Battery Upgrade

I recently purchased a certified 2023 Taco and it came with 12 months of comprehensive warranty. I'll need to read the fine print but, for now, I gonna enjoy my new ride. Plus, there's no local tuners in the Houston area (which I find surprising tbh).

Already paid extra for a cat shield and homelink mirror. Wasn't expecting to buy functional and protection items for a new vehicle.

 

Anything under 1.21 Giggawatts doesn't impress me.

 

If something gets damaged by the tune, then hypothetically it wouldn't be covered.

The ECM doesn't record the number of times it's been flashed. So you can always get the stock tune flashed back to the ECM if you need to take it in for powertrain related warranty repair. This is the same deal with every bolt-on modification available for this truck and discussed on this forum.

 

I had OTT flash over a KDMAX solely because they offer a CARB certificate for the commie state of Kalifornia and its emissions regulations. I already had the AGM add on from KDMAX and don’t remember if OTT did anything to it or not. Paid $350 in a strip mall parking lot. Best mod you can buy!

 

And speaking of bolt-on modifications...
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ffs-lets-all-stop-referencing-the-magnussen-moss-act.609911/

 

Yeah I know, ive been tuned since 19 with OV, KD, OTT all self installed but my point is if you have no intention of installing a tune then this isn't financially viable. More so if you have someone else install the tune. For a battery that does the same thing as a standard lead acid but for $120 more plus the need for a tune. Enlighten me if I'm missing something.

I'm trying to understand the benefit per $

 

It cost me $50 originally to boost the alternator. I spend 4,000+ miles in Baja every year so a non-vented gel battery suits me.

 

The benefit may be having the truck and a solar setup on the same page...and being able to charge the battery for the solar to it's maximum when driving. AGM is a much better choice for a solar setup than a wet cell.

In my case, I already had a tune, just needed it adjusted.

 

Well, your post wasn't very helpful. The guy already has the AGM, for whatever his reasons. You telling him to get a wet cell at this point has no purpose, does it?

Boy did this thread go sideways fast.


edit: Re-reading your post, I think you may be replying to the post above you, but you didn't quote, so I don't know. If that was the case, then, I'm wrong and your advise may well be spot-on.

 

That makes more sense than having an AGM just to have one

 

If he was responding to you, his advise was spot-on. Generally speaking, there isn't much reason to go to an AGM. The minimal extra voltage really doesn't get you much for the extra outlay of money. And if you don't get a tune to take advantage of the extra capacity, you've gained nothing but maybe a little extra drain capacity...very little.

 

Agree that this thread went downhill fast. All I asked was if the OP was happy with his setup, not to get into a pissing match about why I would even consider going to an AGM.

Not that I needed to explain it to the guy that originally replied, but I currently have a wet-cell and a quality one at that (Deka) but it's on the other side of 7 yrs. old and I'm anticipating it's eventual expiration. It's a PITA to keep clean and leaks like a sieve, eating the paint on the tie down and making a general mess. So for that reason along with a few others, I'm over it and going to an AGM. Been running them for decades in my other rig without issue so I don't get the hesitancy with some on this site.

I don't baby my truck and cover a lot of off road miles in the summer and fall, so the merits of an AGM are worth it to me over the 'ease' of the wet cell.

I'm in a 2nd gen, so tweaking the charge voltage with OV tune or other software isn't an option in my case. Hence the voltage booster/ diode question.

 

The idea is never mention to dealer that you got your Tacoma tuned. Keep quiet, they never know.

 

good to know that they can't just see it like VW can, thx.

 

AGM gives higher cold cranking amps for less weight. I was able to downsize to a Optima Red 35, get more CCA than the stock 24F battery, and save 20 lbs. It's also sealed. The flooded batteries have vents which leak sulfuric acid on steep inclines and rapid handling maneuvers. I had two flood batteries leak acid just transporting them in the footwell of a car.

AGM works on stock charging voltage, but you just won't be able to fully charge it. So it can power a fridge for only 4 days instead of 5, etc. The weight and spillproof benefits are still worthwhile.

If you elected to increase the throttle sensitivity in the tune, it may be evident by feel to the technician driving it into the bay.

 

If you elected to increase the throttle sensitivity in the tune, it may be evident by feel to the technician driving it into the bay.[/QUOTE]
The technician can "feel" throttle sensitivity. But unless your Tacoma goes in for ignition, or fuel related issues, no need worry.

 

The emissions machines in Colorado can tell and will fail a truck with tunes. So there is something that triggers it. There is one thread on the site that deals with this.

 

^"Emission machine" is just an OBD2 scan tool. They inspect the checksum of the ECM firmware. Flashing back to the stock tune would be sufficient to pass, if you were in a state that checks it.

 

Or you point them to your CARB sticker and/or paperwork you keep in the glove box which gives a way for them to check the validity of your tune, and the FACT that your emissions are good as far as the tune is concerned. OTT offers this. Nobody else.

 

There is a write-up here on doing the diode in the fuse box mod for 2nd gen to get higher alternator charge voltage for AGM batteries. And with all due respect to others who think this isn't important, it actually is. It impacts the life of your expensive AGM battery by years. See this single-page PDF: https://hawkerbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Hawker-Headlines-Summer-2022.pdf

Note that several of the big-boys tuners like OTT and KDM are now adding the correct hashes to their tunes and are CARB compliant for emissions so this is no longer a concern. As well, flashing your ECU doesn't affect your warranty per many threads discussing this on this website. The few people who didn't pass an emission test happened years ago and the tunes have since all been fixed to not be detectable. Worst case if you're tuned just get the factory flash before the testing and then flash it back after.