Tacoma owners: school me

Resurrecting this thread . . . .

Anyone turbo or supercharge a Taco?

I've a 2020 3.5L v-6 crew cab which I like for general use, but it is lacking when towing a 4,000 lb trailer. It will do it, but between the rear end gearing and any type of hill, it is constantly shifting between 3d and 4th to pull. I figure a bit more power/torque will enable it to stay in 4th when pulling. 5th and 6th are overdrives which are not used when towing.

Not looking to smoke the tires - just give that extra grunt to smooth out the tow experience. Maintenance and reliability with a boosted engine are a concern, as are loads on tranny and rear end.

Any experiences in this regard are appreciated.

Cheers,

Dave

 

You need two more cylinders and a manual transmission. Otherwise, it is working as designed.

 

I don’t know much about it, but Lotus has been supercharing Toyota V6 engines for at least 10 years. May or may not be the same exact engine?

Even my lotus has a supercharged Toyota 4 cylinder with a Yamaha designed head and they are reliable.

 

With my trips to the mountains with the 2 bikes in my enclosed 6x10, this is why I sold mine and got the F150 3.5 Ecoboost. Check out the new Tacoma or Ranger, they’re both turbo charged from the factory.

 

This, and they get far better gas mileage than previous year Tacos.

 

My '08 has the TRD supercharger. But it's also a different engine, they put the weaker minivan engine in it now.

And yeah, if I were looking at a new Tacoma today...well, I wouldn't. So many better options now.

 

I have a '21 and occasionally pull a 3,600 lb camper. Yeah it does pretty well on flat-ish ground in 4th. On hills, if you use the cruise control it just seems like engine/transmission does not know where it wants to be. Using my foot it's much better. (I guess the PID control in my brain is better than in the ECU). I got the OTT tune last year, and it helped a bit but still does it. I'm assuming you are using ECT mode too?

 

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

I don't want to buy another vehicle. My towing is occassional. Toyota rates the tow capacity at over 6,000 lbs. I know that is not realistic and I don't expect that. I did think that something around 60% of max would be reasonable.

I don't use cruise when towing - ever. Yes, I use the ECT mode. And, I don't want to go down the road at 80 mph. But, struggling between 60 and 70 is annoying.

A tune will most likely help. But, I'm investigating options and if something can be done, I'd prefer to do as much as reasonably possible without too much cost and sacrifice on reliability. A supercharger or turbo is not cheap: $5-7K+. But, it is not a new or different vehicle either.

I bought the Taco as an interim vehicle when my Transit 2500 extended wheelbase, extended body, high roof van was totaled in May 2020. I miss that van . . . . Covid screwed me vis-a-vis getting another Transit van. The 3.5L twin turbo ecoboost engine was wonderful. Today those vans are exclusively 10 speed trannys . . . . ugh.

I may try to sneak up on it, i.e., a tune first. Also, I need to investigate the possibility of a different rear end ratio. The manual rear end has a numerically higher rear end which may well help stabilize the desire to constantly shift at the speeds I want to run. espescially when coupled with a tune. I just thought I could benefit from the wisdom of those who have gone before me. You know . . . the BBS has all the answers.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

Dave

 

If you ever check out Tacomaworld.com, there are threads from guys who switch to 5.29 or 4.88 rear ends. To me that's a long way to go to get the drivability you want from a truck (so is a supercharger IMO), but there is a lot of info on it and it appears those that have done it are pretty happy with it.

 

The 2024 Taco is a 2.4L turbo 4 cyl, or a 2.4L turbo 4-cyl hybrid. Those are the only 2 options for the new Taco coming. But, they are talking 6500lbs towing capacity with the straight gas arrangement.

 

I swear there used to be a TRD supercharger option for Tacomas. But, that might have been on the previous gen V6. The 4L maybe?

 

do your research before you commit to the turbo, or supercharger... LOTS OF ISSUES WITH BOTH SET UPS. Lots of info on Tacomaworld.com in the 3rd gen forum.

I have KDMax v.10 tune in my 2019 sport, and it is a pretty darn good tune. I have been a Beta tester for them in the past, and have had all of their tunes since their inception, and the first 2 versions that came from Orange Virus Tuning (software, hardware person, Mat was the one who broke the toyota code to get us tuning these motors). it might be worth the 4-500 to try a tune, before going down the rabbit hole of forced induction.

unless you are super mechanical, and super tech savvy... I wouldnt even think about a turbo, or SC in these trucks. the motor ecu, and translogic, are the worst thing about this truck. unless you are driving it with your foot, and no cruise, it is just a constant shift dance. the tune helps but, doesnt eliminate the cruise shift dance. but, with the tune and manual, foot driving... the truck is pretty solid.

good luck, my vote is for you to sell the tacoma, (great resale value), and get into a full sized truck, for your weight needs. Ski

 

Thanks Ski. V.10 tune may be the first stop . . . . .

Cheers,

Dave