Newb considering Taco sport MT...couple questions

Hey all,
Happy 4th!
First post, sorry if I should have put in new members area. Mods, feel free to move if needed.

So, been considering a Taco for a while now. Have tried to do as much research as I can, but theres a buttload of info out there. Ive narrowed it down to an Army Green DC sport MT. MT is a must for me as all of my vehicles (mostly Wranglers) were MT and thats what I prefer to drive. Plus, Ive heard that the AT gears are too tall causing hunting. Id rather not deal with that if I dont need to. I initially was under the impression that I would lose some other features by going with the MT, but it seems like its just the push start and proximity entry? Neither one of those matters to me. Correct me if Im wrong though please.
Few questions....
1) I dont plan to do all that much right away, only thing I want to get immediately would be a roll up tonneau cover. But what would you guys say is a "must have" mod right out of the gate? Ive heard a tune is a necessity, but I kind of have a hard time believing thats true.
2) Could you please share some quirks or dislikes you have? In other words, maybe something you might have done different if you would have known about it. Ive heard many small gripes, which are mostly just personal preference, to major concerns, such as the AT hunting for gears and frame rust/rot.
3) Im not too concerned with this, but it looks like the posted mpg for the MT is 17/21, while the AT is 18/22. I assume that has something to do with the MT gears at 4.30 and the AT at 3.91. I know in my current Wrangler MT with 4.10s and 33's, I get around 21ish. While the AT folks get less with taller gears. So Im thinking its more up to each individual driver. Looks like the same scenario here, but thought Id ask. Once again, 1 mpg not a dealbreaker....lol.

One issue Im finding is that there are none out there to even test drive. All are in transit or spoken for. The few dealers Ive gone to tell me there will be a shipment coming in, but many are already sold. I need to put down a "refundable" deposit, basically as a way to save it just to test drive. Kind of weird to commit to something without even test driving it...right? I have driven a couple over the years from friends, but they were older 2nd gens I think. I liked them then, but just seems like a strange way to do business nowadays.

Sorry if this is long winded, just want to get all my ducks in a row before I commit.
Thanks for any and all advice.

 

Love the MT in my truck, the Reverse Gear Ratio kinda sucks though as it feels like a highway gear.

 

I love my automatic and needed a DCLB way more than wanting the manual.
The “hunting” is partially due to a learning transmission, drivers luging the high revving variable valve timing V6 engine in lower rpms to name two, and the odd programming of Toyota to get higher mpgs. An aftermarket tune helps a lot.
I bought my ‘17 brand new without driving any generation Tacoma.

 

Welcome to the forum

Must have mod is a bed mat, the most useful +/- $100 mod going.

If you are buying new the best thing to do to put off rust issues for a long time is a good Cosmoline job. Inspect and touch up every fall. Wash under the truck when you can in the winter, the modern chemical deice products are far more harsh then the rock salt we grew up with.

If you are looking for fuel economy a Tacoma isn't a champion, accept it for what it is, the higher the speed the lower it goes.

The refundable deposit is pretty much the new normal way of doing business, now (and for the foreseeable future) is a rotten time to buy anything -- especially the top selling mid-size truck in the US. That said, if you want it and can responsibly afford it we only live once.

This is the most quirky manual I have ever driven and is the most difficult manual to be consistently smooth. Some folks tune, delete the accumulator, install short throw shifters -- all that is fine if that is what one wants to do. I personally applied myself to learning what the truck wanted me to do to be smooth -- we have a workable relationship and I enjoy driving it.

As this is almost surely the last generation with a manual available that adds a bit of muscle to the "buy it now" reasoning.

 

If you offroad at all then get the TRDOR. The sport is just different shocks and a skewp. The OR has a differential locker

 

Thanks guys,
Yeah, I realize now is a terrible time to buy anything. With that said, its a fantastic time to get top dollar for my Jeep. Ive had offers of 3k more than I paid for it almost 3 years ago. Silver lining and all....
Ive heard the MT is quirky. Guess Ill have to see for myself.
Ill head over and throw down that refundable deposit on Tues.
Appreciate the help guys. Anything else comes to mind that youd like to share, Id love to hear it.

