MPG on 33in/285s

Hey TW,

I have a 2002 Tacoma 3.4l 4x4 5 speed that currently has a 3 in lift that I am considering putting 33s/285s on. I am just wondering what kind of MPG I should expect to be getting after the new tires go on. I currently have 265/75/r16s.

Anyone who is running this setup of a 3 in lift with 33s/285s feel free to chime in and say what they are getting around town and on the freeway.

Thanks all!

 

somewhere between bad and worse. 100% stock these trucks get "not great"...

I'm sure you'll get people who claim they get 17-20 with 33's, which is weird, because that's better than what EPA rating is stock, lol... (EDIT: you'll see my prediction came true later in this thread, lol)

More than likely 2-4mpg drop from whatever you're getting now. If you're worried about MPGs don't do it. Depends on if you re-gear, too.

 

14-17 mpg with premium and my 33’s are bf Goodrich 10.5 wide. I usually don’t worry bout mileage but with gas prices I am gonna get a regear.

 

Shoot that would suck for me then because I usually get about 15ish.

That so odd because the one time I put premium in my truck I got worse MPG lol, but yea gas prices are pretty much booty rn... especially in CALI

 

This just came up in my build thread since I've got a reputation in my crowd for caring about the MPGs. (Or even really tracking them - a lot of folks with trucks, understandably, don't care).

Anyway, you're welcome to check it out starting right around here. The TL;DR version is right in line with @jbrandt's response though - wheels and tires are the thing that had the largest negative impact for me - much larger than all my other mods/armor/etc., combined.

My average pre-mods was ~18. After front bumper, winch, sliders, and skids, was ~17.8 and post bigger/heavier tires I'm now at 16.27. I posted my spreadsheet there as well with all the data for the last ~7 years since I'm a nerd like that.

Couldn't have said it better, especially this part. Of course, this is the internet, so even though you hit it on the head, I still added my .02.

 

@eon_blue

 

Mines a bit different with the supercharger and all but with 33s I'm averaging 15.

 

SUPER helpful. I actually appreciate the "nerdy" part. So you have 33's then which bumped you down to the 16? I'll be checking out your thread. Thanks!!

 

Bro that sheet is fricken wild! I love seeing stuff like that! I appreciate how you even tracked which gas station lol.

Is that 16.27 value the average or the highest value that you got? That's mostly freeway im guessing

 

I’m running 285s, came from 31 10.5s. Best I remember I was getting about 16-possibly 18 and now I’m getting around 15ish. All my driving is short trips and country hilly back roads right now. I’ve got the 3.4 5 speed 4x4 also and have an ARB bumper and sliders

 

15-16mph at best with 285s. That's with ac on full time.

 

Another reason to go with 255/85r16's... skinny = lighter, less rotational inertia.

 

16.27 is the lifetime average. Each tank average is shown in the MPG column (red/green values). You can see I've had a few awesome tanks in the 20mpg range - generally, this is 35mph driving through Yellowstone or something like that - and many tanks with "horrible" gas mileage.

Then, the To Date MPG column next to it is what the average was as of the fill-up depicted in that line, and the Lifetime MPG column is the current average over all tanks (so To Date MPG and Lifetime MPG are the same for the very last fill-up). Again, in real life, this is all done automatically with formulas, which I've removed from the spreadsheet that I shared, leaving only the numbers..

If you go to the Analysis sheet tab (at the bottom, if you're not familiar with Excel), and then to column M, you can see a PivotTable that you can change the Terrain filter to see how MPGs change based on highway, 4WD, etc.

If only there were 255/85r16's that were good MT or "nearly MT" (like Duratrac or ST Maxx) that were C load instead of E.

 

255s are the only reason I decided to go up to 33s. My 255 Coopers are actually less weight per tire than my 32" BFG KO2s were (only by a couple lbs each but still). Was nice to go up in size without adding more weight.

 

13mpg but I also have full armor, winch, and a soft topper.

 

After driving on 33" BFG Muds for a year, I generally get about 17-18 mpg with the truck empty and about 15 with the truck loaded down (motorcycle and gear mainly). I've gotten as high as 20 mpg across an entire tank while I was on a road trip cruising on the highway all day.
The truck has a 3.4L in it as well. Not sure why some here have been getting such terrible mileage.

 

Maybe because you have a Reg Cab? Also if you have a 4 cylinder, manual, and or non 4x4, that would help.

 

Not to mention, it matters how you measure your mileage. Without adjustment, I'm off by ~8% just because of my odometer reading.

This is a good post that covers what most people don't even realize is going on - Speedometers, Odometers, and Gas Mileage - All Lies!

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My response is right in line with everyone else’s as well, however, I have regeared to 4.88’s. I have a CBI MOAB front bumper, all pro sliders, RCI IFS and Trans skid, and 285/75/16 WildPeak M/T’s (E rated sidewall)... so she’s a hefty girl. Lol. I used a Dakota digital to correct my speedo reading to match GPS speed. I didn’t match it to the actual speedo, I matched it to what the Scan Gauge 2 was reading from the ECU so I believe my MPG reading to be as accurate as it ever could be. I get my best MPG (18-20) cruising at 75mph or around 2700 RPM. But over the course of a tank, 16-16.5 is pretty bang on.

 

Yep. For example, when my GPS says I’m going 73 MPH, the speedo reads 76-77 MPH. And even after I corrected the ECU to match the GPS using the Dakota digital, the speedo reading still didn’t match.