Did ECM Tuning Save Your Relationship? (Attn: 6MT)

I'd especially love to hear from MT guys since a lot of tune praise errs towards AT shifting improvements..but is a tune on the 3.5 the reason you still have your 3G? Is it that transformative? I really want it to be that simple, but I really, really struggle with the idea that the power curve is shifted that much. Especially when the occasional guy chimes in with, "didn't really notice a difference." And then there are the dyno charts fueling speculation...without any way of seeing any changes below 2500 or 3000 RPM or something like that, where it actually matters for my interests.

I want to hear from the guys who were on the edge and tuned out of desperation to make it work...and it did. The tune is THE reason you still own it. Or, it didn't, you bailed, and just like to come here and complain..yeah, this is your moment; spill thy tea, broseph. I'm personally ready to bail. I like the truck, but I don't like/enjoy it enough to justify its cost, considering I'm not really loving how it drives. I want to think that, like about anything else on these, it can be fixed - it just sounds like a really tall order and I am skeptical.

 

If you aren’t satisfied now a tune is unlikely to change that. You can’t change the fundamental characteristics of the engine and that’s just about all that’s left when you have manual and control the shift point logic that is the main downfall of the truck with an automatic.

 

My opinion on all of the tunes I’ve tried is that they all have a very sensitive throttle that really wants to go as soon as you hit the pedal. I find that behind the very sensitive throttle, the engine is not really all that much stronger. Maybe a little bit, but it’s not drastic. I suspect many folks are fooled by the throttle into thinking that the tune gave them “more power” because in a way, the truck becomes significantly more responsive since it’s ready to go a lot more eagerly. Obviously, the dynos show some improvement. I’m not saying there is NO improvement, but after a bit of
time driving a tuned truck, especially on a manual, you can still very easily get it to lug really bad and not have any power. In reality, there is only so much the tuners can adjust.

Where the tunes disappointed me is that there is still very little “power” or torque down low, tuned or not. You are still ultimately limited by the way Toyota set the truck up to interpret the pedal. 2nd gear still lugs like hell below 10 miles per hour.

Ultimately I have found that a regear combined with premium fuel and stock tune is the perfected version of driving this truck for me personally. The tunes with the regear made the throttle way too annoying to control at low speed.

I’d suggest you just find someone nearby to test out their tuned truck if you can and go from there. Obviously it will be harder to find a manual to test but there are probably some out there. Personally I felt the tunes are quirky and ultimately I feel like I have the same power on the stock tune, just with much more padded throttle. 93 octane certainly helps the stock tune not feel anemic as the tune learns and advances timing slowly over time.

 

Stock tune for my 18 has its issues for sure. But, really, it's the engine torque curve that makes a manual 3rd gen an 'interesting' drive. Wrong engine for the application IMO and you are not going to change it much with a tune. But, I still enjoy driving it and have taught my kids to drive it. So, it can't be THAT bad.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/performance-and-tuning.8/

 

MT
You are your shift points
Re gear

 

My odometer just turned 100,000kms earlier today. I have no tune and don't know if I will ever get one. I understand that if I want to go faster I need to hang out in gear longer. This engine has some good power in it as long as you know where to find it. Being a manual truck, it definitely helps being able to pick your shift points.

 

I got the d3 tune on my 2nd gen 4.0 and it made a huge difference. I like it a lot.

 

Engine is fine, tranny was a bad choice for both at and mt

 

Peak torque at 4600rpm for a production truck engine does not make for a good manual experience. Those are the facts. It is not the transmissions (either auto or MT) fault.

 

Drawing the line at regear. Starts to turn in to, “The Tacoma is a great truck and the 3.5 engine is a fine motor, despite criticism. Just need to tune it..and add a supercharger..and do a hilux transmission swap..and regear the axles..and maybe a transfer case doubler, but that last one is getting pretty hardcore”

 

yeah I agree. That sounds like the jeep guys.

 

The truck from the factory has 2 problems. No low end torque and an absolutely horseshit tune. The torque problem cannot be fixed, the tune problem can.

AT here, and I would have sold my brand new truck within the 1st year if not for a tune. For me the tune was transformative.

 

I drove my truck for a year and a half without a tune and wasn't happy with the 1/3 throttle or less dead pedal feeling but I was able to work around it with the manual. I bought a camper and my first towing experiences were pretty bad. I had to do something to try and get more torque between 2000 and 3000rpm. I got the OTT tune. It made a big difference for me in the 2000-3000rpm range, especially pulling the camper. I think these tuners will let you try it and if you don't like it they'll switch it back to stock at no cost.

 

AT here but, the tune fixed probably 70-75% of the issues I had with my truck shifting wise. Still has some gear hunting and awkward up and down shifts but for me it's fine. I don't race my truck nor did I build it with racing in mind. It's a daily driver truck that I built for light off roading and it does both well enough to keep. There are just fundamental issues with the power train that can't be fixed by software. Regear and tune, I think that would be pretty transformative...but a lot of $$$ for something that might not change your mind. Honestly OP made the right choice getting a MT. I'd say try a regear first.

 

The KDMAX with premium was pretty damn amazing and Id still get it if I really wanted the sporty feeling back. As of now, Im fine with the latest toyota tune, though still miss having a 7k-something redline.

 

The day I realized that you need to get the revs above 3k to shift smoothly is the day I started having a better time driving the Tacoma.

Unfortunately, with the way the engine makes power, you kind of need to drive it like a 4500lb Miata.

 

But, but, but............ I want my problem to be somebody else's fault!






/\.

 

A long time ago I bought the full OVT VFTuner package and tune files. It made a world of difference and made it very "peaky" from the line so I had to get used to that. Average mileage went down a couple of MPG but fun factor went way up. I'm sure there are better tunes available now over the default VFTune but haven't had a reason to update it so far. I might see about buying a tune file or two from some of those tuner guys just to try them out but only if I can get them for $100 or less since I'll do the work myself and just need the file.

TL;DR: yes, it makes a huge difference.

 

Agreed, give it more skinny pedal and let it sing. Quite fun to drive when you realize this.