Atrac vs. MTS

Hi all,

This might be a bit premature because I don't take possession of my '21 ORP until Friday but I have a question regarding Atrac vs. MTS.

With the Tacoma, the options are Atrac with the MT and MTS with the AT but you can not have both, and either can only be used in 4L. From my understanding, MTS is just the ability to dictate the amount of wheel slip before the system intervenes. With Atrac, the slip is set and there is no adjusting it for different conditions.

I see that my 4Runner has both the MTS dial and Atrac button as well. If they are both available only in 4L, why would anyone use Atrac when MTS is available?

Can someone provide me with an explanation of the differences with this?

FYI. I owned a MT 2014 Taco Offroad and a AT 2019 Taco Offroad so have used both Atrac and MTS...

 

ATRAC is a uses the brakes and software to simulate a front and rear lockers. The way open diffs work is the tire with the lost slip gets the most power. Once a tire spins it will continue to spin and the other side won’t get power. With a locker the left and right and mechanically locked together so they have to spin at the same speed regardless of available left to right traction. So to simulate that, ATRAC monitors the wheel speeds, whatever wheel is moving the fastest is the wheel that’s spinning, it will apply the brakes to that individual wheel which will make the differential apply power to the other side. The brakes are applied to individual wheels until all the wheels are being driven at the same speed, which is the exact purpose of a locker.

Multi terrain select just tweaks how the vehicle responds to inputs for different terrain settings. I’d be lying if I said I knew exactly what it does - it should tweak traction control settings, ABS settings, throttle mapping and transmission shift strategy... but Toyota are pretty stupid in terms of technology so I find it very unlikely it’ll effect that much.

 

I was pretty sure that both systems work the same way. The MTS allows you to decide how much wheel spin you want, depending on the terrain.

A-TRAC can be used in 4lo. MTS can be used on the first setting in 4hi or 4lo, and settings 2-4 in 4lo only

 

Thanks for this info. So one difference is the ability to use mts 1(snow and mud i assume?) in 4hi. I'm still unsure what the atrac button would do then as mts, in my experience with my previous tacomas, was a much improved system to atrac.

I fully understand lockers and mechanical led and brake sim lsd and how they all work. I think that trac control and vsc are turned off in 4l anyway so I'm not sure about Agent's comment.

 

Pretty sure Agent is spot on.

I haven't messed with MTS in mine, it seems gimicky and I doubt it will ever be the difference between stuck/unstuck. I don't think that MTS by itself actually does anything useful.

ATRAC works well, I tried crawling up an offcamber bank in low range, and could not make it. I engaged ATRAC and kept my foot in it, and ATRAC helped it crawl up by diverting power to the tires with traction.

Then you have Crawl Control too, which I tried a few times and it was pretty legit. Pretty sure that it is just builds on what ATRAC does.

 

ATRAC, MTS and Crawl Control all use the same tech, individual actuation of brakes. Try Crawl when you get it, you'll think you just broke your new vehicle. It's like Timpani drums in your car.

Essentially in MTS is a selectable ATRAC, and CC is a variant that also controls gas/brake.

 

Just want to add to this. I've used Crawl to unstuck once from sand where there weren't recovery points like a tree, and I was alone. I always said it was a gimmick until that moment.

MTS, however, I have used a whole lotta time and I called it the 3.5 locker. It's not all 4 wheels locked, but you can lock the back, and use MTS to get you pretty close in the front. It's not a true locker, but it's a lot better than you'd think. Used it at least 10 times to pretty good effect.

 

Ok, so if you mess with MTS it automatically engages ATRAC? What your describing sounds like my experience when I tried ATRAC. I had the front right and rear left tires spinning, then engaged ATRAC. Put my foot back into it, and I could feel it doing it's thing, stopping the spinning wheels, and sending power to the ones still on the ground. It got me up the bank, at least as far as I wanted to go. I DO like this feature, with the extrmemely limited articulation of the front end, it's nice to have something to get power to the front wheel that's on the ground when the other one is in the air or has no weight on it.

Crawl I used to get up a steep, icy dirt road with a sharp switchback. I was able to drive up it in 4L no prob, but wanted to try crawl for the heck of it. It worked well, I could feel it modulating power around as the wheels slipped on the ice.

 

Yep. ATRAC and MTS are the same tech. MTS just lets you adjust how aggressive ATRAC is acting for different terrains. Rocks will slip less, mud will allow more spin, etc.

