Highway gas mileage sucks.

Ovtune. Ecu/tcu flash. People are saying 2+mpg improvement as well a Boat load of other things

 

Toyota Engineers: "Hmmm, we seem to have a choice - Spend millions of dollars on R&D and years of time developing this Adkinson Cycle 3.5 engine to get two more mpg, or $700 on OV Tune to accomplish the same thing..."

I think some people are making shit up to justify their $700 purchase lol. Pretty soon there will be claims of Tacomas flying through the air for miles after getting the OV tune. I've read the thread. Waiting for the version that offers perpetual motion.

 

I got 20 mpg on Saturday from Co. Springs up to Fort Collins and back (about 125 miles each way). There was hella crosswinds, and I usually was going around 80-84 in the 75mph zones. If the world was flat, straight, no wind and no traffic, eh... who am I kidding...nevermind. It was pretty good staying in 6th for the most part, but once you start heading up hills in cruise, it already knows 5th isn't the answer, so it'll drop to 4th gear. I will say there wasn't a lot of times where I could keep the cruise on for very long anyway, with the traffic. When it was not in cruise, it would drop into 5th, and be fine. Cruise wants you to get back to your set speed NOW!

Aerodynamically, we're not driving the most sleek wind-cutting vehicles, then going 75+ doesn't help either. I've just come to the happy place that I am not in this to get great mileage in my Tacoma. Keep in mind OP, you are also in Colorado, we are probably losing mileage due to less oxygen.

If I spent much time doing the highway thing, I'd go get a little car that got 40+ mpg.

 

Yeah, my BFG’s are Big Fuel Guzzlers too.

If I lost 1mpg more using them over stock (I suspect its more though), I will be using more than 1,400 extra gallons of fuel over a 350k mile lifespan of my truck.

 

I purchased the tune but have not installed it yet. People dont lie and say they like somthing when they dont so others will waste money and buy it, That doesnt make any sense! They will tell their honest opinion (which they have) so the tune can be further perfected by the tuner(ovtune).There are alot of factors you didnt consider such as emissions,reliability,Toyotas budget and so much more! Manufacturers are far from perfect and you have to remember they have time frames they must meet and budgets. They dont dump “millions” of dollars into research as they would go broke and make no profit. Also atkinson cycle isnt new its been around for a while in toyotas other company LEXUS! I cant tell you why toyota did what they did to make the 3rd gen tacoma drive like uder crap but they did! You dont have to buy a tune if you honestly believe it's snake oil. But ovtune has provided solid data,dyno graphs and users have left their feedback on what they think of it and so far its looking good.

 

Please take a marketing and psychology 101 class man. People are sheep, and that includes everyone. Me too lol. The truth is, when someone buys something, especially an expensive something, they believe that product is much better than anything else! They will promote that product in order to subconscously validate their decision to buy it in the first place! It happens all the time, especially here!
Look, OVtune could be the greatest thing ever. I don't know because i love the way my truck drives stock and don't want to change it. I'm not knocking the tune, only some of the claims.
My point is, for anyone to claim a ten percent efficiency increase for $700 is absurd. 10% efficiency increase is absolutely huge in any vehicle world. Manufacturers spend millions for a half a percent increase! All of them do, because efficiency is extremely important. 10% ( 2 mpg for the Tacoma) is unheard without serious mods if you know anything about engineering. The only way to gain 10% now is to strip several hundred pounds out of the truck, install skinny smaller tires and reduce the power output of the engine... all those things people don't want.

 

Guess im a sucker and the dyno sheets posted are lies. Sorry man @OVTune

Edit- i bought this 2017 tacoma and after driving it for sometime i hates the crap out of it. Doesnt sound like im justifying my purchase, i want it to get fixed or im selling this crap and getting a tundra. Maybe tundra department did better

 

My MPG started to go really bad (65 - 70 mph) when the tire PSI went below 30. Running mine around 34 PSI i get 23ish at that speed, sometimes more depending on how flat the land is and if I have to work around other drivers.

Now one very important thing I noticed was when my transmission fluid level was brought up to normal (found out mine was low) my gas mileage got much better.

 

Like the Me-So products sold here?

Just joking, I'm in the line-up for some of that stuff too. But man, people just get so excited about them... Kirk Out

OH and... I got 23.5mpg driving from grand junction to moab on the interstate (100mi+/-) but I had to just crawl along doing 65 and no cruise control.

 

I have noticed driving around back roads at 50-60 is better MPG than 70+ on the highway.

 

This is a little experiment I did this week with my drive to work. I got substantially better mileage with 100% gas and no ethanol. I know ifs only 14mpg but I dont really care, I have a cool truck and I drive like a jerk most days so I do it to myself.

100% 87

256.5 miles uncorrected
240.1 corrected
16.785 Gallons
14.22mpg
Approximately 1.5 hours idle time
Speed 65-75
Highway/city driving 80/20
Temp 20-70*



E10 87
230.8 miles Uncorrected
216.9 corrected
17.242 gallons
12.58mpg
Approximately 1 hour idle time
Speed 65-75
Highway/city driving 80/20
Temp 20-65*

 

We are all suckers when it comes to product buying.
I like dyno runs, especially when they are run by a 3rd party with no interest in the product.

As i said, i have no problems with the OV tune. I'm sure it helps those who have drivability issues. It also helps redistribute torque a bit. But to add 10% efficiency? And torque? And improves drivability? C'mon man. I design stuff for a living. There has to be a trade off. If you increase performance, you usually decrease reliability and durability.

 

Ethanol does not have the same power as gasoline. You will always get better mpg with pure gas. Problem is pure gas costs more around here than the gas with ethanol. If you do the calculations, ecen though you get better mpg, you save a bit of money running the blend.

 

Lol if it makes you feel any better I get 14 on the highway. 15 on a good day.

 

I can't complain about my gas mileage, I get 23 mpg if I stay at or under 70mph on any good day. I do get 19-20 mpg at 80-84mph on hwy with a passengers and a couple pieces of luggage. Today I had four on a 50 mile trip, same thing.
I do keep my truck in tip top shape, I do use top tier 87 regular gas, tires at 37-40psi on the hwy and my tires are stock size, stock suspension.
IDK or understand why anyone would need any kind of tune on this truck the way it just roars instantly and powerfully up to speed.
I don't even use ect anymore, I did when it was under 1800k on the clock, but after that I'm guessing the thrill has gone. But not far, it's become my DD that I get a big smile out of, every time I get on it.

If I was a smoker, I'd light one up after every ride

 

Makes sense, best speed for MPG is about 55mph.

 

Slow down. That is perfectly normal for a truck at those speeds.

 

Right there with you. 14.7ish with lift and full armor 285/75/16 and then some. I don't mind . Pretty good considering my old 6cyl 97 Cherokee 4x4 got 15 mpg when it was stock .

 

me too...

 

I don't know about that for these trucks. 70ish gets me the just as good mileage, maybe because it drops into 6th.