will need more power to under the same loads whether it be speed or towing. Just think about a v6 and v8 both going at highway speeds of 75-80 mph. The v8 has more power so its not working as hard and has lower rpms so gears also get involved with this for rpms. Though a supercharged and NA v6 on tacomas will have the same gears. So you as far as gas milage and mantience I have provided some answers to that. I dont know if a unichip will work with it but there are better ecu's put there. The electric pump is not noisy but you do know when it on and it does kick on even when the engine is off.