Do You Regret Buying a Four Cylinder?

hmmmm…

My last trip I got 19mpg, that's at 65mph. Cant imagine slightly bigger tires causing that big of a drop in mpg. Especially knowing on stock tires you're turning 2600-2700 rpm at 70-75. I drop into 4th at 65mph at about 2800rpm.

Are you sure you have a 3rd gen lol

 

Did you compesate for the larger tires? Your larger tires are traveling less distance as far as the OD is concerned so mileage appears to be down. You will still lose mpg with the larger tires but not as bad as it appears.

 

4 cylinders rock.
Owned an '83 22R SR5 4x4 5-speed pickup for 10 years & a 1993 22RE Deluxe 4x4 5-speed pickup for 25 years. Loved every mile. 200k on the '83 & 305k on the '93 - never failed me.
I would have bought another 4 cylinder 4x4 Toyota, but I wanted a bit more luxury & was sick of manual transmissions as a daily driver since 1978.
My 2018 V6 4x4 Sport long bed AT is sweet, but the good old 4 cylinders powerplants are rock solid.

 

I'm tickled pink about the new 4 cyl. Much quieter and smoother when stopped at a traffic light. Transmission as smooth as silk shifting..like it should be. No clunk when taking off or stopping. Lots of good stuff but first forray onto the interstate it could have used a "hoist sail" button or some hp elves to keep from being run over by the herd of rhinos. Power is a little slack but I like it.

 

Do you have the built in fuel consumption computer? Mine is a SR so bare bones so to speak and I figure mpg based on the trip and how many gallons I put in at the pump at fill up. I don't check it as often as I used to because it's always the same unless I'm towing.

 

No I don’t and I do the same thing to calculate. My speedo reading is also accurate confirmed by gps, so I know my mpg is accurate. It sucks gas.

 

Honestly I don't see the point of buying a V-6 in these trucks as it gets worse mpg than a full sized V-8 and a lot less power and the price is not that different.

 

4 cyl gets about the same (IMO) as the v6. At least for me with the 5spd. I rented a loaner 4cyl auto 2019 rwd while my rear diff seal was being replaced, and it averaged 23mpg via the computer mpg reading. But that’s stock tires, no front diff, auto trans, etc.

It really doesn’t surprise me - these trucks are very heavy while being underpowered, motor will have to work a bit higher up the rpm band.

 

Base access cab 4cyl 5spd 4wd with ARB front bumper (it was on the truck when i bought it) is slow as hell but it does what i bought it for. In the winter with studded snow tires it was getting 19-21 mpg and the last couple of tanks i checked this summer were just over 25 mpg. This is on a 130 mi round trip commute into Reno from the Sierra’s. Overall happy with the truck. I wanted something to commute in that was cheap in order to save my GMC dsl pickup from high mileage and having to replace it too soon.

 

'14 4 cyl pulling a camper with 235x85x16 on flat ground. With a slight incline it would downshift to 2nd and turn more rpm's than I'm was comfortable with.

 

What does a super light regular cab 2.7 on 235s have to do with a much heavier 3rd gen access cab? Lol.

Side note: I’d kill to find your truck with low miles on it. (Sub 20k). If you haven’t gotten rid of it, don’t let it go! Badass truck.. unless you wanna sell it to me

 

I once upon a time had a 2.7 regular cab I beat the shit outta it and it never disappointed. The only reason I traded it was my child was growing to big to shift and my wife wanted to have a 4x4 for snow. If I could I’d have the 2.7 for a daily and the v6 for fun

 

This isn't surprising. Even with the lower ratio auto 3rd member it's still geared high for the stock 215/70R/15's.

 

YMMV was never more true. If you push it, mileage drops, if you don't, mileage is great. How you drive and where you drive probably affects this engine more than others. It's only underpowered if you ask more than it has to give, stay within it's happy zone and you wouldn't think so. I rarely use much peddle but it responds to every twitch, not dramatically, but noticeably. If I want more, I anticipate and downshift. I wouldn't own one at altitude or for towing unless it had forced induction though, maybe if I didn't need to haul my gear but then I wouldn't own and truck anyway.

 

That’s exactly why I get better mileage at 2900rpm in 4th at 70mph than I do at 2400rpm in 5th at 70 - requires wayyyy less throttle to hold that speed. Rpms don’t directly reflect mpg - throttle position does. I have a semi - hilly commute and 5th blows way too much gas despite lower rpm.

Also why regearing is KEY.

 

For me it's adequate as is but I can easily imagine regearing being preferrable in counties close by. They set these up to get the best possible mileage on the easiest terrain but not everyone lives in easyville.

 

What I meant regearing wise was for 33s. Absolutely 4.88s are needed. 265/75/16 is the max I’d have on them, which is what I have now (AT KOs) and it’s borderline in some situations.

Stock tires is a different story - the auto I drove, albeit 4x2, was peppy and comfortable to drive. I actually loved how it drove compared to my truck.

 

I considered it even for the stock tires to get better driveability on steeper hills. One size fits all often means a poor fit for someone and I don't think this is an exception. I've grown accustomed to it but it's not a big stretch to imagine swapping in a new auto 3rd member. I went as far as reading up on the process but the need isn't dire enough. A really low 1st and reverse would be nice but I wasn't going to buy a 4x4 this time around.

 

Yeah pass lol, too expensive. I’ll eat some payments on my truck, then when resale value exceeds payoff (won’t take long with a Tacoma) I’ll make some money off it then find a low mileage ‘14 single cab auto and call it a day aha.

OR I’ll just regear 4.88 and be happy if this truck holds up in a few years after my issues.