KDMax-Pro Tuning--NOW YotaWerx Tuning

Updated to 10.0 from 9.0 running the normal tune this morning and the difference is noticeable. It's holding gear much better on small grades and the truck is settling into 5th and 6th gear more quickly at 50-60 MPH. It's significantly smoother at low speeds < 10 MPH whereas 9.0 felt like it was either low on power or hunting between 1st and 2nd. I took it for about a 60 mile drive and MPG appeared to be creeping up. This week and normal daily driving will be telling for a more accurate MPG.

I'm super pleased and it's amazing that it just keeps getting better!

 

Cross posted in the "what did you do to your 3rd gen today" thread.

Received the new KDMax v10.0 tune today, (thank you @PapaRee, and @TWTaco, and the whole KDMax team, and testers). I flashed it myself with my OV Tune?Tactrix cable, and license. I updated from 9.0 pro xt... this new tune is so smooth, and seamless. it is waaaay better than the stock ecu ever was. huge improvements over the original OV Tune, and 2.0. each version of the KDMax stuff, just gets better and better. the more parameters OV gives the tuners, the better these tunes, and our truck get.

I need more time on it, for an honest review but, if the 50 miles I just drove, after the flash, is any indication of what is to come... I know it is going to be great. holding gears longer, throttle sensitivity, gear selection is great, passing power, downshifts/upshifts, & speed/power delivery, through the tune are awesome. I did a 55-95mph run on a straight back road, with no traffic, it was pretty impressive.

For reference, my truck is a 2019 sport, with 2" lift, 32" tires, trd cat back exhaust, running premium non ethanol fuel, and this tune is the real deal.

If you are on the fence, this tune, and this group, are awesome to work with. go get you some! Ski

 

Appreciate your support Ski. Look forward to hearing more after you get more time and miles on the new 10.0!

 

Met up with Hoyt @HoytK9 at his place. He has an amazing rig 2019 Pro. Got him dialed in with the new KDMAX-Pro-10.0 with Normal throttle - 5.29's and AGM settings. We went on a nice test drive. Hoyt could feel a difference before i could even ask. He loved the throttle response and loved the power down low. He was really happy with the smooth shifting. He will be making a review after getting a few daily trips to and from work to see what MPG improvements he may get. He is getting a meager 12.5 driving conservatively. Look forward to his review. We geeked out over each others trucks. Super cool guy it was nice meeting you Hoyt! Enjoy the new 10.0

 

Why would anyone think the 10 is not going to be better than the 9? I have been on every tune from Chris aka Wahoobie has had and it just gets better every time. Right away the low end power is smoother, all around more refined and a little different in a good way. The whole tune was smoothed out even more and coming from the best tune so far being the 9 I was loving it within the first few blocks leaving Wahoobie's house. The power from 3k rpms really pulls nice and smooth. I can even hear the exhaust more as I think it sound louder at the lower rpm range than before and I run the TRD CAI, Pro exhaust, run 285s, calibrated and the mpgs were going up a little by the time I got home. Yea I ran the piss out of it some and this tune is spot on like the 9 was when I got it updated a few months back. Yes better but I would not kick the 9 out of bed either. Waiting on the next tune as I'm sure one will be out. Thank you KDMAX for the hard work, time spent and getting the tunes out to everyone to enjoy. Chris I thank you as well as your always there for me and I try and send him a few customers as much as I can.

 

I made the mistake of being passenger and my wife the driver last weekend. She drives a lot different than I do. Needless to say, I’m now back on sport throttle instead of regular throttle. I forgot how it felt to be searching for and grabbing for that grab handle. The truck is now referred to as the go-kart.

 

@HoytK9 Fantastic looking truck! Hope you enjoy the tune as much as I do.

 

Thank you!

 

One of my T4R customers upgraded to the Pro 10.0. He was already excited about the 9.0 and on his initial test run he had this to say….

“Very 1st test drive. 19.5 miles. A very realistic mix of daily driving for Shelby and Jefferson Counties. 1/3 interstate, 1/3 stop and go on 280, 1/3 county roads, topped Double Oak Mountain 2 times from a dead standstill. That cycle would typically yield 17-17.5 on Pro Tune 9.0 Normal, and 16.0 stock. It was significantly stronger on acceleration, shifting is a lot smoother than 9.0.”

