Towing in 3.5L vs 4.0L

We need to hook a 2nd gen and a 3rd gen up and have a tug of war.

 

Fuck yea, that would be the ultimate challenge.

Although the 4.0 will win due to the mega torque down low.

 

OP, with a growing family and regularly towing that kind of weight, maybe you should consider a Tundra. If you get a double cab Taco, you will probably trade it in on a Tundra when your kid(s) get bigger. I would personally not buy a Tacoma planning to tow 5k regularly. They are rated to 6800, but I just would not ask it to work that hard. These trucks were really not made to tow like that.

I had a 2006 V6/6 speed before my 16 V6/auto. That manual trans was terrible. The 1-2 drop was terrible, my 3rd gear synchros we're about done by 80k and the whole throw out bearing issue. That's why I got the auto, and it is a better transmission. The programming leaves something to be desired, but we have OV Tune for that.

As others have said, the 3.5 likes to sing. My manual 4.0 was peppy down low but ran out of steam pretty quick. The 3.5 just pulls harder and harder the more you wind it up. Even so, I would not buy this truck while planning to tow that much weight. Even if you add forced induction or change the R&P ratio, you have just moved the weak spot around. Add the power to pull the weight, now you need to keep the (auto) trans cool...now you need better brakes to stop it and suspension to carry it...

The lower, wider and heavier Tundra will always be significantly better at towing.

 

The thing about the 4.7 i had only made 245 hp opposed to the v6 3.5 tacoma's 278. That 4.7 would spin around 2200 rpm at 70 mph towing my 2000 lbs like childs play. With the 3.5 i have to run it in 4th gear in the ect mode just to meet/keep the 65mph highway speeds with the same load. Took me some time to get use to the higher rpm this 3.5 is capable of. I guess thats what you get when you put a car motor in a truck.

 

Those are peak numbers though. The 3.5 makes 278 hp at 6,000 RPM. Cruising at 2,000-2,500 RPM, I would bet the 4.7 is making more power and torque in that range. There are some dyno charts floating around and if I remember correctly, there's a pretty decent drop in power below the 3,000-3,500 RPM range in the 3.5. It would be interesting to see the power curve for all of these different engines.

 

I’m have the same problem with my 3rd gear. What did you have to get done to fix the issue?

 

Are you asking about the 2nd gen manual shifting issue he mentioned? If so, it sounds like they sold it to 'fix' the issue.

 

Rev matched until I sold it

 

Same way I solved the same problem with my FJ.

 

Same thing I’ve been been doing. Been to much of a hassle to just do anything with it

 

Wasn't worth fixing, to me anyway. I know the 3rd gen trans is a different unit, but I did not have the faith in Toyota's selection of manual trans anymore

 

If I wanted more room AND the ability to tow often and comfortably, a Tacoma definitely wouldn't be what I was looking at. Ecoboost F-150.

 

I agree, my next purchase will be automatic 3rd gen taco. I lost faith in the manual when it started doing this at 90,000 and the 1st gear drops are the worst I’ve ever had. My 1st gen was great so I though I’d go 6 speed. Never again

 

The 3.5 without ECT activates drives “heavy” on purpose. The 2013 benz I had would feel the same way unless I put it into sport mode.

it makes the throttle less sensitive to improve mpgs and cut down heavy acceleration.

point I’m trying to make is that if you’re towing I recommend ect activated. The throttle response will be better since the electronic throttle will take less force to open up.

if you have a manual, I say use whatever gear you need to get yourself going. More weight, more power and lower gear.
I personally hated the manual trans on the 3rd gen so I went back to an auto.

don’t be afraid of the higher rpms, the Atkinson motor doesn’t open your valves all the way until after 3000rpms.

 

I love it when people say "can't tell it's back there." I've never not felt a trailer's drag, even with my Yukon XL 2500 with 4.10 gears... it pulled, but you knew something was back there. Tow with a Tacoma and you can pretty much feel it before it moves... nice truck, but it's just not a towing machine

 

It's not an Atkinson cycle engine; it's an Otto cycle engine with enough variance in the valve timing that it can simulate the Atkinson cycle. It only goes into "Atkinson mode" at light load, so you probably wouldn't get into it while towing. And the valve lift is the same no matter the mode or the rpm. The timing is what changes.

The 3.5 is very oversquare, meaning the bore is larger than the stroke. This is the primary reason it likes the high end. An F1 car that idles at 4000 rpm is extremely oversquare, where a class 8 diesel that redlines at 2200rpm is extremely undersquare. The 4.0 was undersquare by 1mm.

 

That's your take and your experience.

Here's my CSB:

I have a single axle smooth rollin' aerodynamic travel trailer that weighs only 2600 lbs and can easily forget it's back there. Sometimes when I get to my destination and disconnect the trailer I continue taking corners and pulling into lots like it's still back there.

 

Spot on. The 3.5 and 4.0 share the same bore. 4.0 gets the extra displacement from stroke and explains the better low end. But the 4.0 was no TQ monster either despite what 2nd gen owners yap on about.

 

4.0 felt alot more torquey because of the tuning. with the OVT the 3.5 doesn't feel too much less torquey at low rpm. however, the 4.0 stock was out of breath by 4500 rpm where the 3.5 (with the OVT) revs to 6800 no problem.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to drive my truck without having to slip the clutch going from 1st to 2nd