Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

High rpms are your friend...you won't hurt anything. You'll back off before the rev limiter will force you.

 

What are you used to driving? It might take a little bit to get used to it but in the mean time, drive it. If you grab the wrong gear, just push the clutch in and grab a different one. You is the seat far enough forward? It took me a while to get the seat right. If you're built like me, ass up, leaned back.

 

Previous truck was an Auto Frontier V6, Pathfinder V6 and a Camry I4. I also have experience driving 2003 BMW 530 and Audi A4 with 5 speeds and all these vehicles have had much more sensitive throttle pedals. On these vehicles :

Minor pedal pressure = smooth slow acceleration

On the Taco:

Minor pedal pressure = barely enough throttle to hold speed on a flat freeway.

 

I say don't worry about babying the engine. Let it rip. Even normal city driving I wind the engine out. She likes it, actually I think she prefers it.

 

Give it a little more gas, it's not a BMW, it's a pickup truck. Try the cruise, on higways it loves 6th gear and 70+ MPH.

 

Air resistance is a bitch. I mash the petal to the floor all the time on the highway or up the mountains and I'd call the power barely adequate. However under 65mph it's fine. I only start seeing anemic acceleration above 70mph or when climbing a mountain; unless I downshift and rev it out. Then it's not a problem.

I did an informal test running higher speeds but staying in higher gears going across the mountains on I-70 once, versus downshifting and revving it out at high speeds for the mountain passes and running 6th on the flats. They all got me the same gas mileage. Engine doesn't seem to care; no noticeable oil burning either way.

 

Looks like you have a 4.0 versus us having the 3.5, it is kinda anemic down low with plenty of power up high which is just the opposite.

 

damn dude, get the Orange Virus tune and stop thinking your shit wants to break. that motor is stout enough and is muted through the factory tune. fix that shit now. no wonder you're always worried about breaking things. i toss this truck around like a nutcase and haven't broken anything yet!

 

The pedals are sprung heavy for the truck that it is. And, they are nicely consistent. I've driven some cars where the each pedal was sprung differently. That was utter BS.

Also realize that this truck can tow one and a half times its own weight. It's built stout.

 

Gotta spin that motor up! All the power is found in the 3500+ rpm range. I've had to get used to downshifting when traveling up grades way more in this truck than my 2nd gen.

 

Haha, yes sir, will do!

 

I have been in those situations (Coming through riverside in california) and i keep the RPM at 2800 and you have enough engine brake to not have to tap your brakes and you also have a great amount of torque to get you up and going too.

 

Yes, until you grab another gear. 4th has gotten me flying by everybody else in a 7% grade.

 

Wind out 3rd before you hit 4th on that grade and she'll keep climbing. Haven't pulled a trailer yet (turned 1,900 miles this AM) so I can't comment on how it does with a load on. Also seeing that the more miles I put on, the more power she gains and the gas mileage is definitely improving.

 

It's fun winding out the 3.5L. Sometimes I wind out second on freeway ramps. No reason not to open her up. She'll thank you.

 

If I need power accelerating uphill I downshift before 2500 rpm. The engine needs to be turning to make power.

 

I'm considering trading my auto for a manual. There isn't one local for me to test drive. Is the 3rd gen just as gutless with a manual tranny?
As much as I love the looks of this truck, I missing the drivability of my 2nd gen.

 

No.

 

If by gutless you mean the motor then yes don't be surprised when you still have no lower end torque. However, the good news is with a manual, you can wind the motor out instead of a shift happy auto. If you don't mind doing your own rowing, I say def switch. My service advisor drove mine for the first time today and he's considering getting one himself.

 

agree with this and @cosmicfires. it's about how you use it. i have zero problems with driveability.