HATE the 3.5 motor set up in my 2016

This is the first truck I have ever owned and came out of an Acura TL Type S. I got tired of borrowing a friends truck to tow something once a year and using my wife’s SUV for hauling. Immediately, I noticed the poor performance and made a few mods which helped some but still was not even close to the Type S. I have even read the over 8000 posts in the OV tune thread and his other 3 threads but have never posted there yet since I have not been convinced it would be worth it to me. Finally, I had to accept that it is a truck that will never drive like a sports car and that is OK with me.

 

I don't shift manually, I limit the shift range as is limit to S4 or S5 when I'm at a speed or terrain that the truck can't decide which gear is best.

I remove the higher choice but the truck still shifts the lower gears on its own.

If you don't want it lugging in 5th under 45mph keep it in S4, you don't want it toggling between 5th and 6th at 75mph use S5.

 

("If you want to enjoy your truck, stay off the internet")

Billy looked out the window at his freshly washed 2017 TRD Pro, the driveway lights reflecting off big beads of rain on its newly waxed surface. Should he put on some pants, throw the coffee in a portable mug, and go out for a drive at 5:30am to see if he'd be annoyed by something he knew nothing about when he was blasting around blissfully in his truck yesterday? Or, should he sit back on the sofa, close his eyes, and enter a sweet reverie of flashes of memories from that sweet Alaska TRD Pro Promotion video from Toyota with the truck plowing through powder snow?

Drink the Kool-Aid Billy. It tastes so good. So sweet.

 

Guys this is what I'm talking about it, how do you do the limiting of gears and so forth. I've heard a couple of people talk about this now. Isn't it the case that you either leave it in the automatic mode or manually manipulate the gears. How do you arrange it so that it stays out of certain gears and only works within a certain range I don't understand how that is done? I mean I do understand how you can slide it over out of overdrive and it never cease the overdrive gear I get that but beyond that how do you do it

 

Billy should shower, eat breakfast and get dressed.

Then Billy should get into his truck push the ECT button, back it out of the driveway and shift it into S4. If he drives on the highway - S5.

Then Billy will realize that this is a whole hullabaloo about nothing.

 

When it's in S mode the highest gear it will go is what's indicated, S4 means it will not shift to 5 or 6. With the lever in D bump left and it usually defaults to S4 depending on speed. Doesn't mean you're in 4th, just that you can't go higher than 4th. Bump shift forward the limit is increased to S5 (1st OD gear) but it doesn't shift you to 5th, the truck can now select 5th if it wants. Bump forward again and you're allowing 6th gear, not shifting to 6th. Bump right and you're back in D which is the same as S6, all gears available.

Manual even says to use S mode to reduce unnecessary upshifting.
My 1st gen has an "OD off button", does the same thing, keeps me out of OD 5th gear. 3rd gen has 2 OD gears, 5th and 6th, S mode limits one or both if I want to.

S mode is not manual shifting, it's a shift gear limiter, truck still can automatically select the lower gears unless you drop it to S1.

 

Oh Shit!

Someone solved the whole upshifting bitchfest by reading the manual?

Does the manual say anything about how to listen to the radio while the engine is off?

Think how many threads would have never been started if people had just read the goddamn manual....

 

Mine didn't come with an "S" mode. It came with a "Me" mode.

 

Are you serious with the question about the radio?

 

Yours has "leg day" mode.

 

13000 miles, broken in, and with SSP, im quite happy with my pro,, just thru some ridge grapplers, and some SR8's gunmetal's on it,

 

Funny you mention leg day.
The clutch mechanics must be a completely different compared to my Gen 1 Taco. Never drove a Gen 2 manual truck.
The 2017 seems much much easier on the leg, and the first couple of trucks I test drove I stalled it without even knowing I had the clutch pedal out far enough to feel any grab. Almost like the linkage has a torque multiplier designed into the pedal throw or something like that?

I don't know?
I like it.....A LOT!

 

I got 6 owner's manuals with my Tacoma....The biggest has 640 "gd" pages.

 

I just look up the stuff I have questions on. It's what I did before automotive forums were available.

Old habits die hard.

 

Um.......

no.

 

I feel like this is a cry for help...

 

Thanks very much, in spite of all the less than helpful replies, this and a few others are very good. One last thing, how does this practice which makes sens by the way, work with or interact with the use of the push-button electric power mode feature. If your using that which I understand some guys use all the time, is it needed to also select the gearing limits as you describe or what is the best way to take advantage of both

 

https://www.ovtuned.com/products/toyota-tacoma-2grfks-calibration

 

Oh....I’ve got another question for you bookworms who actually crack open the owners manual:

How do I set the station presets in entune?

If you don’t answer me in 30 minutes I will start a thread about how horrible entune is.

Thanks in advance.

 

ECT just moves the shiftpoints out longer, makes throttle feel a bit more responsive too. I use D as an ECO mode if I want to try an save gas or don't care how the truck is driving. Most time it's just fine but if I'm merging on a short onramp, pulling something or just hoon a bit, I use ECT. Can be used in conjunction with s-mode too