Need more engine power!

It's funny we have to talk about high horsepower/high torque as a means to accomplish the "ultimate truck". My first 4 x 4 was a 4 cylinder jeep and I assure you she was able to get herself out of many situations with what she had. I had to adapt to that vehicle just like any vehicle. Today you see these young folks (and some older ones) with their beefed up vehicles getting stuck in situations just because the only thing they know is to floor it and that'll do the trick. Applied HP and torque is just like sex...you have to learn to apply it properly, finesse it and adapt to the limitations of your vehicle. They all have limitations.

 

I am skeptical that a tune by itself for any modern stock vehicle would be significant enough to give up the warranty. Now if you add a supercharger or cam the tune would be mandatory or you will have a melted down motor.

Yes, indeed, the mid-engine Vette will be interesting. One of the big debates with that is losing the hatch cargo area so the car might not be any good for even minimal road trips. We'll see, I guess. Also the DSG should be fantastic, but looks like no regular manual may be available. I have always had manuals in my sports cars.

 

Everyone complaining about power/tq in a midsize... that's hilarious. Not what this segment is known for.

The old Dakota, and previous Colorado were available with v8s....get one.....

The transmission isnt busy, just inactive hurry to get to 5th or 6th.. but, it does seem to calm itself.

This gen makes more power than the previous. Period.
Just have to work a bit more it, keep the pot boiling, and its plenty.

My Jeep, with the 4.slow, FEELS like it has more off the line... then again, its geared...

I wanna move.... well, I take the Charger.......

Took a while to grow on me, but, the truck does everything it was designed to do.
The fact that I can drive civilized and get double the mileage of my Jeep is just a nice bonus. Makes me more willing to take the truck on a longer trip.

 

LOL. Yeah buddy!

 

HAHA!...too right. I have a '89 Land Rover Defender 90 I imported home from the UK. The original engine had less that 100 HP from the factory, but it is still an awesome vehicle and I have never complained about the power.

 

By far most of my issues are not for the off-road performance. The powertrain is perfectly adequate for off road but the weaknesses show up in DD/highway driving... which for most of us is the majority of what we do,

 

I highway drive a lot too. Nothing better than cruising I-75 at 75 MPH, cruise control on and listening to Tom Petty on Sirius...the added bonus is 23.6MPG. All that and able to take it to Ocala national for some offroading. I see it as a win/win.

 

Fill up with 100LL avgas at your local airport. Makes my lawnmower hum!

 

You guys got no hills down there. I know I grew up in FL. I get 22 mpg highway in my 2nd gen.

 

I see the problem. You don't have enough stickers man!

 

My 2015 Ram crewcab with 5.7 Hemi/3.21 rear/8 spd AT averages a solid 20mpg Summer and 18mpg Winter. 2 1/2 yrs and just rolled over 41K miles with no issues so far. Time will tell on reliability.


3rd Gen redesign drove me to look at fullsize, poor Tundra mpg drove me to look outside the Toyota family.

FWIW.

 

Happens to me all the time too, lol.

 

Its a TACOMA Not not drag racing the thing

 

You'll have to wind up the RPMs. The power in the 3rd gen is at higher RPMs. Low end torque pales compared to 2nd gens. My GT350 is naturally aspirated and over 500 HP, but it doesn't awaken until 4000 RPM and above. Redline is 8250. Compare this to a Vette with a supercharger. Lots of low end grunt, but similar horsepower. Just think about your horsepower and torque curves and work to that.

 

Thanks for the report. If I were to go full sized it would have to be American for the fuel economy. I don't understand why Tundra is so poor, like 25% lower EPA ratings as compared to the US offerings? I have been scratching my head on that one for several years.

And that is exactly where I would be now if I were in the market. Tacoma 3rd gen powertrain would drive me to brand x full size, even though I have no real need for something that big.

 

Get rid of the led on your foot and just let the hammer down.

Or in other words, put the pedal to the metal.

These engines are made to be happy revving at high RPM all day long and give gobs of power and torque

Hope that helps
Cheers!

 

I actually love the power in my tacoma, at least at higher RPM's. I have an 06 that is a lot heavier than most. I still do not have a problem driving fast down the highway.

 

Try all 3. I Mostly go with the mid for the same reason on my end. The premium definitely makes a difference when it comes down to more power.

 

Post of the year. Give him the award and close the voting. No truer words have even been spoken on this forum - ever.

I love Toyotas. We have quite a bit of them in the family. None of the them are built for performance. None.

Son has a second gen. Wife has a new 4Runner. Low end torque on the 4.0? Oh boy.....my knee is sore from slapping the piss out of it. My sides hurt. I'm wiping tears from my eyes as we speak.

The trans tuning on the third gens suck - its tuned for economy and not for optimizing any torque the engine has.

Anyway, back to the 2018 TW Awards.....I want to give the 2018 "Unintentional Irony Award" to all you out there who buy a Tacoma for reliability and then can't wait to slap a pair of turbos on it.

 

If ya feel under powered in the Taco Just drop one of these MK-4 in used one here on Ebay for only a mere $21,000 you can have 1200 Hp (might be a tad unreliable) but you will certainly have the satisfaction of blowing that Vette off and maybe leave part of your transmission here and there but what the Heck you will be able to say that you "had" lots of power....