Limited V6 or V8?

[phillyd2]

As you may have seen in my "No NAV available in Limited V6" Posts I may have to reconsider and get a V8 instead of a V6.

Can you guys post your experiences of one over the other (V6 verses V8).

 

[sharp4runr]

Please do a search as this has been covered multiple times.

 

[Dennis]

This has indeed been discussed a lot, but, unfortunately, it is difficult to search for. You can't search for "V8" or "V6" because the search engine won't look for two-letter words. The only way I found anything was to visually scan for it.

 

[phillyd2]

This has indeed been discussed a lot, but, unfortunately, it is difficult to search for. You can't search for "V8" or "V6" because the search engine won't look for two-letter words. The only way I found anything was to visually scan for it.

you said it brother. Almost every post has V6 or V8 in it!

 

[CuzzinOlaf]

As you may have seen in my "No NAV available in Limited V6" Posts I may have to reconsider and get a V8 instead of a V6.

Can you guys post your experiences of one over the other (V6 verses V8).

I have an 04 with a V8 and love it. I tow a lot and it is great. Others say they love the power of the newer v8s so I guess you couldn't go wrong.

 

[Dennis]

Okay, here's my brief summary:

There is the obvious mileage difference, about 10%, between the two. Some folks think this difference comes partly from the V8 being full-time 4wd. That could be true, but if the combined difference is still only 10%, no owner is going to be able to measure the difference between a V6 in 2wd and a V6 in 4wd.

There is the obvious difference in power, although this doesn't seem prominent in normal driving. For long pulls in the mountains, especially heavily loaded, or when towing, the V8 is probably a welcome friend.

Some people think that the truck handles a bit nicer in 2wd. I also slightly prefer the V6 handling, but I attribute it more to the weight difference in the front end.

The V6 is a newer engine with perhaps a more modern design. Some people like the fact that it has a timing chain instead of a belt. Some people appreciate the handy location of the oil filter on top. The V6 is now widely used by Toyota, but the V8 has an enviable history of praise over an even longer period.

 

[AlexJet]

I've V6 and I'm happy with it. No way am I trading it for V8. It has enough power and torques both on-road and off-road, never had an issue with "need more power and/or torque".

 

[curtis]

.....never had an issue with "need more power and/or torque".

Not an issue of needing it, but for me, having it has been a kick in the pants.

 

[Sac State]

I bought the V8 because I could, it was offered. This set-up is the exact powertrain as the Land Cruiser, which is $25K more. So, instead of paying more for the LC, I got a Runner with the same legs.

I had a V6 Runner and wanted a V8. Plus, I like the fact I am always in AWD/4WD.

You can feel the V8 in your butt, just like the Z28 of my youth. Man I love torque.

Curtis, those blacked out wheels are awesome. I am seriously thinking of painting mine black also.

 

[CuzzinOlaf]

So it is simple.... if you're going to tow get the V8, if not get the V6. I don't know but the V8 could have a higher resale though. And more people would be interested if planned to tow.

 

[Northof49]

So it is simple.... if you're going to tow get the V8, if not get the V6. I don't know but the V8 could have a higher resale though. And more people would be interested if planned to tow.

It's not that simple at all.

The V8 is an all around smoother package, with much more refined engine noises and exhaust note. Also, my seat-of-the-pants notices a more linear torque curver that comes on earlier. I would buy the V8 even if I never towed at all.

The V6 has that annoying tick under load, same as in the new Tacomas, but less noticeable in a 4R. The old 3.4L V6 was actually much smoother running and pleasing to the ears.

 

[CuzzinOlaf]

It's not that simple at all.

The V8 is an all around smoother package, with much more refined engine noises and exhaust note. Also, my seat-of-the-pants notices a more linear torque curver that comes on earlier. I would buy the V8 even if I never towed at all.

Why does everyone have to make this so difficult. Both engines are reliable, both have adequate power and the mileage difference isn't much.

I am sure if he went to test drive both it would be easy to figure out which was louder, which was smoother, the lack of AWD in the V6 and so on.

Agreed I'd buy the V8 even if I didn't tow but he asked what our experiences were.....

 

[EDGE]

You want Nav and Nav only comes with the V8 Limited, not really that hard to figure out:

 

[phillyd2]

You want Nav and Nav only comes with the V8 Limited, not really that hard to figure out:

yeah, that's a biggie but also considering ordering from the factory or buying a V6 with no NAV and installing it later. Easiest route is V8 with NAV from the lot. Hence my question. I will be test driving again tomorrow but also wanted to hear other views. Kind of thought that was the main point of this forum.