 

My off roading is basically forest roads and mudding. I think Ive used my lockers in my Rubi twice...didnt even need em tho...lol. IL/WI midwest flatlander. Sport will be all I need.

 

Weird torque "lull" around 3000rpm, aftermarket tunes have helped but not removed entirely. clutch is "slow" to return when cold(below freezing), Accumulator bypass helped but not completely.
Short throw shift is nice but purely a preference thing. im getting 16 in town and up to 19 hwy, highly speed dependent. i drive like a madman
Still a much smoother trans than the JKU 6spd i used to own, never going back
I would say the OR is worth it for the locker alone, but to each his own. A-track is pretty effective, no "Multi-terrain select" with the 6MT if that matters to you.

I like the manual a lot, all the above gripes are pretty minor overall and you get used to it. the reverse gear is way too tall and can be a real problem if towing or offroad

welcome to the forum!

 

I've driven plenty of different AT Tacomas and prefer the manual by far. The gear hunting kills me a little. Haven't driven one with a tune, though.

It's all in the driver. I rev pretty low (2.5k or lower) but I'm never in a rush and have no incentive to drive fast. I average about 19.5-20 MPG with my manual offroad with OEM sized all-terrains and about 200 lb. of steel underneath. I figure my new Hawaiian driving style fits the official state vehicle of Hawaii lol. Also much better for my road rage than pretending to be Colin McRae as in my last vehicle.

I would just put a refundable deposit down at a high-volume dealer, then test drive when you can. It'll be at least 3 months before you see it. I think manual sports might be even rarer than manual ORs for some reason, I don't think I've seen many.

Compared to a stock JK it'll be more comfortable because of the differences in front suspension, but the hood is a little harder to see over. I think that may be due to the higher floors in the Tacoma. The clutch feeling isn't very analog and takes some getting used to, but I figured it out and wasn't a huge deal to me over all (look up the clutch accumulator mod on here if it does continue to bug you).

First mod I would do is protect the frame from rust as mentioned. Spray it underneath with rustproofing of your choice (I'm using Corrosion X) and do the $5 A/C drain mod.

I have a Rough Country roll-up tonneau that's pretty nice. I travel a lot for work a lot so there's always stuff like a cooler or clothes that I want out of the weather. I just got a rubber floor mat on Amazon for $20 instead of the OEM one which probably doesn't fit with the MOLLE racks and bed stiffeners I also have. I wanted a Backflip but that cost 6x more and can be defeated with a prying tool, so if someone wants some undersized clothes and some cold pasta, whatever, they probably need that stuff more than I do if they're willing to risk getting shot over it.

 

Welcome. Some real good advise so far. What do you plan to do with the truck other than off roading? Daily driver? Kids or pets? Affordability? Modifications? The reality is you will have a tough time finding this truck. Do you have a plan “B”?

 

1) must have mods I would consider the tune, the accumulator delete, and 2LO. I also did Motorcraft XT M5 QS fluid, which I like. Felt smoother to me. Maybe placebo effect, but I plan to run that stuff in my Jeep AX15 now after choosing Redline MT90 all these years. You can do the accumulator for free by taking it off, dremeling and reinstalling. It makes the clutch feel so much better. From the factory the clutch doesn’t feel terrible but your eyes aren’t really opened until you compare with other manuals or drive a Tacoma with the accumulator delete done to it. For the tune I went with the overland torque and put it on the most aggressive throttle setting, super spicy. It is much nicer to drive. 2LOW mod is easy, but a switch from Air on Board and get the 2 low mod from lapoltba on this forum. Look up his thread and it will take you to his link to buy it. Totally worth it.

2) the quirks kind of build off of
The suggestions in #1. quirks:

2nd gear is too tall as a 2:1 ratio. It feels really far away from 1st gear. The ONLY benefits to this gear is that you can wind it up to 60 mph and it’s closer to 3rd this way so the 2-3-4 gaps aren’t so bad. I would have preferred 2nd to be more like a 2.5:1, 3rd 1.45:1, and 4th where it is.

reverse is too tall. Have to gas it a lot and slip the clutch. If you’re going to be backing up any trailer or up anything steep, go ahead and buy the 2LO mod referenced above.

accumulator makes it hard to release the clutch smoothly.

you will have people tell you to get a short throw shifter, personally I’d hold off on that. They seem nice until you get tired of the always-stiff feel. They also add noise to the driving experience which to most will become an annoyance. I’m not necessarily a hater but every time I’ve used a short throw, eventually I’m just thinking “why” after a while. There really is nothing at all wrong with the stock shifter and nothing to improve upon. Just my thoughts.