 

From the manual:



As @fajitas21 mentioned, MTS uses A-TRAC and also adjusts/limits power depending on the terrain.

^^^^This!

Ha! CC is definitely interesting! I like the concept. I just wish there was a slower setting.

 

Thanks, guys. I am familiar with all three systems (atrac,mts,cc) after using them in my previous tacomas. But no one has been able to explain the MTS/atrac differences. I think my first post was not worded very well.

Why does the 4Runner have an atrac button? It seems to me that MTS in the 4runner would make atrac obsolete like it did in the tacoma. my 2014 tacoma had an atrac button. worked great. my 2019 tacoma had mts dial but did not have an atrac button. my experience has been that mts replaced atrac in the tacoma so I can't understand why my 4Runner has both...

I know Agent mentioned earlier about traction control and abs settings etc. but i'm pretty sure that there is no throttle limiting or vsc engaged in 4l at all regardless if atrac or mts are on.

and, for Trail Runnah to comment that he hasn't used it but it seems gimmicky and doesn't do much. With all due respect, I can assure you it does do a lot, and is by no means a gimmick. MTS has been a mainstay on the landcruiser, LX 570, and GX 460 for over a decade. Except for extreme rock crawling situations, it renders the rear locker almost redundant.

 

Well take with with a grain of salt since clearly I don't know anything, but I would wager that it has both because ALL 4Runners are equipped with ATRAC, however MTS is only on the Trail/TRD OR and PRO models. If they indeed have the same function as you imply, it's probably easier/cheaper for Toyota to just leave the ATRAC button in and enabled in all 4Runners.

I'm inspired by your post to get out and screw around with mine when I get a chance. It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so hopefully that will create some low traction areas where I can try out the different settings, and see how it works with/without hitting the ATRAC button first. I'll report back.

 

See my quote above^^

Same thing from the manual:

 

You may find this video very informative with regard to all the various off-road selections you can apply. When I got my 4R, I found it very helpful. It explains how and when to select the correct 4WD option or A-Trac setting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELw7xhWHNnY

 

Yep, so all 4Rs have ATRAC, which is like a locker.

MTS "narrows the band" a bit based on terrain and gives you tighter control over what the computer thinks you should do; in one sense MTS seems to amplify ATRAC output based on limiting calculations (although this is an oversimplification; also, does MTS automatically select ATRAC or can you turn MTS on and ATRAC off?).

CC is just cruise control for slow speeds.

 

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that all runners got the atrac. That helps explain alot. I appreciate it!

 

I think you're on point with this. I know people with SR5's that just have ATRAC, and the Off roads and Pros get the enchanced ATRAC (MTS and CC). I think it's there cause it's there on them all, and I never bother with ATRAC because I'll reach for MTS, then locker, then CC in that order, usually.

One additional note.

*ALMOST* It boggles my mind why the top dog, the Land Cruiser, doesn't have a locker any longer. But it's been domesticated, and people buy it for groceries more than offroading. It's hella capable, but a locker is simply better. It's the one reason I decided against the LC and went with the 4Runner. I didn't need worse MPG, more space, I could always use more power, but the 4Runner tows my teardrop camper surprisingly well. The LC is bigger, heavier, and nicer in about every single way...but in the end, the 4Runner is smaller, lighter, and has a locker. A 4Runner with KDSS and a locker has more offroad tech than a LC without a locker.

Does it matter to most? No, I've seen a LC do some stupid stuff. Seen a 4Runner one up it though. Then there's a Jeep Rubicon. I'll take my Toyota any day, however.

(Do not take this as me knocking on the LC, I consider having one in the future. I was simplying making the point that a Brake Lock Differential vs a mechanical locking differential are different both have their pros and cons and I'm frustrated at Toyota for relegating their namesake of offroading dominance to second place.).

*Double Edit* You could always put lockers in a LC tho.....

 

My feelings exactly. If we could get the LC in Canada I might have considered it but we get the lx570 and its too big and has poor approach and departure to be considered a decent offroad vehicle. The gx 460 is nice as well but no locker and poor angles again with the 2014+ models. The 4runner ORP just checked more boxes for me and the smaller stature makes it much more nimble. I do wish it had the torsen centre locking diff though...I know the limited does but it has same angle and locker issues...

 

great video and thanks for sharing it

 

I agree, great video, but that guy really needs to get some gas.

 

He was definitely running on fumes.

 

LoL i think he was about to return it to the dealer after the review