Towing with a 200 series ,
Submitted by todd davies on Thu, 2018-04-19 14:25
I have a 2015 200 series and tow my boat which is about 1800kg. What do i select ?? leave it in drive , shift it across to select and whatch the taco go up and down as its scrolling between 4 ,5, 6, gears on a reasonably flat road.Or do i select 4th or 5th gear. Any advice would be greatly apreciated, its a badly programmed auto from what i understand and i was hoping someone has worked out how to make the most of it with towing.
cheers Todd
JohnF
Posts: 2839
Date Joined: 07/07/10
For 1800 kg, select gear 5.
For 1800 kg, select gear 5. 4th gear only needed for really heavy loads.
Leaving in D (allows 6th gear) will result in torque converter slip and general bad khama.......for such a brilliant car, this is a pretty fundumental flaw and most un-Toyota like.
Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.
Wes F
Posts: 1067
Date Joined: 07/01/12
I drive as if a manual
I have a 4 speed auto behind a 6.5 Chevy, using down hill run to gain momentum for heading up hill. I would never keep in over drive when heading up hill. I keep an eye on taco mainly to keep fuel consumption down. On the flat i try to maintain full torque converter lock up makes about 300-500RPM difference. Can sit comfortably between 90 and 100 on reasonably flat road. Just take me time and have patience when towing up hills.
Old fishermen never die they just smell that way.
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1322
Date Joined: 23/02/11
I always use 4th - (although
I always use 4th - (although the boats I have towed with it are heavier) I just found if you leave it in a higher gear it is constantly changing up and down -
the section of road from Geraldton to Northampton is a good test!! down to 3rd with foot to the floor last year with a fully loaded car and against a thumping headwind! - lots of smoke out the back! felt like a scene from outback truckers where they are trying to get an ageing road train up a jump up - except I didn't have a dog in the cab....
resurgence
Posts: 578
Date Joined: 23/04/14
Experiment a bit
Coastrunner
Posts: 455
Date Joined: 25/10/14
S5
I have a 200, exhaust and tune, my boat weighs in around 1,800kg and I have used S5 with no dramas.
Rob H
Posts: 5810
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Mine is 2010, and had the
Mine is 2010, and had the auto reprogrammed by Toyota in 2013
With this came a sheet of paper saying to access the reprogrammed shift patterns you need to put it in Select (or sport, whatever) and then flick twice up within 2 or 3 seconds (takes it to 6th) then the auto will use the reprogramed pattern until switched off.
From memory it holds the lock up a little longer and hunts a little less.
With a Scangauge hooked up and 3.5tonnes behind, its not hard to see the fuel benefit of running in 5 or even 4 at 100kph
Can even feel your foot lift a touch into 4th unless theres a tailwind
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
dodgy
Posts: 4583
Date Joined: 01/02/10
I have an 18 and as
I have an 18 and as mentioned the programming is much better than the previous models. A whole different car to drive than my 2012 was.
I tow around 3t and usually in s5 if it’s flat and s4 if it’s a headwind or going through a few hills.
Torque converter lockup and gearbox remap would certainly help as well.
I was going to wait for warrenty to be up but with a bigger boat coming I think it will get the engine and trans remapped shortly and a lockup installed.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
bsir
Posts: 574
Date Joined: 24/04/11
Lockup
how do you tell if the torque converter is locked up? Is it just watch transmission temp (on scangauge)?
resurgence
Posts: 578
Date Joined: 23/04/14
Engine speed
If you pay close attention to your revs as the transmission moves through the gears you will see what looks like another gear change; revs should drop by about 300rpm.
The other thing that I use to indicate lockup is my instantaneous fuel consumption on my Ultragauge drops by about 3l/100km.
I think pre-2016 models there are codes for scan gauge and Ultragauge that show lockup but I can’t find anyone who has made it work for 2016 onwards, at least not for the Ultragauge.
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
I have an ultra gauge on my
I have an ultra gauge on my 2010 and it can display lockup status. The crappy auto programming is the only real let down on the 200. I have the aforementioned Toyota updated & it still seems a half baked measure. Seems like a lock up controller is the only real fix but would need to be doing loads towing to repay this in saved fuel spend.
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
Rob H
Posts: 5810
Date Joined: 18/01/12
I'm a bit wary with the
I'm a bit wary with the lockup programming.
