So why does Toyota sell the Tacoma with the ECU tune that it does?

Warranty is contingent upon use, according the the terms and conditions.

Like I said, not bashing the product at all. It appears to be a great tune by all accounts.

 

I'm going to compare the two tunes. Next tank I'll switch back and load the 87 tune if it feels sluggish, I'll consider going back to 91. Part of it is here you have to buy 91 to avoid ethanol, which I prefer for several reasons both practical and political.

 

Majority of cars can be tuned to run better and achieve better gas mileage than on the factory tune. There is then questions of emissions output and wear and tear on factory parts.

 

Having literally driven a 2nd gen alongside the 2020 Pro, I saw zero issues with the transmission performance for average driving. Having read the 3rd gen horror stories for years, I was extremely worried about the murderous transmission. It holds the gears perfectly fine for me. Better, even, when under cruise control than the old truck. I do like how I can cruise the highway at lower RPMs with the additional sixth gear. I have a very noticeable gain in fuel economy over the older gen. I have a heavy foot, but I don't launch off the start line like I'm about to be a murder victim. And I use 87 oct 10% Ethanol gas.

I might be doing everything wrong, but it's working out fine for me. I am curious as what functionality is measurably and meaningfully gained with the tune on a 2020?

 

I have a 2017 MT, so the transmission issues don’t apply, but the engine tune does.


The TSB tune from Toyota made a significant difference. Toyota probably just realized there was some improvements that could have been made.


The FOB 91 octane Ovtune 1.5 tune made huge difference in drivability and power.
I initially saw some fuel efficiency declines, which seem to be improving.

The Lexus 3.5 s push 300+ hp at 91 octane, and they are very reliable. I doubt the OV tune is doing much damage.

 

The 300hp Lexusesssesessess (Lexi?) 3.5's aren't being put in 4wd 5k lbs + trucks with the option of 7500lbs of load and make that peak power in a different rpm range. Not saying tuned/modified vehicles are any less reliable but more power = more stress on parts.

 

Shift pattern and early upshifts are designed to maximize mpg on the EPA dyno test cycle...

Not real world but all the car companies have to try to maximize around that specific FTP drive cycle.

 

It was said by Lexus that the plural of Lexus is freaking Lexus. WTF!?

The really funny part is that a good friend of mine has Lexus. Two of them. Endless jokes there.

 

Latin 4th declension has singular and plural ending with -us...know your declensions, man!

Or should I say, Sci tuos declinationes, homo!

 

Hahahaha! Bring back Latin!

I do somewhat know that, but these days, Lexuses or Lexi sounds much more acceptable to our ever evolving 'Murican / Texting Life dialects.

 

Lexi would make me think they are driving my wife's cousin... which is just so many levels of wrong....

 

Oof! Yeah, we should let the cousins out of this.

 

I doubt many of these tunes are EPA certified....That is why they are off road only. And, it is probably why Toyota can't sell vehicles with the exact same tune.

EPA certified is not the same as "We manufacture it, we market it, we sell it, and we profit from it....And we tested it on Joey's truck one day and our sniffer (borrowed from AutoZone) said it was good to go. That is called "anecdotal"...and means nothing.

The caveat might be that yes, the tunes are actually in compliance, but the cost ($$$) of having to go through the EPA certification process is just too great (especially for a rather limited market)....Then I can see most small tuners just packing it in and slapping on an "off road only" sticker to CYA of the company, even though the tune would pass....

 

More like homo-haJeff amirite?

 

What'd you call me?




<sarcasm>

 

Nevermind what he called you. WTF is up with @44-16 Taco 's avatar?

 

I've been on 87 for a month. It drives fantastic, other than the early 3-4 shift.

If anyone here thinks their stock tune truck drives fine, if you drove a OVTuned truck, you would never want to go back. It is much less "stressful" to drive. When going up normal inclines, it will stay in 5th (or sometimes 6th) gear and just cruise, it wont drop gears and rev to 4000 RPM like the stock tune. Heck, you can even ACCELERATE in 5th up hills if you want. It has nearly removed all the dead-pedal "lag" from the stock tune, and it does what you ask it to (it acts more like a standard throttle control rather than drive-by-wire). You don't have to adjust the gas pedal constantly to normally accelerate (just push to a point and it will accelerate, you don't have to push and release gas to get it to accelerate). MPG is as good, or better than stock so far (most likely because of the consistent shifting).

I went from pre-TSB tune, pre-TSB with pedal commander, TSB with PC, TSB only (didn't feel the need for PC with TSB) and now OVT. OVT blows everything else out of the water. It's so much more enjoyable to drive.... you wouldn't know until you've done it. I was on the fence for over a year before i decided to buy it.

 

I've driven an OVtuned truck, it drives mostly the same as my truck. My friend(the owner) wasn't super impressed either. But if it fixes perceived problems for you, then great!

This is the stuff I'm talking about leading me to believe people are fighting the learning transmission. I don't have any dead pedal, if i push a little bit it accelerates a little, and if I push more it drops gear and goes. I've never had to push and release the gas pedal to accelerate, and that's probably super confusing to an already complex transmission shifting pattern.

 

416hp and I think they probably are still super de tuned for reliability.

 

Have you driven a 3.4 or 4.0 taco? The throttle feels much more linear and controlled like the older trucks. If you cant notice that difference... then that's perfectly fine, i wish i could be oblivious to those things... my life would be much more relaxed.