Newbie, needing guidance

Hello all,
New to this forum and to off-roading.
I'm here for advice on the 3rd gen, beating a dead horse and its an old story all of you have probably been through. The dreaded throttle lag, I've had the software flashes and such, the last time I took it in they claimed they couldn't reproduce the issue I was explaining, but miraculously the truck was improved when I drove it off the lot. Any way, any legit suggestions would be appreciated, are cold air intakes legit, not sure I want the exhaust don't want that fast and furious vibe, but again are they legit. OV tuning, does it work.

So I'm trying to figure out if I should just get rid of it or is there a fix.
I would like to start doing some mods but I don't want to spend thousands on something I don't love, and currently it's more hate than love. I can see the potential but don't k ow that it's possible to truly unlock it.
Apologies for the same Ole song and dance but I need to figure out my next move, in need of new tires so I'm at the point I need to poop or get off the pot.

I appreciate any advice and hands on experiences.

I will have a separate post for mods recommendations as well.

Thank you.

 

Maybe this?
https://www.dz-custom-innovations.com/products/shiftsense-pro

 

What was your previous vehicle? If coming from something like a 2500 Ram or similar, you won't be able to get the immediate response like you do with alot of the bigger V8s.

You said its alot more hate than love, so what are the other hates? Fixing throttle lag may not do enough to make you love it.

But I recommend the KDMax tune. I forget which version they are on now, but I honestly believe its the best thing you can get for the truck. Helps it alot.

 

Get the KDMAX Pro tune (enhanced version of OVTune), it will solve your problems and its well worth the $.

 

Lol, well it wasn't a truck. That is fair and something I considered, I drove a Mazda3, I was commuting A LOT.
However, I have driven trucks previously for many years, including a jeep as well.
It's just tedious to drive, I feel like l'm having to work to drive from point A to B. I live in TN, lots if hills and curves, which is where I still have the most annoying experience with the transmission mapping or whatever is the issue. As long as I'm in the throttle it's mostly fine but as soon as I let up the slightest little bit it just bogs down, and when I go to get back in it, it's sluggish. I've never experienced that before in any vehicle I have driven. Same with going up hills or slowing down for traffic. I attempted to cross 2 lanes of traffic on a very busy highway and I floored it, it eased out like grandpa getting out of chair. I thought I was going to get run over, it finally kicked in but I've never had a vehicle do that. That part has gotten better but it's just really annoying to drive day to day, especially for a new truck, it had 6k miles on it when I bought it. That is why I hate it, it's just annoying to drive, seems worse in cold weather too, which is bizarre as well. I realize and don't expect a race car but still, that's not how a any type of automobile should operate.
You can't finese or roll into or out of the throttle, it's kinda all or nothing. Seems to struggle up grades, also the automatic clutch is terrible at times too, rolls out like a manual transmission on normal grades. Which I forgot to mention to the techs when I took it in, I was so focused on the throttle and cruise control issues. Weird jittery jerking when in cruise at low speeds especially but they couldn't reproduce it, not sure how it's very noticeable.

I like the truck and want to love it and mod it out but just not sure it's worth it.
I was hoping I could find a solution that would mostly solve the issues and I could really enjoy the truck but maybe that isn't possible.

 

Find someone else with a 3rd gen that can ride around with you. Perhaps your truck has a problem.

 

I would recommend finding somebody near you who has a tune on their stock truck and is willing to let you drive it a bit. I know that the mapping for shift points is something that has always been an issue with these trucks.

There are also several tuners in TN for the KDMax Pro tune who can hook you up in the KDMax Thread. They usually will let you test the tune out, and if you don't like it they will return the truck to stock. That would be the best route for you that I would recommend.

Funny enough btw, I drove a Mazda3 for about 5 years while I was in college before I got my Taco. I had the same issues with the throttle between the two vehicles. The only difference is my Mazda and Taco are manuals. Mazdas are also just made extremely well in my opinion. They are great driving vehicles. I've always thought about getting another one someday.

 

I've got the 2.7/auto in mine and its not nearly as gutless as you described in post #5. I have to admit I hated it at first but then again I had a 95 v8 Bronco and a Mustang GT as daily drivers. Using the ECT really helps.
If everything checks out I would consider a tune like suggested

 

I would start out with what Gen3TacomaOBX said above and see if you can find a local member to test ride together for comparison. I drove a 2010 Mazda3 2.5 with a 6 spd for the 10 years before buying my 2020 TRD off road automatic. My Tacoma still puts a smile on my face like the 3 did, just has a different way of going about it. In Oregon our roads also have curves and hills, and my biggest driving disappointment is getting horrible fuel economy at 15-16 mpg, but to be fair my Mazda got only 19 mpg with the same commute. I do not have a tune, but I do drive with ECT on most of the time as it helps keep the transmission in the lower gear for longer. I do notice the transmission lag when it downshifts but again not to the point that I bothers me.

 

Every vehicle made for the last 30 years has come stock with cold air intake. This truck pulls cold air for inside the wheel well, inside the front bumper is another common place on modern vehicles. Air intakes used to pull air from the top of the engine, inside the engine bay. This was back in the day when carburetors were common. Most after market cold air intakes have a filter with less surface area then the stock filter and will reduce air flow or reduce filtration (looking at you k&n). The problem with these trucks is not the power of the engine it is the tune. The OEM tune is rigged for fuel economy and not much else (this includes the transmission tune). If you really want to improve throttle response you can do a tune or something like peddle commander. Just keep in mind the such things are bad for warranty (if your worried about it) and your fuel economy will go down.

 

OK, that makes sense, I wasn't sure if a new intake would be worth the money and really add that much to performance.
The issue is the software, and i got the impression, as you said, it was designed to give optimal fuel efficiency. Sacrifices on performance though. I was close to getting a pedal commander and still considering it, seems to work for a lot of people.

 

- Hi. Were you able to try the pedal commander? I appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

 

KDMax pro tune.

/end thread.