POLL: OVTune Reviews (3rd gen)

order #2336
Ordered just after Christmas.
TRD-OR AT Quad cab stock tires, exhaust, no lift. Aftermarket bed cover.
32 K miles.

I do a good amount of highway driving and the highway leaving my house has 2 very large hills I have to go down and up. That was always my biggest bitch about stock was highway + hills = double downshift instantly. Then on a long hill you would get the dance up and down. Also in traffic (I live near Philly) if you let off and then get back on it, it didn't know what to do. Like you caught it by surprise and you would get that shitty downshift surge. So far, been up and down the hills near my house a few times and have a much more normal driving experience. It will sometimes downshift to 5th, but it is smooth and normal. If you get in it going up the hill it will go to 4th but again much smoother than stock. Driving around town I have noticed much more power low in RPM. I am not a guy who drives my truck like a sports car. I generally drive like 5 mph over the speed limit around town but don't get there in the first 1/4 mile. On the highway I drive fast but not aggressive. It is early to say, but I feel like this tune is much more what I was looking for. I felt 102 was an improvement over stock but not refined, it felt like something you bought off the internet. This feels much more refined, much cleaner, much better use of the power. Like I said I am not usually in the high RPMs around town and that's where the little power it had stock was. It always felt like riding a dirt bike, with power bands once you get your RPMs up. Now you can just drive it and it drives. I have not yet had it in heavy traffic where you get the situations where you are going 5 then you are going 45 than back to 10 then stop and back up to 45 again where responsiveness was needed, so I can't say how that has changed. One of the places I noticed the difference the most is getting on the highway. Slow gradual increase of speed as you are going down the onramp and it just keeps accelerating. Before this sort of felt like you were asking it to do something it didn't want to do, now it feels lighter and less restricted. I always felt it had too much engine braking, now I noticed I let off the gas and almost had an oh shit I am not gonna get this stopped in time feeling. That is just an adjustment on my part just like the peddle feel. I have seen a few people asking for less pedal response and more engine braking, I don't want that update, I like it the way it is. I haven't been driving my normal self mostly because it is fun to drive now, so I can't say much for MPG. I did notice yesterday I drove somewhere on the highway and decided to come the back way home. I drove a bit harder than I normally would have but I wasn't going crazy. When I turned it off I was surprised to see the display say 20mpg for that drive. Usually for those around town drives I see 16-18. But again it was one drive and I wasn't driving the way I normally would.

 

Order #2105
Purchased 11/2017
1.03 AT (installed 2/24, driven 175 miles on tune)
5 Star
Tires - 265 / 75 R16 Wildpeak A/T3w

Shifting: Very smooth. Definitely an improvement over 1.02 and most definitely an improvement over stock. Gear hunting mostly eliminated. I still have an issue where it will occasionally want to upshift 3/4ths the way through a corner during city driving, right at about the time when I need to accelerate, so of course when I give it gas it downshifts immediately. I may be able to avoid this by giving it more gas half way through the turn??

Throttle: As others have mentioned the throttle is touchy, but I only notice it in 1st gear. It's not a problem for me, giving the choice I wouldn't change it.

Power: More noticeable power at lower RPMs. I don't feel all the power at 3000 RPMs like before. Power feels more evenly distributed throughout the RPM range.

Overall, 1.03 has fixed the things that irritated me most about this truck, the unusable cruise control and how poorly it would drive in the wind. We've had 15mph+ winds the last couple of days and now driving into a head wind is no longer a problem. Multiple times, when driving into a head wind, I've been able to set the cruise and it will hold 6th gear going 70 mph. Wind plus an incline (an overpass ect.) would make it downshift, but the shifting is so smooth you don't hardly notice. This morning, when the wind was still calm, I was able to set the cruise at 70 and go up an incline that was maybe a half mile long with a grade of 3-5% and hold 6th gear the entire time. It's amazing what Mat has done with this tune.

