V6 and 6 speed manual

Uhhh... Does the Tacoma transmission fit in the CVT category? I didn't think it was a CVT...

Oh and in my auto V6, engine braking (for want of a better expression) helps to regulate speed on long downhill grades - I'm not talking about manually shifting the AT, I'm talking about the engine helping to maintain constant speed. I don't have cruise control.

 

My opnion if it has a chain inside the transmission its a CVT
Not knocking the CVT, everybody is using it now including Jeep
I have a motorcycle with a CVT belt drive and it works great, Its a Yamaha Tmax, my Harley friends make fun of it, but it will pass them up like they are standing still, I tell them I got it cause I don't know how to shift gears.

 

Well said. x2 my friend

 

And do exactly the same thing in the auto in the tacoma, it will lock up and use engine braking to keep the speed down in long downhill descents.

There's a 3 mile downhill stretch close to where I live. In D it'll keep accelerating, 4 will keep it to 65 (too fast for anything but summer, dry conditions), 3 will keep it at 50 (ideal), 2 will keep it down to 30 for when its really crappy and snow/ice covered.

 

I've driven manual vehicles my entire driving career. More control and more fun.

 

I don't know much about the X-Runner, but in my OR V6 manual, I couldn't imagine even getting close to 6th gear in a 1/4 mile track.

 

I occasionally tow a motorcycle trailer with either one or two Harleys on it. I have an FJ with an auto trans and the Tacoma with a 6 speed. There is NO comparison... I will only tow with the 6 speed manual and the Tacoma.

The auto trans in the FJ shifts all over the place if you're in any kind of hilly country, and I find myself moving it out of OD so it's locked in 4th. Otherwise it keeps trying to upshift. Very irritating if you're driving 1,000 miles +.

 

I read that Toyota did this for that very reason.. in a controlled study they found that too many people were unable to shift Tacomas fast enough.

 

I don't think the manual shuts off the injectors when coasting in gear. I have an Aeroforce gauge and one of the parameters it monitors is the Injector cycle. When coasting in gear, it reads 1.9 ms (out of a 20ms time period). That means the injectors are on about 10% of the time when coasting in gear. When coasting in neutral, it shows 2 ms. Also, when coasting in gear, the high gearing tends to slow the truck much more than in neutral. I can coast in gear down one particular stretch of highway and my mpg reading will be about 70 mpg. If I switch to neutral, the mpg rating jumps to 105 mpg.

 

I had a 07 hemi....rated 345 at the crank. to the wheels they run anywhere from 255-270...horrible. The auto and drivetrain suck up so much power on those.

 

Wow.. It seems in reading the first page that few have ever driven a truck, or a manual transmission.. What is this?
I get better mileage in my 6 speed than my neighbor gets in his automatic. I find driving in the city easier with a stick shift, I never touch the brakes... just cruise. But if you don't drive courteously or smartly you'll maybe have a problem.


Then there's a post on the "6 not being as strong as the auto" Yea.. its the same damn transmission as in the camaro behind that v6 which puts out more HP than the tacoma by what.. 70 hp? I have not heard of a single transmission problem, though I admit to not reading every single thread ever written. There are a few people with throwout bearing problems. There HAVE been tsbs if not recalls on the autos, though i believe all were for electronic issues.

Unfortunately I can not prove that the truck has a DFCO, but most do now-a-days, my OBDII dealy says no... but I don't know how it figures mileage.

The "rpm hang" is a myth or greatly blown out of proportion. Goes back to the "no one seems to have ever driven a truck or a manual transmission" thing.

Granted its not much of a truck, but it does have a truck flywheel and clutch and fuel injection on (i believe) drive by wire. You hit the clutch, the rpms will not drop like they do on a CBR600rr. I've tried to find this "rpm hang" and can't.

Lugging the engine at shifts? REally? The gears are too far apart? Really? First the truck WILL get to 60ish in 2nd gear, maybe you're short shifting and skipping gears. I usually go 1st 3rd 6th unless I'm going up hill from a stop. Lugging the engine is dropping to or below idle. It is bad because in the old days (and limited degree now a days) you'd get huge head pressures. If you're in the right gear and shifting at the right RPM for your acceleration you're just fine.
Insanity. I think the truck (sport model for me) drives so much like a car, its a great compromise between a real truck and a car.

