Towing in 3.5L vs 4.0L

My 4.0 felt a lot more torquey because it had a clutch. I could chirp second gear on a good day. The 3.5 is so much faster though. I'm always surprised when people talk about how slow the 3.5 Tacos are. Mine pulls pretty hard above 3k.

 

Being 100% honest, 1/3 is skill, 1/3 is the vehicle, and 1/3 is how well the driver and vehicle are suited to each other. There could certainly be more clutch feel? But, this is a game where 75% will be an exceeds satisfaction situation and 100% says that it should be a profession.

For the 3rd Gen, I find the hardware to be really good once the accumulator is gone. That little 2mb tune file affects things wayy too much. Thankfully, there is a killer app for that.

I just flashed the new TSB tune yesterday (04B14). I don't want to be hanging out Stock for too long. Just a miss on Toyota's part.

 

Here you can see the wave that was one of OVTune's primary objectives with regards to the tune. The 4 liter is lower, but flatter. And weirdly makes slightly more hp up to about 4250 RPM. The drop off is steep for the 4 liter at high RPM though and is why I always chuckle when someone asks about towing with the 3.5.

 

Just 0.1sec slower than the 1st Gen Raptor. Quite quick for a base model truck.

 

Skill I have. The other 2/3rds maybe not so much.

Then again, this is the only manual I drive that had the throttle by wire, so maybe I don't have the skill either. I think I'm pretty good at driving my truck until I get back in it after driving any other vehicle with a manual, then I have to relearn how to do it.

 

We have had two other MTs with ETBs. Non-DI. One was okay and didn't have a lot of that BS rubberband (2001 saab). The other had too much rubberband and we never really got along (2001 volvo). In that one, the AT was much, much worse on a test drive. MPI and ETBs just don't play well, IMHO.

I really like DI, if we have to have electronic throttles. No real complaints other than the way they tuned the Taco. Not so much rubberband, just a bad tune.

The Taco was good off the dealer lot, but that factory tune (04B12) always made it feel like I was getting into it new, like you are saying. Every shift required all the concentration. The first TSB tune fixed that, but the torque hole still existed and it seems to be there on 04B14 also. OVT 2.0 Base feels like a normal V6. 2.0 SFOB is a slice of magic.

If you haven't had either TSB done, do what you have to:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/software-update-for-the-manual.562550/

 

Interesting!

I also didn't think about this fact until you compared yours to a Saab and a Volvo... none of my other vehicles are fuel injected. One is a 65 Chevy C10 and the other is an 80 International S1800... apples and oranges.

 

I absolutely enjoy MTs with MPI and cable throttles. Carbs are fine, I'm just done with continuous maintenance. I just wanna ride / drive.

The middle ground did suck regardless of transmission.

I really enjoy the motor and factory tune in my wife's Forester. Although, it is muted to the point of boredom by the CVT.


A good friend of mine is frothing to toss a simple, bolt-on EFI on his 73 Bronco. The work on the fuel tanks is the only thing putting him off.

 

3rd gen 3.5 beats 4.0 2nd by quite a bit.
Do you want a little more neck jerk off the line or power the whole way up a mountain ?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DCkBmiZV09w

 

The 65 is just a play toy. I only drive it a couple of times a month, otherwise I'd throw in an EFI system. Well, that and the more stuff I do to it, the harder it gets to work on...

 

Once rolling 2nd cannot keep up with 3rd. Power is just not there. Never try to pass a 3rd gen unless they let you.
That gain the 2nd has off the line is gone as 3rd catches up quickly. That equates to much faster passing times than the 4.0 which just bogs down.
More fun of a drive and sounds amazing at higher rpms. First time I hit it I was like wtf is this ?

 

That is sort of where my friend is at also. He stoked to have it running well enough and keeping it there. We were whacking at it for the past couple years because he let it sit too long.

 

I think these guys are idiots, but the proof is in the pudding. Granted I'm never towing more than 3000 lbs, but taking an enclosed trailer into a headwind and being able to hold 75mph... that's where the 3.5L shines over the 4.0.

 

I tow close to 6000 flat terrain zero issues, no tranny temp increase. Love it.

 

Beautiful. The 4.0 was a great motor by itself but it seemed like anytime I hooked anything to it, if it wasn't screaming it would fall on its face.

 

Mega ? Lol.

 

Thats what 90% of 2nd genners are saying

 

That'll happen. I did a bunch of stuff to mine, but was a poor college kid and had to park it for 10 years. When I got it back out, everything I'd done had to be redone. Time is not kind to vehicles.

 

Time sucks! He keeps laughing about the gallons of brake fluid that we used. The worst was the last bit where the manufacturer changed the internals of the brake masters. His original ate it and the new one requires way more vacuum. He ended up going hydra boost just to keep it alive.

 

It MUST be true then.