The lock up clutch is about the size of a DVD and not designed to cope with anywhere the full power or low down torque of the 4.5.
While I havent heard of any problems, it'll be a very expensive fix if cooked by for example someone driving it on manual lock up who doesnt know whats happening.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
dodgy
Posts: 4583
Date Joined: 01/02/10
I was wary of it too but
I was wary of it too but there are plenty of nomads around with over 150000 of towing on them so they seems to be holding up ok.
That’s a fair bit more than I will hang onto mine so I’m happy enough with that.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
FYI - My 200 series will not
FYI - My 200 series will not select 6th in Drive whilst towing, i tow a 3.5t boat around.
Rob H
Posts: 5810
Date Joined: 18/01/12
what year?If mine does go
what year?
If mine does go into 6th, the torque converter wont lock up so 5th is the go.
Even not towing they struggle to get to 6th at 100kph
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
2014
2014
holth
Posts: 812
Date Joined: 09/10/06
My new 17 gxl not towing
My new 17 gxl not towing will engage 6th at 90.
About to hit the road for Exxy towing the boat probably weighing in at 1500kg and car loaded. This is my first trip towing loaded up.
Will use S5. Will be logging fuel usage.
todd davies
Posts: 28
Date Joined: 14/03/16
Interested to hear how you go.
Keen to hear how the cruiser goes and you go with the Sharks. Heading up in 4 weeks. Keep me posted
sea-kem
Posts: 15034
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Now I know who's cashed up
Now I know who's cashed up on here and can afford a 200 series
Love the West!
dodgy
Posts: 4583
Date Joined: 01/02/10
120000 Aussies or so.....
120000 Aussies or so.....
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Rob H
Posts: 5810
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Tax deduction for you
Tax deduction for you Seakem, you should have them for your apprentices as well!
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
sea-kem
Posts: 15034
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Tax man is very particular
Tax man is very particular in what constutes a work vehicle these days Rob. I'm just sliding by with my Ranger. Honestly when the day comes I might consider one.
Love the West!
Darren253
Posts: 570
Date Joined: 23/07/16
Cheap motoring... (Providing
Cheap motoring... (Providing you have the capital available)
the tax depreciation alone is more than the cost of ownership.
My last one with 90,000km on cost me $5500 per year. Fixed price servicing and warranty to fall back on.
Billcollector
Posts: 2086
Date Joined: 16/05/09
Creative Conversions with A
Creative Conversions with A 4200 GVM. 1 tonne payload and cuts out the luxury car tax by getting it done pre rego.
Best of both worlds and an awesome vehicle.
dodgy
Posts: 4583
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Did I see yours up for sale?
Did I see yours up for sale?
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Billcollector
Posts: 2086
Date Joined: 16/05/09
No not mine gets too much use
No not mine gets too much use to wait another 12 months for one to be built.
todd davies
Posts: 28
Date Joined: 14/03/16
Towing feedback
Cheers for the feedback. Work in progress by the sounds. Much appreciated I will take it all on board and stop annoying Toyota
Billcollector
Posts: 2086
Date Joined: 16/05/09
Highly recommend a remap on
Highly recommend a remap on the pre 2015 cruisers and a lockup kit. It has made mine a pleasure to drive now with no annoying gear changes for no reason. Lock up and see how much cooler your trans temps are. Some good people in Perth rather than Toyota.
todd davies
Posts: 28
Date Joined: 14/03/16
keen to know
Mate i would be keen to know 1. what youve had done and 2. who you got the work done through.
cheers Todd
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
check out reaper
check out reaper performance, these guys are putting out serious numbers in the 200's
Billcollector
Posts: 2086
Date Joined: 16/05/09
Had new bigger
Todd Had new bigger injectors,cleaned the intake, upgraded the trans ecu to 2015 then remapped it to shift properly and hold the gears, installed lockup kit, remap the ecu and tuned on dyno.
Give Alan at TOYOTUNE in Maddington a call. Knows the 200s like the back of his hand.
Mitch88
Posts: 181
Date Joined: 23/09/14
Got a 2011 altitude
Got a 2011 altitude 130,000ks on it, towing a 3tonne boat. Always towed in D never had a problem.
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1322
Date Joined: 23/02/11
mate always better to tow a
mate always better to tow a boat that size in S4, plenty of info on the forums (lcool) on why but in short you will get better economy and lower your trans temp = longer life