 

• Order number #2276
• Date purchased/date installed: ordered Dec 11, received Dec 27, installed Feb 2 (waited for 1.03)
• Version / transmission of the calibration you're running currently: 1.03 91 oct, AT. We have 92 oct here in the PNW.
• Any mods that would impact (tires, gears, exhaust, etc.): Stock TRD OR (including tires), except with TRD exhaust and TRD intake

Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5. I've run good tunes on a number of cars in the past - both turbo and NA - but this one has improved drivability relative to stock more than any I've ever experienced. If you have a 3rd gen Tacoma with AT, without any question, this is the first mod you should even consider.

Shifting: 4.5 out of 5. A yuuuuge improvement over stock, in every mode. Normal D hunts far less, and shifts much more predictably in line with throttle input. ECT is much more responsive, and S mode is now actually useful for adverse conditions as there's now a considerable, and predictable, amount of engine braking (e.g., in snow, ice, descent in mud/gravel/dirt). Shifts are also both quicker and smoother, particularly in D. Only real nitpick here is that shifts at full throttle in ECT mode are not as firm or positive as stock, and certainly not compared to the near perfection of D and S. Will continue testing.

Throttle: 4 out of 5. So much more responsive at all pedal positions, and very linear past about 10-20%. Especially noticeable on the freeway. In town, throttle tip-in is a bit abrupt, and while I got used to it quickly, I still wouldn't mind if it was a touch less sensitive at initial application.

Power: 5 out of 5. The 3.5 now feels uncorked. The low end now has enough torque to keep speed or even accelerate up slight freeway grades without dropping into 4th, and the top end passing power made me actually laugh out loud the first time I had to dust a dawdling Prius. The little "vtec just kicked in, yo" feeling at 3500rpm is still there, but it's not as pronounced since the motor actually has some semblance of torque now.

Efficiency: 4.5 out of 5. Given the massive improvement in responsiveness, imagine my surprise when my maiden 250 mile trip over 3 mountain passes, 150 of which was in the snow and 25 of which was avalanche-caused stop and go, still yielded 19.7mpg. Based on previous experience, stock wouldn't have come close to that. I use Fuelly to track long term trends, so I'll continue to monitor. I will say that a more damped throttle tip-in might improve in-city mileage.

 

Can anyone else comment on the clunk issue? I appreciate OP's insight, but I'm hoping to see more. If this tune fixes the whole "stopping" experience for me, I'll be stoked. Any comments on the downshift from 4-3-2 and the clunk would be really useful!

 

I experienced a clunk when coasting to a stop since stock, after flashing I felt it maybe twice but it was subtle. 100 miles later, I haven't felt it. Downshifting is very smooth and unnoticeable.

 

I had it stock, and initially after flashing. After a couple hundred miles, it doesn't seem to happen anymore.

 

Order 2152
04B03
AT DCSB 4x4

2 to 4000 miles stock
4,000 to 34,000 Shift sence pro
34,000 to 45,800 102c shift A mix of 91 and 87
45,800 to 46,359 103 87 octane


I’m just going to give an example of a climb out of LA north bound on the 2 freeway. It’s about a 1000 ft climb in 8 miles.

Stock in D with ECT OFF the truck would go though around 12 downshift/upshift cycles 4th to 6th.

SSP I would use S4 and climb the hill and shift to D at the top.

102c D ECT ON intitialy would hold 4th gear all the way to the top with one down/upshift cycle. After a few weeks of learning it resumed the multiple down/upshift cycle forcing me to use S4.

103 D ECT off held 5th gear to the top. I was able to vary speed by 5 or more mph using my foot without it shifting. This was the best the truck has ever done climbing the hill. Power felt great without having to drop to 4th to make the climb.

Only time will tell if the learning has been killed, but it feels like it has. Truck is starting to be predictable for pedal position and anticipated engine power output and gear selection. Needs a few more weeks of testing.

