performance, l4 4cyl engine questions

I've been driving 8 cyl pickups for a lot of years so maybe I'm just expecting too much from this little 4. I bought it to save some on gas and will do light hauling once in a while. Have a 2008 l4 access cab 4x4 w/cap. I'm seeing 17-19 mpg (city) so far after 1500 miles. I assume that because it's a 4x4 I'll never see much better. My biggest concern is that mileage will go to hell when I have a moderate load on the highway, as it seems pretty gutless just driving around town. Your thoughts???

Also, what mods will enhance the performance...best bang for the buck? For power and/or mpg.

 

17-19mpg with an I4? That's brutal dude. Guys here are getting better with the V6. I believe a lot of guys are getting 25-27mpg with the I4 - 4x4 or not.

 

For short trips in stop and go driving 17 to 19 is normal. Even with a warm engine my scan gauge shows a 17ish MPG trip average when I go into downtown Providence. When you get onto a highway your mileage will go way up if you keep to anywhere close to the speed limits. Additionally as the engine breakes in you'll get better milage. It slowly goes up for at least the first 10K miles.. Some people say it gets better until 20K.

 

I just filled up on my first tank a couple days ago...I tallied it up and it got about 24mpg...mostly highway tho

 

Is that with a 4x4? ethonol gas?

 

20 mpg is my average in the city foot in it A/c on loaded with stuff using 10% ethanol blend not thrilled with mpg but o k with it I wouldnt drive anything else but a toyota truck

 

Ok, have a few more miles on her now. I just got 24 highway with the AC on and a moderate load. Seems around 19-20 city, stop and go, sometimes less. I'm also seeing that that little 2.7 has a whole lot of spunk when you get on it. I'm feeling better about that engine now I'm seeing improvements as I break it in. Ordered an AFE CAI and have removed the secondary. Other than the rear springs, soundproofing and fog lights, I think I'll call it a day for any more mods. Thanks.

 

Take this for what it's worth, my V-6 did not really break in until 25000 miles, then the mileage went from 15-17 to 18-20, so give it some time. Yes your mileage will go down with heavy loads, but you did get a 4, you should expect that. You have 4:10 gears, so keep the revs up and hit the hills and you should be fine.

 

I have a 2008 4cyl, 5 speed with 1900 miles on it. My best mileage was about 23.5 mpg on a 600 mile road trip. My normal driving is about 75% city and 25% highway...seems I average about 18-19 mpg.

I am disappointed that I am not even close to the EPA ratings. Only reason I bought a 4cyl with 5 speed was for the mileage...

 

I dont know where Toyota tests their gas mileage but it sure is overly optimistic isnt it? Listen- its a TRUCK-not a slippy lil car. With what your TRUCK can do for you compared to a car and still yield you IMO decent mileage you should be content. Also, there are things YOU can do to up that mileage like try do reach the highest gear as soon as posible, cruise steadily, and dont be a leadfoot. You hear these guys saying how that 2.7 really comes alive when you get in it-thats because these motors breathe pretty deeply for a 4-banger and they pull some fuel with that air. Try to stay out of that sweet spot more often and you may pick up 1 or 2 MPG

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld.

How fast were you driving on that 600 mile trip? If you were doing 70+ MPH that's pretty good. Stop and go city driving will kill your mileage. I have pretty good driving conditions and my first couple tanks worked out to about 24 MPG. Now with 17K on the truck and a few little mods I'm expecting 27 MPG for a 3 tank average on my next fillup. (Hurray for summer formulation gas!)

 

The 22-28 you see on the sticker is with PURE gasoline. Here in Houston we get that summer blend crap which the pump says contains 10 % ethanol, which I think contains around 20%. That really reduces the mpg. I was averaging 23.5 mpg with my 06 2.7 pre-runner access cab.

 

On my first real tank I got almost 25 MPG (24.82 for all the OCD German's out there) in a 65/35% hwy/city mix. My short trip in town are less than 4 miles and lots of traffic signals, never above 45 MPH. On the highway trips I have been keeping my speeds between 60 and 70 MPH. So far I am happy with this figure. I have a 375 mile all Hwy trip coming up this week, hoping for 27-28 MPG out on the open interstate. With the 3.31 gearing I think this is possible. The engine reads 2300 RPM at 70 MPH. Will still be varing my speed due to the newness of the truck. Will report back on that Thursday or Friday.

Dan

 

Doug Thorley has some great headers for the 2.7L, K&N has their intake system too.

 

It's been almost 2 months since I posted this thread. There are a few thousand more miles on the truck. Mileage is great: 19-20 city and 22-25 highway. With a 4x4 I can't ask for any better. As for the hauling capability of the L2.7, I'm really impressed. I've towed a jet-ski and a trailer, a 19' speed boat and a 24' pontoon boat (short haul on the pontoon). No problem with anything.

It's a feisty little motor thats cheap to feed and eager to earn it's keep.