Tube Bumper Fuel Economy

I'm starting to consider aftermarket bumpers, and have pretty much settled on the All-Pro tube bumper, without the extra plates or headlight hoops.

With absolutely no scientific data to back up my own hypothesis, I would guess that a bumper like this will reduce my fuel economy because...let's face it, the thing is the opposite of aerodynamic. How much, I don't know. I'd think it would be worst at highway speeds - I tend to keep it around 70.

Does anyone have any info on this? Almost all of my driving is local, but I also roadtrip a couple of times a year (a few thousand miles a pop). I don't think any answer will change my mind, I'm just curious. If no one knows, I'll come back with pre/post bumper install mpg #s.

 

I don't know about the aerodynamics part of how much it affects the truck but most definitely more weight = worse gas mileage.

 

No recorded data or numbers to back it up but I had an arb bumper (real heavy) on my Tacoma then switched to a trail gear tube bumper and I think mayyyybe I get an extra 20-30kms a tank now, definitely didn't get any worse at least. Compared to a stock bumper I don't know what kind of difference you might see. The tube might cut through the air better and allow it to slip along the front end rather than pushing a bubble like a plate/stock bumper would...but I'm just making that up so who knows ha. You'll have to make a backyard wind tunnel and let us know!

 

It's definitely got more to do with the added weight of the bumper more than aerodynamics. Off-road steel bumpers are heavy, really heavy...especially compared to the stock, OEM bumper you're replacing. Fuel economy will definitely be impacted by that. When taking that into consideration, the lighter the bumper the better off you'll be. When I get a new bumper, it will be a tube bumper for this exact reason; fuel economy. That, and I don't want to have to upgrade my front springs. Plate bumpers being as heavy as they are will require stronger springs up front if you don't want the front end to sag.

 

Thanks everyone for your input. It's only a matter of time before the bumper gets added. I plan on getting myself stuck having too much fun so the added recovery points will be most appreciated. I'll do tests before and after to see what I get controlling for all other variables as much as possible. Given the different weights of the bumpers when I do my pre-tests I'll try to add the old/new bumper weight difference into it. Science.

I suspect I will spend more on gas doing all the tests that I will lose on aerodynamic inefficiency in all future driving. (or i'll lose slightly less if 98tacomax is right and i'm wrong...maybe eventually the experiment will pay for itself)

Tube/pre-runner style is my aesthetic preference. Stock bumper seems to be about 32lbs or so, so i'll be going up in weight, but tubes should have a lower impact on weight than a boxed out bumper.

 

with the tube front bumper, tube rock sliders, and 88lb custom rear bumper, I am making 16mpg not too bad but not great either. I love my gear though so i dont mind filling up a little more often

 

Assuming your are 4wd, your truck already has one sturdy recovery point (factory 'hook' on the passenger side rail). I've used that many times to pull out stuck vehicles (on my old '84 4runner, specifically). The hook on the Tacoma should be as strong. I also added another hook on the driver side rail.

 

Yeah, I've got the 4x4, so I do have the hook down there. I'll be comfortable with that until i can upgrade the bumper. 2 big reasons for that are 2 recovery points for centered pulls, and a winch mount. I got the truck so i can get off road a bit more; the winch will be a small investment in the ability to get myself unstuck when i'm having too much fun.

 

Just to chime in a bit here. I used to NOT have a front bumper at all. Like, nothing up there but the grille and headlights. Mileage was terrible and on the highway, it took a LOT of throttle to maintain speed.

I'm cheap and my truck was bought beat up as hell. So I went the cheap route and I got a free f-350 front bumper. I mocked it up and bolted it on.

So my "sled style" bumper has helped tremendously. Mileage has gone up and it's so much easier to maintain a cruising speed.

The reason for my comment is because of the weight comment above and the sled style comment above. You want to have something "smooth" up front and even though I added close to 100lbs to my truck, my mileage jumped about 2-3mpg.

