Need a little more power

Some people have used the "pedal commander" with good results. Haven't used it myself.

 

A real tune for premium fuel and transmission shifting would probably wake the truck up a lot.

 

Probably not, it's a different vehicle. But the response in the Tacoma seems fine to me, it's just delayed vs. the normal pedal position you're used to. Once I figured out how it responds to the pedal it seems fine to me.

 

Eh, that's not quite it. It's just how this thing makes power. It's not very torquey down low. Just the way it is.

Gears would really make it more responsive.

 

Eh, changing the fuel probably ain't the right choice. Higher octane fuels does not mean more energy per volume. You get more power out of higher octane by raising the compression ratio. That means different heads, stroke, pistons.... something physical about the engine has to change. The only thing you can do is advance the timing which doesn't necessarily mean more power.

Changing how the drive by wire responds and maybe how the transmission shifts would be the likely beneficial changes. You might be able to better fine tune the engine, but I don't think there will be major power increases.

 

I'm a "White Knight" when it comes to saying the truck is better than most people think.

But realistically, it drives nothing like my wife's 4Runner.

I think it needs 2 things, which have been mentioned, and there's 1 thing Woodrow mentioned, and it's kind of a showstopper but not completely.

1. Gears would help. Consider 6th gear a bonus, you're not guaranteed to use all 6 just cause you have them, it's if the truck needs it. This is the new normal. Chevy does it, the 10 speed Ford does it, it's the way things are going to.
2. A tune I think would really help, not just ECT Power, but if someone who really understands the transmission software tunes it. I'd say most of your "lag" feeling is software controlled to shift easy and save gas. My Chevy did the same damn thing and a blackbear tune and a new cam made a whole different truck.

-- Now for the showstopper --

This engine and Toyota's other engines which utilize their version of Atkisson cycle make most of their primary torque and power at 2500 - 4500 RPM. That's a mechanical thing, not a software thing. Keeping your RPMs there gives you the most power, and the most power at a moment's notice. The tune will help that a ton, but if you're expecting gears and a tune to make peak torque or anything near even 200 ft lbs at 1500 RPM it's not possible.

-- That said, if you're willing to supercharge it if they make one, I think that would immensely help the lower power band if a roots style SC is built.

The reason I think people give the optimists a hard time is that Toyota trucks (compact and mid size) where NEVER known for power. We told Toyota we want awesome off road vehicles. I have taken my wife's 4Runner and my Tacoma to 4 different parks (both vehicles to each park). Honestly the 4Runner is better, and it's the vehicle I'm modding. However, in 4Lo in 1st and 2nd gear, this Tacoma is quite a different vehicle from the highway version most people are not pleased with. The larger rear diff, the gauges, and even the not too bad stock tires really rock it out.

I agree this truck feels uninspired at highway speeds, but hit ECT and see if you can live with it, cause when it finally finds some dirt I'm reminded why I don't really care.

 

What would tuning for higher octane do?

 

If it's tuned for higher octane the computer could advance the timimg a few degrees without knocking and give you a little more power.

 

I wish Toyota would hire a Mazda Skyactiv engineer. They designed an Atkinson cycle engine the right way. The throttle pedal seamlessly and proportionally adjusted the amount of intake cam retarding. With enough pedal travel at any RPM, the engine would go to full power Otto. The power delivery was butter smooth and had a surprising amount of torque for the engine size. All this in a 12:1 compression ratio!


Having the Atkinson to Otto switchover be a step change at a fixed RPM is just dumb. It's like they didn't even try to engineer a proper control system.

 

Welcome to the 3rd gen. We are all on the same boat waiting for a solution

 

315 crank or bhp? I think you got your numbers mixed up. The vehicle is 278hp to wheels correct? That is 278hp / .85(15% loss to wheel from crank) = 327bhp or to crank. Am I missing something?

 

278 @ crank. No manufacturer ever states rwhp.

 

I wish it was 278 to the wheels. But unless otherwise stated for some super cars it's at the crank.

 

Well, those numbers are right in line with the numbers we'd gain from VW's NA engines.

 

A lot of the Colorado/Canyon guys have purchased the Pedal Commandor - and they swear by it. The Twins have their own fair share of transmission issues and mostly at lower speeds (35mph) on 2015 & 2016 V6 gassers. Shifts too soon and doesn't know how to downshift (stutters/hiccups) when you step on the gas. You literally have to bury your foot in it to wake it up. A bit annoying driving around in town.

I'm half tempted to buy it for my Canyon - but I want to learn more about it. I wasn't sure what kind of results it would give on the Tacomas. (...and actually, I came here to see if anyone was using it to see if there was any feedback on this side of the fence).

 

Cyrus! I got work to do!

 

^^ Cyrus is totally right

I really don't understand people's complaints about throttle responsiveness... in S6 w/ ECT on the pedal is almost too sensitive for me and causes lurching (no fault of the truck it's called PHYSICS)

 

i have it and i swear by it. it has solved every weird driveability issue for me. it's not a perfect fix... in my mind a perfect fix is a proper tune to make right use of this hardware we have. as we know the OEM software is gawd awful. the PC is, for me, a terrific band-aid and has taken my truck to "tons o fun to drive" from "this is f'ing miserable". all for $240. would buy again. but i would personally only recommend it for the MT trucks. i can't trust all the software confusion between the motor and the wheels in the AT's.

 

There's a previous thread somewhere with screen shots of a dyno test after both cold air intake and cat back exhaust have been installed. It should bring your horse power up from 278 to roughly 288-290 along with better throttle response. It's only about a 4-5% gain but hey...every pony counts. Other after market mods may/will put your factory warranty in jeopardy.

 

It won't fix the problem people have.... which is low rpm power.