So I raced my friend's Toyota Tacoma (TRD w/ 240 HP?), and it was about even. We were doing it just for fun on local streets, basically going from 0-60. Anyway, I CAN'T BELIEVE THE TACOMA WAS KEEPING UP!!!!! We "raced" about 3 times and the Tacoma was neck and neck all three times!!! Even my friends were all surprised. They were asking, "Is a TL that slow??" Frankly, it was quite embarrassing, to say the least.

Anyhow, I don't have much in my car but here's the mods: AEM CAI, magnaflows, rear sway bar, and my car is an '05 automatic.

My friend and I decided to race for real, and this time for money ($100).

Here's the reason why I think the "race" was as close as it was: My tires. Everytime I floored the car my tires would squel and then they would catch and go. I've had my car for about a year and a half now...do I already need new tires??

WHY IS MY CAR SO DAMN SLOW!?!?!?!?

I'm thinking of buying the E shift Pro Cats to get some more HP and torque. Anyone know if this is worth getting on an automatic?? And also, I have a straight pipe and a magnaflow. Would that make it more complicated to install the procats??? Please help me out...thanks!!!

 

I'm guessing VSA was left on.

 

The cats will work on your car and should give you some pretty good gains. Just make sure you wont mind putting in the oem cats when it comes time to smog your car. They seem like the best modification for the money

 

Keep in mind the damn car is heavy, if you wanted a fast car you shouldve bought something else. The TL is not that fast. I mean it does well for its size but its not that fast at all.

Unless you're one of the F/I guys, then you have some HP at your feet...

 

You cant pass the smog test with the procats?

 

You will probably pass the emissions test but you will not pass the visual inspection.

 

Since your not FI you need more back pressure.........

 

Wow, seems like those Toyota Tacoma's are sleepers. I did a quick Google, it seems the stock 2006 Toyota Tacoma does a 15.36 quarter mile.

 

what tires do you have?

 

Trucks can be deceptively fast. Their like all engine.

 

if you're crazy enough just know that past 90-100 you should have him..its probably mostly low end torque beating you and the the fact that they have half of your car. He might be able to physically pick up more women but you should at least get the better looking of the bunch.lol . hope that makes you feel better

 

if you guys are racing only 0-60, there wont be that big of a gap between the two cars...

as far as tires squealing, is it faster to just floor the car and let the tires squeal vs. let the car start moving a little before you floor it so that the tires dont squeal?

 

I can tell you, in general, that tire spin is the "kiss of death" in drag racing." Once one of the opponent breaks traction, the drag race IS OVER. Period. The only exception is *IF* the two opponents are *not* evenly matched, and the one that spins has A LOT more horsepower to reclaim the lost ground once he hooks-up again.

When I race, I *try* to error on the side of not using enough throttle (within reason) versus using too much throttle and inducing wheel spin. I am hoping that my opponent gets too emotional and that he losses traction, which is a *big* plus in my favor.

SHORT ANSWER = Much better to use too little throttle (within reason) than to use too much throttle and causes you to break traction.

BEST ANSWER = Practice to become skilled in knowing how to feed the throttle to the tires, keeping the tires at their limit of traction.

 

How often does California require a visual test??? I also heard somewhere on this forum that most inspectors cannot tell between stock cats and the pro cats. Is this true???

And what happens if I decide to risk it and not put the OEM ones back. Has anyone ever paid off the inspectors to pass visual?? I know many have paid off smog places for the non-visual inspections.

 

I have the stock Michelin tires that came with my car.

 

I know it's heavy, but the truck is heavier. I didn't want a sports car, but I wanted a car that could at least beat a Tacoma.

BTW, what's F/I???

 

Each time you get your car smogged it goes through the visual. An inspector will know the difference, at least on this car. Sometimes they dont care, other times they fail you. Its hit or miss in CA.

You can usually find a place that wont check by asking around among friends.

 

Next time warm up your tires and never floor the car off the line, our cars dont work that way. Try to give it 3/4 and then after your in second gear, push the throttle, you can even try to use the manual shift to get higher RPM's and better shifts...you have to play with it a bit in order to get the perfect start and race.

 

Forced Induction. Turbo, Supercharger, or Nitrous.