Good luck with whatever route you choose!

 

awesome, thanks for the feedback! i think i'm going tube no matter what, but your info is helpful to my original question - even with added weight, but better aero, you still improved MPGs. i have to assume no bumper is pretty "unaerodynamic" - tubes may be somewhere in between. i think i'll probably lose a mpg or 2, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices....

 

You will get the most fuel mileage gains by slowing down, using the cruise control, and keeping the tires properly inflated more than anything. I used to have a 90mile daily commute back when gas was close to 5 bucks a gallon and i used to go 70-75 on the hi-way, i slowed down to 56 mph and didnt touch the throttle except to pass and let the cruise do its thing and i was able to get an extra day of commuting to a tank of gas. This was with an all pro front tube bumper, winch, sliders, full skid plate and 33's. This was also on Chicago area highways, so yea i was almost getting run over by evreyone, but they weren't paying my gas bill and i was in the right lane so i didnt care.

With the front all pro bumper you will essentially be running no bumper from an aerodynamic standpoint. You may get an efficiency gain with their full skids as you are flattening out the belly.

 

good point on the skids Slander - hadn't thought of that but that'd be the same reason performance autos have trays under them. good thinking. i agree with your statement that the tube bar will basically be "no bumper" from an aerodynamics perspective. just tons of nooks and crannies for air to get caught in.

I drive like a grandpa on the hwy. way back when, i had a 99camry that i used to roadtrip in...put that sucker at 65mph and it would get about 38mpg-hwy.

driving slow means getting off the expressway and onto the back highways so you're not in anyone's way. back highways are where the adventures are.

my continued thanks for everyone's input on this.

 

I have added some aerodynamic gains with some plates I have welded into the nooks and crannies. Maybe 1mpg gain but then I added an off-road rear bumper to nullify any progess I could have gained

 

My last tube bumper I added plates to the wings but also had fiberglass fenders. I gained almost 5mpg but I really think the fenders were acting as parachutes.

 

OP, did you ever get that bumper?

 

not yet, i'm waiting until after tax-time. i was just thinking about this thread the other day though.

I'll still report back when I've got more data

 

Perfect. I'm thinking of a tube bumper too but do love my highway mpgs

 

I'm surprised at the mileage I've been getting stock so far, city driving i get about 18mpg, and two 75 mile jogs out to Madison this last weekend had me seeing 25mpg on the conservative side. That was going about 70, but not really drafting anyone.

Can i ask what tube bumper you're looking at? I've had my heart set on the All-Pro for a while now, but Trail Gear's low profile is a good price point (and works with stock skids). Aesthetically, i like the all pro, but price and a front receiver make the Trail Gear appealing too.

 

Yeah going 65 mph I can get upwards of 25mpgs with my camper shell.

I'm looking into trail gears as its only 480 with free shipping on here http://offroadwarehouse.com/i-10167777-trail-gear-rock-defense-low-profile-front-bumper-1-for-95-04-toyota-tacoma.html#!model=TACOMA||make=TOYOTA||year=2000

I really do want a winch as I'm only a prerunner and would like help getting out of sticky situations. I might just do a stealth winch mod and put it behind the stock bumper.

But we will see once monies come around during the holidays

 

This thread is right up my alley. I have a 2003 single cab 2.7L I4 5-speed manual. I get a consistent 19.5 to 20.5 MPG in 90% city driving. My last camping trip with lots of highway miles got me 22.75 MPG. I have a Trail Gear tube bumper and load range E tires. My MPG went down about 2 MPG when I switched from P-rated to E-rated tires, but didn't drop further when I added the tube bumper. The stock bumper weighs 27 lbs. and the Trail Gear low profile bumper adds 60 lbs. over stock. I recently converted from ADD to manual hubs but I've only used a half-tank of gas since then. I'll see if the internet hype about manual hubs improving MPG is true or false.