3.4L - To S/C or not to S/C

I have no idea where you are getting the unreliable chevy truck thing from...a friend of mine still drives his 02' avalanche, and it has a about 150k miles on it, and the only thing that has broken on it is the parking brake release cable, and all thats been done to the truck are fluid changes and normal maintenance...but anyway, I'd say do it if you have the money.

 

i just sold my silverado for my taco. most unreliable truck ive ever seen. electrical problems, blown rear-end, hubs went out, rear axle bent, air and heater stopped working, tranny went out after 120k miles, horrible lag in the motor etc. as much as i always said i loved chevys, ill never own one again.

 

Hmmm thats strange. Most people I know drive chevy pickups/SUVs, and they have all been pretty solid...Are you looking for a 1500 or a 2500?

 

Um.. this is what I meant by getting everything you need and getting it tuned properly. Just slapping a supercharger on your truck is NOT going to make it faster.. for long anyway. I've been in supercharged first gens, second gens and even the new Tundra... ALL have been setup and installed properly, with fuel/air adjustments, tunes, etc. All have power out the ass, especially low-end..

My friend has blown a rear-end, but that may have had something to do with the 90+MPH burnout in 2nd gear.. on a 2500HD. But yeah, he's had electrical problems, the tranny acted flaky, etc. Mostly due to the fact that everything on the truck is controlled by the ECU.. ick?

Depends on the driver, useage, etc. I've seen 'em all break, and I've seen Chevys last for a long time.

 

There's quite a bit of misinformation on this thread about forced induction and/if it will blow up your engine. "No replacement for displacement" isn't necessarily true anymore. Take a look at all the modern engine offerings from the major manufacturers of today, namely Ford, BMW, Honda, etc... they all have forced induction offerings for even their entry level models. FI if done properly is simply more efficient but also more complex.

Anyway, to the OP. I believe I know what you're looking for because I was in search of the same thing. I do several trips from LA to Mammoth each year. My Double Cab fully loaded with 4 people and several hundred pounds of snowboard gear and equipment always struggled in the high altitude climbs until I installed the 2nd gen TRD S/C w/ URD 7th Inj. My mileage going uphill suffered (13-14mpg) but my motor runs healthy and I can maintain 70-80mph no problem. I've come to learn that driving 60-70mph gives me much better mileage but I digress.

Before you install the S/C first check the overall health of your motor. I'm sure you're fine if you've been keeping up with the maintenance but you may want to check such things as a compression test on all cylinders, get an oil analysis from these guys, possibly get your injectors flushed, and change out your fuel filter. (you will be changing your fuel pump with the URD kit)

What is absolutely necessary IMHO when installing the TRD SC:
* 7th Injector Kit from URD or TRD. URD is cheaper and better support from Gadget. You need the added fuel since it's very well known that this car runs lean. Yes, you will find documented cases of folks who have well over 100k miles without ever having ran any fuel mods but guess what... their A/R ratios are scary. It's just a testament to how well the 5VZFE is built to withstand such abuse.
* This kit includes fuel management software but I highly recommend you spent $300+ for someone to tune this better for your car. There have been some reports (including myself) that Gadgets base tune still causes some 3.4s to ping in low rpm-high gear - I had this problem. A good tuner will know how to manipulate the piggy-back computer to either retard or add more fuel at certain rpms. Do this once and forget it forever with peace of mind!
* There is also another solution which is Meth Injection or Water Injection. If you're looking for a "set-it, and forget-it" solution i'd say just get the 7th Inj URD kit. These Meth kits can be cheaper though. You will have better luck asking the folks here http://www.customtacos.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=13
* 91 or higher octane gas all the time regarding this
UPDATE: * I forgot to mention you should add at least a good transmission fluid cooler. I haven't needed to do a valve body mod since I don't drive that hard but I've been monitoring the fluid. After 15k miles it still seems nice and red.

What is a nice to have IMHO:
* deckplate mod or any other intake mod
* headers and/or exhaust
UPDATE: * A 170deg thermostat would be nice also.

If your engine is in good health now I wouldn't hesitate going with the S/C.

 

RYU nailed it on the head. If you're going to load this 3.4 with a "heavy" boat, I would at the very least get a meth injection kit. Detonation is obviously what you're trying to avoid and meth injection esentially increased the octane rating. Here in CA, the highest you can get at most places at the pump is 91 and a motor with boost and under a load, you'll get pinging. Meth is also good because you set controls as to when it is injected. It would work well in conjunction with the 7th injector, and if you're looking for longevity, this is a part that will help you get there.

Or just buy a V8 Tundra. They seem to be pretty affordable for the 04-06 range.

 

This is a great thread and has single handedly convinced me not to supercharge my taco at anytime in the future. Maybe it should be a sticky.

 

I updated my original post with items I forgot about.

All in all it will require some effort to do a S/C application correctly (imho) but i'm not a fan of the 2nd gen and don't need the big size of a full size V8, nor do I like the Nissans so this is really the best solution for guys like us.

 

Ok there is alot of information and opinions in this post so I will just give my experience. I have been supercharged for 5 years or more now and have made all the performance upgrades one at a time (check profile for mods). I pull my 16 ft enclosed trailer that weighs in over 5000 with lots of wind drag.
experience:
-The supercharger actually puts less stress on the motor because it doesn't have to work as hard. Don't need to use the revs to pull.
-URD 7th injector is a must (not the trd), the power gain is nice but the peace of mind is better.
-Headers made the truck faster but now it uses more fuel and pulls worse. I am going to have to build alittle more backpressure with my muffler setup now( and it took me about 6 setups to get what I wanted out of it).

