Trouble towing

I bought a 2016 Tacoma Manual and I'm having trouble towing the same things I had no problem towing in my 2003 Tacoma. Mostly the problem is starting on a small incline from a full stop.
Thoughts?

 

What problem are you having?

You probably need more RPMs to do what the old engine did.

 

Details needed.

 

When in towing a 6,000lb boat it doesn't have the torque I need. Any suggestions on how to get more torque. Has anyone else had this problems?

 

Honestly man, if you're going to be towing regularly I think you would be much happier with a Tundra or any full size truck for that matter with a V8, or EcoBoost V6 if your name is Ford and you don't want the 5.0. The Tacoma is happy towing that much weight occasionally or under 5,000 lbs but I wouldn't like doing it on a regular basis. You just have to mash down the gas and run it in the lowest gear you can and max out those RPMs to build speed. I had a Tundra for 5 years and 100K miles and a decent bit was towing. Up to 9,800 lbs on occasion (with trailer brakes installed) and it pulled great with the 5.7L.

TFL Truck towed up the Ike Gauntlet (Eisenhower tunnel in CO) and it did just fine, but it was also sitting right at redline the whole way up. So it will do it, just not happily or quickly.

Keep in mind this is a naturally aspirated 3.5L V6. It doesn't have a lot of displacement and it's torque band is what it is. It's more of a car engine (2GR-FKS is actually in the Lexus GS350) and makes it's peak power above 4K RPM -

Horsepower maxes out right at the redline too.

Where in a V8 or turbo V6 you get much more low end grunt to get things moving without revving to the sky. Larger displacement on the V8 with a couple extra cylinders or by forced induction on the EcoBoost.

 

You still have not provided detail on your truck. Assuming you have the V6 with the towing package, you are still right at the edge of the stated towing capacity. Do you have 4x4?

Considering there have been hundreds of threads discussing the new 3.5 engine since this time last year, it probably wasn't the best decision to buy a new Taco for that type of duty. A larger truck with more towing capacity is probably the best solution.

 

The gen 1 Tacomas with V6/MT combo seemed pretty torquey down low. Odd considering the specs and output are substantially less than the gen 2 or gen 3.

 

Probably a troll? Dude joined yesterday...

 

Now mind you it's not 6,000 lbs but this was a cakewalk. No issues at all whatsoever.

 

Thoughts? My thoughts are that you should have got a 2nd gen!

 

You realize people join forums to ask questions, right?

 

They do but you see a lot of trolls with the 3rd gens.

 

Not that odd, really. My '99 manual TRD was geared a lot shorter than my second gen was. I think the rear end ratio on that truck was 4.30:1
That'd make a big difference in perceived torque when you're starting off with a heavy load in tow.

Not sure what the ratios are on the G3, but they can't be that low for fuel economy and highway comfort reasons.

 

As other mentioned peak torque comes in at 4,600RPM, you have a manual so you probably have to shift a lot later than you're used to. This engine does make decent power but it's all up in the high end. What RPM are you typically shifting at?

I only tow a 2700lbs boat (with gas, gear and trailer more like 3300lbs) a few times a year and 2 snowmobiles on trailers a few times a year as well so I don't have any issues but that's much less weight.

How often do you tow this 6000lb boat?

 

There's nothing wrong with revving these engines for extended periods of time as long as temperatures remain in check. Towing capacity is usually limited by cooling capacity (assuming trailer brakes) rather than power in the first place.

The 2GR series engines are used in similar configurations in multiple Lotus sports cars with higher output, including some supercharged models. I have zero issues with revving the conservatively-tuned 2GR in the Tacoma to redline day in and day out.

High RPMs doesn't mean the engine is unhappy, it's just not what truck owners typically expect to hear from their engines. It's fine, though.

Horsepower should max out right at redline if your torque curve is flat. Horsepower is a function of RPM, so higher RPMs will have higher horsepower by definition as long as the torque doesn't fall off.

Engine torque and low RPMs are overrated around here. Your engine isn't connected directly to your wheels. The only thing you care about is torque at the wheels after all of the gears in your driveline have transformed it. Forward thrust is a function of torque at the wheels, diameter of the tires (taller tire = less acceleration), and weight.

Torque gets multiplied up or down by the gearing before it hits the wheels, but horsepower does not (ignoring driveline losses, of course).

Press the gas pedal harder. Let the engine rev, let the transmission do its job, and don't worry about it.

 

ECT POWER BUTTON

 

N/A for 6 MT.

 

Rav4 plus trailer is about 4500-4800 pounds though, right?

 

Ehh I'm honestly thinking closer to 3,000. Still I was able to get going around 2800 rpms pretty easily. Rav is maybe 2200 lbs and the trailer around 1000