Yotawerx problems

Wondering if anyone ever had problems with their Yotawerx? I have a 24 4Runner and recently had the active duty installed. Definitely a different ride with more boost, but I also get a rev of the engine and high RPM’s from time to time. Doesn’t matter if I am slightly pressing the accelerator or heavy on it. It’s almost like it’s trying to find the gear. I worry about the transmission, but now also concerned with driving in the snow and tires sliding when the engine revs. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Welcome to the forum, Has Yotawerx been advised of what issues you are running into and been able to investigate and look into it?

 

Have you contacted the tuner?

Oops, too late, already asked.

 

What’s Yotawerx?

 

Tuning company.

 

https://www.yotawerxtuning.com/

I am 100% hoping it is not something different

 

Thank you Rum, I’ve never heard of it before.

 

I have contacted the tuner and he reached out to another tuner to ask advice. It was this guys’s first or second time tuning. I have not heard back from the tuner yet. He did tell me that he would take it off if I didn’t like it. I’m thinking that’s what I need to do so I don’t destroy my transmission.

 

Man, anytime you start monkeying with ECU and TCU, I feel like you're asking for trouble. There's a reason the 1GR-FE has such amazing longevity. The factory parameters in the ECU/TCU aren't ever going to overstress either part. The only sure way for increased performance on these is supercharging.

 

Where do you get the supercharge?

 

https://magnusonsuperchargers.com/collections/toyota/products/01-13-40-023-bl

 

You doesn't seem to learn your lesson trying to hunt for power compromising the reliability of that bullet proof engine.

I wish you could go back to factory ECU tune and never touch that powertrain again.

If you don't the power of 4runners nowadays they have insane resale value that you cam sell and maybe buy a LC250. It's very smooth in power from slow traffic driving to highway speeds.

I'm sure a GX550 even more amazing (haven't test driven personally yet). But that V35 engine is the least reliable engine I've seen recently. Since it's detuned for the GX550, "maybe" GX owners may not be unlucky as Tundra and LX600 owners.

 

Well you used an inexperienced tuner using a tune that was modified by inexperienced tuners. What did you expect

 

I’d go with a better tuner.

See below:
https://www.4runners.com/threads/ott-vs-stryker-tune-thread-to-end-all-threads-hopefully.42174/

 

I had a similar issue with the yotawerx tune. Plus it seemed to gear hunt just as bad a stock or worse. I went back to the kdmax 10.0(which isn't offered anymore). Which is great. I reached out to the yotawerx crew and never heard back.

If I had to do it again I'd probably go with ott. Those guys are very helpful.

 

So, this is helpful . Do you recommend going back to stock. I talked to my guy and he told me they were going to make it right. I figured even if they don’t I’ll take it back to stock.

 

Which ironically includes a tune!

 

Same here. I got the Kdmax 10.0 prior to the acquisition of Kdmax by Yotawerx, and it has been great. YW went dark about supporting previous Kdmax customers.

 

That's totally up to you...

If it doesn't work out with yotawerx, and you still want a tune try ott.

 

I'd honestly just go with OTT man. My experience with them was great. Improved shift logic and more usable torque. Night and day difference for me.

Unlike Yotawerx, OTT's tuning network is still very active. They are an accomplished and highly regarded company who will be here for the long haul.

 

I mean...
24 ft-lbs of torque at 2,200 rpm isn't nothing. You also get improved throttle response and shift logic.
Area under the curve is improved everywhere, but low end torque is where you notice it the most.

I'd argue that an OTT tune is the best performance per dollar mod there is.





Source: https://www.4runners.com/threads/overland-torque-tune-ott-by-overland-tailor.27827/

 

I would recommend you go back to stock, before thinking of getting another tune. OTT will recommend a competent shop and actually maintain contact though out the process.

 

Neat. Now you get to buy 91 octane for a vehicle that already gets moderately shitty gas mileage. And remember, there's no free lunch. I personally am not willing to sacrifice Toyota's legendary reliability on the 1GR-FE for a highly speculative 24 ft.-lbs. Caveat emptor. I'm pretty sure OTT isn't going to pay for any catastrophic failures either.

 

High octane is an option every driver has. It's pretty well documented at this point that high octane will provide better power figures even with the factory tune. The OTT tune can safely run on low octane fuel the same way the factory tune can. High octane is certainly not mandatory.

That said, it would be unfair to compare the factory tune on low octane fuel vs OTT's tune on using high octane. The torque/hp increase would be substantially more, but the comparison would be misleading imo.

I can see you're point of view on not compromising reliability. I just think it's a little odd to state that a good tune sacrifices reliability but a supercharger (and tune) does not.
A supercharger btw does require premium fuel, unlike the OTT tune.

 

There's always one....

