To OTT or not?

Hey folks, looking for some input and feedback.

'21 Limited CM 4WD
Mild lift, 35's
No 'performance' mods (intake, exhaust, etc) yet, but potential future plans.

I'm luckily sitting on a bit if FU cash (shh, don't tell the wife) and planning out future mods. Been going back and forth on DD's 10" exhaust, TB coolant bypass, SABM (I don't like the idea of cutting the fender) and so on. Stumbled across this whole OTT thing which seems to be much more well rounded than say a Pedal Monster.

What I'm looking for is feedback on longevity, any long term impacts (plan on keeping this truck a while) etc with regards to the OTT tune? I'm also still under CPO warranty, any concerns there?

My goals aren't max HP/TQ but drivability which the graphs look like they cover with torque coming in earlier in the powerband. I also do tow a TT a few times a year, so perhaps the tow option won't end up being too spicy? I'm thinking medium/Standard+ for 'regular' and unsure on throttle and tow for tow/haul. Is that logical? Throttle setting suggestion for tow/haul?

Also, I believe I saw this answered but want to be sure. Tuner can load my initial settings, then test drive. If I want to change it, they simply load another combination of the base file, test drive again. That's all 'base' and not custom, correct?

Finally, has anyone worked with Matt at mc2tuning.com in Denver, NC? I can also go to Atlanta, GA with CRS tuning.

Appreciate any feedback. Apologies if this one has been beaten to death, I did as much reading on it via search as possible.

 

Do it. No questions. They’ll tweak however you need them to.

 

@JustDSM from OTT can help

 

Dave,

I believe you've been in contact with Matt @ MC2 Tuning. He'll take good care of you. In the meantime, let us know if we can assist. info@overlandtailor.com

Best,
Justin

 

Yessir, and he made a great point. I'll be about 15 minutes away from him Saturday, and he'll be near me in early March. Suggested getting it done this weekend while I'm near by, drive on the tune for a couple of weeks, and if I want to change it, then meet up with him here locally.

 

I'm always considering this too- since I've got a few hundred #s of gear, or am hauling a TT on trips. Mild mods- 33s, small lift, intake.

 

I'll make sure to chime in with my feedback after my tune on Saturday. Won't be towing until Easter weekend however. But if I remember, I'll update then as well.

 

The Dirty Deeds exhaust has been one of my favorite modifications. I have no idea if it helped with torque or HP, but it made my sewing machine sounding V8 (5.7) come alive (I went with the 12" version with resonator). Sounds like you have seen the OTT graphs for the 5.7. https://www.tundras.com/threads/ott-tune-for-stock-na-tundra.132757/#post-3411421 Like you commented, the torque improvement under 4K RPMs is decent. I considered it, but decided against it.... for now.

 

I believe the DD, BAM 10" will be my next mod. Gonna have to save up a little for it. Is the BAM really only the cat to tail pipe section though? You retain the stock tailpipe?

 

Yes, my tailpipe is OEM. I went with the aluminized steel standard catback exhaust since I am in Southern California and don't have to worry about rust. That saved about $450 compared to the stainless steel option. https://dirtydeedsindustries.com/st...minized-steel-standard-catback-exhaust-system I had them install it too since I am only about an hour away from them. They didn't have to ship so I got a nice purchase and install price. Keith is good at answering questions and giving options.

 

I too didn't like the idea of cutting into the fender for the SABM so I looked at other CAI's and the best one I found that actually provides some performance benefit(and you'll find dedicated threads on here) is the CAI by Stillen.

That combined with DD's exhaust is a nice combo IMO.

 

Noted and thanks. I'm sure there will be an intake at some point down the road, even if just for the increased noise lol.

 

Ok, fine... sigh.

is this Brianna Stillen rep the way to go, or who's the go to supplier and/or discount codes. I've now read those 2 threads, watched Platinum2020's video and already have the TRD accelerator.



The next question is I'm doing OTT Saturday, already scheduled. I assume the $50ish MAF upcharge will need to be done after the intake install? He'll be in my city in a couple of weeks, I suppose I could have the intake here, and installed by then.

Coming back full circle to forums is gonna hurt my wallet. You guys got any wife gift idea's to keep her at bay?

 

Sadly, no, she's no longer with Stillen nor is she on these forums. There was some issues going on with the 3rd gen intake kit. There are a few 3rd gen members that don't think too highly of Stillen after a bit of neglect from customer service and I don't blame them. Luckily for us 2nd & 2.5geners, there are no issues with our kit since it's been out for a while longer.
Can't really answer to the OTT, I would check with the tuner to see what they think. Maybe reschedule the tune after the CAI install so you don't throw an extra $50 away.

 

It's $50 either way, now or later so that's not a loss luckily.

Seems extreme terrain has a 5% off sale now and free shipping.

 

Who's down with OTT? Yeah, you know me.

 

Yes, Keith installed mine also.

 

Alright, this is for those that may do some searching in the future. First, my truck as it arrived to Matt with MC2 Tuning based in Denver, NC.

