Letter to TRD for what it is worth!

[scdtrd]

This is what I sent them, I hope they notice!!!

Dear TRD,

I have been a fan of Toyota and Toyota performance for 15 years. I purchased a 1999 Toyota PreRunner V6
in June of 1999. I put the V6 Supercharger on it in Aug. of 2000. Let me tell you, that was a BLAST!!!!
Smooth, crisp, VERY noticeable. It did ping, but not bad. It did lean out, but not bad.
To make a long story short, I put over 100,000 miles on the 3.4 V6 WITH the S/C and NEVER had a problem,
until my wife totaled it.
I was very upset.
(She is ok)
I then used the payoff from the truck to purchase a 2001 Toyota Tundra V8 4x4 Limited. It is a sight to see.
Beautiful, V8 and all the trimmings. Well, I wanted to recreate what I had, because I was so happy with
the PreRunner. I put the TRD dual exhaust on it, Front leveling coils, the BBS 18x9 wheels and Michelin
275 55 R18 tires and an anti-sway bar.
To top off the package, I added the TRD V8 Supercharger.

Well... it has been over 2,000 miles since and I am unimpressed in the performance gain on this V8
verses the V6.

The piggy back ECU has done something, and it is robbing the V8 of its full potential. It does not ping, and I run Chevron 93 only. I live in Georgia. I am 550 feet above sealevel
I had it professionally installed at a Toyota dealership.

With that said, what is the deal? I mean, with the V6, it was crisp, and VERY noticeable.
The V8, I hear it whine, but where's the beef? And that pathetic torque shift stumble? I am not wanting to race quarter mile, but I WOULD like to have more performance than opening the hood and showing it off, but too scared to use it. I paid a LOT... I mean a LOT of hard cash for the TOP OF THE LINE performance enhancer that TRD offers and feel like I got a very expensive can of 108 octane booster and a pat on the back, with some cool stickers.

I understand that you have to preserve the longevity of the powertrain and all. If you offer an alternate piggyback program, or have tips on what I can do, that would be awesome.

I am currently, underwhelmed with performance. I have spoken to a dealer for the UNICHIP and they tell me it is all in the piggyback ECU programming. Can TRD flash the TRD ECU with a BETTER program? Something that does NOT retard the timing to the extreme? I can FEEL the charger wanting to come out, then the ECU kicks in and blah....
There is an awful HOLE on the performance in the midrange.

Come on guys, you have to understand what I am asking. If I want to boost this thing to where I BELIEVE it can go, I need your help. Lets work together and get this tiger awake, instead of asleep.

Please, there is SOMETHING we can do. I have been scouring the Tundra Solutions board and asking questions.
I am SCDTRD on the Tundra solutions chat board, do a search, and you will see.

Please... help!!!

SCDTRD

[d0truji]

How about an underdrive pulley designed for the TRD supercharger? This may add just enough boost to put it over the top and give you the performance you want.

[scdtrd]

Well... I have been in contact with Mike in Texas about that very idea. He sells a custom crank pulley that is 1" larger and a fan pulley that is 3/4" smaller (to comp for the belt length) and it offers up to 14psi. That is too much IMHO. I would like no more than 10psi MAX. I am not looking to break 10sec in the 1/4, it is a 4x4 truck. I just feel that the setup is good, but the piggyback programming is so dummed down that is it removing potential performance. Just want to know what I can do to get what i paid for. I can tell it is there, no doubt, but it can do so much more. The V6 version is not cluttered with the electronic baggage that the V8 has. The V6 has problems, granted... lean out condition at top end and pinging. The V8 HAS the probelm solved with the 9th injector. But the timing map and tranny torque retard is for the BIRDS.....

Anyway... I am looking for answers....
Hopefully I will find them with everyones help.

Thanx!

SCDTRD

[keiphers]

If you don't want to go with a pulley, the only other real option is a Unichip. OR, you could get a refund on the supercharger and pick up some of Mike's twin turboes.

[d0truji]

I'm interested in the under drive pulley system. How would I get a hold of this Mike person?

[dupont24]

THere are some other posts on this search superchager and look, Toyolover is Mike and he sells the overdrive pully and has a way to use adjustable boost, for when you want the extra power!

[scdtrd]

I have been in contact with Mike. Exactly HOW do you adjust boost? I don't understand? I have been over the S/C with a fine tooth comb and the ONLY way I see is to somehow move the bypass actuator while under boost. How can you do that?
SCDTRD

[Mudog715]

Originally posted by scdtrd
I have been in contact with Mike. Exactly HOW do you adjust boost? I don't understand? I have been over the S/C with a fine tooth comb and the ONLY way I see is to somehow move the bypass actuator while under boost. How can you do that?
SCDTRD

Hint: The bypass actuation opens in response to boost pressure from the attached hose. When the pressure on that hose exceeds a threshold, the bypass opens and reduces boost until the pressure drops. So what would happen if you delayed application of the boost pressure to the backside of the actuator?

The various electronic boost controllers do this very thing. They have a solenoid that closes off the boost pressure line to the actuator. This allows the boost the exceed the actuators threshhold. When the boost reaches the (higher) level set on the boost controller, the solenoid opens, allowing boost pressure to reach the actuator and bleed off boost. When the pressure drops again, the boost controller interrupts the pressure line again. It's not actually an "ON-OFF" situation, the boost controllers usually vary the pressure somewhere in between full-open and full-closed by Pulse Width Modulating the solenoid. This is similar to the way the ECU Pulse Width Modulates the fuel injectors -- a longer pulse width = longer opening time and more fuel injected.

