Any way to increase power or mpg?

I'm a college student and I've got a 2010 4cylinder, 5 speed 4x4 Tacoma. I get around 20-21 mpg highway and I'm wondering if there are any modifications I can do to either increase the mpg or increase the power a bit. I know that operating with a 4 cylinder isn't the best for acceleration purposes but I'm wondering if I can get it to be a little less sluggish. Any thoughts?

 

No sorry.

 

K&N filter adds about 15hp, flow master adds like 20hp, ecoblock adds around 50hp and a 3.1415926535897% or a slice of Pi increase to your milage... I also hear that TRD stickers increase milage about 40%.

 

Seriously though, look into a warm air intake, good tires that are properly inflated and keep yer foot from pegging the skinny peddle to the floor to keep up with traffic from the light.

 

While you did buy an economical truck, you did not buy an econo box. So, I'm going to assume your truck is currently stock. Tire/wheel size, no lift, etc., and that you actually calculate your MPG and keep a running average. Most folks don't, so the numbers get tougher to have validity.

That said, if you want more MPG you have a couple of choices, all of which are worth a 'little bit'..............

1) Keep it in a good state of tune.

2) drive like there is an egg under the gas pedal

3) Learn where the lugging point (not good for motor) is for each gear, and shift just a couple hundred RPM north each time.

4) Google 'hypermiling'

More power is tougher to achieve on these. And normally it will be at the expense of MPG.

For example, some regear their 4 bangers. This does not make more power, but it does change where in the RPM band it's available, increasing drivability at the expense of higher RPMs for any given MPH.

In your original post, I'm not sure what being a college student has to do with your question. Unless you are trying to tell us you are poor, and MPG matters to your budget. If that's the case, maybe an older econobox sedan would be more appropriate until graduation?

 

I just wanted to emphasize that being a college student, I'm not super knowledgeable about cars, and also don't have a ton of cash on hand to spend, but am willing to throw a few hundred dollars here and there for some upgrades. The truck is mostly stock except for a set of nerf bars. Always kept in tune, changing everything when it's needed and going by the owner's manual. Also I do keep a running average of MPG on longer trips, whenever I drive more than 50 miles or so I like to track my MPGs. Will check out hypermiling, warm air intake and shift towards more conservative driving habits

 

X2 on the TRD stickers I took mine off and went from 20 mpg to 17but all seriousness you can't really get better mpg but more power by adding the k&n and the magna flow 40 series and a supercharger

 

Enjoy the Tacoma for what it is.Save your money,fullfill your college towards the degree and job you want and make it a goal to have a vehicle in the future that has more performance power and better mpg's.

 

Your lucky getting 20 mpg I'm only getting 17.5

 

Mods won't pay for themselves.
Headers help a little.
Intake spacer helps a little.

Air up your tires and use synthetic lubricants and just drive gently.

 

You could be right about the spacer. That logic though, is ridiculous. Do you think they designed everything perfectly with the Tacoma?

 

It is. I know that everything isn't designed perfectly but you seem to since you said "Intake spacer does nothing. If it did something, the manufacturer would have made it that length."

 

I resent that, being a college student and a car/truck enthusiast. I'm with ya on the money part though.

 

No. Read the posts. I didn't say that the thing works. I said for you to use the logic 'if that mod works better Toyota would have made it that way' is stupid. I'm not arguing about an engine spacer. I'm telling you that your statement was silly.

 

Jesus. I've spelled it out as clearly as I can. You don't see my point or you don't want to. I didn't say the spacer works. I didn't say it doesn't. I said your reason for doubting it is stupid. Toyota does some things wrong. Don't just assume the engineers designed everything flawlessly and nothing can be improved.

 

You're not going to get much more power out of that engine without spending way too much on it.

Tires will probably make the most difference in mileage. If your tires need to be replaced, look into highway tires or or even some of the low rolling resistance options. You might also look into getting an ultragauge that monitors your instantaneous fuel consumption. That will help you control your driving habits and show you which activities contribute the most to fuel burn.

 

There are ways to get more power out of the 2.7 but they're expensive and will require things like custom cam re-grind and stand alone ecu and super charger. In stock form the 4cyl taco does pretty dam good if it's a 5spd auto will always get worse milage and power. My city milage is creeping down because I keep adding heavy armour but highway hasn't really been affected much

 

Now you're all about context instead of blanket statements. I'm done. Last word's all yours. Go for it.

 

this thread got derailed by idiotic statements..

Short of it is this.. you own a 4cyl truck.. Nothing you do will be worth any money invested. when you gain power you need to tune the engine ands ECU ands in most cases is no longer a decent daily driver.

Sell it and get a V6. problem solved or deal with it.

 

Putting an intake spacer on a 2.7 is a little different. You can get a 2-3 inch spacer instead of a half inch.
Toyota probably designed the intake runners at the length they did for good low end performance, but still kept top end in mind. If you extend the length of the intake runners and keep the diameter the same, normally you get better low end torque and better drivability. But this kills top end performance. It's the same with a tuned port injection Chevy. Makes crazy torque down low because it is a big displacement engine with crazy long intake tubes., but start wheezing for air at 4500 rpm. It makes the car fun to drive and pull hard, but not much for actual drag racing because it dies out on the top end.