3.5 V6 vs the 4.0

Impressive man, keep that bad boy!

I guess its a bit more aerodynamic, so that helps. 3rd gen and 2nd gen is like a brick.

 

Lololoolololol

 

There goes another "i drive a proper truck with a truck engine" fella.

You guys...

Unless you were just laughing at my meme, i apologize.

 

says 87 and must be less than 15% ethanol in my 21 manual
I average about 24 mpg setting cruise at 55 or 65 on flatways, otherwise 16 to 18 going back and forth to Ashville or Sapphire, 20 is "kinda" a base on my norm everyday, soft tonneau gets put in Wednesday
I have noticed that i get the worse mileage running the crappy Spinx or some other brands (winter mix obviously) compared to the local Walmart down the corner here in SC
of course i ran my Audi S4 25th Anniversary on the Walmart 93 and always had great mileage and performance....not sure why, fuel quality or mix i assume

 

There was a huge debate on here and I mostly run Conoco, Sunoco or Gulf fuel. I ran some 91 when I first got it and it felt a bit different. It seems that the Owners manual lists 87 min octane, while this PDF lists 91 minimum??

 

Actually, all four stroke engines hold the valves open during the intake and exhaust cycles to a greater or lesser extent. It’s called valve overlap and is built into the cam timing. Engines with a lot of overlap sound lumpy at an idle and develop a low vacuum signal at idle. The trade off is that they are more efficient at higher engine rpm’s.

Many modern engines often have variable valve timing controlled by the ECM, allowing the cams to vary the overlap in order to produce a smooth idle and sufficient vacuum at low engine RPM’s while increasing the overlap at higher engine speeds. As I understand it, the Tacoma 3.5 is computer controlled to be a hybrid Otto/Atkinson cycle engine depending on engine load requirements.

Where I live is very hilly and I have zero complaints about the way the engine or automatic transmission in my 2021 TRD AC OR handles the hills. So far I am averaging just under 19mpg by keeping the freeway speed under 70 mph. I see no practical advantage to screw with the factory tune.

 

Last few tanks have been 17.3-17.6 mpg with 265/75R16 E load BF Goodrich KO2s. 60/40 city and highway. It used to average 18.5-18.8 with the P265/75R16 Hankook ATMs. I'd see 22.5-22.9 on long highway trips doing 55-60mph, haven't done a proper one since putting the KO2s on but they are so damn heavy I'm already thinking of replacing them.

 

More power, less gas...

The 3.5 is more efficient.

Neither are awesome. The program for the 3.5 needs work.

 

Not bad at all.

I had stock size E load KO2 and my biggest complaint was they rode like bricks, did not notice an mpg drop to be honest. It was the worst when off road on bumps, they did wear like steel though. C load in an inch bigger size ride like a dream and i still get same advertised mpgs.

 

The 3.5 is definitely super awesome with the tune

 

They ride terribly, a true 3/4 ton truck tire. Mine are the 3 peak rated version so they wear pretty quickly. They are as heavy as most 285/75R16 mud terrains!

 

Mine were 3 peak rated as well. The thread looked brand new at 18k miles. Thank god they got prorated due to some premature cracks on the sidewall. Also, one thing i forgot to mention is that they made my truck corner like a sports car with my stock sport suspension. I miss that. I drove a lowered 99 E43 and my taco handled better with the E loads, i was impressed.

 

Not sure how the new 3.5 engines are but the 4.0 runs crazy rich, just get a basic tune and you will get better mpg and better hp. Again, not sure how bad the stock tunes are on the 3.5s

 

Maybe that's why the inside of the tailpipe turned black right away on my buddy's 2013 when he got it brand new.

Some earlier 3rd gen calibrations were pretty shitty apparently. I had no complaints with my 18, it drove great and had good response. The only thing i did not like was the drive by wire dead pedal feel when rev matching. Tune helped with that a bit, also it improved general driveability. I look for every excuse to drive my truck

 

seems like ALL my Tacos I was getting 14-16 mpg in mixed driving.....and yes I would check the mileage a couple of different ways......but after a while I didn't really care because they were ALL great trucks!.....and YES I drive like a bat outta hell most of the time.....people seem to forget the rules of the road......"slow traffic keep right"......and I would always jackrabbit start.......and going up the toll road usually meant manually downshifting a gear to keep my 80+ mph speed.....oh, and yes I like A/C 24/7...LOL.....BUT, even when I babied the trucks it didn't matter much.....maybe 1or 2 mpg TOPS......they're trucks after all!!.....you buy them to work them and not for Prius like MPG's!

 

I had an ‘08 TRD and sold it in 2013. Its one of my favorite trucks and wish I kept it. It was completely stock and I got 17mpg all the time with my short runs. Best I ever saw was between 18-19.

My wife has a 2020 4Runner and it’s a pig but she’s mostly short runs too. I have a 2021 dbl cab and right away on my longer runs I would see up to 21.5. My short runs are running 18.5 to 19.5.

Easy driving, don’t mash it much at all and don’t need to where I’m from. Apples to apples, I say the 3.5 is more efficient. As always YMMV.

 

Those always use the fuel rated in RON. 91 RON is 87 octane.

 

You'll find most of the shit talking about the 3rd Gen is from 2nd Gen members who've never driven the truck.........go figure

 

That’s what she said

 

I agree a LOT of Gen2 owners/HATERS on here (TW) from the post's I've read don't really know why though....

Drive em and enjoy em who gives a F either way....