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Hey everyone. I've had my 05 Taco since Feb 2005. It took me MONTHS for it to come in, and it wasn't even special order!

I came back because recently I bought a VW Golf TDi and have been heavily participating in the forums. I've decided that if I'm going to do any ECU/tuning to the engine that I should wait until the warranty is past.

However, on my Taco, it's definitely past the warranty and at 84,000 miles I'd like to get better fuel economy out of it so I decided to head back to the Taco forums. I have memberships (well, they're probably deleted by now) at some other forums but found this one quickly and decided to give it a shot.

So, if anyone can point me to the thread about ECU/chip tuning before I find it myself, I would appreciate it!

Also, has anyone EVER hit 20 mpgs on the highway in an 05+ model, 6 speed manual, double cab, 4WD? I think the highest ever in the almost 6 years of ownership was around 19.9. In the last couple years it's been 19.1. I drive anywhere from 65-80 on the highway, but usually around 70-75.

 

Welcome to the site, I have hit 23 on the highway with the a/c on in mine (although mine is an auto), I was just very light on the gas that day i guess

 

Wow, my aunt must drive faster than you! Kidding!

What year is yours? Double cab? 4WD or pre-runner or neither?

I would really like to know what the mpg is for those that have a similar set up as me. I'm getting 14.5-15.5 mpg in the city, it totally sucks. Hence, the Golf TDi that gets over double the miles per gallon!

 

2008 4x4 about 65 mph on a two lane highway with another 45 min of logging roads after the highway. Just because i hit that does not mean itis an average though. I probably can get 18-19 on the highway and 16-17in town, With the winter, going through deep snow and being in 4WD a lot i get 14-16 in the city.

 

Hmmm, I wonder if the 245 hp of the 05 dropping to 236 hp of the 06+ has any affect on mileage. I am remembering this stat about the engine correctly, right?

Yeah, sounds about the same as me. Almost exactly to a T. In the summers I'll get the 18-19 and in winter around 18-18.5. It doesn't get too cold in the part of Texas I'm at but a few weeks a year (and that's not even snowing weather, just colder than normal).

 

I think the difference in horsepower was due to a change in how they measured it for the EPA testing or something like that, not a difference in the motors.

 

Ahh so there's no physical difference? Just the way they measured it? Hmmm, I should search to see if there are any discussions on this topic.

 

here you go...

I trust what they say on it.

that is from this thread: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/107680-4-0-v6-differences.html on the differences from on the v6 from the Tacoma to the Fj with one having dual VVT-I

 

Ahh, many thanks. That totally makes sense.

Up until last November, I used supreme. Now I switched to regular unleaded and I get about the same mileage.

 

If you do find a way to squeeze more milage out of a V6 by tweeking the ECU let us know, that is a subjest that comeup quite a bit around here.

 

That's the whole reason I joined! Oh crap! Guess I'll have to be a scientist and a guinea pig at the same time soon.

I'm not sure when I'm going to have some money to throw around. Since I have a TDi I have a car payment plus more to pay in insurance, so if I want to save gas, I'll probably just want to drive my car.

But if it's proven that it helps, I would definitely be interested. I wouldn't want to spend more than $500 on the chip retuning itself... we shall see. I need to find some places that do it so I don't have to mess with ripping it out and sending it off.