 

[Uneek]

My opinion

As you may have seen in my "No NAV available in Limited V6" Posts I may have to reconsider and get a V8 instead of a V6.

Can you guys post your experiences of one over the other (V6 verses V8).

I was in the same boat as you are about a month ago, until my rep finally told me Toyota has accepted my special order. (He put in a special order in Nov. and in Dec. I got word Toyota accepted.) I was getting ready to get a V8 due to the lack of word from my rep and getting impatient. Gas mileage wise wasn't significant enough that I ruled out the V8 completely. If Toyota was offering bigger rebates on the V8 like they did in late '05 for '05s, it would complicate my decision for the '06 making the V8 more attractive.

I've test driven both, the power of the V8 is smoother and more quieter when accelerating, not to mention V8s have nicer sounds when accelerating (and Borla makes a dual exhaust). I didn't notice a difference, but my brother who went with me on the test drive noticed that the V8 was climbing the hill without even breaking a sweat, he said it felt like it tackled the hill if it was flat ground.

Exactly, as Dennis said. I don't tow, so I don't need the extra power. Most of the time, it'll be just me commuting to work and occassionally a full load on a family trip. I have a '05 Tacoma which uses the same V6 as the 4R and it has plenty of power, though the Tacoma is lighter. FWIW, I also have a shell/cap on mine, so it's a bit heavier (maybe 200lbs ) than what's quoted on Toyota's site. (3845lbs on the Tacoma DoubleCab 2WD and 4320lbs on a 4WD V6 4R.) I want the V6 because it has 2WD mode, better oil filter location and timing chain.

The V8 is built off the proven UZ family which has been used since the launch of Lexus back in 1989. This V6 is also widely popular as Toyota has 4 versions of it from the Avalon and RAV4 to the new Lexus IS and GS. I believe the GR series will be another reliable engine from Toyota.

Check your needs and if you need the extra power, then decide if you're willing to wait for a special order, if you have a dealer that's willing to order it. A couple dealers have told me it wasn't possible to special order. Good luck!

 

[phillyd2]

Great info. Thanks!

BTW, is is possible that Toyota would not accept a special order?

My dealer is willing to but I had not even considered Toyota saying no. hmmmm

 

[Uneek]

Great info. Thanks!

BTW, is is possible that Toyota would not accept a special order?

My dealer is willing to but I had not even considered Toyota saying no. hmmmm

There appears to be no set way of how a special order is processed by each individual dealer, so your dealer's process may vary compared to mine. Two dealers here told me they could not special order, to get nav, it had to be a V8 Limited, no other way around it. Another dealer wanted a $500 deposit before proceeding with the order. I didn't need to put a deposit down because I've purchased from my rep less than 6 months ago. Another member here, got a memo and some paperwork showing his order was accepted.

At my dealer, the rep went into the program that they use to track and view their vehicle allocations from Toyota and made changes there. In that program it typically shows 'standard' configurations and option packages available in your region by the distributor. The program shows the preference of configurations of what the dealer wants on their allocations, typically it's different trim levels and colors. He went in and configured model 8668, which is the code for the 4WD V6 Limited, with NV, FE, GY, RF and SR, (which are nav, 50 state emissions, side/curtain airbags, spoiler and moonroof, respectively) and moved this configuration to the top of his dealer's preference and allocation. A month after he did all these changes when I stopped by, he pulled up the screen and it said "changes successfully saved." With that information, he knew Toyota accepted the order for my particular configuration. It took a little over a month just to find out that Toyota has accepted my configuration. I have no word on when my truck will actually arrive. I just hope the rebates keep getting bigger as I wait.

BTW, my configuration isn't all that special as it appeared on buyatoyota.com under my zip code. But apparently what's listed under your zip code may not even exist. Because my zip shows that the Sport could be had with nav, and I haven't seen any Sport with nav before here. I just went with the "package code" listed under my zip hoping that it would easier and faster to get a 4WD V6 Limited with nav, thus I don't/won't have a tow hitch on mine, which I will add later.

 

[phillyd2]

Thanks again. My dealer is starting all this week. Was there almost all day Sat and they actually found a V6 Limited with NAV from another dealer (MD I think) but I also wanted Stone interior instead of Tan so they will see this week if a special order is possible.