Tune or Throttle controller?

Hi, new tacoma owner here.
I owned a 2004 4runner 4.0l for 18 years and 250k miles and recently switched to a 2021 Tacoma trd offroad auto. (btw, 4runner still runs great and I'm planning on selling it).

One thing I noticed the Tacoma lacks compared to the 4runner is the torque and throttle response. It feels very delayed and sluggish to me and the gear shifting seems very erratic.

I heard many people opt in for a throttle Control device or an actual tune. I'm trying to find out which is better. I do both a good amount of highway driving and occasional offroading. Thanks for any input and for having me on your forum.

 

throttle controller such as Pedal Commander are piggy back systems and IMO not what you want. Tune is the solution to power, torque (low end), throttle response and shifting. Also just my opinion but I'd get with @mZiggy or @tonered and YotaWerx.

 

Good point. Now to find someone to tune it in the Chicago area

 

Try messaging @NickJacq23 he is in the Chicago area.

 

YotaWerx can set you up with a flash kit bundle, which includes a VFTuner flash kit, the YotaWerx tune pack, and the YotaWerx tune guide supplement document to assist with the flash procedure. You can send an email to yotawerxtuning@gmail.com if interested.

 

Those throttle control boxes seem like a waste, to me. Doesn't create any power.

If you drive your new truck some more, you'll get used to pushing the throttle pedal down far enough to get the acceleration you want. At that point, you've become the throttle control box.

 

That's what I've been hearing. Eventually your driving will adjust to the throttle response. I guess I'm just really used to the 4runner with its instant power and impeccable shifting.
I swear the Tacoma drifts to the left but everyone else who drives it tells me it's perfectly fine. Crazy how cars grow on you.
I'll wait until I get new bigger tires and then see how it drives.

 

KDMax Pro for the win. Nuff said!

 

B
O
T
H
!

 

Do you want actual medicine to make you well or do you want the placebo?

 

Get in contact with @sonhn317 . He gets to Chicago from time to time. He did my truck in Aug and I love the results. You won't be disappointed! I need to contact him to see when he will be back so I can get the upgrade.

 

if you do the throttle controller only, it only really "feels like" it changed the truck. ie: like shortening a throttle cable, or different throttle tube size on a motorcycle.

with the tune, you get a performance boost AND throttle sensitivity, that really gives the truck a change of attitude.

go to the performance and tune section and read to your hearts content. I personally am running the kdmax 9.0 tune, and I am really liking it. waaaaay better than stock, for sure! hit up @PapaRee or @TWTaco they can answer questions, and set you up with a tuner, in your area. Ski

 

If you are still under warranty, a tune might void that if you have to take it into the shop for some kind of claim.
I am happy with my sprint booster, will definitely look into a tune when my warranty runs out.

 

Until the truck is broken in *it's only been a few months since purchase* I'm likely going to stick with the current programming of the A/T and ECU. I find if I'm going uphill and the truck begins to labor, I just take the shifter from "D" to "S", which is dropping the transmission into 4th. When I crest the hill, I just throw it back into "D". No muss, no fuss.

One preference / expectation I would have if I had purchased a tune... I'd like a set of software files and the cable to implement the tune, and to back it out to stock. I would expect somehow that my purchases were linked to VIN, and checked by the SW that does the load/programming to avoid problems with people trying to tune someone else's ride without paying for the product. Also, if I purchased a tune, I would expect a discount on subsequent updates.

Honestly, I'm not particularly thrilled with the concept of a dependency on a regional representative / tuner to perform the programming, and to revert to stock should that be my preference down the road.

 

All that can be had if you’re willing to buy the hardware to self flash (eeewww, that sounded bad).

 

As noted by Mr @RushT here, you can purchase the software+ hardware kit (flash kit) along with tunes to go the DIY route

YotaWerx offers free updates to customers.

 

This is one of the more sensitive topics on this forum. Probably more opinions on tune/throttle controller/re-gear then anything else. There is no magic answer on this one. I have the KDMax Pro tune and love it. I think re-gear is no worth it unless your towing a lot or have quite a lot of added weight. Neither of these are my situation. I do have some weight and travel highway often. The tune works amazing around town, but on the highway it still is not giving me what I want. So I still have a throttle controller. Just recently upgraded from the Pedal Commander to Ultimate 9. Best response is do your research and go with what is within your budget.

 

This is the best advice. I'm always telling people this on the Facebook groups because I think not enough people do any research. They just listen to what's shouted at them to go with and then end up unhappy later down the road.

The loudest is not always the best for someone's individual situation.

 

There is an entire sub forum dedicated to performance and tuning.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/performance-and-tuning.8/

Go do some research and pick what you feel meets your needs.

 

And in the long run, you will pay $600 instead. I'm cheap, that's why I went right to a tune.