Zero power going up a hill?

N/A motors are just big air pumps. No air, no power.

 

It’s not as if the truck has any power to begin with at any altitude.

 

Regearing is a big decision due to the high cost. For instance: I'd like to regear but currently run 33s so I am waiting until I can get 37s to regear. It would definitely help but like everyone else was saying: no replacement for displacement, turbo would help, and you only have about 70% hp. If you plan to keep 33s for the remainder of the truck's life, you could probably get away with a 4.56 gearing. 4.88 would be a stretch but may work. I believe the automatics stock gearing is 3.9 so anything would be better and should help altitude climbing

 

Lower octane fuel is recommended at higher altitudes. What fuel octane did you have before you headed up the mountain?

 

I've pulled trailers at altitude, (the picture is just cresting 9,000 feet, but it's spent the night above the tree line once or twice) and I've experienced the same at even higher altitude (gotta love those 10-12k fire roads).

I know the feeling. That "is it gonna make it, or are we about to stall out with no way to reverse down" kinda feeling.

But then again, it's never stalled or stranded me either. It won't go fast, but it'll go. That's good enough for me. Just kick it into low and let it go.

I don't even have 4L.

 

Basic 87 never ran anything else.. and I don’t think I can find lower lol

 

Kick it low and let it go! Sound advice lol love it!!

 

I know when I've been in Montana at high altitude they have a lower octane fuel for the higher altitude towns

 

But I've also ran premium fuel at higher altitude also . Really though high altitude sucks the air right outta our Tacomas . Strange scenario I was at Bryce canyon national Park one time and we were over 9,000 ft and my truck was getting crazy good mpgs 24mpg and I was flooring everywhere loaded down with gear. At that time I was on 265/75/16 cooper stt pros

 

Magnuson has a fix for that.

 

For me the transition has been so smooth that I almost don't notice it. It's 87 at home, Most mountain towns I've been in offer 85 octane, and the in-between towns offer 86. By the time I'm climbing the hills the truck is already burning the local brew.

I only notice it on the downhill side, when I'm wondering how 86 will fare on the ride back to the flat lands.

 

Were you in 1st gear? 4Hi or 4Lo?

Toyota limits 1st gear throttle on the stock tunes. 4Hi limited to 32%, 4Lo limited to 6% up to a certain RPM and then 25%. So putting your foot to the floor doesn’t do anything in these situations. These limits can be changed with aftermarket ECU calibrations, but at the risk of your CV’s and front diff. Toyota limits throttle for a reason.

Edited to add image showing throttle limits on stock ECU calibration. 2Hi limited to 51%, 4Hi 32%, 4Lo 6% up to 4K rpm, then 25%. The truck has more power than Toyota wants you to have in many situations.

 

Was in 4H wish I would have tried 4L but didn’t wanna let go the throttle… ha

 

It’s just the way the truck runs at high elevations when loaded down. If you add up all the mods, add ons and cargo weight you were carrying, including you and passengers, you were probably close to capacity.

4L would have helped, it’s is a regear you already paid for.

 

It's not recommended or any better or worse for the engine. It's just that with the lower oxygen content the engine can run fine with a reduced octane fuel as opposed to denser sea level air.

 

I will definitely try 4L next time! Thanks for the input. Appreciate it.

 

Was the truck in the ECT mode? Idk about 10k ft, but at 2k ft ECT feels overpowering for towing a small load. I tried it again yesterday towing my loaded utility trailer with ECT on...truck just doesn't feel right. I turned it off, and went back to S5.

 

I always wondered the potential of those electric turbos. You could use one while you were up there and turn it on and off as needed with some sort of switch and a bypass.

Definitely could be a bandaid thats cheaper

 

They won’t flow anywhere near enough air to make a difference.

 

Here you go. Guaranteed to fix your problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNBEO4udS58&list=RDCMUCh9e-eWfzQXdCfkFUvBPVGQ