fuel economy 09 4.0 taco

Hi...I recently bought an 09 tacoma with a 4.0 the truck is stock and i was wondering if any one had some suggestions what I can do to improve the fuel economy any comments are welcome ...thx

 

i would say an air filter and a muffler swap. a bed cover if you can find one under 200. make sure the air pressure is always correct.

 

"Light Right Foot Mod" Take it easy on the skinny pedal and you'll be doing yourself all sorts of favors. A Scangauge can help you monitor your progress.

You'll get minimal gains from filters and mufflers and whatnot- .5mpg and under most likely. Correct tire pressure will help....as will eliminating unnecessary weight from the truck.

Welcome to TW!!

 

X2. Driving habits dictate a lot of it.

 

Welcome
Yes what the guys said. I bought a scangauge it helped me realize keeping the rpms down. My best numbers come when its under 2 & not towing.

 

Buy a Prius. Why does this question always come up? If I worried about my fuel mileage all of the time I'd go insane. Actually I am going to buy a Hummer H2 and go on the Hummer forums and ask what I can do to improve gas mileage.

Sorry in advance but this question just rubs me the wrong way. It's becoming the successor to "What's the best oil" threads.

 

To each his own... we'll see a lot more of it when gas clips over $3/gal again in the US

Here's some of what I do:

Since our trucks shut down the injectors when coasting (at least the the autos do) that helps tremendously on MPGs. I do the following whenever possible:

- Accelerate moderately but steadily up to speed. No jack rabbit starts but I don't take 2 minutes to get going either. My truck gets 12-15mpg with even light acceleration so I don't want to be too slow about getting to cruising speed
- I use cruise control whenever going above 40 mph and on relatively flat ground. Cruise control can be more efficient when on flat ground but any time I hit even moderate hills then I can beat it and get better MPGs driving on my own.
- When driving on my own up/down hills I'll accelerate slightly going downhill (up to 5mph over the speed limit) and then bleed off some of that speed going up the next hill so as to require less acceleration uphill.
- When I do need to stop I try to lose at least 25% of my speed by coasting. There's no point accelerating up to a stop sign/light anyway, you just transform the wasted gas into heat when you step on the brakes. This is easier than it might sound since as long as the engine is warmed up and you're over about 35mph the injectors will turn off and you'll lose speed fairly quickly if you're on flat ground
- Any time I see a 1/8 mile or more of downhill slope I'll coast a bit to let the injectors kick off and essentially get unlimited MPGs
- I rarely get above 2500 RPMs although this isn't a direct reflection of good mileage. It's easy to only be running at 1700 RPMs and only getting 15mpg if you're accelerating up an slight hill. Still, all other things being equal, lower revs equals lower fuel consumption.

I bought a ScangaugeII about 3 months ago at this point but it hasn't helped me get better mileage... I think I was pushing it for all it was worth before then but having one has helped me confirm the items above. Plus it's a nifty toy and something to pay attention to on my drive to work/home every day.

 

thx do you suggest a K&n air filter? are they worth it? thx for repling

 

the filter won't do much for you that light foot wouldn't do as well. You might save money over the long run on filters as the K&N is reusable.

 

Worth it only if you plan to keep your truck for many miles/years since you won't have to replace the air filter. I don't think the impact on MPG will be noticeable...