4 Cylinder versus V6

Real close to 500 on a tank on the highway, I drive it real easy and shift before 3000rpms. I am going to switch to all synthetic gear oil and motor oil so that may give me another mile a gallon. The faster you drive say over 60 your mileage is going to suffer, the slide rule types figure aerodynamics decrease exponentially with incresed speed. I am also real particular about tire pressure a few lbs can make a difference over the course of a tank full or a 500-800 mile trip. All the Tacos come with a 21.1 gal tank which is great, finally being able to drive a whole day with out stopping for fuel 2 or 3 times. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

Thanks,
I am in North County (Leucadia-Encinitas Area) My nearest dealer is Carlsbad but they only have the V6s....

 

Thanks....All you guys have been helpful!!

 

Picking it up this Thursday. !!
SR5 Access cab 4x4 with the 2.7 liter 4.

My local dealer basically told me this was unavailable from Toyota. Went thru cars direct and he found one in all SoCal.

 

In Canada they do not sell the I4 with 4x4... We can only get the V6... With a timing belt the I4 is sort of weak in my view.

Someone posted the V6 has a belt - they have it backwards, the I4 has the belt and the V6 has the chain.

 

Hi,
What is the problem with the belt if you follow the recommended replacement schedule?

I have heard the 2.7 I-4 is bulletproof and actually the block they use for the diesels overseas. (or something like that )

 

What do you want pulling you - a rubber belt or a metal chain? lol...

The chain goes over 300,000KM with no replacement a belt needs to be done every 100,000k. Why pay when there is no need? Also - car makers are going away from belts and back to chains as they are better and more dependable.

Cheers.

 

Neither one pulls you it drives the valve train and a 4 banger has less valve train to drive so the engineers figure what they figure. Everything breaks down, when depends on how hard you use it, how you take care of it, the person that put it together, the planets in line, you name it. I have had chain stretch in 10,000 miles and a belt last 230,000 miles. I still like the mileage I get and my 4 banger and its a lot quieter than that Cummins oil burner I had and still miss. I guess we should all be glad they offer 4, 6 and 8 cyls they all excel in certain areas.

 

Yeah I am pretty excited to pick up the Tacoma. Sounds like the same model as yours. One more day!!

Ever try doing an Internet search on a AccessCab 5-Speed 4x4 4-Cylinder? There are not many out there especially in SoCal.

Toyota's site won't even let you "Build your own" when I enter in my zip.

When you say you had a chain stretch in 10,000 miles what were the symptoms of that? Sounds pretty scary.

 

That chain that stretched was on a Chevy V8 350ci, it was a bad chain or or cam never really found out what caused it just changed the set and never had another prob with it. A friend is trying to find one like mine and is having a hard time. All I got was the convenience package and the 18 inch Enkei wheels which I didnt even want,its pretty much bare bones, but it was sitting on the lot and outside of the wheels it was just what I wanted. I just got lucky I guess. I had people come up to me and ask why I got the 4 cyl, they had the usual low HP arguement, I just tell them I got what I wanted. I had 400hp diesels, 350hp V8s and liked them all. I feel Toyota has built its reputation of reliability on its 4 cyl engines. I have spent a lot of time in South and Central America, Asia and the Middle East, Toyota is everywhere. 95% are 4 bangers that are run hard and have good records of performance. Im not trying to sell one engine over another, these are just some of the reasons I picked a 4 cyl and I am very happy with the performance and mileage of my truck.

 

Right on. The one I am getting has the SR5 package which I didn't really want but hey whatever.
Another cool thing about the 4 cyl is that you get the 4:11 diffs.

I've owned a 89 SR5 Xtracab 4x4 which I am pretty sorry I sold. Manual hubs, 5 speed, 4 cyl. Hoping this one will be as tough.

Bob

 

The 4 banger toyotas all over the world have one large diffrence then the north america - for the most part they are all DIESEL... Hard to compare a gas engine Vs. a Diesel.

 

Im not comparing gas vs diesel. Most of the ones I used were gas. I just returned from the middle east and all our small trucks were gas.

 

Just picked it up about an hour ago. Impressed that the i-4 has as much power as it does.
I think it will work out fine.

The SR5 package makes it pretty cush.

 

Happy trails with your baby! going to go to synthetic oil?

 

Cool Surf hope you enjoy it. It seemed to me that when I got closer to the 1000 mile reccomended break in period that the power increased, its probably just me hitting the pedal a little more though. I am wondering if the computer is programmed to hold back for a certain number of miles like they do with some gas and diesel trucks. I am probably wrong and just have too much time to sit at the computer and think about stuf that shouldn't really matter. I liked the SR5 package but I had to keep my payment down. Sounds like you got a nice set up.

 

Not sure?
What's the consensus on that? I usually change my oil every 3K give or take so I am not sure synthetic would be a benefit.

 

Driving it home I was having a real hard time keeping it below 70 but I did. Had to downshift out of 5th on some uphills

Will be nice to get through the break in period.

 

some people feel the synthetic oil is better... it does bond to the engine better. with that said i may or may not go to it myself. i am going to ask around first

cheers.

 

I have a '06 Taco with 2.7L 4cyl engine. The biggest reason I chose the 4cyl engine was that 4cyl had a timing chain. The biggest reason I did not buy one with 6cyl engine was that 6cyl had a timing belt and it is an "interference fit" type engine which means that the valves and pistons collide each other when the belt snaps and engine can be severely damaged. On the other hand my 4-cylinder is a "free spin" type engine which means that even when the timing chain breaks, the valves and pistons will not collide each other and the repair is relatively cheap because all you have to do is to install the new chain. But Truck champion says that V6 engine has a life-time chain. Is this something new to 2007? As far as I'm concerned, I thought that all V6 engines up to 2006 are equipped with the timing belts that you must change every 70K - 100K miles which can be a pain. Toyota is known for good 4 cylinder engines and with the gas prices sky rocketing nowadays, your choice is clearly the 4banger!