Enough power?

Ok, so this is a general Tacoma question, mostly towards 3rd Gen, and coming from a non-owner...

That being said, the Tacoma and 4Runner are both on my short list of researching for my next vehicle. Both of them are missing some items I would like to have, but I keep coming back to them. If I got one, I would definitely be doing either a level or lift kit with bigger wheels/tires. Definitely functional, but since I live in Iowa that means nothing close to get full use of the vehicle and road trips to get to fun places on top of daily driving/commute.

My question is, how is the power level with lift/tires? I know there is not much you can do for tuning or adding power on these, but I don't want to be tired out on road trips from the vehicle constantly trying to find the right gear or say enough power for I-70 through the mountains in Colorado. I had a Ford F-150 4x4 with the 302, 33's, and mild lift and that thing tired you out trying to maintain highway speeds.

Other trucks I have checked out have 400+ hp/tq and can tune, exhaust, power adder, etc. Still something about the Toyota offerings (no, won't consider Tundra) that I really like. Just looking for input on power to get down the highway with lift and bigger wheels/tires.

And no, I have that sickness I can't leave anything stock, so that is not an option to deal with this...

Thanks,

 

I have that same sickness every time I lift it it kills the power and gas mileage, just one of those things that you have to accept if you want to look that cool..

 

The look, capability, reliability, etc are huge and why I keep coming back to the Taco and 4Runner, but I have to have enough power to get down the road comfortably.

 

I agree I had a powerstroke for 14 months and hated every time I drove past a tacoma, so I had to get rid if it and come back to Toyota.

 

I know your talking more about 3rd gen but thought id put my 2 cents in here because im from iowa also and suffer from the isssues you talked about. Im from the des moines area but go to school in dubuque so i travel that alot. Since ive lifted ive noticed the truck downshifts pretty quickly when it starts getting hilly. Power is my biggest regret with getting a tacoma.

 

You could buy a low mileage 2nd gen with a supercharger? Plenty of power there.

 

Go with Tundra if you are going to put on a lift, tires and wheels. Tundra produces more HP than Tacoma for I-70 driving. Its personal preference if you want a mid or full size truck.

 

I bought a 2016 Tacoma in spite of the 278 hp its supposed to have. I haven't had a vehicle that had as much power as I would like it to have. The Tacoma has enough to get by but it needs to be up on the RPM range to get the truck going. I don't really mind that as much as the thought that they have more power now than previously. I just watched a you tube race between a 2015, 2016, and 2004(I think). The 2016 lost to both the other trucks from a standing start. THis truck is like most offerings to the general public- anemic!

 

My taco is great in town. But it sucks on the highway with 32" 10-ply tires and a leveling kit. Does 18-19mpg at 60mph but only 14-15 at 75. And the wind pushes it all over the road

That said. I still love driving it

 

Do you guys think a 2 or 3 inch lift would hurt the MPG too much? I'd like to lift a Tacoma but nothing too gawdy. I'd keep stock tires too. I like the truck to look stock but just a little higher than the stock models that are set for optimal MPG.

 

My stocker has plenty of power for a six banger truck...Go Billy Bob on any truck and "performance" is going to suffer without additional engine mods...jmho

 

You're setting yourself up for disappointment if you want to run up mountain passes on big tires and lift, especially since your comparing the taco to other FS trucks with 400+ hp/tq. People need to realize the Tacoma and Colorado are "Jack of all trades, master of none" type of trucks. They're great in stock form, but usually suffer once you go mod crazy. Outside of having a smaller footprint for better parking and better off road handling, FS trucks offer way more bang for your buck.

 

3" lift with stock tires starts to look a little goofy. If you plan on keeping stock size tires I wouldn't go any higher than 2". Your mpg will suffer slightly from reduced aerodynamic efficiency but not nearly as much as from adding bigger tires.

 

Yeah maybe a 2 in lift would look good. At the very most I would get some All terrains with more aggressive side knobs but I don't see the allure of having huge monster truck tires.

 

One option is always to regear for the size of tires you want to run. For 33's, you can regear to 4.56 and not have to shift all over the place on hilly roads. This option is really not that expensive when you consider how much it costs to run a modded Tacoma anyway