Manual vs Automatic

Automatic Transmissions are fun especially after it's had performance upgrades done . Ever drove a vehicle with a Reverse manual valve body pattern before ??? . This allows full manual control of the transmission

 

That's the rub though. MT guys are quick to brigade any thread where someone has a compliant, valid or not, about the AT and you get tons of "Should've bought the MT", but go into an MT thread where most AT guys don't go and it's nothing but talk about squeaks, OVTune, ADM, 2 low mod, blah blah blah.

Any mention of problems with the AT that can be fixed get ridiculed, while any problems with the MT get a total pass.

Neither is perfect. In fact I'd go as far to say that both could be much better (AT 4,5,6 gear spacing is a joke, MT probably doesn't need to do 80 in reverse). I guess I'm just glad it's not a CVT and an MT is even offered at all in this day and age.

 

Toyota wanted better fuel economy with these current automatics. I don't know if actual performance will be better, but drivability likely would.

 

Exactly what I am looking for.

 

I agree that neither is perfect, nothing in life is. But to say it’s garbage is utter nonsense.

 

Could be, yes. There seems to be inconsistencies in 3rd gens. The trannies and clutches are far from garbage though, you just got unlucky.

 

True.
And I agree.

 

I drove a lemon 2017 OR MT, and the owner drove mine back to back. It was quite shocking to feel such a massive difference between two Toyotas that were manufactured not that long apart. The only different aspect that seemed 'normal' was the feel of the OR's different brake system. He was quite floored by how well mine drove and won a lemon hearing not long after.

It certainly changed my perspective on the stuff that gets posted on TW.

IMHO, I am pretty surprised that Toyota, being Toyota, didn't do some major move a long time ago, given the shit tunes and the weird inconsistencies of the 3rd Gen.


I have since driven a late production 2020 MT Pro. The suspension was quite nice and the clutch had a significantly lighter spring. Other than that, it felt pretty much the same as mine on the latest Stock TSB tune. That owner drove mine with the OV Tune and was pretty impressed there also.

 

I have never owned an Automatic transmission before so am not very knowledgeable on the subject, these 3.5 engines make all their power at high RPM's so would that be a good match?

 

My 2016 6MT drove like an old Land Rover which ended up being quite fatiguing to drive. My 2020 6MT is better but could be improved. I would like to know how the Aisin RA60 from the X-Runner is compared to our Toyota made RC62F. I wonder if an off the shelf transmission would be a better option than Toyota making their own. The NV3500 (5MT) I had in my Jeep was pretty nice. I think Toyota should just stick a T56 in and call it a day haha.

 

A couple folks have (are) playing with the RC60 MT for the 3rd Gen. Those ratios look perfect?


As @Lt. Dangle said, there are mods that end up being needed to make it shine. The first TSB tune was a massive leap in shifting on mine, as weird as that sounds. Similar with the ADM. If you're looking for more than that, try an MT fluid swap. Redline MT-90 or the Motorcraft fluid that a lot of folks really like.


There is a new TSB out for the 2018 through 2020 MTs. If you were early production (04B90), I would say to jump on it. It should be a significant leap.

 

I've never own an automatic transmission and I hope I never do.

 

Good to know. I will look into the TSB. I ran Redline MT90 in my 2016 and was quite surprised at the difference. Especially downshifting from 2nd to 1st. I will be due for my 2nd oil change shortly which I will do myself and will do MT90 along with it. I have done some reading on the ADM but think I will wait until my warranty is up. It is not bad enough to really need nor want it right now.

 

Good stuff! Redline has been my go to for a couple decades now. Always did a small miracle for me.

 

I am one who is always skeptical of claims made on fluids and the such but could not believe how good the MT90 is. Especially in extremely cold temps.

 

I went manual. The way I see it, it's less to go wrong. And I get to be more in charge of and intune with the pickup. Plus it's just plain fun

 

My car is obviously a MT but it takes Dex/Merc ATF, have always been kinda leary of putting any modern synthetic ATF in.

 

Stuff can be snake oil. My first experience was by word of mouth though. Our Saab had some really bad shifting and the typical 1st gear lock out on the factory fluid. There were two other factory fluids that came out to fix it, but didn't. The last one was incompatible with anything else, so two flushes were required. That was fun . . .

In the end, folks started trying Redline. It completely changed the character of that MT. It did similar for our Volvo also.


The Taco was pretty slick from the start, but I did get blocked out of 1st a couple times and was not thrilled with the UOA that @Omar RVA got on the factory fill. MT-90 made the box even slicker. I'm 40k in on the fluid and it is starting to feel like I should swap it.

 

Esp anything from GM. After the first batch of Dexcool and the many other issues, I have hard time with them. Weird after growing up in a staunch GM fam.

I've seen MTs that use ATF, engine oil, or other specific stuff, not to mention bikes with shared engine / GB oil and wet clutches. It all seems to work. All that I know is if Redline is compatible, I will jump on it. But, I have been curious about the Motorcraft stuff also.

 

I hate anything older that uses Dex-Cool, always ends up needing head gaskets or intake gaskets! Have also seen some transmissions that use engine oil too, they must have specific reasons for deciding on which lubricants.