Better Gas Mileage

I agree and so do most people who have used this product... complete snake oil.

 

Seriously folks, that ECO site is like a treasure hunt. I can't find a flippin' thing on it. What's it look like, $, and is it difficult to install? Do you have to order direct?

 

Wrong thread...my bad.

 

Seriously folks, that ECO site is like a treasure hunt. I can't find a flippin' thing on it. What's it look like, $, and is it difficult to install? Do you have to order direct?

 

Thanks... I needed a pick me up this morning!

 

Dealer sticker for my 07 TRD D-cab Automatic says 19/22mpg but I usually get 17/20mpg with A/C. Since gas rose above $4/gal I rarely get the tach above 2000rpm, so I was shocked when I started checking the mileage. I must have gotten under 14mpg when I was hitting the trails or towing trailers. It is hard to believe the mileage is so low with a 5-spd auto - it just doesn't make sense. I imagine Toyota is having a hellish time trying to sell our big brother with the 5.4L V8

 

It'll blow your mind then when you find out "big brother" gets damn near the same MPG with that huge 5.8....

 

That makes you wonder dosen't it. My brothers car with its 4cyl makes 32 mpg regularly. and my 01 tacoma made 16. So I bought this new 07 tacoma and she has more power and is larger and makes 17-20 on average peaking at 24 a few times. How come the larger tundra can pull off the same numbers? Seems like they are holding these things back, I know they are capable of better but I can't get it. Hell my 72 chevelle with its 600+ hp made 14mpg with me driving nuts. Or how about those guys make in access of 1000hp and getting 18+mpg. Just me ranting. I just think our trucks should be able to make 30mpg. I don't see why not.

 

I agree! Especially when the Tundra gets the 16-18mpg or so (damn near what our's are rated for) without shutting down cylinders like Ford or Chevy (forget who does that).

I tried a throttle body spacer thinking that would help. It didn't, but I'm too lazy to take it off to verify that. Figured a few things here n there adding 1-2 mpg would get me to the 25-30 range, but NOTHING helped!

Things like:

• tonneau cover
• TB spacer
• bigger ground wires (my corolla bumped from around 30-35 up to 40mpg after bigger ground wires, so why not try it again? )
• 40psi in tires

I didn't see an improvement over 2 years until I swapped to an AFE Pro Dry filter! First tank jumped up to 19mpg after the filter went in halfway through that tank, and consistently gives me 20mpg per tank. Granted, it might be better without my lift, bigger tires, and topper, but I need those things. And I'm still doing better than most trucks this size and larger even with the bad aerodynamics!

But after all those small mods doing nothing I gave up. I only got the AFE to save money on disposable filters. The mpg boost was an added bonus! I'm to the point where I think the only way to REALLY improve is reprogram the ECU. I've varied my driving habbits, and tried some hypermiler techniques with little success. Same techniques on the car have pushed it to 47mpg each trip to/from work (supposed to get 35mpg combined). Although it may have a lot to do with air resistence. My corolla can coast in nuetral farther than the truck despite being smaller and having less enertia to carry it, and accelerates down hills that the truck slows on.

 

I do get 30+ MPG on a lot of my trips. Low traffic back roads where I can do an uninterrupted 45 to 55 MPH will give me in the low to mid 30s. ( I love heading to my parents house ) That's not always possible but I easilly keep a summer average of over 27 MPG.

The biggest factor in MPG potential is the frontal area and weight of the vehicle. At any engine size comparing a 4000 lb truck to a 2500 lb car with 1/3 to 1/2 of the frontal area just doesn't work.

Comparing maximum HP to MPGs doesn't work well either because while a 1000 HP (?!?) engined car might get 18 MPG on the highway it's only lugging along putting out a small fraction of those horses. When it's WOT at 6K+ RPM making 1000 horses it's only getting low single digit MPG. That being said no one (sane) drives anything at near it's performance potential on a road for more than a few seconds at a time.