 

Tacoma: 266 lb ft @ 4000rpm
TL: 233 lb ft @ 5000rpm

That should answer your question. 0-60 straight line is all about torque. With automatics, the only thing we can do is Torque Braking.

 

What's torque braking??

 

This Article should explain it.

 

Everytime I hear spinning the tires on the TL (without a SC) I forget how much the CAI does. My stock 5AT doesn't tire spin when flooring it from a straight.

As others have recommended, VSA Off, and SS to stretch each gear.

 

^^^^^ my stock 5AT spins the tires when i hit the floor with or without VSA off (with VSA off, the tires spin for a lot longer)

 

you my friend need to do some research.

this site has so much info it will blow your mind.

 

I think the problem is you, not the car. I mean your technique.

 

You shouldn't be talking about this here in a public forum... this belongs in a back alley with no one around except for you and the smog tech... you never know whos around looking and reading these forums... and if you think your going to get a real answer to "has anyone ever paid off the inspectors" you are far from correct.

hate to burst your bubble but if it isn't legit... you probably should stay away from it.

 

dont worry about this. youre fine. its a question... its not as though he's passing govt information....

hey, for the record, i always offer to give the kid behind the counter 50 cents (to keep) for my mcchicken... beats paying the 1.05.... actually no i dont - but its the same concept. nice concern, though.

 

I'm going to have to do that next time i go to Micky-D's... comedy...

 

Learn how to drive your car first. With any upgrade you will only get more wheel spin.

 

some people don't understand that it's 75% driver - 25% car

 

Your car is not damn slow. Tacoma is damn fast. It is lighter, 4WD or RWD, short geared and possibly manual transmission. All that goes in its favour when you race 0-60. Especially if he has better reaction time and you squeal your tires.

Besides that, he might have some serious mods. I wouldn’t be surprised if he easily smokes you for that $100.

 

In the racing world it is just opposite, or better said 90% car - 10% driver.

 

agreed...




"Control without power is empty... power wihtout control is just foolish"
-some guy on TV on a show i can't remember...

 

Uhhhh... if you HAVE to race.... go faster and longer than 0-60... race a 1/4 mile or top end. A 0-60 run is running to the truck's strength and taking advantage of its low end torque. The TL has the advantage at higher speeds when its superior hp and aero will help you walk away...

 

I agree, but THAT Tacoma can be faster even than. It smells like $100 setup to me.

 

If the VSA was on the tires wouldn't of been spinning alot.

I raced an 07 Civic Si with the VSA on and beat it but not by alot.

When I turned the VSA OFF, I beat him much better, even though my

tires were smokin for the first 2-3 seconds, the RPM's got up alot

faster. Try lowering your tire pressure and you might get better grip.

Do some tests alone with low tire pressure.....

 

the tacoma is all torque; and since you're only going from 0-60, i wouldnt be surprised if he beat you

 

I had a race with a nice looking Taco a few weeks ago. It was from a stop light. I keep my nose in front of him to provoke the race. His pride was too much, and he took the bait. So from a roll of approx 20 mph, we race to 90 mph. I was shocked to see him hanging back there so well up to about 60. He was at my rear bumper all the way to 60. After 60, the Taco was gradually losing several car-lenghts up to 90 when I shut-down the race.

To be honest, I was upset because I didn't win by a larger margin with my "TL Diet" car against a damn truck.

 

You think yours is slow? Try racing on the track at an elevation of 5500 ft. My numbers are no where close to what online reviews say about 1/4 mile times. Although I am still working on my reaction time, here are my best numbers for anyone who is interested:

Reaction: .561
60ft: 2.497
330ft: n/a
660ft: 10.516 @ 73.287 mph
990ft: n/a
1/4mile: 16.205 @ 86.283 mph

These are off my stock TL-S. I am deciding if I want a cold or ram air intake at this point. I haven't seen too many superchargers offered for the 3.5 yet, but will most likely be out of my price range for a mod (I'm guessing $4k+).

I noticed that even with VSA off (at least at this elevation), it was rare that I got the tires to make any noise (sometimes a little squeak). It might be the elevation, but there is hardly any low-end torque in mine. I learned to hold the brakes down hard, and get the RPM to about 2500 rpm, then floor it/release the brakes just before the green light.