Why all threads over MPG ???

Right. I barely drive 10,000 miles a year so MPG isn't a big deal for me, but for people that drive 300-400 miles a week, it wouldn't be so nice.

 

I drive like 400-600 a week, thats $90 a week. Im considering getting a DD corolla.

 

HA! I lived in the Los Angeles area back in the early 70's and the smog back then was SO BAD compared to what is is today!

At least, these days I'm southeast of LA, so I don't see much of the smog that is still created from LA, but with all the motorcycle riding I do on my commute, I get all the smells that go with it. I can sure tell when a gas vehicle is not timed well, or a diesel is not firing on all cylinders! Or...

 

I commute about 625 miles a week and that's exactly why I ride a motorcycle. 125 miles a day, about 3 gallons of gas, yesterday I paid $4.08 a gallon.

So that's about $60+ a week...double that cost for me to drive my truck!

 

It's a Tacoma buddy. TACOMA. You may not save money at the pump but will do on parts because they don't go bad as much.

 

Jesus. I was paying 60 a week on gas a year ago for my old job. I was paying 240 a month just for gas so I quit that job and got a lower paying job. The money I was making at my old job was a little more but that little more went towards gas and maintenance. Screw that. Now at my new job a full tank lasts 3 weeks.

 

When you reach my age, you hang on to whatever you can get until retirement time...yes, I'm that close and changing jobs at this time, in my field is not an option!

 

gas in california is 4 bucks? jesus. i'm sitting at a truck stop in south dakota and its 2.79. california blows.

 

Mine is bone stock. I get 14-16mpg in town, 15-19 on the highway depending on the wind. I also live at 6000ft, but I suspect the shitty stock transmission logic is partly to blame (the 4th gear deathgrip doesn't help fuel economy a bit, neither does the nothing, nothing, nothing, ZOMG downshift and 5k rpm in town). The Jeep I traded in got 18-20 in town, 21-24 on the highway with a similar engine.

 

You can blame the transmission if you want but that's not the problem. What is your fuel mileage for a full tank with many tanks over time? See my sig

 

Do you use the ECT power mode? Maybe that will suit your driving style better and you won't have to womp the throttle to go as fast as you prefer.

I'll hit it sometimes for an onramp

 

If you really really wanted to push the limits of convenience and safety for max fuel economy you would need to get a manual transmission. Not that the gear ratios are any better or shifts are more efficient but for the simple fact you can more easily turn the motor off at any stop light/wait. Also coasting in neutral can be done easier. Even coasting in neutral with the engine off .

Shutting the engine off at any stop has been shown to save up to 10% on mpgs, on average. I know start up consumes more fuel vs idle but if you are stopping for more than say 10 seconds, it's worth the fuel savings.

Also rolling in neutral down a hill or flat section provides the least rolling resistance and conserves the most momentum. Before you say "hold on, rolling in gear (i,e engine breaking) totally shuts off the fuel injectors so you wouldn't even waste gas idling the motor while you cruise in neutral" , the momentum loss is not worth it. Only if you are cruising to a stop, would you want to keep it in gear and off the gas. You can even take this an unsafe step further and turn off your motor while the truck is rolling along in neutral so you have no need to idle and you cost along. When you want to start back up, bump start it in whichever gear is appropriate. Obviously power steering and breaking are not there when doing this (possible even steering wheel lock if you put the ignition in the "lock" position) .

Like I said this is pushing the limits of what is possible, just to break some kind of record. Safety and convenience would say don't do these things...but if someone put a gun to your head and said "get over 25 mpg now" it could be theoretically possible...

 

Or just buy the 4 banger =)

 

REGEAR

 

This reminded me of my grandma's late husband. We used to live at the bottom of a hill. He used to shut off his truck 1/4 mile and cruise at 5MPH until he reached home to keep the neighbors dogs from barking and waking my grandma. Good times.

 

How accurate is the computer? Mine is always over 20 per tank. Usually 22-23. I am keeping my 6 speed Mazda 6 to daily drive (about 600 miles per week, 37 mpg) but that's mostly because of comfort and wear and tear.

 

Test it on a couple of tanks, I did my SLK350 Thursday. Did about 200 mile drive home from Santa Fe NM, the computer said 32.2, the hand valuation showed 32.8mpg. To me that’s an acceptable difference

 

The truck's computer varies, most of the time. Hand calc usually results in the same or slightly better MPG than my truck's readout. I think the largest discrepancy my computer readout has had was 0.3 mpg less than hand calc.

My previous Ram almost always reported 0.3-0.8 higher than hand calc.

 

CO2 reduction? Don't worry about co2 so much. Its a hoax, plants all plants need co2 and give off oxygen, reduce co2, plants may die without plants animals die. The co2 thing is a massive wealth transfer and a reduction in liberty. Does anyone promoting this practice what they preach.? That's not saying we shouldn't be mindful of the environment, but take the red pill, not the blue ones ( what people want you to think)

 

I like better mpgs just as much as the next person, but here in ND if I can find a day without wind blowing 15mph I get around 24+ otherwise 17. If its higher less than that ,