First Tacoma

Project MPG Work Tacoma


Truck: 1997 Toyota Tacoma 3.4L V6 4x4 DLX with 3.53 gears

Goals: 32+mpg (100% over EPA) year round and maintain towing/hauling capability.

Current Mods:

- UltraGauge (0-10mpg in the way it aids my driving technique)
- 245/75/16 Tires at 55PSI (1mpg over 40PSI)
- Front Grill Block (1mpg)
- Air Dam (2-3mpg)
- Removed Wipers (have them in the cab for rain) (.5mpg)
- Folded Side Mirrors (.5mpg)
- Flush Fiberglass Cap (2mpg)
- Synthetic Motor Oil (0w30 Mobil1 High Mileage) (.3mpg)
- Differential Fluid: Amsoil Severe Gear Synthetic Extreme Pressure Gear Lube

$30 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75W-90 (1-2mpg)
- Removed Spare Tire (70lbs) (.2mpg)
- Full Coroplast Under Panels (2-3mpg)
- Mudflap Delete (.3mpg)
- Radiator Clutch Fan Delete (1-2mpg)
- Power Steering Belt Removal (1mpg)
- 3 Inch Spacers + Add A Leaf (minus 1-2mpg)
- Side Skirts (.5mpg)
- Rear Wheel Skirts (.5mpg)

Total Completed= 12.8-26.8 mpg over EPA 16mpg

Planned Mods:

- Smooth Wheel Covers (.5mpg)
- Kill Switch (.5mpg)
- Synthetic Transmission Fluid (1mpg)
- 2000 W circulating heater (1mpg)
- Tranny, Differential heaters (1mpg)
- Alternator Switch (1-2mpg)
- Led Lights (.2mpg)
- Deep Cycle Battery (1-2mpg combined with Alternator Disable)

Potential Future Improvement= 6.2-8.2mpg

Driving Technique:
- Pulse & glide
- Engine off coasting
- Generally keeping it under 60mph (2,000 rpm)
- Timing traffic lights
- Shifting as low as possible
- Route planning

History:

1st owner had it and put 117,000 miles on it before it through a rod after he overheated it. It sat in his garage from 2002-2011, when he sold it to the 2nd owner, who happened to be a Toyota dealership mechanic. He purchased the truck and immediately had the frame inspected to see if he could get in on the 1st gen frame rot recall. The inspection came back as a really great solid frame so he decided to put a rebuilt engine in it. He also did the timing kit with a water pump, along with a new starter and alternator and a new suspension system. He also redid the rustproofing. He had paid $6,000 for it and put another $2,500 into it doing most of the work himself. He drove it for 18,000 miles mostly from Florida to Michigan and back on road trips before selling it to a friend of his for $7,000, when he bought a new one. His friend already had a Ranger when he had bought the Tacoma off him and decided he preferred the ranger because of gas mileage. So he list's the Tacoma for $5,000... after only a year and putting like 3,000 miles on the thing. I offered him $4,000 as a hopeless lowball offer and he came back at $4,200 and I came to pick it up the next day Needless to say I feel that given the current state of the truck and all the work that was done it's probably worth almost double what I paid for it. I love it so far, and feel very blessed to be owning such a quality piece of equipment. Cheers~



Basline Tank:
2014-03-05
272.8 mi
13.653 gal (US)
19.98 mpg (US)
11.77 L/100 km

 

Congrats on the steal... what are your plans for it?

Besides dealing with the saggy rear

 

U dun good.

 

I need a new pic as I already put a new Add a leaf helper spring in I might put longer headers on it and I'm also considering several mpg mods.

 

x2 .... Lucky find there I'd say.

 

2014-03-31
326.8 mi
525.93 km
13.258 gal (US)
($50.91 total for this fill)
24.65 mpg (US)
9.54 L/100 km


Last 130 miles was with the new topper. Grill mods and front belly pan for whole tank.

 

2014-04-04
377.5 mi
607.53 km
14.368 gal (US)
($52.44 total for this fill)
26.27 mpg (US)
8.95 L/100 km

Mostly highway. The topper is proving to be a valuable efficiency mod. I paid $150 for it so the Return on investment for the milage increase looks to be about 13,000 miles ->http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/truck-topper-adds-2-1mpg-70mph-gen-1-a-28590.html

 

2014-05-17
329.7 mi
530.6 km
12.083 gal (US)
$3.69/Gal ($44.59 total for this fill)
27.29 mpg (US)
8.62 L/100 km

4th tank and still improving.

 

2014-05-24
411.9 mi
662.89 km
14.762 gal (US)
$4.59 ($67.76 total for this fill)
27.9 mpg (US)

Added mid section under belly panel for the last quarter of this tank and it took me up about 1mpg on the Ultragauge.

 

I put taller skinnier tires on (245/75/16's instead of 31x10.5/15) with lighter 2010 Tacoma rims and each wheel was 16lbs lighter! 64 pounds of rotational mass is sure to make a nice difference

 

Here is what I learned from my UltraGuage recently regarding speed vs fuel economy. These results are instant readout during flat terrain constant throttle driving. All results were taken after the vehicle was thoroughly warmed up on a wind free 70f day.

03-30-2014

Speed MPG Load RPM
45mph 32.7 26.1 1775
50mph 32.2 26.3 1975
55mph 29.9 28.0 2075
60mph 27.3 31.4 2350
65mph 26.5 32.2 2525
70mph 23.9 35.7 2800

 

AWESOME job OP. Never seen anything like this before. Keep working!

 

Ever consider lowering the truck and remove the A/C unit (and power steering if you can). Also an e-fan with a in-cab speed control and higher pressure rad cap for more efficient cooling.

 

Yes those are considerations as well. The e-fan is on the list I am pretty sure there is no a/c unit in my truck, as I don't think it was never re installed during the rebuild.

 

Mod: Radiator Clutch Fan* Delete
Estimated Savings: 12lbs rotational mass, 1mpg or 36.75gallons/$147 per year based on 10,000 miles at $4/gallon
Hp Gain: 0.2 constant, 1.0 during fan engage
Time Taken: 75 minutes (The clutch was quite stuck )

I'll get to fabbing up a mount and installing the electric fan tomorrow hopefully. I'm going to be using a 12v fan off of a 99 Volvo V70 XC, because I have it on hand

 

Can you do a breakdown of how much each mod saved you? Ex. topper 3mpg, front panels 2 mpg, belly 1mpg?

Also, aren't the tires you mentioned 30"?

 

My 245/75R16s are 30.6"

 

245/75-16 are 30.60" (31" nominal)

btw what is your axle gear ratio Mikey?

 

Yeah I can do a guesstimation. 30.60"

I've been trying to figure out my gear ratio, but it's not on my door placard and I haven't been able to figure it out in my first few searches.

 

got a pic of the stickers? there is a chart somewhere I saw that shows....I'll try to find it


edit: http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/tech/toyota-differential-identification-18588.html