86toyota

I'm never going to here the end of this. My friend got rid of his '89 toy 4x4 3.slow for a 2000 ZR2 4x4 vortec 4.3L extended cab. Not personally owning a V6 toy, lets compare the difference between his truck and a 2000 Toy 4x4 3.4L non S/C , both being auto tranny.

Is there any comparising these two for power and towing? He wants me to get rid of my '92 for an S-10. I drove his truck but never drove a 3.4L, so that's where I'm at.

rimpainter.com

The ZR2 will beat an Auto 3.4 Taco in a race, not by a huge margin, but it will win.

I don't know about towing, you would have to look that up.

I would like to see a longevity contest.

oly884

Well going from a 3.0 to a 3.4 is like going from a scooter to a speed bike. Well not really, but it's still such a huge difference it's almost hard to compare.

86toyota

I luv toyota and all, but why can't they make engines that compete with american trucks? Were talking apples and apples.

rimpainter.com

I know. Looks like they need to talk to Nissan. I mean, it isn't like Toyota doesn't have the technology or know-how to build a big, bad engine like the Nissan 5.6.

CynicX

i owned a s-10 4x2 with the 4.3 and i'd have to say it was SLIGHTLY more powerful, race wise that is.....the 4.3 was a good motor but it was dated thats why they replaced the 4.3 v6 195HP gas hog with the 3.5 inline 5 cylinder 220 hp, talk about dated, they subtracted 1 cylinder and .8 liters and gained 25 horsepower? and to top it off the engine would tap its ass off on cold starts, come too find out it was because different people made the cylinders vs the block and when cold the tolerences werent correct, although the tap didnt damage anything it was still annoying....the 4.3 is a 350 cubic inch motor minus 2 cylinders, thats where it gets it riabaility from.....I wouldnt trade a 2000 v6 toyota 4x4 for a 2000 v6 s-10....and the new colordo's are so expensive I cant even afford to look at them so whats the point.....

OK so now chevrolet has there 220 HP 3.5 and in 2005, Toyota is gonna start using its 240 HP 4.0 in the tacomas.....

needless to say, its a battle so pick the one you think is the prettiest and is priced in your range....

CynicX

continued.

Toyota more the competes with american trucks, I mean come on. My TRD came equipped with 265's rugged terrains with E-Locker.....while base model chevys include vinyal flooring....dont get me started on that btw....I laughed at the salesman at the chevrolet dealer when he showed me that 20,000+ dollar pos....

colsoncj

My personal opinion, a chevy may be faster, but a toyota will be there to drag it home when it bites the dust. I've owned GM vehicles all my life, and I wouldn't trade my 70's GM muscle for anything... but when it comes to longevity, reliability, and knowing that you could hop in your truck now, or 20 yrs from now, and drive halfway across the world, that I would only trust to a yota.

SLC Punk

My buddy had a s-10 zr2 (1998) and now has a blazer zr2 (2002). My 4Runner was slightly slower when it was stock. He won't even race me now!

When he had his S-10 zr2 4.3L, I had my 94 Ranger 4.0L. He wanted to race me one day and my Ranger smoked his S-10.

loosehead

You need to consider the "whole truck" and not just how fast it is. A good friend of mine has a '00 Sonoma ZR2 4x4 and its been a good truck for him, buts he's done a fair amount of work to it. He's taken it all over the SW and Baja, Mexico, too. But his biggest gripe is the lack of aftermarket support for it, compared to whats available for Tacomas...I'll see if he wants to chime in here.

ursidae69

Hey Jayson, thanks for pointing me to this thread. My ZR2 is actually a 2001 and I have 145k on it now with no major trouble with the engine or tranny. I have had some small problems due to poor GM engineering (oil cooler lines 2x, broken 3rd door handles 2x, always running hot, and a weak front end). Considering the hell I've put this truck through, it has held up well. I've ran it through the Martinez Loop trail and Upper Woodpecker in AZ, Dishpan Springs in SoCal, a few easier trails in Moab, and the Mission de Santa Maria trail in Baja, supposedly the hardest road in all of Baja Mexico, and generally all over Baja Norte and some into Baja Sur. So, reliability has been pretty well considering it's a GM.

I think stock out of the box, the Taco TRD is a little more capable because it has a real locker. The gov-lock by Eaton that comes with GM trucks leaves a lot to be desired in low speed 4-wheeling. There is also ZERO aftermarket support for these vehicles. For instance, there are only four lifts available for the ZR2. A 2" body lift, a 2.5" suspection lift from Superlift that comes highly NOT recomended since it messes up the CV angles so bad, a 5" BDS and a 6" Superlift. Only the body lift is a backyard job, the rest are expensive installs for average schmo like me. It really comes down to personal preference. The Z is a little more roomier than the Taco and personally, looks a little better IMHO.

There is a plethora of info on the ZR2 over at ZR2.com and it their forums there if anyone were really interested in the model. Here is a link to a discussion we had comparing the ZR2 to the Taco TRD last year **LINK**

AKennedy87

I dont know v6 power all that well but I do know there are about 30 4.3 blazers in the junk yard near my house and about 10 yotas.

Another thing I noticed was the axle size of the zr2, it looks almost half the size of a yota 8" and even more probably of the 8.4". Goodluck with that thing...

Yota's For Life,
Alex

01Mossy Oak edition

I have only raced my taco 4x4 one time and it was because a ZR2 driver kept pestering me between stoplights(+ a chevy fan at work said I couldnt beat a vortek 6) so anyway I beat him by a trucklength Did I mention that my v6 has a 5speed

AgRunner06

All S10's are big POS's. Don't buy one. Both my previous roommates have one and another friend of mine has a ZR2. THe ZR2 only has 13K miles on it and it's already having issues. Pass on the S10 and spend your money on something worthwhile.

loosehead

Good info, Chuck. Thanks for posting up. I knew yours was a '01, must of just had a brain- Now, back to Gregg's original question about towing One thing that comes to mind is that I don't think the ZR2 is available with a 5-speed, yet the Taco is. You don't have the tow package, do you Chuck? Do you know anyone on the ZR2 board thats towed alot with theirs?

YodasTaco

toyota trucks still perform just as good as american trucks. the tundra stops the best out of full size trucks. but of course the tundra wieghs less. but engine performance it still hangs with the big boys, and now the tundra is going to 282HP and 320+ torque. but i think toyota has most american vehicles on reliablilty and resale value. But i still think some amercian trucks and cars are nice IMO. But i still like toyotas. And personally i think the s10 isnt all that great, but thats my opinion

ursidae69

The stopped making the ZR2 this year anyway. Now it's the Colorado. The older models had 5-speed options. Regarding the axle comment earlier, they come with enhanced front (7.25" ring gear) and rear (8.5" ring gear) axles w/ 3.73:1 rear-axle ratio.

AzStorm

Loose the toy for a GM product???
Did someone drop you on your head????

CynicX

i've mentioned this before, my step father has a 86 blazer with the 4.3 with 250k+ miles....no issues ever.....and someone on here has a 4 runner that threw a rod at 40k miles......its luck of the draw and how well you take care of your stuff....everyone says Jeep's are junk, but i had less problems with my jeep in 150k miles then I had in my Toyota in 2k miles (only have 3k on it now).......

86toyota

I never said I wanted to sell my toy, He wanted me to. I told him to look for a toy with a 3.4L , but all his friends said the ZR2 would run circles around the tacomas. That's why I asked, since I have never personally driven a 3.4L

If I was going to buy a truck it would be a Toyota. Just wish they would offer a bigger or more powerful engine, because of toyota reliabilty.