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Sitting in traffic kill your mpg?

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by ColdZeroBSP, Oct 20, 2009.

  1. Oct 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
    #1
    ColdZeroBSP

    ColdZeroBSP [OP] Yo homie, that my briefcase?

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    Tewksbury MA
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    With the ever so efficient state government of Massachusetts doing bridge repair here on cape cod, it takes me about 1 hour and a half to get off this freakin island. I've had my truck for about 3 days and have noticed my tank drop from full to almost empty with very little actual driving distance (actually checked the tank to make sure there's no holes in it :mad:)

    Has anyone noticed that sitting in a traffic jam for a few hours eats up a lot of gas? I have to sit in about an hour of stop and go traffic in each direction and i'm hoping this is the problem and not the truck. Thoughts?
     
  2. Oct 20, 2009 at 11:11 AM
    #2
    Capita

    Capita Well-Known Member

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    idling does drink gas. Happend to my ford f150 and suzuki sx4 as well as my Tacoma
     
  3. Oct 20, 2009 at 11:14 AM
    #3
    Brunes

    Brunes abides.

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    Idling is using gas without going anywhere- Doing it for hours each way...You betcha it's gunna drain your tank.
     
  4. Oct 20, 2009 at 11:27 AM
    #4
    NetMonkey

    NetMonkey Well-Known Member

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    yup.. sitting in traffic=0mpg :)

    get a scan guage and it will tell you the gallons per hour its burning while sitting in traffic. mine shows about 0.4 gph at idle.
     
  5. Oct 20, 2009 at 11:54 AM
    #5
    tarandus

    tarandus Well-Known Member

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    Not good for the catalytic converter either. Great for the greenhouse though! Howzabout turning off yer engine? You can restart every so often for heat or to keep the tunes from draining the battery...
     
  6. Oct 20, 2009 at 11:55 AM
    #6
    gupster88

    gupster88 Well-Known Member

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    exactly! you arent going anywhere but you are consuming fuel thus you are getting 0mpg...hence why your city mpg on the sticker was lower than the highway mpg
     
  7. Oct 20, 2009 at 3:36 PM
    #7
    Isthatahemi

    Isthatahemi Well-Known Member

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    My scangauge says the 4 cylinder truck uses .5 -2.5 gallon per hour idleing. Depends on Air conditioning (mostly), and other factors.
     
  8. Oct 20, 2009 at 4:10 PM
    #8
    poff1986

    poff1986 Seasoned Newbie

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    You could always buy a bicycle, those are unlimited MPG, would be nothing better than passing a car standing still..lol
     
  9. Oct 20, 2009 at 4:20 PM
    #9
    jwhelan

    jwhelan Well-Known Member

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    Good gawd are we really discussing this?
     
  10. Oct 20, 2009 at 4:26 PM
    #10
    PropJet

    PropJet Well-Known Member

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    You use up to 2.5 gph idleing? That sure seems high to me. My v6 uses between 0.33 - 0.5 gph while idleing depending on whether the a/c is on or not.
     
  11. Oct 20, 2009 at 4:40 PM
    #11
    Viet2100

    Viet2100 Well-Known Member

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    Yup. Sad, I know. But, I guess all questions must be answered :rolleyes:
     
  12. Oct 20, 2009 at 5:05 PM
    #12
    Isthatahemi

    Isthatahemi Well-Known Member

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    So your truck will idle for 7 - 10 days with the AC on? hmmm
    When I was idleing outside the Stratosphere hotel in 110 degree heat, Idleing showed approx .5 gph, when the AC compressor cycled, it went up to 1.7 gph, when the truck got really hot, and the fan clutch engaged, it took 2.5 gph.
    How many hp does the compressor draw? Think about this, you can feel it noticably in the middle rpms, so at times, it takes upwards of 10hp. No way any engine is turning that for .5 gph..... Cruising down the highway it costs 1mpg, so if you're going 60, thats 2.5 gallons per hour, I could go on, but...
     
  13. Oct 20, 2009 at 5:11 PM
    #13
    petersharp

    petersharp Well-Known Member

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    2.5 gph? So you could only idel for about 6 hrs? Hmmm, sounds a bit low to me.
     
  14. Oct 20, 2009 at 5:45 PM
    #14
    j4x4ar3

    j4x4ar3 Well-Known Member

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    Nope.. I sit in California traffic. 35 miles one way, 35 miles the other way. Average about 40mph or less on most days. Overall gas mileage averages about 20-23 although with the winter blend it's been more around the 20mpg range.
     
  15. Oct 20, 2009 at 5:57 PM
    #15
    Marioso

    Marioso Risueno

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    i sit at the us/mx border every weekened for 2 hours and the gas gauge hardly moves. i never turn off the truck either
     
  16. Oct 20, 2009 at 6:19 PM
    #16
    Isthatahemi

    Isthatahemi Well-Known Member

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    BFG AT's, Weathertechs, Hoppy's brake controller.
    Holy math skills Batman! And spelling....
    Who's tacoma comes with a 15 gallon tank?
    The AC clutch cycles, as does the clutch fan, that is why I said from .5 to 2.5. Not an average. Average is probably 1gph ish, if I had to guess.
    As your sig says, it aint.....oh nevermind.
     
  17. Oct 21, 2009 at 6:20 AM
    #17
    ColdZeroBSP

    ColdZeroBSP [OP] Yo homie, that my briefcase?

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    I'm not an idiot. Obviously I know idling uses up gas. I was just surprised by HOW MUCH GAS. I literally watched the needle move 1/8 of a tank while I was sitting in traffic. That's over 2.5 gph WITHOUT the a/c on. Just wondering if others had experienced the same thing...
     
  18. Oct 21, 2009 at 11:51 AM
    #18
    BassPilot

    BassPilot Well-Known Member

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    You have a DC 4x4 OR? How do you get 20-23 mpg? My best is 17.8!
     
  19. Oct 21, 2009 at 2:36 PM
    #19
    Isthatahemi

    Isthatahemi Well-Known Member

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    BFG AT's, Weathertechs, Hoppy's brake controller.
    40 mph is the most efficient speed possible....
     
  20. Oct 21, 2009 at 2:53 PM
    #20
    brandob9

    brandob9 Well-Known Member

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    Speaking of math skills, this is 4th grade math and I'm surprised it came up.

    MPG is miles / gallons. If your numerator is 0, your output is zero.

    Your commute off of Cape Cod comes down to this:

    0 miles / 0.5 gallons = 0mpg. When you average this in with the rest of your trip, lets say 40 miles/2 gallons (20mpg), you get 40 miles / 2.5 gallons = 16 mpg.
     

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