SR, 4wd, AC, 5-speed initial impressions

Took delivery of a barcelona red (beautiful color) base model accessory cab with convienience package. I test drove the V6 TRD OR and was satisfied with the truck. I wanted an SR with a manual transmission so the 4 cylinder choice was made for me. Actually, I prefer 4 cylinders.
I had not even driven it till I drove it home. I had to drive through some city traffic at night in a brand new unfamiliar truck (made me nervous), then through hilly winding 2 lane roads from Fayetteville, AR to Oak Grove AR.
To start, the gearing is tall. Feels like a 4 speed with an overdrive gear. There is very little torque below 2k rpm and takes hills better at 65 than 55 in top gear. Rpm at 55 is about 1900 rpm. Before I purchased the truck I was thinking about getting 235/85 r16 tires but not anymore. The gearing is just too tall for taller tires than stock (245/75 r16). This would turn the truck into a 4 speed with NOverdrive. The stock tires seem a good match for the truck and are plenty big enough.
Shifting from 1st to 2nd seems a little clumsy. The clutch pedel force decreases the more you press it. This has been stated before. Takes some getting used to.
Initial impression on power: Some what lacking. I was keeping rpms low and loading the engine periodically to seat the piston rings. This is easy to do with the 4 cylinder as on an incline and you do this literally nothing happens. (Is this thing even hooked up?) The engine has loosened up quite a bit during the first 230 miles and is now exceeding my expectaions. I am very happy with my engine choice.
Ergonomics of the manual are excellent. The tall center console if the perfect height to rest my forearm. I catch myself driving with my hand resting on the shifter in 4th gear.
Seats are excellent.
Love the backup camera
Like the tailgate. Nice feature.
Heated mirrors? I heard that. I need to get my manual.
High beams are outstanding! Very wide field of view, very uniform and bright. I was very happy that they are not those f***ing blue lights. Best head lights I have seen on any vehicle.
Absoultley, possitively, in no way, does it feel like a base model. Feels like I paid for base and got top trim. The Toyota dealers are smart to keep these off the lots.
The truck is rock solid to drive. The ride feels like a truck but is not harsh. On a bumpy road I feel all the bumps. When I hit a bump I feel a solid push. On most surfaces it rides like a dream. Speed bumps can be taken with suprising speed.
I filled the tank at aroun 130 mi. over the next 131.4 mi. I used 5.437 gal. of non-ethanol gasoline for a fuel consumption of 24.2 mpg. Small sample but I couldn't wait to see how the upgraded 2.7 was doing, as I saw only one other post on the 2.7 fuel economy. I drove at speeds mostly below 60 mph. Hills, curves, 2 lane roads, some city, not much. I think a person would have to work hard to get below 20mpg in this truck unloaded.
Long story short...Could not be more pleased.
F.Y.I. This truck seems to be rendered orange in photographs. It is NOT orange. The color changes depending on the light. Most of the time it is a dark rich fire engine red. Some times it looks like a faded metallic red. It is defininatly NOT orange.

 

That is a nice looking truck. I have the same one in silver.

 

Oh Yeah! I know you must be enjoying your truck. How could you not? I am blown away.

 

PuyallupJon, did you notice your engine loosening up or freeing up as you drove it a while?

 

I've now got 156 miles on it. Have not noticed much. I'm pushing/pulling much heavier tires now though.

 

Wow the Red really shines. Congrats on your new Taco. Awesome fuel mileage.

 

Looks great! Glad you're satisfied with your purchase. I'd drive it.

 

Thanks for the nice comments.
Here is what I mean about the color changing. I took this picture this morning before the sun started shining. The red would be even darker without the heavy frost.

 

BTW, I checked the heated mirrors. Found the button on the dash. Pushed it and the frost began to melt in about 5 seconds. Cool.

 

looks great. I dont mind the grill in black. But the chrome slaps me in the face every time

 

Thank you for your insight. I've been on this board hard for months now, and there's very very very little info about the 5spd AC 4cyl. You're one of about 4 other people on here with one. I've had mine on order for nearly two months now and it's been a nightmare to source.

The color shifting of Barcelona kinda bothers me. In some lighting, I love it. Mainly when it's pure red. But when it looks faded pink or dull maroon, it looks poorly aged. If I wasn't set on silver, I'd probably go barcelona. But ^$*& toyota for not offering quicksand.