I don’t really know of any other quirks. 5th is a bit awkward if a gear. I don’t use it in the upshifting sequence, I take 4th to highway speed and then go to 6th to cruise. 5th is good if I want to cruise like 60-70 mph. 5th is halfway between 4th and 6th and it’s about 400 rpm between each gear. It’s honestly hard to upshift quickly enough for the rpm to not fall too far. Have to move quickly or else jerking the engine back up to the proper rpm for the next gear. Either that or overrev it so you have time for the rpm to fall back to proper level.

3) my mpg sucked on load E 265/70/17 tires, like 16.5-17 at 70. I got those swapped yesterday and went back to stock size (265/65R17), XL range and 37 lbs. I shed 16 lbs per tire. So far it feels like a big improvement, much nicer to drive. Highway mileage is not confirmed but seems to be around 18-19 at 70 with no wind. More time will tell.

I would say those 3 mods make it a pretty happy experience. I plan to regear mine to 4.88 which will make it really fun but will probably cost me some mileage. The 4.30 ratio is pretty decent for stock tires. It is not great as you go larger. My biggest gripes are the trans ratios no doubt, but you get used to them after a while. They aren’t bad ratios, just not as ideal or useful as other transmissions I’ve compared to. I think 4.88 is going to finally complete the experience for me. It will help reverse too which will be nice.

I’d definitely say the MT is far and away the right choice over the POS automatic.

 

I recently bought a MT. It's a little different than others I have owned however I like it.

 

Only must have mod in my opinion is the OEM tailgate lock. Since I installed it I never have to remember if I locked my tailgate or manually get the key out to do it, it’s open when it needs to be and locked otherwise.
It’s a super easy install as well!

 

+1 on the Motorcraft XT M5 QS fluid, it made the transmission feel slicker for lack of a better word.
Rock Auto had the best price.

 

It’s seemingly good stuff for sure. I bought it on a whim at the local dealer and paid dearly for it, like $107 total. Next time I’d definitely do rockauto.

 

I'm a specification digger so I had read a great deal about it. I had no real problems with my factory fill although felt the transmission wasn't very slick shifting.

For regular maintenance I was dumping all the drive line fluids at 30k and thought I would give the Motorcraft a try, it meets the Toyota specifications perfectly.

The first trip around the block I immediately thought it was smoother.

 

Same experience here. I didn’t research into it too much, though I did search the site and FB and looked into all the posts I could find (not a lot). I also thought it was smoother right off the bat. It meets my Jeep transmission (another Aisin built manual that also needs GL4 75W90) and it should work well in there when I try it.

the best fluid I’ve ever tried in a transmission was Nissan multi-HQ MTF 75W-85. Ran it in my frontier 6 speed. Now that was smooth stuff. Im even tempted to try it in my Jeep and Tacoma to see how it would be. I suspect it would be very good despite being a bit thinner when warm. But for now I’m good with the motorcraft stuff.

 

I heartily agree with this. If I could only have three mods on my truck, it would be these three.

 

I really enjoy driving my MT as it is from the factory. Will I look into some of the mods mentioned???, probably. But it's a whole lot of fun the way it is right now.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. Those will be mods I will look into eventually. Dont want to put the cart ahead of the horse though. First things first.

Truck will be my DD. Honestly will be on pavement 98% of the time. Kids are grown, just me, girlfriend and a big old lab.
The truck I listed is the one on order at one of the dealers I went to. Whether or not its spoken for, or already sold, I dont know. Thats why I mentioned Ill shoot over there first thing on Tues to put down my deposit if available. I wanted to come here and get some advice first. Honestly didnt know thats how these transactions are nowadays. Hopefully not too late. Well see.