 

Superchargers only alter one thing and that is air induction, so I would assume the ECU has to be altered to recognize that one change. Magnuson has been providing superchargers for 4Runners and Tacomas for a long time. I don't think there's that much reduction in reliability. And yes, I know they require 91 octane. How does a tune make more HP and torque without forced induction? There's only so much air that can be taken in, therefore it must alter fuel and timing. That's where I start to get nervous. Ask me how I know? I lost a $30,000 Audi S5 engine on an Integrated Engineering ECU tune. Found out later that at high ambient temperature, the ECU had to severely retard timing, which caused catastrophic failure. IE washed their hands of it. No accountability whatsoever. No testing, no analysis, nada. My experience wasn't the only one. If you want more HP and torque, buy the vehicle that gives you what you want. The 4R probably isn't the best choice. In hindsight, I should have just bought the RS5.

 

What? That has common sense?

 

Or none.

A tune that changes the shift pattern(a little) and adds a little torque probably ain't hurting much.

I'd guess your audi tune was like 50+ hp difference. Plus German cars are known to prematurely fail.

 

I have some extra time today so I suppose I can respond to this one.
There's a lot that is misleading or just blatantly wrong here. I'll break down the big ones.

Statement: Superchargers only alter one thing and that is air induction.
This is wrong. Superchargers are inherently parasitic and increase stress on the engine at all times. The engine is now tasked with spinning a supercharger and pulley. It also adds a lot of heat to the system as pressure and heat are relative. So saying that a supercharger only does one thing is a vast over simplification. It's goal is to force induction, but in order to do that it has to do lot of things. You're also adding more components which anyone in the automotive engineering industry will tell you will introduces more potential points of failure.

Statement: How does a tune make more HP and torque without forced induction? There's only so much air that can be taken in, therefore it must alter fuel and timing. That's where I start to get nervous.
You can safely optimize fueling tables and increase ignition timing to moderately increase power. Factory knock sensors and all engine safety features are retained and still work the same way. ECU learning is retained as well. This means if the knock sensors detect pre-detonation the ECU will automatically retard ignition timing and adjust fueling the same as the factory configuration will. Again, all engine safety features are retained. Beyond that, I don't believe this tune is even close to pushing the limit on these engines.

Statement: I lost a $30,000 Audi S5 engine on an Integrated Engineering ECU tune.
This is very different animal than your Audi S5 engine. Many S5's were turbocharged from the factory. They are a high performance engine that's already being pushed close to the max of it's efficiency. Can you push the turbo little harder? Sure. But you're really tapping into the range where race fuel or E85 would be a good idea. This, on top of the fact that the S5 isn't exactly known for it's bulletproof engine. Rocker issues and ringland failures have been a problem on this platform for years. I've had turbocharged engines fail me too; modified and unmodified. At the end of the day when you push that much heat and boost through an engine there's not much room for error. Sorry about your luck, genuinely.

Statement: IE washed their hands of it. No accountability whatsoever. No testing, no analysis, nada.
I'm not sure why you would think that Integrated Engineering would assume responsibility for your S5's engine failure. Similarly, I doubt seriously that Magnuson would pay to replace someone's engine if their 1GR-FE decided to go. They are no longer a factory installed option in most cases. Because of that I would at least anticipate some battles providing information on the install, proof that no mistakes were made during the install. Proof that their supplied tune was actually done. There are many things that can cause engine failure. Should aftermarket companies go broke investigating every person's issues? Especially when many failures could be caused by a failed sensor, faulty fuel system, installation error etc. I personally don't think so.

And finally,
If you want more HP and torque, buy the vehicle that gives you what you want.
This argument makes total sense IF you weren't advocating for a supercharger. But at the end of the day people will modify cars man. This is because cars are built to a price point to work for most people. When you want to do something with your car that most people don't do, you may feel justified to modify your car for that specific purpose. This allows you to work with a manufacturer who isn't worried about building the entire car to a specific price point. They are instead focused on making that one component as well as they possibly can, with no compromise in price. This is why high end aftermarket parts are downright better than OEM components. Many OE components are built to last within the car's warranty period; sometimes even being designed to fail afterward. Intended obsolescence is a real problem but luckily aftermarket companies are filling the void.

OTT has nothing to gain if their tunes started causing engine failures. They would lose customer base quickly. And unlike any OE, would not benefit from selling replacement parts to consumers.

To bring this last point back to the topic at hand. The 4Runner is a jack of all trades and is a pretty capable machine in many aspects. There's nothing wrong with wanting the benefits of a quality tune. Especially after you educate yourself and realize that it's actually much safer than going forced induction. Don't get me wrong, if you want 600 horsepower the 4Runner probably isn't the platform to start. But if you like everything on your rig but want a little more response without spending $8,000, OTT is there for you.

Hopefully I'm not telling tales out of school here. I am in no way affiliated with any tuning company. Just a pleased customer who cares enough to attempt to educate people on the process and call out fear mongers who are telling people to stay away from certain businesses because they had a bad experience with an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT COMPANY.

All tunes and tuners are not created equal.