In a nut shell the Tacoma is a truck. It will never be the fastest or most economical thing out there.... But it is a versatile, comfortable, good looking vehicle that fits my needs better than anything else available that I am aware of which is why I drive one.

 

The car was 3600lbs. I am just saying that the potential is out there yet they aren't putting it into affect. Back in 1969 smokey yunick built a fierro that made unheard of fuel mileage at that time, by super heating the fuel. Even those full sized chevys with v8s making 22mpg with about the same hp. For instance my truck at 5400lbs makes 17-20 on average with 236hp. Then an extended cab chevy weighing 6400lbs makes 19-22 with 270. I don't expect it to be great I do know it is a truck. They are capable of much better. My negibhors Suv makes 23 mpg on her daily commute.

 

http://www.ecosystemsupport.com/

Went under

 

Synapse Can you tell me what that is?

 

Have 14k on my '07 Tacoma Access Cab 4x4 2.7/5 spd all stock truck except added an Access bed cover. I consistently get 22-23 summers/ 20-21 winters here in the Twin Cities. That is about 50/50 mixed city/hwy driving with some light pulling mixed in. On hwy trips at 65-70 usually get 25-26 mpg. Am a pretty light footed driver.
Speed makes a BIG difference in mpg. With the higher prices have taken to driving a little slower when and where I can. On a recent trip to Fargo (600 mile round trip) pulled 30.6 mpg driving 60-62 mph, no headwinds. Repeated that mileage (31.5) on another trip to southern MN last week. Again at 60-62 mph (2050-2100 rpms). Not bad for a 4k 4x4!
Seeing the same spd effect on wifes '04 Accord 4cyl/AT. Typically see 28-32 mixed/ 34-36 hwy at 65-70 mph. Last month did a 2600 mile trip to KS/CO and had 5 tanks in the 38 - 45 mpg range driving 62-63 mph. The 38 mpg tank was with a 30 mph headwind while the 45.6 mpg tank was with a sl tailwind. Driving slower is not that easy but the 15 - 20% fuel savings sure is a nice incentive to do it.............
BTW Window sticker on the Tacoma is 19/23 and the Accord is 24/34 so these slower (but still reasonable) spd mpg's are pretty impressive IMO!

 

that site?, it was for eco, but the domain is now up for sale.

the old site:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070218161213/http://www.ecosystemsupport.com/

 

What the heck happend to it?

 

I don't believe for a nanosecond that a Tundra with a V-8 gets the same mileage as a Taco with a V-6. No way. People tend to exaggerate their mileage all the time, I can't tell you the number of times that guys with a Suburban or a F250 with a Triton V-10 will tell me that they get "about 18" for mileage. Bullshit. If you put a Taco side-by-side with a big Tundra and drove them both the same speed and distance, the Taco will use less gas.

If you're driving an internal combustion engine that is relatively modern and reasonably efficient and in good condition, it becomes pretty much a matter of physics. Vehicle size, weight, aerodynamics, tire pressure, gear-ratios to some extent, speed, weather conditions and probably a couple of others that I'm not thinking about right now all combine to determine mileage. There is a certain amount of energy contained in a gallon of fuel, and it takes X BTUs to move a given object (the car or truck) from point A to point B, the number X being affected by the variables listed.

I also do not believe that tossing some tablet into the gas-tank is going to increase mileage any more than painting your face blue and doing some Celtic dance around the vehicle before you drive it is going to do so.

 

According to Toyota's site a 4x4 5.7L tundra gets 13/17 city/highway. A v6 DC manual Tacoma is 15/18 city/highway. I'd say that's damn close for having an extra 1.7L and 2 more cylinders.

 

to say nothing of the weight increase.

 

Exactly! I'm not saying real-world is the same, but I find it hard to believe a larger, heavier, more powerful truck is rated by the manufacturer to get damn near the same mileage as our smaller, lighter, less powerful ones.