Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

I just saw this thread for the Manual Mafia™ .....how have I missed it?!

I owned a 2001 TRD OR Manual and now a 2020 TRD OR Manual....I've never owned an automatic vehicle (Accord, Ranger, RSX-S, Focus ST, Civic Si) and have even left foot braked while stopping at the guard shack in the military, where I had to explain my disgust for an automatic to a confused ID checker. My wife and I consider ourselves diehard manual enthusiasts.

 

I imagine all Tuners have made strides. This OTT Overland Tourque Tune damn sure makes a difference. Instead of merely reving up to make power u actually have some more down low around 2000 rpm now. I am not selling a rocket ship, but the vehicle is far from almost embarrassing as it once was.

 

Yeah, overall agree. Like I said, I was tuned on stock gears for a while and I liked it there but I really didn't even have the stock tune long enough to know what I thought of it on the stock setup. I bought the truck, immediately went on vacation 4 days later, then got the tune done like a week after my return. So I was already getting used to a different new vehicle to begin with, much less comparing that against other tunes on that same vehicle. So I didn't have a good idea of a good baseline before I tuned it and then I remained that way until the gears. Then later bought the tuning kit and tinkered myself.

I find I get decent performance with high revs and the gears make it much easier to do that. It would be interested to have some of the other tuned guys come drive my stock but geared truck and see what they think. If you drive it right, it's pretty great. But you have to really be on it and use the right transmission gear to make that happen.

 

Ahh yeah I hear where you're coming from.

From my pov, we've all been in a spot where we unconsciously justify a mod after spending hundreds on it. But a Tacoma tune just isn't equivalent to me dropping the JB4 in my 135 that netted me 100hp/100lbft in 15 minutes.

None of us can feel a 5hp gain in our butts, so for that test you mention I'd be more curious about the opinion from someone who hasn't driven either truck. Don't tell them which truck has a tune and get their feedback.

The 2GR comes on cam around 3500rpm and it likes to rev. Drive the truck like a 4500lb Miata and have a good time.

 

You understand

 

Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXyrYMxa-VI

 

I agree with you as well. Gearing would be a big help too. No one mod is the answer - and what is beneficial vs cost varies I am sure person to person. Having had an auto taco and a MT - the manual diff alone is good enough. The tune made it much better. I can rev or just rely on the added power the tune brought.

 

Hardly believable, you can flat foot a Miata. My 18MTPRO would never let me do that with its horrific manual transmission. It's just so clunky and rough. It's the only manual I've driven that demands you completely remove the right foot from any input to make a smooth shift. It truly feels like the trans was an afterthought, its not even good for off-roading.

 

Hmmm, while the 6MT in my Tacoma is no where near as smooth as either of our Miatas, it is also far from the clunkiest manual I've ever driven.

 

Yeah and I can't figure out how to heel-toe in my Tacoma. I think you're missing the forest for the trees of the simile.

It's a truck. Meet it on its level and you'll have a good enough time.

Honestly, for a truck I feel like it's pretty good.

 

The differences between the 2.7 5MT and 3.5 6MT are significant. I enjoy them both in different ways. The 6 feels buttery but best when rev’d and wears a chastity belt on 1st downshifts. The 5, even with 4.56, doesn’t have big balls and always feels like pumice stone on shifts but lacks any need for the driver to adjust behavior, and does as instructed.

 

I can heel toe on my Tacoma depending on the shoes I wear. I can heel toe with shoes that has thin flat soles like Vans, but if I'm wearing boots, it'll be harder.

+1 on the gearbox feel. It's pretty smooth except the 1-2 shift. For the 1-2 shift, I find it to be a bit clunky when I shift below 15 mph, and found it to be smooth when I shift it at 16+ mph.

 

What size shoe do you wear? I can't heel toe in my size 13s because my heel hits the transmission tunnel before I can get it up to the throttle

And if someone is about to jump in and say "skill issue" all I have to say back is...yeah probably.

 

Size 10.

That being said, I still wouldn't call this truck heel-toe friendly, but I don't expect it to be in any way.

 

Exactly the same here. I drive it and enjoy the truck for what it is.

 

I absolutely refuse to drive anything else.

Long live the MT!

 

Tbf .... I don't heel toe. This isnt the 70s. Rev match as you go down and be proactive. No issues here. And it off roads great. Remember in 4LO... No need to ride the clutch. At all.

Turn your heel inwards, not outwards.

 

On my third 1st gen MT (since late 90s) and now have a 3rd gen MT. Gotta admit, I enjoy driving the 1st gen more. The clutch is more responsive and the 2.7L feels more spunky than than the V6 in the 3rd gen. Either way, I love em both.

 

My current MTs

 

More pics of the 80 yota.