Now that being said a halfton will still easily outpull you, the tacoma just doesn't have the weight to own a trailer down the road.

 

I live in the land of Chevy trucks. I've owned 1, my uncles, cousins, father, co-workers, and most of my friends all own Silverados and have for years, different model years, etc.

Everyone of them has a ton of stupid annoying reliability problems. Dash lights never working, climate control knobs non-functioning, factory fog light lenses falling out, steering knuckles cracking, drive-shaft sticking issues, 4wd not engaging, headlight burning out (yes, there is a real corrosion issue with improperly spec'd connector material), now the new Silverado's are having issues with drinking oil (as in, losing 2 qts in an oil change and the only fix is for Chevrolet to rebuild the entire engine). In my opinion they are high unreliable as compared to the Tacoma.

Yeah, my Tacoma has none of those problems....actually no real problems to speak of. Plus I don't support a company that takes a bailout and then lies about "repaying" my f'ing tax dollars...

http://reason.com/archives/2010/04/27/gms-phony-bailout-payback

So "eff" Chevrolet, give me my damn tax dollars back.

 

Wow, thanks for the info.

With regards to tuning, I don't have a clue as to who tunes in my area. Is there something I need to specifically look for when trying to fine someone who tunes?

Also it seems there is a decision to be made: Water Inj versus URD 7th Injector? Let me see if I understand:

1) URD, more expensive, set it and forget it.

2) Water Inj, less expensive, requires tuning?

Thanks!

 

Thanks for the input.

With regards to another truck...I understand that. However, I'm just not really wanting to give up the reliabilty of my truck. Plus I know its pedigree.

 

My pulling duties is mostly pulling my quads to the track, so I picked up a cheap diesel to pull the trailers and kept the tacoma to drive and play with. Now the toyota gets to ride on a trailer to go wheeling. I have two trucks now and save the wear and tear on the tacoma plus save big on gas. My diesel get better mileage with a trailer than the tacoma gets without.

Put the money you would put into all the performance upgrades into buying another truck.

 

I have a supercharged Tacoma with 159K and it still hauls ass and gets 17.451 miles per gallon as of 2 days ago. I firmly believe that the longevity of a motor has to do with it's driver. If you SC your Tacoma now I would worry a little about gaskets and things starting to spring a link. I don't have the seventh injector mod, so I can't vouch for what it adds. If you like your local shop and their work is good. Then go or it. If it were me I would spend the extra $ and replace a few engine internals and make sure you have adequate exhaust.

 

That's if you don't buy something else.....

 

Where are you in East TN? My folks live in Dandridge and I get down a couple times a year. I could let you drive my 01 doublecab w/SC and see if it's what you need. I dont have the 7th inj...yet. Only at 65K on the odo. The most I tow is a couple motorcycles down your way once or twice a year, otherwise it's 10 mi round trip to work. If I am really loaded I can get a lean code but it's only happed like 3 times in the 9 years since I had the dealer install the SC (there was no 7th inj back then) and one of those times it was due to a fouled mass air flow sensor. I did add TRD headers and exh about a year after the SC but cant say there was a huge change. I've been tempted to put the stock exh back on for less noise. As for headers I would consider something other than TRD. The left side routes over the tranny and there's a flange joint that will eventually need a gasket in a very inaccessable spot......mine's leaking right now

 

The basics of tuning are fairly universal. Anyone who can tune with a wideband O2 and access to a laptop will be able to tune the system. Gadget provides the software with his kit. He may also know someone in your area he can recommend you to. Dyno is not required but most tuners prefer it. The challenge will be finding someone who is familiar with tuning a piggy-back computer. Some think it's a pain but it's really pretty easy.

In any event, your local gas is probably 93 octane (not the crappy 91 oct we get here in California). If you can run 93 octane i'd bet money you will be fine with the pre-programmed tune URD ships their 7th Inj kit with. Once installed if you notice ping/knock at around 1800-2000 rpm in overdrive then it's time for a tune. If not, then you're ok. If you're going to go with a higher boost smaller pulley you will need a custom tune.

To answer your question.
1. Yes, URD 7th is set-it-forget-it for ~90% of us. I think the 10% are for people in CA lol

2. Water/Meth will definitely require a custom tune. I doubt whomever you get this kit from will be comfortable shipping a unit with nothing more than a base tune.

Keep in mind any aftermarket fuel/meth/water injection system requires a tune before installing in our cars. Gadget, from URD, has just worked on so many he ships his kit with a base tune that seems to work for most of his customers.

 

Thanks for the info. Looks like URD is the way to go for me.

 

thread revival

urd's 7th seems to be what alot of people are running because its what everyone else has. I went with larger 305cc non-turbo supra injectors and I am getting around 15-19mpg with 33" tires and i still am running the stock fuel pump ive had no problems with this setup even without a tune it still is able to pull strong in every gear. for $100 on larger injectors, $40 on cooler plugs not bad but i do plan to get a tune. and a smaller pulley.

 

Great points. Thanks!

I live in East TN which is nothing but hills. The old adage "when I was your age, I had to walk uphill, both ways to school," originated here. Hills everywhere....I mean everywhere.

Pulling my boat =

1) Hit 4th wayyyy before you see the hill, hold throttle to floorboard.
2) Try to hit 80mph
3) Watch speedo drop like a rock from 80 to 65
4) Hit 3rd gear...hold it at about 60...at 4,400
5) Pray all rods, valves, and pistons stay within engine block.

That said, I can totally see how a supercharger (more torque) would allow me to keep from redlining everywhere I go.