[Cyanide41]

Using a smaller pulley on the SC will give you more boost. IMHO writing to TRD is a waist of time. I'd talk to some shops who work with this kind of stuff. I was thinking of some of the ones that work with taco SC's. I don't know of any off of the top of my head but there was to be some out there.

[Mudog715]

Originally posted by Cyanide41
Using a smaller pulley on the SC will give you more boost. IMHO writing to TRD is a waist of time. I'd talk to some shops who work with this kind of stuff. I was thinking of some of the ones that work with taco SC's. I don't know of any off of the top of my head but there was to be some out there.

The smaller SC pulley will increase low-rpm boost (and cause it to build lower) but will not increase the maximum boost beyond the bypass actuator calibration -- you'll just hit the maximum boost sooner and stay there. To increase maximum boost you need to recalibrate the bypass or add a boost-controller.

I've heard (but not confirmed) that the SC pulleys "set" with the nose bearing/seal on the supercharger and once this happens (a few hundred miles) replacement of the pulley without also replacing the bearing/seal can result in an oil leak from the SC nose. Plus, the TRD literature SPECIFICALLY lists changing the SC pulley as something that will VOID the TRD/Toyota warranties. So then if there is a failure you would need to change it back.

I think the "overdrive" crank pulley would be the way to go -- more boost without altering the SC plus slightly more charging & A/C effectiveness from the extra accessory drive RPM. The only potential downside is less steering assist at low speeds since the Tundra power steering is "engine speed sensing" and not "vehicle speed sensing." The extra pump RPM might fool the valving into thinking your driving instead of maneuvering in a parking lot at idle and provide less steering assist as a result. I don't know what the RPM threshold for the pump is, but I suspect it's pretty low since I notice the loss of parking assist if I'm applying ANY throttle when I'm maneuvering.

[Eddie]

Originally posted by Mudog715
Hint: The bypass actuation opens in response to boost pressure from the attached hose. When the pressure on that hose exceeds a threshold, the bypass opens and reduces boost until the pressure drops. So what would happen if you delayed application of the boost pressure to the backside of the actuator?

The various electronic boost controllers do this very thing. They have a solenoid that closes off the boost pressure line to the actuator. This allows the boost the exceed the actuators threshhold. When the boost reaches the (higher) level set on the boost controller, the solenoid opens, allowing boost pressure to reach the actuator and bleed off boost. When the pressure drops again, the boost controller interrupts the pressure line again. It's not actually an "ON-OFF" situation, the boost controllers usually vary the pressure somewhere in between full-open and full-closed by Pulse Width Modulating the solenoid. This is similar to the way the ECU Pulse Width Modulates the fuel injectors -- a longer pulse width = longer opening time and more fuel injected.

The SC's bypass does not control boost,it's there to relieve positive pressure when it's not needed (for example closed throttle),just like the bypass/blowoff valve of a turbo setup. Playing around with vacuum signals to those can cause compressor stall with turbos,I suppose you could call this condition the same with a supercharger.

Boost controllers (manual or electronic) tie into the vacuum lines of the wastegate,which determines maximum boost. Pulley size on a supercharger determines maximum boost.

[Mudog715]

Originally posted by EdJadeSR5Tundra
The SC's bypass does not control boost,it's there to relieve positive pressure when it's not needed (for example closed throttle),just like the bypass/blowoff valve of a turbo setup. Playing around with vacuum signals to those can cause compressor stall with turbos,I suppose you could call this condition the same with a supercharger.

Boost controllers (manual or electronic) tie into the vacuum lines of the wastegate,which determines maximum boost. Pulley size on a supercharger determines maximum boost.

Pulley size on a supercharger determines supercharger speed. A smaller pulley on the SC will not only produce more maximum boost, but also provide more boost at lower RPMs = more low end torque. The problem is the boost on the top end may be too great for long term reliability and/or the fuel to keep up. In this instance it is desireable to "artificially" limit boost below the maximum the SC is capable of producing. This can be done by operating the bypass actuator similarly to a wastegate on a turbo application. The vacuum/boost signal to the actuator is controlled electronically like I explained before. Many OE superchargers are setup this way to allow the OE ECU to regulate boost. What I didn't know is on a SC, it may require a 2-port bypass actuator to accomplish this.

[Eddie]

Originally posted by Mudog715
Pulley size on a supercharger determines supercharger speed. A smaller pulley on the SC will not only produce more maximum boost, but also provide more boost at lower RPMs = more low end torque. The problem is the boost on the top end may be too great for long term reliability and/or the fuel to keep up. In this instance it is desireable to "artificially" limit boost below the maximum the SC is capable of producing. This can be done by operating the bypass actuator similarly to a wastegate on a turbo application. The vacuum/boost signal to the actuator is controlled electronically like I explained before. Many OE superchargers are setup this way to allow the OE ECU to regulate boost. What I didn't know is on a SC, it may require a 2-port bypass actuator to accomplish this.

Yes you can use bypass valves to limit boost below the preset threshold set by the supercharger's pulley size,but you cannot increase boost beyond that point. I thought you hinting that SC boost can be increased by playing around with the bypass valve,my mistake for assuming this. I don't want this thread to be a butting of heads you know

A boost controller tied into a turbo's wastegate can increase boost higher than the preset level,but you cannot do the opposite (decrease boost below the preset). I've done it with something as simple as a fishtank valve (although an extremely crude way to do it)

[scdtrd]

Ok... so.. where would one find this device that sits between the boost port and the bottom of the bypass actuator valve.... if one was looking for such a device?