Enough Already! Your Truck's T, HP and RPM Explained

stcoffey · Apr 5, 2023

I certainly didn’t by my Taco for the performance mostly just for look and relatability. I did add a pedal commander and it makes it a little more fun to drive but certainly didn’t help my MPG’s.

hiPSI · Apr 5, 2023

stcoffey said: ↑

I certainly didn’t by my Taco for the performance mostly just for look and relatability. I did add a pedal commander and it makes it a little more fun to drive but certainly didn’t help my MPG’s.
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Humans. Some buy this truck wishing it had the room of a full size, pulled a trailer like a diesel, off roaded like a Rubicon and had the comfort of a minivan.
How about it's a Tacoma? Good and bad alike. It is definitely different than any other truck and you either like it, or not. I like it, warts and all. It is unique.

goingplacesanddoingstuff · Apr 5, 2023

Eh I agree the engine is nominally powerful enough, but the problem is mostly the transmission.

Where I live, the truck is actually ~240 hp at the crank. So the OP’s math doesn’t apply to everyone.

6 gears is really not enough to stay in the 3800-5500 rpm sweet spot to consistently accelerate between various ranges of practical speeds. While theoretically this engine makes OK power, in practice, it doesn’t really work as well as OP claims because the transmission has too few gears to keep the engine in the powerband across practical ranges of mph.

Power down low is important for highway cruising. When the transmission has to downshift to simply accelerate from, say 65-70 mph, you’re constantly bumping between an underpowered state and an overpowered state, and therefore bouncing your speed back and forth from too slow to too fast like a rubber band. It’s exhausting over time.

This same effect occurs on hill climbs. For example 5th gear can’t maintain speed and 4th gear accelerates too much. You end up with ECT on and off and on and off again driving through mountains. Again, too few gears.

shotgunbilly420 · Apr 6, 2023

hiPSI[OP] initial post: ↑

I don't know how many threads are here that start with "My truck is slow" or "My truck has no power" or, my favorite, "My truck shifts too much!"

Let me explain.

Your truck has plenty of horsepower. 278 to be exact.
Your truck has plenty of torque too. 265 lb. ft of it.

So why do so many think the above figures are not enough? I mean, it takes around 7.5 seconds to go 0-60 and that's in line with other vehicles with close to the same weight. What's wrong?
I'm pretty sure it's the last variable, the elusive RPM. Can't see it, can't smell it, but you sure can hear it!
Let's talk relationships. No, not that kind, mathematical relationships! You see, a lot of things in life can be shown through math. Let's go:

Horsepower Formula
HP= (T*RPM)/5252 yes, it is that simple. 5252 is a constant derived from a... never mind but time is involved.
So, if that is the Horsepower formula, the Torque formula is, with a little Algebra:
T= (HP*5252)/RPM

So now that we have those out of the way, let's see how they apply to our trucks and why our trucks have no power, shift all the time and are just generally big piles of dogsh... Anyway, we need both Torque (gets you going, pulls things up hills, etc) and Horsepower (keeps you going, since it is a function of Torque and RPM)

Here's a fun 3.5L fact:
Maximum Torque is attained at 4600 RPM
Maximum HP is attained at 6000 RPM (!)

Fun 2.7L Fact:
Maximum Torque is attained at 3800 RPM
Maximum HP is attained at 5200 RPM

Do any of you see any RPM above that is less than 3800? No? That means that YOU ARE GONNA HAVE TO REV THAT ENGINE UP TO AT LEAST 3800 RPM TO EVER SEE ANY MAXIMUM OUTPUT. Seriously. And for the V6 you need 4600 RPM to feel the good stuff!

(Another Fun Fact: Torque and Horsepower will always be the same numerical value at 5252 RPM. Cool right?)

Bottom line, TLDR, etc,
You have to push the pedal down with this engine. Newsflash: You had to push the pedal down on the 2nd Gen Tacoma too. Seriously.
This engine is designed to run at higher RPM's. It will run fine, It will last. Yes, with the automatics it will shift... a lot. It will shift because you are expecting more torque yet you are keeping the engine at the same power output (cruise control is a fine example) so your truck takes matters into its own hands and shifts for you. It will shift when going up hills because you are trying to maintain a speed (Horsepower) but it needs more torque to keep that same speed so it again, shifts for you.

People will argue that its just programmed wrong. Programmed for efficiency they say. Well, of course it is. That's what most people want out of a vehicle and it comes at the expense of a bit of what some call "drivability." Yes it shifts a lot but it does so to improve mpgs. Want to improve the shifting a bit? OV Tune has a thing that will change the shift points and changes the power around a bit. Some people are just fine with their truck the way it is. Some people just bought the wrong vehicle to start with... should have bought a race car or something.
Personally, I think that most (not all but most, especially with the new models) people who are dissatisfied have came from a vehicle that was a lot different than this truck. I came from a 4Runner with the 4.0. You had to push that pedal down too. This truck is similar to the 4Runner. But this truck is not a BMW. Or an Audi. Or a 7.11L Power Stroke Diesel. Or a Miata, or a Surburban, or a Civic. It's a Tacoma.
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well said

crookedcoast · Apr 6, 2023

GADGET1104 said: ↑

And some people are too dumb to know they've been duped!
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Some are even dumb enough to purchase a 50k truck without doing the slightest amount of research, then are flabbergasted when it doesn't perform exactly how they want.

goingplacesanddoingstuff · Apr 6, 2023

crookedcoast said: ↑

Some are even dumb enough to purchase a 50k truck
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FTFY

west4x4 · Apr 21, 2023

People who complain about there truck because it’s slow only bought it because of the hype of looking cool at the mall. But wish it was fast like there buddy Tim’s Ford raptor lol

Capitulate · Apr 23, 2023

Didn’t read. Will continue to complain without any knowledge

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Enough Already! Your Truck's T, HP and RPM Explained

#641
stcoffey Toyota enthusiast

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hiPSI [OP] Laminar Flow

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goingplacesanddoingstuff Well-Known Member

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shotgunbilly420 OG Owner 190k+mi club/Tacoma enthusiast/Tune Cons.

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goingplacesanddoingstuff Well-Known Member

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west4x4 EL SENOR TACO

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Enough Already! Your Truck's T, HP and RPM Explained

#641 stcoffey Toyota enthusiast

#642 hiPSI [OP] Laminar Flow

#643 goingplacesanddoingstuff Well-Known Member

#644 shotgunbilly420 OG Owner 190k+mi club/Tacoma enthusiast/Tune Cons.

#645 crookedcoast Well-Known Member

#646 goingplacesanddoingstuff Well-Known Member

#647 west4x4 EL SENOR TACO

#648 Capitulate Well-Known Member

Products Discussed in Entire Site Forum: 3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)

#641
stcoffey Toyota enthusiast

#642
hiPSI [OP] Laminar Flow

#643
goingplacesanddoingstuff Well-Known Member

#644
shotgunbilly420 OG Owner 190k+mi club/Tacoma enthusiast/Tune Cons.

#645
crookedcoast Well-Known Member

#646
goingplacesanddoingstuff Well-Known Member

#647
west4x4 EL SENOR TACO

#648
Capitulate Well-Known Member

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