V8 to V6? No diesel? The 2022 Toyota Tundra's chief engineer explains its changes

Article content

Toyota congested internet servers around the world last week with the reveal of the 2022 Tundra . And aside from some chirping about the loss of the V8 and the size of the new grille — noise that will eventually fade as people grow accustomed to the look (hello, BMW 3 Series) — the reveal appears to have been greeted with considerable aplomb.

Article content

We all know the big news: new frame and sheet metal, new coil-spring rear suspension with airbag option, new twin-turbo V6 with optional hybrid boosting torque to 583 pound feet, new 10-speed transmission, all-new interior with available 14-inch monitor, standard composite box, crewmax models now available with 6.5-foot bed. And while there are details we still don’t know — fuel consumption, weights, dimensions, pricing, and model options — there are plenty of details that have been overlooked and underreported in the big debut.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

V8 to V6? No diesel? The 2022 Toyota Tundra's chief engineer explains its changes Back to video

We spent over an hour talking to Mike Sweers, the executive chief engineer for the Tundra, Sequoia, Tacoma and 4Runner at Toyota Motor North America, to gain plenty more insight into some of the many technical changes on the 2022 Tundra.

Article content

On dumping the V8 for a hybrid turbo V6

“Quite honestly, and I probably shouldn’t say this, but I was one of those guys who believed there’s no replacement for displacement,” admits Sweers. “We’ve been testing this engine for six years now in all sorts of climates, especially towing, so as we reduce displacement, the real question is what happens when you start towing.”

The engine, which is all-new and uses an integrated exhaust manifold in the heads to help cool the turbos, is not the same as the Lexus twin-turbo, despite the same 3.5-litre displacement, says Sweers. It has more torque than the outgoing 5.7-litre V8 (479 versus 401). The fuel injection system is Toyota’s D4S, so it’s port and direct fuel injection. “It’s a Toyota engine. Our requirements for durability don’t change regardless of the displacement, regardless of the number of cylinders, so the longevity of the engine and the QDR of that engine has to meet the same requirements.”

Article content

On towing with the coil-spring suspension

Sweers says one of his goals was to increase towing capacity from the roughly 9,000 lbs of its predecessor to the max of 12,000 pounds on some 2022 models, and to make sure, for someone who doesn’t tow all the time, the feeling would be “confident and natural.” Part of that comes down to having enough power to pull whatever it is they are pulling, but also to have enough power when passing or merging, and to be able to stop easily enough carrying such a big load. The new braking system, the new electrical architecture, new electric power steering and 10-speed transmission also all lend a hand with that he said, each system communicating with each other to make the experience seamless.

Article content

He said he won’t play the towing “numbers game” when it comes to “besting” the competition, since what’s more important is real-world capability, not bragging rights. “Our focus is on making sure that the tow rating we put in there, first and foremost, meets SAE J2807 requirements and also meets Toyota requirements for confident and natural.”

Even though GM, Ford and RAM offer higher tow ratings on certain models, the numbers don’t always mean much. “You can hook a trailer to their maximum, but have fun driving it,” Sweers says. “A lot of them, you put 8,300 pounds or more behind the trucks, and they’re a little bit — I won’t say they’re scary, but you have to drive them, it’s not natural. Our focus is making sure when we say you can tow 12,000 pounds, you can.”

Article content

A lot of people overload their trucks “because they’ve been over-promised and under-delivered on the truck,” he says. “We never want our customers to come and say, ‘Ya, you said I could tow this, but when I put the trailer back there, I’ve got a bunch of sway, it feels unstable.’ That should never happen. We want to say, when you want to tow that much, the truck does it seamlessly.”

He said he heard from customers hauling fifth-wheel or gooseneck trailers that they would get too much sag when they loaded up their trailer, hence the introduction of airbags in the rear only to help the new coil springs that replaced leaf springs in the outgoing truck. The springs and multi-link suspension are tuned for light and medium duty to maintain ride comfort, but the airbags will help with the truck’s posture when loaded with full weight over the axle. The air bags can also be manually dropped to help with easing away from a trailer’s hitch or loading.

Article content

Two tow modes — Tow and Tow + — separate loads below and above 5,000 lbs, each mode changing the electric power steering, throttle mapping, braking, and transmission shift points.

Sweers said there are seven different braking calibrations when towing or off-roading. The braking system also works at holding a set speed when descending a hill with a large load.

A new backup system helps with trailing, Sweers said, using cameras and algorithms to automatically keep the trailer in a straight line when reversing with a trailer since short tongue trailers are harder to manoeuver than long trailers. “For the guy that doesn’t tow all the time, loading that boat at the boat launch doesn’t have to be that traumatic experience as everybody is watching you,” is how he puts it. Point the trailer in the direction you want, hit the button, and apply brakes as necessary. With electric power steering, the vehicle steers itself.