But the real answer to any question "should I get the automatic or standard" is always "the automatic" If you're asking the question you obviously don't care. So get the office chair and free up a hand for cell phone usage and typing. That is, unless you want to better yourself and lear something new and become, in general, a better driver.

One foot driving is not "driving" you either like driving or you don't. You CAN NOT, even in a truck, drive "spiritedly" in an automatic. If you think you can, you don't understand how to drive.
With the improvements (arguably) in durability of automatic transmissions and undeniable improvements in efficiency of them, if you are crippled or hate driving the automatic is an easy choice.

That said, you have a higher chance of rear ending someone and driving off a turn in an automatic.

 

WHAT SHIFT PROBLEM? They are a bit stiff new, but all top loaders are.. if not all manuals in general.

 

I have driven it and I love it.

 

i had a 6speed for 3 years. driving an auto now, its much nicer.

 

by nicer you mean? It says kind things?

I don't know where the standard is for "great transmission". The ratios are perfectly fine, Maybe you're used to a small sports car. These ain't those and a close ratio transmission is not what it needs or wants.

I don't have hundreds of thousands of miles behind it, but it surely didn't take any getting used to. I drive other stick shifts as well and don't feel any loss or gain from driving any of them.

I have driven some paddle shift "automatics" as well as paddle shift round gear cars. They're fun compared to a caddy.

WIth the exception of super duty transmissions (which aren't automatics even if they're automatically shifted for the sake of this discussion) its really a question of do you like to drive or do you like to go places. They're different. If you have to ask, you're either ignorant to your desires or of the later.

Oh.. great transmissions. Well, i have had a few. But none suited for the truck. I've never driven a getrag that wasn't awesome, though sometimes the linkages sucked or fell apart.. not getrag's fault But in a truck? The old borg transmissions and some tremecs have a good reputation. But say.. the corvette/GTO T-56... that thing is a workout to get through the gears, and the old ones were iron cased 3 or 4 speeds that weigh more than the entire 4x4 drivetrain all by themselves. Get into the little ones, and they can't handle modern horsepower. T-90 was good for maybe 150 in willys form.



The automatic in the tacoma, is apparently a good one, efficient and, after its reprogrammed, smooth. People, to include me, pay attention better when driving a stick. I'm already lazy enough. I'm the kind of guy that walks to the store because its only a mile and its a boring drive. "oh but MPG MPG, CITY driving".. neither phase me. Both are a state of mind and skill based. I get along just fine. I rarely hit 20 mpg anymore, but there are no highways here, its ALL city driving. Never hit below 18.5 mpg; in the 4x4.
If I was to be offered only automatic vehicles, I'd seriously probably start riding the bus (if it worked out time wise). But that's me.

Point being. The 6 speed is just fine, has no even arguable faults other than some computer fed propaganda by the Federal government saying it gets worse MPG because studies have shown that people are stupid. (seriously that's why they changed the sticker values, because they think they've proven that more people suck than can drive well, look it up, its on the oversight organizations web page).

 

I will say, when I was into drag racing, I quickly switched over to th350s .. I can't shift as fast as B&M, but drag racing is BORING! I'm over 25 now.

 

That's my line of day! I love it! (I do have slight disagreement with it in that cruising in top gear will produce better MPG in the auto only because it's geared higher) Anything other MPG loss due to the manual in induced by that huge flaw that toyota engineering installed between the foot pedals and the drivers seat.

 

Hmm, just bought a V6 manual. First truck I've had since the beat up '71 International Harvester pickup I drove in high school.

Up until a couple of years ago, I've always driven manuals - Hondas and BMWs. We switched to an Infiniti with a 7 speed automatic a couple of years ago - great for city driving, but not nearly as engaging, even with paddle shifters.

With the Tacoma, you can't just elegantly flick the gear shift - you gotta actually feel like you're moving it - but it works, and works well so far, city and highway driving and in snow. Driving it is a lot of fun.

I'm new to this, so I have nothing to say about the reliability.

 

going on three years, and 75,000km and no problems... *knocks on wood*