Mileage of the climb.


Start of climb with EL-373ft.

Top of climb EL-1353ft.

 

NICE! Good to see this result on a good highway climb with REGULAR 87 fuel too as know many are looking to tune but don't want to commit to an extra $10-20 with each fill-up!

 

Order 22?? / Nov17
1.02(C) AT flashed Jan18
1.03 AT flashed Saturday
91 octane tune running 93 octane gas

Overall very happy, 5 stars, best and must have update to keep truck long-term...
- smoother/broader power band, - improved throttle response (not too touchy like some mentioned, likely MTs), - good predictable shift points, - similar and likely better mpg (will have to see multi-tank trends/averages).

A couple of observations/questions...
- The 1-2 shift is sometimes too soft, seems to be under light throttle/load it feels a little too mushy, heavier throttle/load it shifts good. Could the 1-2 shift be tightened/firmed up ? Anybody else feeling this.
- Could the shift from D to S default to 5th rather than 4th ? For me, I get in 45-65mph traffic range and S5 is good for this, and on highway if you see ahead you want more power/acceleration it would be great to tap shifter to left into S and have it drop to 5th rather than 4th.

Matt/OVTune, you are a beautiful beautiful man. Thanks.

 

Just ordered the tune today #2490. I had my gears changed (4.88's) last weekend and huge improvement! However the shifting is still not acceptable. I think 1.03 tune sounds like it will make it as close to perfect as it can possibly get! I HOPE! The tune money came out of my High clearance swing out bumper fund! Anyone have 4.88's and 1.03 tune?

 

Order #2388
Purchased mid Jan 18
Installed Late Feb 18
1.03 AT 91 octane.
TRD OR DCLB: SB cai, mbrp 3" catback exhsust 2.5" lift and 285 Nittos.
5 freaking stars

I don't quite have the time to fill out a fully extensive review like some of these other posts, so heres the TLDR.

All I can say is wow. See, I never really had a gripe about the way my truck drove. I'm not picky. It's a truck and I get it. But, the low end torque issues, having to drop from 6th to 4th on any slight incline got old. Figured, I've heard so many good things about it, let me give it a shot.

It's a new truck dude. Wow. Bog off the line, gone. Very responsive. Transmission shifts like butter. It's actually, dare I say it.. quick through 2 to 3k rpms.

Highway was still kind of ugly, maintaining 4th gear through 70 mph not wanting to shift to 5 or 6, but I realize i have heavier tires, and at some point, the tall gears of the transmission will prevail. Not Mats fault.

All and all, the performance gain is huge. It feels not only quicker, but incredibly more fluid. Just what this truck needed. Like I said, I didn't have an issue with this truck to begin with really, but I'd never go back. It feels much better. Engine and tranny don't fight eachother like they used to. And unlike the sprint booster, I'm not abusing my engine with insane dumps of fuel.

I'd recommend to anyone. If the money is there, I'd say it's worth 800 and more.

 

Your lift and tires are getting you, regear is only 'fix' for heavier/larger tires. With tune on stock wheels/tires, I can now accelerate from 75 to 85mph on slight/moderate incline while holding 6th. Could not do that pre-tune.

 

Oh absolutely it's a contributing factor. I'll clear that up on my post. I'm not trying to blame the tune for that one.

 

If only Toyota would have put the same 4.30 gears in the AT that the MT guys got.... would make for a much better drive, and so much better for lift/tire mods.

 

Please keep question to the other threads. This is for reviews only. Thank you.

 

Please keep this thread free of questions. Please use the other threads for questions/comments etc. This is for reviews only. Thank you.

 

And given the MT trucks 4.56 gears that would have been even better..... Thanks EPA

 

Can you share the logs you have collected?

 

I will pull some out and share in the alpha thread when I get some time later in the week - trying to keep this one from going down too many ratholes.

 

Does ETC power still improve things after the tune??