Popped the SRs offroad cherry today

[izzy]

Now I can't say "never driven offroad" or "never wheeled" my poor resale value.. anyways

Didn't air down, used 4Lo after the trans temp started to go up once we hit the dirt, which didn't take long. Only did a few thousand feet of dirt, ran out of time to get to the summit. Did the orange line on the OnX map on Maple Spring Road to the first hairpin.

Overall very capable on stock all seasons. I'll be shopping for Trail Terrains in close to the OEM tire size, (245/75/17).

Ran across a lot of friendly trail peeps, lots of 3Gs, motorcycles, one Bronco, and some guys in a Honda Accord LOL

The truck is going to see more dirt in the future, so I've got some aluminum CBI plates on the way (front and rear). Went for aluminum because I mostly wanted the plates as insurance for a rock I didn't see and not so much for sliding on. I can't see myself doing trails much more extreme than this.

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[stuckinsocal]

I wonder what is causing all of the temp warnings on the automatics? Is it going off at a lower temp than other vehicles, is it because of the extra torque, is it the programing of the transmission (not locking up enough). Mines is a 6MT so not affected by this and going in 4LO fixes the issue but this is not the only report I've heard of this.

On a more positive note, glad you had fun OP!

 

[izzy]

I wonder what is causing all of the temp warnings on the automatics? Is it going off at a lower temp than other vehicles, is it because of the extra torque, is it the programing of the transmission (not locking up enough). Mines is a 6MT so not affected by this and going in 4LO fixes the issue but this is not the only report I've heard of this.

On a more positive note, glad you had fun OP!

I really don't know actually. Most of the climb was 10-15mph on the paved section, trans temps were higher than street driving but still ok. What I noticed when we got onto the dirt trail is the RPMs were quite low, I was crawling up at about 5-10mph. Which checks out, the torque on the T24A-FTS is around 1600-2000RPM. I believe in first gear the trans should be locked up around 5mph, it's pretty short but maybe you're right here.

I think what's going on is, when you shift to 4Lo you're raising the RPMs and thus pumping more coolant through the radiator.

Another thing is the SR5+ engines have a oil to coolant oil cooler, which is really more of a oil temp regulator to be honest. What that oil cooler is also doing though is raising the thermal load of the radiator. So it's possible the high output variant might overheat the trans sooner than the 228hp motor possibly because of the oil cooler is dumping that heat into the radiator.

The trans temp stopped climbing in 4Lo, around 3/4 the way up, pretty close to the red bar, and then when I idled the truck at the hairpin it dropped back to normal quite fast.

All speculation on the temp stuff, maybe Toyota shouldn't have given us temp gauges LOL

Edit: and to be fair, the trans didn't overheat, and it might have not even in 4Hi, so maybe my switching to 4Lo was premature? Not really sure. All I know is the gauge went up when I put it in 4Hi

 

[stuckinsocal]

I really don't know actually. Most of the climb was 10-15mph on the paved section, trans temps were higher than street driving but still ok. What I noticed when we got onto the dirt trail is the RPMs were quite low, I was crawling up at about 5-10mph. Which checks out, the torque on the T24A-FTS is around 1600-2000RPM. I believe in first gear the trans should be locked up around 5mph, it's pretty short but maybe you're right here.

I think what's going on is, when you shift to 4Lo you're raising the RPMs and thus pumping more coolant through the radiator.

Another thing is the SR5+ engines have a oil to coolant oil cooler, which is really more of a oil temp regulator to be honest. What that oil cooler is also doing though is raising the thermal load of the radiator. So it's possible the high output variant might overheat the trans sooner than the 228hp motor possibly because of the oil cooler is dumping that heat into the radiator.

The trans temp stopped climbing in 4Lo, around 3/4 the way up, pretty close to the red bar, and then when I idled the truck at the hairpin it dropped back to normal quite fast.

All speculation on the temp stuff, maybe Toyota shouldn't have given us temp gauges LOL

Edit: and to be fair, the trans didn't overheat, and it might have not even in 4Hi, so maybe my switching to 4Lo was premature? Not really sure. All I know is the gauge went up when I put it in 4Hi

I agree it may be a combination of all those factors. If it cooled really quickly it could just be they are being extra proactive in regards to transmission temps as well. Maybe "manual mode" and keep it in a lower gear would have helped as well (though your motor might start getting a bit hot instead!). On another note I need to try some of the trails down there; I've gone to some near the Cajon Pass and Santa Clarita and I always want to explore new places when I have the time.

 

[Sagebrush]

I'm not trying to be a forum troll, so I don't take it that way. Why four low? It doesn't look steep.

 

[izzy]

I agree it may be a combination of all those factors. If it cooled really quickly it could just be they are being extra proactive in regards to transmission temps as well. Maybe "manual mode" and keep it in a lower gear would have helped as well (though your motor might start getting a bit hot instead!). On another note I need to try some of the trails down there; I've gone to some near the Cajon Pass and Santa Clarita and I always want to explore new places when I have the time.

Yeah I had it in 2nd in manual mode for a bit then 1st actually, RPMs were still pretty low in first for 5-7mph. Either way we'll see about the trans temp stuff, next time the truck is offroad I'll keep an eye on it again for sure.

Yeah definitely do, I wish I had more time to at least get to the turnout at 4000ft, which was kind of around the corner. Very cool trail and beautiful views. Called a head to make sure it was open, fire season coming so I wasn't sure.

 

[izzy]

I'm not trying to be a forum troll, so I don't take it that way. Why four low? It doesn't look steep.

There was a section behind the turn that was pretty steep.

Stuff like that never really translates in photos unless you get a telephoto lens and walk a few hundred feet away lol or see it in person.

Keep in mind we are also 400 miles from home on a trip so I really didn't want to tear up the all seasons on a sharp rock or something. I was going slower than I needed to for sure.

4Hi seemed ok, the tires were gripping but the RPMs were low, truck seemed happier in 4Lo for 5-7mph.

The orange square I highlighted is where a pretty steep 100ft climb is, very rutted too. The locals told me it used to be worse lol The photo from the dash is after that section, where it flattens a bit.

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