 

John has a 2022 Tacoma MT. He and I were pleasantly surprised at the throttle response and power in a MT. He noticed it immediately on ‘lite’ but wanted it bumped to ‘normal’. Nice work @PapaRee

 

I to had an MT customer upgrade today to Pro 10.0. I’m hopping he’ll put a review on here soon.

But in the mean time after his test drive he came back and mentioned the “torquieness” of the tune and better overall drivability of the truck!

 

Anybody besides me still having problems trying to download the latest vfTuner software? I completely uninstalled my earlier version and have tried to download the latest 1.7.3 version several times to no avail. Keep getting the same "version of logger file is wrong" pop up. I reached out to Matt @ OVTune last weekend. He responded really quickly (which I sincerely appreciate). I followed his suggestions, but still no luck. Any suggestions from computer saavy folks is appreciated.

 

Try uninstalling vftuner then restart your laptop. Then do a fresh install direct from vftuner.com. If you haven't tried that yet.

 

Lee, from Woolmarket, MS dropped in today with his 2022 Tacoma Access cab.



Here’s his text after todays fun. I’ll post a video later.

“Love the results from the KDMAX Pro Tune . Like getting out of a VW Bug an getting into a GT 500.
Toyota really has the stock Tacomas choked down I realized that after the tune
I owe you a hunting trip
Thanks John”

And I plan to take him up on that Hunting trip offer, he knows where the big boys are!

 

Well, considering a new version of KD drops every time I blink, my review may not be so relevant anymore! I waited about 2 months to write an official review because I didn't want to fall into the same hole many do, getting caught up in the excitement of having something new, and thinking it was something better than it was. I firstly have to say, IF my truck were stock, any of the KD versions would be a worthy upgrade, and I'd be praising the tuner gods like many here in this thread do, and rightfully so; stock tune is just absolute garbage, and any KD tune is worth the money from stock.

However, my truck was on an older KD tune, I believe 4.0; while 4.0 was an improvement over stock, it had some serious things I hated about it, so I finally made the jump to whatever the latest before 10.0 was (I suppose 9.0 XT?). I'd love to say it was life-changing and it fixed every problem my truck (with 4.0) had, but it didn't. Or did it? Is this the fault of the tune though? Definitely not. Am I unhappy with the upgrade? Definitely not! I can confidently say that the tune improves on every area it advertises, but trucks with extra weight and larger tires demand a lot more than a tune if you're after perfection. Fortunately, I'm not after perfection, and this tune is probably as close as I'll get without some other major upgrades (like regear, losing weight, etc). With that being said, those statements are not to belittle KD in any way. I've been in contact with an entire network of tuners within KD, discussing options and talking through tunes. These guys are completely unmatched in customer service, and if anyone ever doubted what you're getting when you go the KD route, its a customer service experience that can't be beat. Every truck is unique, and multiple variations of the latest tunes are offered, to make your tune as personalized as can be. I went into this upgrade with a goal to fix 3 areas, and thankfully I waited a couple months to write this review, because I'd probably be writing an uninformed review if not.

The 3 areas I wanted the tune to fix:
-I wanted to see 6th gear again (my work commute on interstate typically has me in 5th, downshifting to 4th a lot, 3/4 of the time; the other 1/4 in stop-and-go city traffic; avg 16.5 mpg per tank)
-Throttle response (my previous throttle on 4.0 was extremely jerky/sensitive; I'd spin tires every time on a wet hill or boat ramp)
-Neighborhood speeds gear hunting (10-20 mph, truck wouldn't want to be in 2nd gear; with every throttle input, it would downshift hard to 1st every time)

How 9.0 addressed these areas:
-6th gear issue - My work commute gives me pretty much the same shift characteristics as before; not much improvement in "feel", but it did gain about 1 mpg tank increase, so it must be doing something better! I also purposely waited to write a review for a couple months because I had a vacation planned that would really test the tune, putting about 2k additional miles on the truck. On this vacation trip, to and from all interstate miles yielded right at 19.5-20 mpg each way. Daily driving in between in (45-55 mph speeds/stop and go mix) yielded about 19mpg. What I've learned is my 6th gear issue is all about terrain. My work commute is too hilly/mountainous to see 6th gear a lot; however, my trip down to sea level/mostly flat yielded a lot of 6th gear holding.

