What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

No doubt the best fuel economy I get/got is when I'd commute in and out of town on a back rural road. 45-50 mph, only three stops... 5th gear just under 2000 rpm, etc.

And yes to the going over 70 mph. The drop off is hilariously drastic. Most of the highway driving I do now is in 75 mph zones and I'm like, "noooooooooo!" every time I have to get on them.

 

Id still just do 70 haha everyone there does 80 anyways.

 

i get 20-22mpg right now on my way to work. back rual roads, but im going down hill (very slightly but noticable) on the freeway i get 20mpg at 60mph

 

I mostly drive Judas now... when I'm on the highway with that thing trying to do 80... all 1.8 liters and 98 horsepower is just screaming for mercy.

 

wow. You're getting worse mileage then Frank.

HAHA congrats!

 

Yeah the winter gas here sucks donkey nuts. I'm sure they're adding more ethanol/additives than ever before given the massive traffic influx.

And for the record I fill up at the same gas station 95% of the time.

For the most part, yes, same route, area and type of driving. The traffic pattern has definitely changed. Too many facking people living in this area.

I don't let it warm up much longer or too much. Always wait for it to drop down a bit from the initial high idle. Then I drive it slowly and mellow until it warms up considerably.

The problem is if I get a stretch of commuting/travel where it's those ideal 45-50 mph back rural roads for several days in a row... I'm still getting the significantly diminished economy.

Without a doubt the aftermarket front bumper is the most significant impact on fuel economy. I remember it from years ago when my buddies and I were into Broncos. I also remember Viking Brett's experience once he put on his front bumper.

 

I'm assuming you've regeared?

 

Well i know i get better than 12 on the highway haha....when it is driving. And I wouldn't be driving it now anyways.

Off the highway...yeah its probably still worse...but thats my lead foot talking mostly.

 

no he hasn't.

 

My money is on the crappy gas.

 

If I spent my time trying to track down a 1-5mpg loss on my truck I'd have to quit my job. I just fill my vehicles, it pretty obvious when something major is wrong even then.

 

If I was only complaining about mpg in winter, yeah you guys could slap me silly.

But it's also noticeably less economy in the spring/summer months too.

I think I'll get out of bed, get the wallet and order a UG. Maybe that'll tell me something about the cat or O2 sensors or something.

 

It just sucks not having the same range as before.

 

Bigger gas tank? I bet you'll learn something after watching your O2 pids and LT and ST trims.

 

Any tire size/type change during this time of mpg change? Or wheel alignment?

 

Still running 31x10.5 r15 All Terrains.

Was gifted KO2s over the summer but the drop in economy was significantly noticeable when I was still running the Goodyear Adventures.

Wheel alignment numbers are still the same.

 

Yeah the fuel trims is something I want to monitor. I just ordered the EM Plus. We'll see how this goes.

 

can go to a parts store and they can read it for codes as well.

 

Cant say ive ever heard of a warped/uneven surface of a torque converter.. But i have had 2 torque converters on the newer Camrys for the Trans shudder fix that have come from the factory machined wrong and wont mate to the trans itself.. your truck just doesn't want to be 4wd just yet.

 

I've always driven like a depressed grandma

I ordered a UG last night (with two mounts, horizontal and vertical, because I have no idea where I'm going to put this thing) so hopefully it will give me better diagnostics to go off of.

Out of curiosity was it a PITA to calibrate for accurate mpg? I read the process years ago but can't remember.