Next gen Tundra

I would respectfully disagree with your estimation for longevity of a turbocharger.

While I certainly understand the shortcoming that have been reported with the Ecoboost life cycle, it would be a gross oversight not to consider other manufacturers and their turbocharged offerings.

Just as in the automotive car/truck field, turbocharger manufacturers also have variations in reputations. I have owned many turbo charged vehicles, and never experienced a failed turbo charger (though I have repaired many failed turbos). In fact, I currently have a hobby car with 300k miles on it, and the original turbo.

It's just too soon to call a turbo offering from Toyota crap.

 

I had a 2013 cc z71 5.3 with the cylinder deactivation stuff. 18 mpg was the best i ever got.... but there is something most mpg gurus are forgetting.. Tundra base model trucks come with 4.10 gears towing package gets 4.30. The other big 3 come in 3.21, 3.23 and 3.73. Which in would give you an extra mile or two. But I guess we can argue for years about mpg. I prefer a truck being a truck. And as long as Toyota doesn't fancy up the tundra i will always own one. I would love for Toyota to get into the 3/4 ton market with a I6 diesel. But I dont think I will ever see that. Lol

 

My biggest issue with turbo gasoline engines is to make the hp and tq rpms are higher to produce the power. So in theory engine life mileage wise is reduced.

 

While I do agree that there will always be some amount of lat associated with a turbocharged engine building boost, I don't agree with your assertation of reduced engine life, based purely on the fact that the engine is turbocharged.

When a manufacturer decides to build a turbo charged engine, certain 'requirements' come in to play in order for the engine to handle boost. These components often differ from normally aspirated variants. One of the best examples of this statement would be the design change of the Piston.

 

Not basing the reduced engine life solely on the turbo. It's the rpms my friend. I understand piston design and to some extent that may help but revolutions of the crankshaft determines how long metal on metal wear will last

 

I get it... But if you have metal on metal in any engine, you have a problem.

 

JeremyLee I think what you are trying to say is the heat produced by the higher revs. Metal to metal contact is supposed to be handled by a film of oil. But its the oil that is supposed to prevent and also transfer the heat from the parts. The speeds that Turbo impellers spin at create a lot of heat.

 

My father-in-law was kinda a big deal GM executive, since retired.

I don't think he drove a car that had more then 20,000 miles on it his entire career, probably not more than 12,000 miles actually.

He would park his company car everyday in covered, heated parking (in the winter), and the car would be washed everyday as well.

He would get a new car every year, and he thought GM products were great.

Duh, he never kept them long enough to have something go wrong with them, and he didn't have a clue what a lot of GM buyers were going through trying to keep their cars on the road.

And things haven't changed much.

I read an article yesterday about all the changes Cadillac is making to get their brand back on track. Everyone of the changes mentioned in the article were marketing changes and not one change was mentioned that related to actually making Cadillac's better. One of the changes they mentioned was Cadillac will now name their vehicles using a numbering system similar to Lexus; wow, sign me up for a Cadillac.

So, because of all the above, and other stuff, I would be very reluctant to buy an American made vehicle.

That being said, there have been great advances made in engine and transmission design, and I would at least be open to them if they appeared in a Toyota truck...if I could be convince those advances didn't come at expense of my beloved Toyota dependability and reliability.

 

There are some relatively easy changes that can be made to make the Tundra more efficient, and I think you hit the nail on the head. ZF's eight-speed transmission seems to be a proven unit that has been relatively problem free in many other brands. It's not like Toyota builds their own transmission, rather they use an Aisin-sourced unit, so switching suppliers to ZF wouldn't have too many implications, and would result in a free boost to MPG's. I can definitely see D4S being added to the 3UR engine, but I wouldn't want to see cylinder deactivation - too many problems I think. electric power steering/cooling fan are easy, and a no brainer.

My biggest gripe about the Tundra is the fuel economy. YES, I knew it was going to be bad (worst of the half-tons), and I was willing to put up with the terrible mileage in order to get a truck that will be about as reliable as a hunk of granite. However, it would be nice if we could have our cake, and eat it too.

As far as the rest of it, well, yeah, at some point Toyota will need to redesign their body and interior. I think the current interior is just fine for a mass-market truck like the SR5, but if they want to compete with the Ram Limited and F-150 Platinum in the luxury truck market, they need a big boost to the interior of the Platinum trim, because it really is uncompetitive.

I've heard it said that the Tundra sells ~100 000 units per year in North America, that their factory is working at capacity, and that Toyota is making a lot of money on each truck and they're happy with that.

 

I see you have a 2010 Tundra but you say you'd be reluctant to buy an American made vehicle. San Antonio Texas is an American City and it's where your Tundra was built.

 

Yes I used a bad example with metal to metal. Didn't realize it until after I read it later. Lol

 

I'm holding to my 2010 tundra till they will come out with new gen and keep it on the market for at least one year. It could be 4 or 5 years for this to happen but at least I'm pretty sure that my truck will last this long. My first truck was 2001 tundra in 2005 , got it used with 75k miles for really good price, sold it with 175k miles 3 years later and did not loose a dime on it, was very happy. Second truck was 2010 tundra sr5 double cab with 12k miles , got it for 16.5k with salvage title, had no problems at all , sold it in 2 years for 16k with 110k miles, almost got all my money back. My current truck is 2010 platinum tundra , got it with 78k miles for 11k from auction with minor dmg that cost me 4k to fix, now it has around 170k and still running strong and I could sell it around 15k but I won't till I get a new one . I hope yotas will keep building great trucks , I'm planning to buy new this time

 

I'm glad Toyota doesn't flip designs every couple years because my 2018 would already look like the old one. I will definitely consider a new one in 3-4 for years when mine is paid off. Not like Ford or Chevy, not done paying for it and it looks dated. The best things about a Tundra is it's reliability and resale. I hate taking a car in to the dealer for service!