As far as tires go, I was planning on doing 265/70/17s which are 3.7% bigger diameter than the stock tires. The 235/85/16 that you like are 4.1% bigger than stock. So your hesitation with running bigger tires isn't the weight, so much as the taller tires won't match the gearing well?

One thing I'll suggest to you is to dump those steel wheels. They're 32lbs each. FN wheels makes 16" wheels that are 18.5lbs. That's a weight savings of 13.5lbs/corner, or about 52lbs of rotational weight total (assuming you're running the same tire). Your braking, mpg, acceleration, etc will noticeably improve. 1lb of rotational weight generally equals 3-4lbs of weight inside the cab. If you could save 52lbs of rotational weight, that's like removing 150-200lbs from the interior! It could balance out the bigger tires you're considering. For me personally, I'm pretty sure i'll be buying FN's 17" SixShooters (20.5lbs, saving 11.5lbs per corner) and Destination LE2 265/70/17s (38lbs, or adding 2lbs per corner). This package, while 3.7% taller, saves me 38lbs of rotational weight. I'm thinking that i'll benefit from this wheel package more than i'll be hurt.

 

Here is mine. I think the lift in the front is causing the vibration at 30mph and up.

I suspect dealer will tell me to get rid of the coil spacers and get a smaller tire and see if that corrects the problem.

I have 18" rims and 275/75 R18 tires now. Look great but the vibration is driving me nuts.

 

Yeah I mentioned this in your thread, but your wheel/tire combination is extremely heavy. Extremely. Your performance issues are an easy and substantial fix. Your wheels are for ballin out, and your tires are for hardcore offroading. I bet you could save 100+lbs of rotational weight with quality wheels and more appropriate tires. You may LIKE the look of your wheels and tires, but you're obviously not happy with the dramatic effect on performance. You said in your thread that 65mph is your safe top speed? That's insane. I can't imagine how bad your braking is. We will never see eye-to-eye on subjective style here, but no one can deny that your wheel/tire package is incredibly heavy and destroying your performance.

Post up your exact wheel choice and tire choice and we'll see exactly how bad things are.

 

The base model is the smartest choice in my book if you don't need a tow package V6, truck looks great. I would change out the wheels for sure just to save some weight.

 

Anyone happen to know the weight of the black/dark gray Toyota alloy optional wheels are?

 

I tried asking this a few times. No one knows. Toyota hasn't listed that spec anywhere. I even asked my friend who owns a toyota dealership in NY and he couldn't find it in any literature. The number one poster here said is 24lbs which sounds about right. They're certainly between 23-26lbs. The toyota optional 17" TRD wheel is 27.8lbs. The one you're referring to is a little more simple and 1" smaller. Someone on here's gunna have to just weigh the wheel off their own truck. The stock firestone destination le2 tire that comes on the black optional wheel is 245/75/16 at 36lbs.

As a general rule, those black wheels with star designs and fake silver bolts cutely bedazzling the lip are VERY heavy and poorly made in asia. That's why they're also so cheap. In my personal opinion, they look like cheap garbage, but objectively they're also a poor decision when you look at weight/build quality.

 

Hopefully someone can get an answer on the stock Toyota black alloys weight. Which wheels are you talking about in the above quote; puyallupjon?

 

Nice truck! I was expecting to see the naked black plastic bumper on the front. Was interested to see how the 4cyl 3rd gen performs. Interior pics? Are the seats comfy after driving over an hour? Same seats as SR5?

 

There's a million truck wheel companies making them. It's been a hugely popular trend the past 5 years specifically. The trend will certainly die out at some point. I can't for the life of me understand why people like fake silver bolts on a blackout wheel. They're obviously designed to be aggressive and menacing, most all blacked out, so why put shiny silver dots all over? Why? They're two completely different styles. It's like putting crystal accents on your ak47. But people love em! Can't hate on the market for supplying the demand, but I personally will never buy into the trend.

Most 4x4 5spd SRs are spec'ed in the convenience package (painted bumpers). He said he loves the seats. They're the same seats as everyone else's, just in gray cloth only. SR5's come in a couple different colors.

 

Where can we get those 18.5 lbs wheels you speak of!