Tacoma

Hey guys, I'm thinking about purchasing a new Toyota Tacoma straight from the factory. Leading off with that, I would like to say that I have spent hours sifting through the forum trying to decide what is up and what is down. I'm new to tacomas. I currently have a cummins, lift, chip, intake, exhaust, yata yata. I want a truck I can take to college. Something that is smaller, better gas milage, low miles, and relatively inexpensive. The Tacoma caught my eye. I'm looking at the TRD Offroad, simply by preferance. I was thinking 4.0 with a manual. I love manual, however I read that the taco manual isn't very good? Why is that? Is it something I really should be worried about? Due to reading the forum I planned on ordering the TRD Exhaust and TRD Air filter straight from the factory, this is the way to go right? In terms of performance anyhow, it seems that other things don't make much of a difference. I was planning on supercharging in the near future and changing the pully to a smaller one. Is there any other relatively inexpensive performance add ons that are reccommended? The toyota forum isn't as helpful performance wise as the cummins forum. Correct me if I am misled anywhere or plain out wrong. My main concerns were the manual transmission and ordering trd exhaust and air filter from the factory. Any input is welcome. Thank you all in advance.

 

nothing wrong with the manual tranny.

 

Theirs not really any cheap "bolt-ons" for a tacoma that adds significant power. The best thing that i've read is the URD MAF calibrator.

 

anyone have input on the trd airfilter?

 

The consensus is that the 6spd is not as smooth or refined as one would expect from an import brand. I'm having some issues that the dealer thinks is the transmission, but that is yet to be proven.

Aside from refinement, it's still a good choice and makes this nimble truck more fun to drive.

I test drove both auto and manual and it was an easy decision to opt for the 6spd.

6spd is more fun. Auto is more refined.

Good luck on your purchase.

 

dont bother with the TRD bolt on crap............ get a muffler u like the sound of, assuming ur looking at 2005+ its already mandrel bent and 2.25-2.5

As for the intake, the newer TRD one is flawed, get an AFE stage 2 SI if u must have an intake.

remember, in the end TRD makes NOTHING, they award contracts to real manufacturers.

 

Last summer I also came from a Cummins to a Tacoma. I went with the 6sp as I was damn tired of having auto tranny problems that I had with the Cummins (4 major failures/rebuilds). That being said, the Tacoma tranny isn't the smoothest in engaging but it's also not bad. I changed the fluid to redline and that helped. I also adjusted the clutch pedal a bit to lower the grab point. Both of these have made the truck much nicer to drive. For HP, you'll be extremely disappointed if your Cummins was bomb'd. Mine used to drop 400HP at the wheels which is about 900+ ft-lbf torque - I guess that's why I couldn't keep a tranny in it... For fuel mileage, I get 17-18 mpg consistently with a bit lower in the winter. This sucks for the weight of the Tacoma and the ol' Cummins got better (It was a 96 with a "P" pump). That being said, in my area, diesel fuel is a lot more expensive than gas and I still am ahead in cost with the Tacoma. Plan to tow? There's no comparison - Cummins wins hands down. Plan to offroad? There's no comparison - Tacoma runs circles around the Cummins.

If you have to finance the tacoma, you may be able to have the supercharger and exhaust installed prior to delievery and have that rolled into the loan.

 

I have the 6 speed and TRD exhaust. I'd get both again.

As others have said the 6 isn't that smooth, switching to Redline helped mine a little as well. The rev hang is the thing that bothers me the most with it. But again I'd still buy the 6 speed if I were to get a new truck tomorrow.

The exhaust gives you a little more sound nothing obnoxious and its stainless which for me and what I do was a plus.

 

TRD exhaust + 6-speed + TRD short throw = FUN!

 

What am I doing wrong in life? You want to buy a relatively cheap (from the factory, so new) Tacoma for going to college (18 years old). I'm 43 years old, make over 6 figures and consider myself lucky to have been able to afford my new TRD O/R last year. When I was in college I drove a Volkswagon Golf that I bought for $1300!

Anyway, I will shut up now.

 

You had a car in college ... damn ... you were lucky.

 

You could afford college? Count your blessings!

 

lol you are more than welcome to stay up on that soap box. Where did I go wrong? I had a bicycle for the longest time cause I couldn't afford a car, or gas.

As for getting a stick, I love my 6spd. The rev hang I really haven't had any issues with, and all of the research I did on exhausts led me to the TRD solely based on sound. Not too loud, and tones out nicely. I would highly recommend a short shift as the stock throws are really long.

 

RPM's staying up after depressing the clutch for a fraction of a second before coming down.

Some manufacturers day it's a design feature to reduce emissions. Drivers find it annoying.
K

 

If I were you I would buy a used Tacoma for college.