2013 6 gears double cab short box only?

Just bought a new Taco 2013, first truck ever, and I got the standard 6 gear double cab, on the plus side the truck looks sick on the down side the double cab comes with the short box 5 foot bed. Why the standard doesn’t have the option of a long box 6 foot bed???

This is the model I am getting 2013 Tacoma TRD sports double cab, with leather package.

 

You can't get the longer box with the manual transmission. Something to do with the tranny placement. Thats what they told me when I got my 2012 anyway.

 

that is how it has always been they dont want to spend the money on all the testing for the manual with the long bed and then only sell 10,000 they couldn't cover the cost of all the certification tests

 

^ X2

 

Nice truck! I have a 2009 TRD Off Road, thinking about the upgrade to a 2013 TRD Sport.

Yours has standard metal wheels but interior leather seats and its a TRD Sport! How did you manage that combo?

 

its the canadian model, not sold in the US i was told... its the TRD sport with leather. its got everything without the nav option.

 

I was thinking about the manual until I found out it only comes in a shorty. Baffled that it's a 6-speed yet gets worse mpg than the auto.

 

Automatic tranny's have come a long ways in the last 5-10 years. Part of why manuals are getting so hard to find nowadays, most of the flaws of autos have been improved massively in the last decade.

 

If Toyota would just put the .72 overdrive gear into the manual like the automatic it would get better mpg than the automatic. Instead they put in a .85 od in so you get to spin at 18% higher rpm for no good reason.

It is really that simple. There is nothing special about the automatic, just ask all the people that don't bother with cruise control because the automatic goes nuts and overshoots the set speed by 5 mph while dropping 2 gears.

Toyota would rather not sell manuals.

 

my manual doesn't get worse mpg than the autos. I think a lot of the worse mpg thing has to do with how people drive. You put a clutch and a shifter in it and people thing it's a class 3 truck.

 

Yep, only way to get a manual in longbed is get a reg cab or access cab. I love my 5 speed, way fun to drive. Idk what's up with the 6 speed in the V6. The 4 banger manual gets better mileage than the 4 banger auto.

 

I always figured it was the lazy people not wanting to waste a free hand that could be texting or shoving a french fry into their mouth

 

I Have an AC long box, and a 6spd

 

AC long bed has 6 speed, dc long bed youre SOL

 

Yeah, not entirely sure why the auto has such a lower OD, unless it has to do with the torque multiplier from the torque converter helping out the auto allowing it to run lower gears. All of the Toyota auto's seem to have .70-.72 OD's and the manuals all seem to have .85 OD's, so they must be something to it. With as much push as car companies get about improving fuel mileage from the government, I don't think they would drop the manuals mpg's intentionally. Especially since most people don't buy trucks for their mpg.
My guess is that putting the .72 in the manual causes you to have to push the throttle more to maintain 75mph and therefore costing you mpg. RPM hardly affects fuel economy, it has a lot to do with throttle position. One good example is my Hyundai Accent. It runs at almost 4000rpm at 75mph and gets almost 40 mph doing that. Another good example is my Tacoma. I went from running at 2000 rpm at 75mph to running at 2750rpm at 75mph when I regeared the diffs and my mpg was hardly affected at all, still get 16-17mpg. I lost less than 1 mpg and I attribute that to me gunning it out of stop signs/lights more because of how much more fun it is with all the extra torque from the 4.88's.

As for the cruise being screwy. I never had a problem with it on factory sized tires. When I went to 33's, it would never overshoot 75 mph, but it sure had a hard time maintaining it without downshifting... Once I regeared though it has no problem maintaining 75mph in overdrive and only downshifts when there is a really steep incline.

 

This is a huge reason for why a lot of companies just quit making manuals. haha No demand anymore. Which creates demand for making better auto trannys and is likely why they have improved so much in the last decade.

 

LMAO!

 

The torque convert has some bearing but if RPM didn't matter there would be no reason for a locking torque converter.

At highway speeds the torque converter locks to be just like a fixed clutch and you see the benefit of lower rpm. That is the improvement that has helped automatics compete with sticks.

With the automatic in OD and 4.88s on 33s you are about the same rpm a stick is stock in OD, okay you're 3% higher rpm.

My experience with high reving Honda's is different than your Hyundai. Wife's stick Element spins 3500 at 70. At an Element Forum people figured out the 5-speed box is actually the same as the 6-speed in other Hondas and you can actual add that 6th gear. One guy added the gear and tracked his mpg religiously on a long commute went from 26 to 31mpg at 72 mph.

Honda could have put the 6-speed in the Element and improved the mpg. Why didn't they? The parts to do it purchased from Honda cost $150 after markup, it would cost a fraction of that if done at the factory in the first place.

Somehow Europe and the rest of the world haven't made the switch to automatics, sticks still rule everywhere but in the US and Canada.

I just came back from Germany where I rented a VW Tiquan 2.0L TDI 6-speed. I doubt you could rent a stick in the US? Best it could do was 125 mph or 200 kph. The 1 pickup truck I saw was a Dodge, not a single Tacoma in over a week.

 

I think the main purpose of the locking torque converter was to prevent it from slipping when it didn't need to. When the torque converter is slipping it generates more heat from friction and heat is wasted energy. There is about a 500 rpm difference between locked and unlocked so I doubt that rpm alone has much of an affect on the improved fuel economy.

As for the Honda scenario, that is really weird. What was the price difference on the lot between the 6 spd and the 5spd cars? My wife has a 2008 Mazda3 and it is the base package, so it didn't have cruise control. Cost me a whole $80 to add in cruise control (steering wheel button panel swap and a brake pedal sensor swap), only way to get cruise on the lot was to buy the power package that cost an extra $3000 over the base model. So Honda may have been going that route, gives them an excuse to charge more for a better model without losing customers that won't pay more for that model.

I've often wondered how my car would do with a 6th gear, but even in 5th I find myself downshifting fairly often. Little 4 banger doesn't put out enough power to pull itself very well at high speeds so I imagine if I had a 6th gear, I would find myself driving in 5th anyway just to maintain 75mph and could only use 6th for cruising at lower speeds where there isn't as much wind resistance pushing back on the car.

I've heard that Europe takes pride in the ability to drive a manual well and manuals thrive over there. Does that mean that America is just lazy or what? haha

 

about 4 mpg differnt.. but if you want get a long bed.. you have to make a big mod.. order the long box bed and swamp the shorty out.I dont think it wont make no differnt.. my 2 cent