'21 Limited CM 4WD
3" ish lift on Bilstein 6112/5160's
35's
The rest of the mods don't really matter.

I don't normally, or casually drive with Tow/Haul button enabled. Only when towing my smaller TT (21' around 6500 lbs loaded)

Matt first loaded Mild/Standard and Spicy/Tow for the tow haul button and we did a little driving in both modes. These days I don't really beat on my vehicles, but we certainly did to get a feel. Initial impressions are not much in the way of the butt dyno as it relates to power. But again, I'm usually driving miss Daisy with this pig. However throttle response and shifting vastly improved. Downshifts are done via less skinny peddle than stock. It also holds gears longer when not fully mashing it and redlining the truck. We headed back to Matt's place to discuss and load Medium/Standard+ and left the Tow/Haul settings alone.

Matt once again did his thing and after a few minutes we were off to drive again. Same thing on the butt dyno, can't say it's more power or not, but this time even less throttle needed to get rolling and the trans held gear shifts even longer.

Pretty much satisfied, we agreed that when he heads my way on 3/8 we'll address the Stillen intake install changes (it's in the mail, be here middle of next week) and will drive as I normally do for a couple of weeks to see if this is going to be my final settings or if any changes should be made.

I live about 90 minutes from Matt down I-85 so a lot of rolling hills on the drive back. And here is where I personally feel you get your $$$'s worth. The shifting is vastly improved. Much less/to no gear hunting as I'm going up or down the hills. She stays in the gear I'm in and rolls on up or down. If it's a little steeper, I only need a little more input on the skinny pedal to get it to downshift, and those shifts are way smoother than before. I also noticed it required significantly less pedal input to maintain speeds (between 65-80). Further, while I wasn't on the highway, from a stop or slower speeds it requires less throttle input to get miss piggy moving like it should. The truck now feels much less like throttle by wire, and reminds me of cable accelerators in that the acceleration is much more in line with the amount of throttle I have pushed down.

So here's what I'd tell folks considering this. Temper your expectations on a tune (base) giving you any significant power increases, however where it really shines is the shifting and throttle inputs. Would I spend $500 to do it again? You betcha as they say in certain parts of the country. Matt was extremely professional, and was patient with my barrage of questioning, never seeming annoyed when I wanted clarification on something. And for those considering pedal commander/monsters, I'd suggest skipping those, and go with an OTT tune.

TBD on fuel economy at this time. I meant to check the reading when I got home, but per usual I turned off the truck, and then promptly opened the door and missed the opportunity to check.

Adding a screenshot from the thread I read about the transmission setting options and explanation from @JustDSM as well as a pic of Matt doing his thing.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll give my honest feedback.

 

Stillen for the win

 

I also went with the DD 12" w/ resonator, couldn't be happier. Keith was great to work with.

 

Awesome write-up, Dave!
I was definitely leaning towards doing this but I'm sold now. Gonna reach out to Marty at ATO Tuning in Raleigh in the next week or so. My biggest gripe with the truck over this first month of owning it has been the "gear hunting" at various speeds and what feels like generally sloppy shifting compared to my old Taco. Happy with the power but a broader torque band sounds nice.

 

Heck yeah! Do it!

Gear hunting is now practically non-existent. I'd imagine our terrain is pretty similar as well. Depending on which trans settings you go with, you may find downshifting doesn't require as much input from the skinny pedal. Not a negative for me, hell the skinny pedal requires a lot less input these days.

Got a buddy coming over tonight @ffs who's gonna get to drive and compare right after his 15 minute commute so it should be a good comparison for him.

 

I did the med/spicy OTT this week, and agree it's a great driveability improvement. It's less about power increase (power is there regardless) and more about improving how the truck drives -- it's more intuitive and fun now. My tuner adjusted for the slightly larger tires (speedo and shift schedule), updated all the software, and reset all the learned parameters so it can start fresh. I noticed with my 4R that it took about a week (500m) to settle in. It's an easy process and the best improvement/$ I've done.

 

Can't go wrong with OTT TUNES...dit one na and again with the Supercharger....

 

I ended up with the sport+/ spicey-extra spicey. It made a huge difference in the way my truck feels. I can’t wait to add the intake and get it updated.

 

Wait, your tuner was able adjust your Speedo for larger tires?

 

Speedo can’t be adjusted with the tune; but OTT will make changes to shift schedule and tel the computer you are running a larger tire. Depending on your tire size, the Speedo will be more accurate. 275/70r18 made my speedometer read almost perfect. Stock size in runs a mile or two under at 70mph.

 

Gotcha, just making sure.

 

Maybe I misunderstood. I’m going for an update on another vehicle today and will confirm. I changed tires the weekend before and noticed it’s accurate to my GPS now, so thought it was part of the tune. Will update if I find out different.

 

For clarification, it is not possible to adjust the speedometer via tuning the ECU. The speedo is controlled via CAN-BUS via the ABS ECU, not the Engine ECU.