Toggle full screen mode Previous Gallery Image

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Next Gallery Image Toggle gallery captions

View All 6 Photos

1 of 6

All 6 Photos for Gallery

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 

Function Not Available

Full Screen is not supported on this browser version.

You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen.

OK

Article content

On the new frame

The new, fully-boxed frame has been widened under the rear of the now-composite box to help with towing, too, but going fully boxed also presented its challenges, Sweers says, most notably ride comfort because it’s much stiffer. The new TNGA frame is the product of combining three platforms into one, a process that saw more than 40 engineers head to Japan and two years in development. “So you essentially get the towing capability of Tundra and you got the king of off-road capability, Land Cruiser. Sounds super-simple, but I used to have a lot more hair before we started this project.”

Sweers says he was initially opposed to abandoning the open C-frame because “the minute you go to a boxed frame in a pickup truck, your ride goes to pieces. And there’s only so much you can do with a leaf-pack suspension in the back to get that ride quality.” And since this new platform will be the basis for several upcoming SUVs, notably the next Sequoia, Lexus LX and GX, plus the sixth-generation 4Runner, ride quality was paramount. “What I told the team is, we have to go to a fully-boxed frame because we’re dropping SUV [bodies] on there and SUVs require fully boxed frames. “But I don’t want anyone to tell me it rides like a truck.”

Toggle full screen mode Previous Gallery Image

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Next Gallery Image Toggle gallery captions

View All 6 Photos

1 of 6

All 6 Photos for Gallery

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 

Function Not Available

Full Screen is not supported on this browser version.

You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen.

OK

Article content

On choosing a hybrid over a diesel

Sweers says he loves diesel engines and would have liked to put one in the new Tundra but, thanks to Volkswagen’s emissions-cheating scandal (okay, he wouldn’t actually name VW) it now takes three years to certify a diesel in North America. And sandwiching a hybrid motor generator between the engine and transmission achieved the main goal of boosting torque (from 401 lb-ft to 583) while at the same time delivering the added benefit of better fuel economy. He wouldn’t reveal numbers, but our guess is 12 L/100 km will be close.

“It’s just phenomenal,” he said of the feeling when driving. “It’s a little closer to what a diesel torque curve would be, but obviously when you tip into the throttle pedal [even the pedal has also been redesigned] you get a faster response than diesel.” The hybrid motor-generator, drawing from a 1.8-kw nickel-metal hydride battery (which are better in deep cold or blazing heat) with 45 amp hours, can power the truck by itself at low speeds.

Article content

We never want our customers to come and say, 'Ya, you said I could tow this, but when I put the trailer back there, I’ve got a bunch of sway, it feels unstable.' We want to say, when you want to tow that much, the truck does it seamlessly

Mike Sweers, 2022 Toyota Tundra executive chief engineer

With the hybrid, “we are filling in that torque curve,” Sweers says. Instead of waiting for the turbos to spool, the hybrid system kicks in to maintain peak torque at about 2,400 rpm, he explained. “So what you’re feeling is the best of all worlds. You’re getting that diesel-like torque and you’re getting a gas response and you’re improving fuel economy.”

“The crazy thing about the powertrains in the new truck is that the gas engine itself puts out an amazing amount of torque, but as you move to iForce Max, your fuel economy gets better,” he adds. “I don’t know of anyone else who improves their powertrain performance and improves their fuel economy at the same time.”

On how to decide what a new Tundra should and shouldn’t get

A pickup obviously has to cater to a wide audience of tastes and needs, and distilling that down takes an entire team, says Sweers. He admitted the Tundra was overdue for replacement but getting the chance to combine it with the Land Cruiser platform made sense, even if it took longer to bring to market. That also meant the Tundra received more off-road chops, getting features like crawl control “that normally we wouldn’t have considered for a full-size pickup truck.”

Article content

While keeping the full-folding rear window was obvious, he said the ’22 Tundra doesn’t have automatic, full-time AWD because that only added mass and weight to the Borg-Warner transfer case (beefed up for 2022 with a 1-3/4-inch chain) and it wasn’t high on the list of wants by truck owners. He considered adding more electrical power to the bed, like Ford has done with its hybrid F-150, but concluded the extra cost was more than what a consumer would pay for a portable generator that could power their whole house.

Like other manufacturers, Toyota conducted clinics and marketing and surveys of Tundra buyers for intel before building an all-new Tundra, but staff also attend plenty of truck events and listen to what people are doing with their trucks, he said.

“This is designed in North America by truck people,” he said. “I’m a truck guy; we own trucks, we use trucks as trucks, so I’m towing all the time. I like to off-road, I own a small farm. I’m not just the chief engineer, I’m also a customer and that’s true with our engineering staff. There’s a lot of little features on the truck that are based on not just what we’re hearing from the market, but on our actual engineers and their experiences as well.”