6th Gen Fail - Hybrid for Overlanding

Funny to see 4 banger hate from somebody who drives an SI….

Bingo. None of these engines are living on the ragged edge of what they can tolerate. In racing they get 800-1000hp out of little 4 bangers.

Probably my favorite engine I ever owned was the Honda K20A2 motor in my old Acura.. The successor to the B16 in his SI, and probably one of the most modified Japanese engines in history along with its big brother the K24. Stock mine made 200hp and 140ft lb from 2L and had the rev limiter at 8300. Sounds like no torque, but 1st gear was so short you could drop the clutch and light up the tires no problem. You just had to not be afraid of rev noises and drive it hard.

I owned that for 10 years and never babied it and the only problem it ever had was a failed secondary O2 sensor it took me 10min to change. The tuner community have build these to run up to 250 hp with hot cams and ecu tunes and 300-400 hp with big turbos… all on the stock lower end. They are tough.

point is, none of these engines we are talking about are “stressed” enough for people that daily drive them to need worry.

 

The Socks are working overtime....if anyone or anything is stressed (by facts)...it is them. LoL Gotta love it.

 

I went back to read the press releases again.

2.4L Hybrid max is 326hp / 465ft-lb
2.4L Turbo is 278hp /317ft-lb


So the electric motor is adding 48hp and 148ft-lb. And as all electric motors do its delivering that torque from 0prm, which is why the torque curve is so monsterously flat low in the power curve. Add the 8 speed and its probably going to road drive like a beast compared to the 5th gen (and don't get me wrong I LOVE my 5th ).

And the NiMH battery bank is just a very evolved version of 1960s technology. not exactly space age here.... Honestly I would rather they used something like LiFePO4.


And it cements my believe that this turbo engine is nothing to be afraid of. 278hp from a 2.4L is nothing with today's engineering... you could do that easily without a turbo.

 

Hotels can be 250 a night - price gouging masquerading as inflation. Sleeping in your 4runner is such a good idea to save money and time. 250 is like 2 tanks of gas ...

 

For the folks that sleep in the cargo area had better be pretty short if they get a 6th gen.
Look on how the 2nd row seat folds compared to the 5th gen.

 

When they say they want “torque” what they really want is strong acceleration/pull off the line. That comes from torque at the wheels. Remember horsepower is a computed value, it’s a measure of torque x rotational speed. You can deliver a lot of torque at the wheels either using a big engine with lots of low end torque and tall gearing, or a small high horsepower engine with short gearing.

Both solutions work equally well from an engineering perspective and the smaller high horsepower engine is actually doing it more efficiently than the big modestly tuned motor lugging at low rpm but Americans don’t like the sound of high revs… they equate that with engine stress and wasting fuel.


The funny thing is that the big loafing engine that’s lugging at low rpm with the throttle wide open is actually being more stressed than the little engine that’s screaming in a a short gear and not being asked to deliver as much torque at the crank.

 

I still disagree. The 2.4 is going to have ample power for the 4Runner. And, the TTV6 probably wouldn't achieve the fuel economy that the 2.4 will (potentially). And, unfortunately, CAFE and other government regulations will trump the opinions of a handful of potential buyers.

I wouldn't have anything against it being an option, maybe on the top trims. If some people just really want the extra power, I can't argue with them. I don't have anything against wanting more power.

I just don't thinks it's necessary. The 6th gen will have roughly as much power as any 4Runner ever has, and more than the outgoing model. If they didn't have trouble selling the current generation with granny gears and an engine that many people considered underpowered, they certainly shouldn't have any trouble selling the new ones.

 

The thing that gets me is that TTV6 only buys you something like 30hp and 20ft on more power. Probably barely enough to offset the couple hundred more lb of engine you have to move. I’m actually surprised it made such a difference in tow rating on the GX…l

 

I'm curious how much room there will be between the half folded second row to the roof. I could potentially see a nice drawer setup in the cargo area level with the folded rear seats being an option. I also wonder if the height of the drawer setup would be sufficient for a fridge to fit underneath.

I do agree that the vast majority of the market won't be sleeping in their 4Runners. But, I'm sure some people are going to figure out a way to make it work. Personally, I might consider removing the rear seats altogether if I were to trade in my '19 for one. I already remove the ones in the '19 when I put my full platform in.

Once they show up at dealerships, I'll have to go look at one with a tape measure. For science.

 

CAFE is a fuel economy standard. Yes the driving factor behind it is to reduce co2 g/mile emissions but the spec is an economy spec.


