OVTune 4.0 NA, worth it?

Valid concern and only you can decide. I have the handheld tune he sold originally, I think that is still an option but I’m not sure. But, assuming it is still purchaseable, you can restore the factory tune if needed.

 

You can always flash it back to the stock tune.

 

Thats why I'm skeptical on spending the money on the pedal commander. However one of the things I find annoying is how the throttle ramps so quickly in stock form right around 25% throttle. I wished it was smoother.

More power is always better and I would love that!! I'm just curious of the power gains and the driving impressions with the OVtune.

Another question about the OVtune...will it help with cruise control? It seems like mine doesn't start compensating for a hill before it looses 5ish MPH and then it downshifts and it goes 5 MPH higher than the set speed....annoying.

 

I’ve never used the cruise control in my 2014 truck. Can’t tell you.

 

My cruise does the same. Would love it to shift better

 

Unless you have lots and lots of patience, don’t get the OVTune product.

I say that and YES I’m a believer.

 

Why is this?

 

Cuz 3rd GEN, 3.5L has all the attention...

 

But if im 100% stock drivetrain, what attention do I need? Wouldnt the standard tune be what I needed?

 

Because the original @OVTune started June 14, 2017 and we are still waiting.

Evidently the 3rd Gen has his attention.

 

ah got it. no go for me then. thanks!

 

True 3rd gens got all their attention and for second gens they keep postponing last time they said they were supposed to be done with the 3rd gens by “the end of year” and they were going to focus on 2nd gen. I perfectly understand money is in the 3rd gens but stick to what you say.

 

I just OVTuned my 2009 DoubleCab ShortBox 4.0 6 speed MT yesterday.
Here is my experience and impressions:

Caveat: my experience took longer, from first contact with Matt to final installation, because Matt and his wife were expecting a baby and that, obviously, took priority and it was my bad luck to order during this time...

June 24, 2019 Ordered tune
June 26, 2019 Registration file and instructions received and OBDII module and cable
June 26, 2019 I sent in my output information
July 3, 2019 Requested update and confirmation of output info receipt
July 8, 2019 Received confirmation of receipt of output info and told tune would be "ready this week"
July 19, 2019 No tune; request for info on order
July 25, 2019 Request for info on order and "congrats on baby" told tune would be "ready this week"
July 27, 2019 SATURDAY Request for info on order--- received e-mail with update and received tune this night

I will say that I was quite upset at being told that I would be receiving my tune, a few times, and then have it not happen.
HOWEVER, after having it explained that he was expecting a child and that this not only took up time, but put him behind, I understood a little better.
Matt explained that this was not the norm for him and that tunes are, usually, processed in a more timely fashion. I believe him.

I downloaded the 91 octane tune, as this is this only gas I use in the truck. Our Shell V Power 91 in Canada is 0 ethanol.
I took the truck for a rip, but after a short drive and a 10 minute rest to pack up my Pup for the doggo park, I was having problems.

I'm going to cut and paste my e-mail to Matt, as I don't want to write it all out;

Hi Matt,

I received my tune tonight. Thank you!!
BUT…. (there’s always a “but”), there’s a problem…
I downloaded the 91 tune, as that’s all I use anyways. The tune downloaded successfully and I went for a drive on the highway. The power delivery and throttle response is GREAT and the truck is MUCH peppier and quick to 120kph. Very impressed… Idle was about 750-800

BUT, I returned home and gathered up my Pup to go to the doggo park. The truck sat for, maybe, 5 minutes while I got her sorted. Was driving to the doggo park and had trouble manipulating the clutch without some strange shifts. I would push the clutch in to shift and the rpms would INCREASE (not the regular “rev hang”). In addition, the truck would not decelerate. I went to a deserted part of the highway and pushed the clutch in and coasted. The rpms would increase to 2000-2200 and then fall to 1200 and then back to 2000-2200 and back to 1200 and continue doing this over and over and over again. The idle speed also changed too. Sometimes, 950 and other times 1500.

Coming back from the park, after the truck sat for 40 minutes, the rpms would stay at 1500 continuously when I pushed the clutch in and coasted.
I have not touched the truck since. Any thoughts? The first run was perfect! Perfect idle, no rpm increase… great. After that, not good.
I know it’s the weekend, but if you can’t fix this immediately, could you at least advise me? I don’t want to mess up my truck.
Thanks so much,

Barrett

I received this response the same evening;


The ECU may of not properly reset after flashing.

This can happen on some of these older ECUs. It's not a big deal, you just have to unplug the battery for 10 minutes

Matt


I went out and disconnected the negative terminal on my battery and let it sit for 10 minutes and all is fixed.

Here are the changes between the STOCK ECU TUNE and OVTune 91 TUNE and my impressions;

-the truck has noticeably better throttle response and acceleration
-the truck runs smoother
-the power/torque comes on sooner (2000rpm vs 3500rpm) and has a linear feel to it. It keep pulling smoothly up to redline.
-in fifth gear cruising, it takes less throttle to maintain speed. No manipulating the gas to keep rpms, even up mild grade hills.
-I did a few WOT pulls and it is definitely quicker off the line, to 60, to 100
-I did an off ramp merge onto the highway in second and third and was shocked to see that I had passed 100kph to 120kph in such a short period of time.
-there is not "sudden" acceleration at 3500rpm anymore. It is all linear and smooth, from idle, which is deceiving. You get up to speed faster, but don't realize how fast.
-shifting gears is smoother (not sure as to why). Maybe the linear torque curve??

Additional info;

Matt is very busy and, by his own admission, there is way less interest in the 4.0, especially in comparison the the 3.5 Tacoma and all the other projects he has on the go.
The 4.0 ECU requires a lot of time to manually input the changes to the ECU, so there's another factor.
If you are interested in this product, you need to have realistic expectations about the turnaround. Mine took 5 weeks (albeit, Matt had a lot of extra responsibilities during this time, with July 4th weekend and a baby on the way/being born). Three weeks is, probably, realistic.

I am EXTREMELY happy with the performance of the tune and the customer service (even with the delays).

This is how the truck SHOULD have come off the lot. Worth the money (and I have crap conversion too $780.00CAD)

All the best all!

Barrett

 

Can you even buy this tune anymore? its not even listed on the ovtune website.

 

also curious to know about the work on the 1gr-fe

 

Did anyone ever get around to posting dyno charts?

 

It's only temporarily off our site while we update a few things.

I'm not sure what others are referring to about still waiting on a tune or something, our actual tunes have been done for quite a while, maybe some updates aren't yet, but these are updates on top of the current tune, it's not a required update to be "tuned." Hopefully that makes some sense. We continually work on updates as possible. Yes the 3rd gen gets a lot of our attention. The main reason is the ECU and drivetrain is a buggy mess and the trucks are *practically* undriveable for some people in stock form. Unlike the 2nd gen which is a good platform to start from.

 

One other thing that has really made a difference is the recent spark plug replacement that I just did. I went from the nickle stock plugs that had 60,000 kms (37,500mi) to NKG Iridium plugs. The stocks were gapped at .37 and the iridium at .44. In any event, after the new plugs were installed, the throttle response and acceleration increased again! The truck is INCREDIBLE now! I don't know the mechanics of it, but if you are going to spend the money on this tune and your plugs are questionable... change them out. You're welcome!!

 

Low end power is where it's at. These Tacomas (3.5 and 4.0) are dogs down low. LOL My 2nd Gen is heavy with big tires, gears, armor, topper, etc. Custom exhaust and URD Headers I think I gained like 17HP on the dyno. Would be great to tune the beast. lol