Dashunde

On Wednesday, in the snow, I took delivery of my new 03' TRD Tacoma. I drove my '00 TRD Taco in as a trade-in. I've noticed that they drive differently in the snow... the rearend on the new one seems to "hook-up" much better. The old one would allow the right rear tire to spin indefinitely, obviously it has no form of limited slip.

Do the newer trucks have a true limited slip now?

SLC Punk

I thought that Tacoma's only came with either a locker or an open diff. Maybe it is just the new tires.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but only the Tundra has a limited slip from the factory.

Adam F

You probably never engaged the locking differential on your old TRD truck. You see that little button on the left hand side below the vents that says "RR DIFF LOCK"? That is a locking differential. It locks both wheels together and gives equal power to both sides. No single wheel spin. Same setup for all TRD Tacomas regardless of year.

jruz

That wouldn't explain it though, he would have had to engage it on the new one, then he would've known why it wasn't slipping.

Dashunde, I would have to agree with SLC...I'm pretty sure Tacomas either came with an e-locker or open diff.

Maybe the new one has better tires...?

Jim

kctopher

Unless the diff was engaged I would assume it would either be weight (are you sporting a double cab now ?) or what SLC said different (newer) tread on the tires (BFG T/A's?).

Maybe its neither, we didnt get THAT much snow yesterday..


Chris

Dashunde

I tend to agree with the different tire thoughts.. my '00 tires were BFG All Terrain T/A's that had MaxLoad rating listed @ 52PSI, I ran them at 45PSI.
The new truck has BFG Rugged Terrain T/A's running at 35PSI.
It stands to reason that tires would be the difference...

The locker on the TRD's will only engage if its in 4x4Low. As a Surveyor out in the woods quite often, I used it plenty on my '00.


SideNote: Those BFG All Terrain's are a good choice if you spend much time in the woods, they seem to have a very hard compound... which seemed to keep the thorns at bay. The ride isnt so great tho.

jruz

45psi is a bit high...unless you do a lot of highway driving. You definitely would lose traction in snow, mud, or even gravel with that high of a pressure.

35psi sounds a bit better. Yeah, I would say the pressure alone could have caused some of the slipage.

Jim

tomus1000

The BFG All Terrain T/A's suck! I don't think that these could account for your extra traction in the snow. They clog up with snow as soon as you hit it. Make some plans to get new tires soon. They are the only shortcomming with Toyota's TRD Off-Road package. Everything else in the package (Bilstein's, locker, anit-lock brakes) is pretty good.

Enjoy the new truck...

Dashunde

Noel
There seems to be (at least) two different versions of the BFG T/A's.

The replacements on my '00 were BFG "All Terrain T/A". They rode rough and didnt have much grip in the wet or packed snow (regardless of pressure) ... but I never got a flat, and I spend a lot of time in the woods, open fields and worst of all... construction sites.
These tires had a more open tread pattern and did well in the mud, grass and soft or hard dirt.
Overall, they were pretty tough tires. After several encounters with Hawthorn Tree limbs and big sticker bushes - each time thinking I was doomed with a flat - I'm convinced that they are a fine tire for whatever Missouri can dish out.

The stock tires on the '03 are BFG "Rugged Trail T/A". The new truck certainly rides far better and the OEM's *seem* to grip better as well. How they wear and how they repel sharp stuff remains to be seen...
The tread pattern on these is rather tight.. I dont expect much from them in the mud.

2wheeler97

I have a pair of the rugged trails T/A's just curious, are you saying these are better or worse then the all-terrains? I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I bought these off someone getting 33's for a tundra, so I got them cheap. They have a max weight rating about 2,400 lbs. on each tire at 35 p.s.i., so on my truck I actually run them at about 28-29 p.s.i. at all times, since the lift gives a stiff ride. At this pressure, they haven't had any unusual wear yet, and they give Perfect traction on the road, and from what I can tell, decent off-road.

Dashunde

Yep, that would pretty much sum it up.
I dont remember what the load rating on the All Terrain's is, but whatever the poundage is it was at 52psi, indicating they might have an extra ply or two as well as as harder compound. Both attributes contributing to a good, tough off-road tire.... but they are definitely not what Toyota would want on a bone stock truck because of ride quality and other variables, such as cost and road noise.

From what I can tell over just the past few days of owning the new truck and its Rugged Trail's, they simply ride better and have better road grip (wet and dry).... beyond that I dont know much more about them. Time will tell....

BTW... Some of my percieved ride improvement between the trucks might be due to updated or fine tuned shock valving in the '03 version of the TRD package. I read somewhere that they made a few changes since '00 - I just dont know exactly what the changes are.
I mention this because I did not really notice much of a ride difference on the '00 after having the OEM's replaced with the All Terrains.

2wheeler97

Thanks for the info. I know these tires have a high weight rating, atleast in comparison to the truck, and the max p.s.i. is only 35 lbs., but that's the only difference I know. Haven't used the all-terrain's, so I have no clue how they handle.

tomus1000

Sorry. I have the Rugged Trails on my truck and I hate them. I mistakenly refered to them as the All-Terrains (which I hear are pretty good).

The Rugged Trails don't seem so wear all that well. I have 18,000 miles on my truck and I will need tires in the next couple of months.

Dashunde

Ack! Thats not good news...

turboale

Now Noel...
Lets be honest here... would having that S/C under the hood have ANYthing to do with the fact that you need new tires??

ChitRod

I got them in July of 2001 and they were ok, but they didn't wear as well as I thought. At first they wore fine, but as time wore on they wore faster and faster unil it just snuck up on me. Also not very much grip off road except in loose dirt.

tomus1000

Ummmm, oh yea, supercharger. Not exactly the tires best friend huh?

Actually, I kind of doubt it. I really don't rip it up all that often. The tires just don't seem to be wearing all that well. They are wearing evenly, but they are wearing out pretty quick.

While we are at it. I don't particularly like the way they handle on the highway either. I guess I just got it in my head that these tires need to go.