Other EPA regs cover all the other emissions that the catalytic converter, EGR, air pumps etc deal with - NOx, CO, and particulates.

 

I'm sure it's both, which is why I said "and other government regulations." But, fuel economy is certainly a factor.

 

BTW, how does anybody sleep in the 5th gen? I just went out in the garage with a tape measure, I get 5ft 8 from the inside of the tailgate to the folded up 2nd row bottom. My 13 year old is already to tall for that….l

 

Taking out the rear seat bottoms will get you about 75" to the center console.

But, my original setup was 68". And, even though I'm short enough to fit, I still felt a little cramped.

Here's the current version:

 

Nice. What size tire is that you're running?


This is what I'm mostly hauling (when I'm not camping with scouts or such) ... I got tired of cramming stuff and bought a box trailer

 

That looks like fun!

The tire is a 295/70/17. Based on what I have read here, it was questionable whether it would fit underneath.

 

My understanding is that it's based on fleet average. So, they can have some vehicles that guzzle gas, but need to offset it with others. That's how Mopar wad getting away with putting Hellcat motors in everything.

I'm sure this is oversimplified. I'm also sure someone will correct me if I'm talking out of my ass.

 

I can't argue with that. But, I feel like it's the only reason we're still allowed to own anything fun.

 

Really wanting a 6th gen LE but not a fan of the back seats not folding flat and looks like the LE has some kinda ‘adaptive variable suspension’ which sounds like it will be difficult to replace with aftermarket suspension..And as it’s higher trim I might have no choice but to get a Hybrid.

seriously considering trading in for a 2024 LE now.

 

I do but the full time 4WD will be better for me in the winters. Kinda wish they offered full time 4WD on other trims. I’d be happy with a SR5

 

This is why the 6th gen is a castrated EPA mandated electrified golf cart now with room for your golf bag maybe. The real last iconic 4runner Is the 5th gen and the 6th gen is just a 4-gotten.

 

Not quite illogical, the objective is to reduce fuel use/emissions/whatever so while the fleet average needs to improve and hit certain metrics over time, the manufacturer is given leeway in where those improvements are made.

The across the board numbers have to inch up, but with a comprehensive fleet of hybrids, efficient smaller CUVs, etc. Toyota can afford some dessert like the GX.

Of course the footprint loophole is probably it's biggest failing in my book but I'm not sure how I'd close that off the top of my head anyway.

 

Something similar happened to me few weeks back at Walker Valley ORV. I was crawling up a technical trail and it got pretty bad, I had one front wheel in the air and a rear wheel was almost in the air. It was getting even more technical ahead. I realized it was not worth it and I had to back. But backing up slow was risky. So I straightend my wheels, left the foot off the brake and speed got me out of trouble lol. If I did a slow dance like this guy I would have rolled over. Speed

Look at the new GX too

30k in mods

 

I'm trading my 5th gen for the new GX, and no way I'm going to trash that on the trail. So this is what I'm getting. All I will be asking from the GX is to pull this thing to places

39s baby

 

This memory foam mattress is 75" x 25". There are a couple more empty inches to the front passenger seat (with the rear seat bottoms removed). It makes a comfortable sleeping area:

 

Off the top of my head:

Teraflex Rear CRD60 Axle- 4.88 w/ ARB locker
Teraflex Front Tera44 Axle 4.88 w/ ARB locker
Teraflex 3" Alpine CT3 lift
Falcon Shocks 3.3 adjustable
Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 Adjustable Stabilizer (1-5/8" Tie Rod)
Steer Smarts YETI XD JK BOTTOM MOUNT DRAGLINK
Steer Smarts YETI XD JK TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
Steer Smarts YETI XD JK ADJUSTABLE TRACK BAR
Teraflex JK Front Explorer Bumper Kit
Teraflex 2 door rock slider kit
Teraflex JK Alpha HD Hinged Carrier & Adjustable Tire Mounting Kit
Teraflex Big Rotor Front & Rear
US Wheel Rat Rod - Raw (Series 69) 17x9 5x5 5”BS (powder coated ORANGE)
Alien Sunshade Mesh Top Cover & RubiSack TailGate Storage Bag
Apollointech 6 switch pod
Cooper STT Pro 37x12.5x17
Poison Spyder Front/Rear Crusher Flares
ARB Dual Compressor
Warn Winch
Built in fridge
Bartact seat covers

 

We also have a JKUR, finishing up that build sitting on tons and 40s (soon 42s)

 

It is, especially with this under the hood