"ECT is great!" meh.. Auto lsd and trac off is where its at.

So after owning this truck for damned near half a year I finally held down that little button to the left of the steering wheel.

As the title says; man what a difference. You guys know a lot, so tell me the raw deal.

Seems to me that the traction control etc system is using (robbing) a lot more power than I thought.

First thing I noticed was the stiffer steering. I also felt more torque in the low end and then on top of that the rpm's were significantly lower (at some times even below 1,000rpms), and the gas pedal still felt like it had some ass behind it with smaller incremental changes.

Ive read some of the threads about the system, but Im wondering if anyone knows exactly what all its doing when its on? Does simply having it on mean some things are more engaged even if not in much use? Is the system altering engine revs etc just to make the transition to the systems smoother? Obviously theres something going on all the time when engaged as the steering was different.

Just curious what yall know, what yalls experiences are. If Im totally incorrect? Are there any known or anecdotal instance where operating with the system off causes some kind detrimental ware because the truck was designed to be run with lsd etc on?

 

I would think that with the trac control off and the lsd etc on it is driving with both rear wheels so it would take less force to push with two than it would one. That in turn would make the truck have more torque at the rear wheels and seem to have more power. Now this is just a total guess I pulled out of left field so don’t take my word on any of it.

 

i installed the "ECT on at start up" mod on my 2016 in 2017 and it is still doing it's job.

i don't even know whet the 2 buttons in the overhead do!
I guess one is the fake LSD?

 

It’s always driving with both wheels. All the simulated lsd does is brake a wheel if it starts to spin so it can apply power to the wheel with traction. It’s not at all like a clutch lsd that keeps preload on the spider gears to sort of act like a locker and keep power to the wheel with traction, nor is it like a helical/torsen lsd that uses a pinion gear setup to bias power to the wheel with traction.

How much torque it takes to push the truck forward doesn’t change.

 

• ECT stands for "Electronically Controlled Transmission."
• ECT PWR adjusts the shift points, allowing you to reach higher RPM levels before shifting into the next gear.
• It does not boost engine power itself, but rather takes better advantage of available power.
• Has nothing to do with Traction control or limited slip rear

 

It’s all in your head.

 

Traction control has zero effect if you aren’t losing traction. When it is activated you will see an indicator light on the dash.

Also “AutoLSD” is not enabled by default. You have to push the button. Only TRAC and VSC are enabled by default in 2hi. For whatever reason there are a lot of people on the net that refer to the full set of traction control modes as “AutoLSD” despite what the owner’s manual says.

I suggest you read your owners manual and the first post in this thread;

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-traction-control-modes-explained.530695/

 

A better way to put it is it allows the engine shift at higher rpms where it makes more power which is why people think it boosts power, because in a way it does

As for the other stuff, this is why I like having an old manual truck

 

Bingo
All ECT does is make the truck hold the gear longer before shifting

 

All traction control systems, including Auto-LSD in the Tacoma use the brakes to create their affect, and flash a light on the dash when they are operating, and you feel/hear the system operating.

ECT changes the shift points in the transmission. It does not add more torque or HP to the engine, other than the mechanical advantage of the shift points. It’s effect is felt in that your RPMs are higher before the shift happens.

 

One nitpick... besides the use of brakes there is also throttle intervention in some cases, but again it is only activated when the vehicle loses traction.

 

Going along at a steady speed and turning ECT on results in a ~300rpm increase in the same gear. ECT on results in less gear hunting since, the transmission does not have to shift down as often to maintain speed.

 

That is mathematically impossible. Your engine speed at a given road speed and transmission gear is fixed.

You can briefly see your engine RPM increase before your road speed increases when you mash the pedal if the torque converter is unlocked below its stall speed. Those conditions would allow it to have the input spin faster than the output until the road speed increased and both input and output normalized.

 

Yes, I am aware. I didnt think I in any way conflated the two, but for some reason everyones talking about the ect now lol.

EDIT: just read where i said traction control ect, dumb brain, should have been lds. Throwing in the et cetera didnt help since its the same abbreviation as the shift pattern changer.

Im not beyond believing that and it could be the truth. But I just turned it off again today and same thing. The steering is a bit firmer and the pedal still has more give on the low than it usually would. It also dips down lower into the rpms (even below 1000 in some cases).

 

The steering is hydraulic so the feel doesn’t change by turning the traction control on or off.

 

This isn't how the system works. The truck is always 'driving' both rear wheels and no loss of torque would be noticed until one wheel loses traction. At that point braking is applied to the slipping wheel, robbing torque at that wheel, but allowing that equal amount of robbed engine torque to be applied to the wheel with traction.

No new torque is available with these systems and you shouldn't notice any change unless drive traction is lost.

 

Placebo is a hell of a drug.

 

The mind is a powerful thing. Ive been wrong enough times that I know Ill still be wrong again and live accordingly lol.

Ill try to take some actual notes, but Im pretty damn sure under standard operating, my truck absolutely wasnt hitting or operating in the low rpms in any circumstance that was doing with the lsd off.

 

Your truck does not have a LSD (limited slip differential). It has various traction control systems named TRAC, VSC, AutoLSD, MTS, and CC (assuming you have a OR with an automatic transmission and 4wd). None of them do anything unless you are losing traction. Assuming you have an OR, you also have a rear selectable differential locker which is mechanical.

I suggest you read your owners manual and the first post in this thread.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-traction-control-modes-explained.530695/

It would be a shame if you spent extra $$$ for a TRD OR and didn’t know how to use its primary add-on features (Multi-Terrain Select, rear differential locker, and Crawl Control).

 

The other thing to consider is driving in manual/sport mode in the city or leave it 4th. I row the gears most of the time, once u get use to it, it becomes second nature and makes for way better drive IMHO...particularly on a modded or lifted truck.