Why is it that the Tacoma is the only vehicle the aftermarket programmers don't tune??

Why is it that there is no aftermarket tunes and tuners for this truck? This truck is in a bad need for the aftermarket to turn this Atkinson crap off, turn on the DI sooner and tune this transmission!!!

 

because toyota has the ecu locked down super tight.

 

turn it off?

 

The direct injection is on 100% of the time. Don't confuse the direct injection for performance purpose, they are used in tandem with the port injection for emissions and fuel economy.

Typically Toyota ECU's are nearly impossible to mod and the few mods we can do are tricking air temps and throttle response.

If you want faster, regear and shed weight.

 

And Tell us WHY YOU bought this truck?

 

Typically Toyota ECU's are locked down tightly, that said within the last year and a bit they have been much more open thanks to a lot of reverse engineering. Lexus IS and RC engines are finally being tuned semi-easily among others, they all use D4 or D4-S.

I would expect something to happen for the 3rd gen at some point in the near future, provided there is demand for it.

Perhaps some maps from the GS350 could be used as a guide for a sportier performing GRN3xx Tacoma.

Jeff

 

Also, as was said, the direct injection is always active, what varies is when port injection is used.

Jeff

 

not familiar with the Tacoma's engines, but aren't the port injectors primarily used to keep the valves coated so there isn't carbon build up?

 

It's a helpful side effect, but not the primary reason they are there. During certain conditions it can be difficult to get proper atomization using direct injection alone. Often times swirl valves or other intake methods are used to help with this, including Toyota's D-4 system, however in the newer D-4S system port injectors were added to provide a better mixture. There are some good articles about it related to the 2GR-FSE when it was introduced in 2005.

Jeff

 

Direct injection in general is fairly new. It's just like video game systems, when they first come out it can take time for the 3rd party game companies to get the most out of it.

 

Because

I had 40k to piss away.

 

So you guys are telling me all these smart programmers can't crack this ecu? I find that hard to believe, I think they just don't think there is a market for it. But now that the 3rd gen is out I think there is a huge market for it.

 

The ECUs are encrypted so you first have to hack the encryption to get to the programming.

Many current ECUs are already tuned to a very high level of efficiency, not leaving a lot of improvement on the table (excepting turbo cars, where manufacturers tune for avoiding warranty claims).

Once hacked, there will need to be enough perceived benefit for it to be marketable, ie, if tuning only provides a 2-3 HP increase and no shift improvement no one would pay $300 for the program.

Also, even though you own the vehicle, technically the software in the ECU is owned by the manufacturer.

I'm not aware of any case where a manufacturer has gone after someone for hacking its ECU, but the possibility exists.

For these trucks the biggest improvement would probably be in the auto transmission more than the engine since the MT guys don't really complain about it lacking power.

If they could just get a decent shift program and then remove the "learning" that undoes any benefit you've added, you'd likely have a winner.

 

I agree, I can live with the power but these shift points are terrible! This truck should never shift before 2k rpm under any circumstances

 

Wrong on the last point about the 6MT. There is plenty of power, but it completely falls on its face for the first 4-5 seconds on getting going from a start. it's a throttle mapping item to reduce emissions on throttle plate opening, and also, on the back side, there is significant rev hang, again, for emissions related reasons. I don't have the link to the thread, but you can search and find it here. If there was a way to remove those throttle issues, I WOULD DEFINITELY buy a tuner. It is absolutely MY only complaint with my truck.

 

This might as well be rocket science for me, haha.

 

ive thought about this and commented on it in other threads...

having had a TDi, the tune community is huge for them, and you can go in both directions with it. You can greatly improve HP/torque, or tune it to hypermile...

i bought the hypertech module to correct for larger tires and after looking at their website (mostly directed for diesel/turbos) thought, wow, this truck would really benefit from some very minor adjustments on the shift timing..

since then, ive learned that if im going up an extended hilly area, or merging onto the highway, to use the ECT button. Doing this, im actually getting better gas milage versus having to floor it to pick up/maintain speed

 

lol WUT? Mt MT is a dog, even bought some pedal commander thing to help. If the powerband could be moved to say 2k rpms instead of 3200-4000 I think the truck would be easier to drive. If I want it to run good I have to drive it like a 16 year old driving a rotary mazda. Im 47 and dont like a truck that needs to be wound tight to avoid the lethargy power this engine provides.

 

Yeah, the manufacturers can do funky stuff with the drive-by-wire throttle.

The Nissan Frontier has a WOT restriction built in that limits you to ~60% throttle until you hit 45mph, regardless of whether the pedal is floored.

The aftermarket tuners remove this restriction and it supposedly turns the truck into a different animal, though I've never ridden in a chipped Frontier and can't personally verify that.