-Throttle response - I can't recall the different throttle options, but I opted for normal-lite I believe (not lite, not sport, but also not regular normal?). I honestly can't tell a huge difference in this selection verses my previous tune, but I've gotten so used to it that I'm happy with it and prefer it over the stock squishy pedal. I haven't spun tires on hills, but I also have some experience on the touchy pedal, so maybe its experience, maybe its improved; can't say for certain.

-Slow speed gear hunting - this part definitely improved a little bit. The truck noticeably receives throttle input in the gear you're in and accelerates in that gear, and doesn't default to downshift at any throttle input anymore (unless you gun it and want to). Idk if gear selection is based on speed alone, or throttle input percentage, but I just want to be able to lightly hold the throttle at 5% and creep through the neighborhood without downshifting to 1st and launching over a kid; this tune upgrade seemed to improve this.


In conclusion,

For stock guys: Get it; no questions asked.

For already tuned guys: probably still get it, but I don't know if the improvements will be as evident as you hope, unless you're making changes from a really old version. I think a lot of this has to do with your unique commute, and some areas of this truck just can't be tuned out - if the truck calls for power, you inevitably need to downshift at some point; I think the tune has the potential to do absolute wonders for those around sea level. I also think it does wonders for those in high altitudes. For those of us in the middle, I think you have to really look hard to find the improvements (in feel), but the numbers don't really lie. Its not fair to expect a tune to negate ALL of the ill effects lift/tires/armor/camper shell/roof rack/etc have on the truck, but its kind of amazing that a tune can compensate in areas to improve the areas these mods take away from.

Overall, I'm extremely satisfied; My tuner already reached out to me for a 10.0 upgrade, but I figured a V9 review may still be relevant for anyone who may still be on the fence about moving from stock, or upgrading from a previous version. If 9.0 improved this much, I expect 10.0 to be even better.

Edited to add for relevance
-truck configuration is a 2016, lifted, 32" tires, skids, sliders, camper shell, roof rack, camper shell rack, and probably 200 lbs added bed weight

 

A well written, candid review! We always appreciate that! Thank you, sir.

Also, be aware if there are specific sticking points you would like to improve, bring those to the attention of your tuner. We can't promise to fix everything, but we will certainly do our best to help address any of your concerns!

You may well be pleasantly surprised by v10.0 of our tune too. There were some additional power gains, but more importantly the drivability has been even further refined in this version. We've a fair deal of positive feed back, both from the pro-tuner network as we tested the new offering, and from some early adopters that helped along way!

 

I’m running around this week with a tank of 94 octane on 10.0. I recommend trying it. It’s nice.

 

Downloaded the 10.0 tune files from @PapaRee this morning. It had been a while since I had last tuned as I was still on KDMAX Pro+, but only because I was pleased with how the truck was performing on a daily basis. After a few miles and a few pulls, my initial impressions are extremely positive. Every time I've put a tune from these guys I always end up saying to myself, "This is how the truck was supposed to drive & feel." It's not about power - it's nice, but if you truly want to enjoy the 3rd Gen Tacoma platform - contact these guys. I'll report back as the tune settles in, but this is something all Tacoma enthusiasts should look into.

 

Thanks Mark for the through review and from your perspective. Terrain definitely plays a part in the Tunes (any tune) ability to combat the stocks terrible logic maps, but KDMAX does it as well or better than others on the market.

I did reach out and hoped you would see my response to upgrade to 10.0 while in your area this past weekend. KDMAX Pro 10.0 provides approximately 10 HP and 11 ftlbs of TQ more than the 9.0 tune you’re currently on. That’s a substantial gain in the naturally aspirated 3.5 tune world. Definitely will notice more low end torque (approximately 21-22 ftlbs at 3000 rpm’s).

Hit me up next time I’m in your area or reach out to the Birmingham tuner. I believe you’ll be glad you did.

 

Been doing the same. From what I've read here, most say it doesn't make a difference. I think it does for me. Maybe it's time for me to run a few tanks of regular just to compare again. With the prices of gas here now at about a 95 cent difference between the two, I figure it's less than $20 difference for a close to full fuel up. So, for me, the cost is not something that I worry about.