FOOL PROOF way to improve your gas mileage!

Hello all!

I hope my clickbait title will attract as many people as possible. I haven't been on Tacoma World for a very long time, but I have already seen countless threads about people concerned about their gas mileage and asking how to improve it!

Well, I have good news. I have a FOOL PROOF guide that works for everyone. Just follow these steps and I guarantee you will see an increase in your fuel economy.

NOTE - You are never gonna get great gas mileage in a truck. If you care that much, buy a more efficient vehicle. This guide is for those people who just want to save a bit of $$.

#1: Stop driving so fast

Did you know that the faster you drive the less fuel efficient your vehicle is? Going 75 vs. 65 of the highway makes a big difference to your economy and unless you are going cross-country it is not going to really affect how fast you get from one place to another. So stop speeding during your commute.

#2: Stop accelerating so fast / Keep your RPM's low

Accelerating quickly is a good way to throw away gas. You are gonna get to that final speed eventually, do you really need to gun it to save a couple seconds? The answer to that is probably no. A handy way to force yourself to do this is to keep your RPM's low, preferably below 2500. I like to keep mine below 2000. Of course those of us with manuals can shift real quick, so be gentle with the gas pedal too.

#3: Stop following people too closely

If you follow this step you also get the added benefit of removing yourself from the risk of rear-ending someone...bonus!

Every time I am on the highway probably 90% of the drivers around me are following too closely. It is an easy habit to get into as it prevents people from cutting you off during rush hour. However, following too closely is absolutely terrible for your gas mileage. Why? You may not notice, but when you are following someone closely you are constantly making adjustments to maintain that distance. That means you get into a pattern of tapping your brakes and accelerating again. When you are on the highway, every time you tap your brakes unnecessarily you are literally burning money away. The gas (aka money) you just used to accelerate is being lost as heat into your brake pads. We are not hybrids, we cannot get that energy back.

When you are following at an ideal (and safe) distance you can better maintain your speed by using only small adjustments with ONLY your gas pedal and coasting instead of braking. This way all of the gas you use is going towards getting you to your destination, and not to heat in your brake pads. As a good rule of thumb during normal traffic flow if you ever tap your brakes on the highway you are following too closely (barring other dumb drivers). Again...it is a really easy habit to get into. Just try to be conscious about it and remember it is much safer as well.


#4: Be aware / Stop braking so much

This one goes hand in hand with #3. Be aware of the situation ahead of you on the road and compensate ahead of time. For example, if you see a light turn red ahead of you, immediately get off the gas and start coasting. You don't need to accelerate or maintain your speed up to a red light. This can feel weird at first, but it can be rewarding when you time a light right. Another example is on the highway. If you are following at a good distance and see brake lights ahead of you, let off the gas and coast down to speed.

Just being generally aware of what is going on ahead of you can really help you stay off the brakes and drive more efficiently. This also has the added benefit of increasing the life of your brake pads.

The general idea is to ensure that all of the gas you use is going towards getting towards your destination and not towards heating up your brake pads.

As an added note: Some hyper-milers take this to the extreme and almost never come to a complete stop, even at stop signs. I do not recommend this as it is illegal and not really that safe for the benefit you'd get out of our trucks.

#5: MODS

Until you fix your driving habits, don't bother buying mods purely to improve your gas mileage. Nothing is going to have as big of an effect. If you are gonna buy something go do a search. There are about a million threads on it.

#6: Other tidbits

We have modern vehicles with modern components and this creates some weird quirks when it comes to fuel efficiency. One of these quirks is that it is more efficient to stay in gear going down a large hill than to coast in neutral. Also, things like air intakes are not going to improve your mileage unless you change your driving habits as well.

A/C: If you really want to be a masochist, use your AC as little as possible. They hurt fuel economy.

Gas Octane: Depending on where you look you will get varying reports on weather this is worth it. In my own tests I found it was not. Feel free to do your own.

Cruise control: If you have trouble maintaining your speed on long stretches of highway, cruise control can help. And it will be more efficient...usually.

Drafting: Drafting semis will greatly improve your gas mileage. But it is dumb and dangerous. Don't do it unless you get explicit permission from the semi driver and you two are the only vehicles around. And then still think twice about doing it. Don't do it.

In Conclusion:

As you may have noticed I probably didn't tell you what you wanted to hear in this thread. More than anything else, your driving habits affect your gas mileage. And to get better gas mileage you kinda have to drive like a grandpa. But if you follow most of these steps you will find yourself with improved gas mileage, with improved brake pad wear, driving safer and imo a little more relaxing commute.


Feel free to ask questions or post other tips! And I hope this helps a few people out there.

 

Click bait

 

Drive smooth.

Don't ever use cruise control on icy roads.

 

Step 1: Sell the Tacoma
Step 2: Buy a hybrid
Step 3: Better MPG and worse taste in vehicles

 

A/C on my truck uses .46-.49 gallons/hour at idle. At idle without A/C it uses .25 gallons/hour. This is only when the compressor is running which is less than half the time at idle.

Moving the truck uses 1.5 to 3.0 gallons/hour.

A/C is hardly a mileage killer, it's barely noticeable.

I do agree with the other points, at 60 mph my truck averages 23-24 mpg on the highway, 70+ it's down to 20-21 mpg, that's noticeable.

Mileage measured with my calibrated ultra-gauge.

 

Hmm nice advice, but still not fool proof. Pushing the truck, that's how to increase your mpg

 

Drafting semis may improve your fuel mileage, but it may break your windshield. Truck drivers hate being drafted. It is nerve wracking and they have enough shit to deal with without some dickhead following them so close they can't be seen. Theres a lot of crap on the shoulders that can be kicked up on your pretty truck.
Just don't do it.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fool-proof-way-to-improve-your-gas-mileage.475691/#post-14419796

 

And I swear my lane isn't moving faster. This gap is just what it looks like when someone doesn't tailgate... I made this space myself. You can do it too!

 

So no fun and you get good MPG

 

I drive semis, and I never understood why guys get so pissed off about people drafting behind them. Who care's what's going on behind you? the sides and the front are all that matter on the highway. It is true that people generally don't understand what a trucker is dealing with, and are complete idiots around rigs. However, it really makes no difference if somebody is drafting you. It's not like I'm going to suddenly go into reverse while cruising 100kph, and it's not my problem if I get rear ended. Heck I probably wouldn't even notice.

In the city on the other hand, people need to back right off, freaking crazy stupid psychopaths.

All of that being said, I really don't condone drafting behind semis.

 

Ifen I was overly concerned about gas mileage I'd drive this:



Seeing how I'm a dark beer drinkin, gun ownin bitter clinger I choose to drive this:

 

Well, the first thing is if its night and the lights are flashing around back there. The second thing is if I pull out to pass and the clown behind darts out there, I don't know if he's trying to commit suicide by trying to pass me while Im trying to pass. And its just one more thing I have to keep my eye on.
Then there is the stress If someone cuts me off and I have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting some Canadian in a slow ass truck who isn't paying attention to whats behind him ( ) And the dummy thats drafting me and texting runs into the back of my trailer killing himself. Now......... I don't really care if he's killed himself back there, but it wrecks my day because I have to get a damn tow truck and deal with cops and paperwork and insurance and lawyers and the grieving family that wants to blame someone for their husbands stupidity, so they try and sue me because that husband and father of 2 small daughters was a good father and husband, blah blah blah.. I just don't need the hassle man.