3.5in lift mpg with 285/70/17s

Hey yall, im thinking of upgrading my tacoma from a 3in spacer lift with stock all terrain tires to a 3.5in RC lift with UCAs and rear lift springs, along with 285/70/17 tires. The only concern I have is how much would this affect my gas mileage on my 3rd Gen taco. With my current set up I get around 18-20mpg. Please share your thoughts/answers.

 

Start thinking miles per fun

realistically I would say 15-17 if you’re lucky

 

I’ll be driving around 5 hours to Lubbock for college, so just trying to get an idea before I go through with the lift/tires

 

More like 12 to 15 mpg. Plenty of threads on running 285's with lifts.

 

5 hour commute for a college student? I’d keep hitting the books (guess computer now) and save the impractical toys for later on.

Signed,
Someone who wishes he would’ve listened at that age

 

I wouldn't recommend it.

OTOH I'd not even recommend anything over a mechanically solid, cosmetic beater, gas sipper plebeian car for a college vehicle.

Campuses are notoriously not vehicle friendly

 

5 hours every day??

I went to 285/75/16’s on my truck and almost immediately went back to 265’s because of how bad the MPGs were.

 

Sorry for the miss communication! I’ll be staying in Lubbock for college, it’s just when I come home for breaks such as winter/summer/thanksgiving is when I’ll be making the 5 hour trip.

 

Here’s my tacoma rn in case you were wondering

 

A tune, calibration and some SL rated 285s on some light TRD sema 4R wheels can yield about 18 to 19 mpg.

 

This would be your best bet for a good mix of form and function.

I drive my truck a lot but I also want the peace of mind an E rated tire because I do a lot of rocky trails. So to get decent mileage with an E rated tire I have to stick with 265/75/16’s.

If you don’t do any towing or crazy off roading, an SL rated 33” would be a good option.

 

Manual calculation

All hwy 18.5mpg
All city 14.5mpg
Mix 50/50 15.5

The odometer mpg is a consistent 1mpg over manual calculations. Thats with adding an extra 10% miles for larger tires.

 

I get around 11.5 mpg when I go over 70mph. At 60-65mph I get 16-18 mpg. I have 275 70 17 KO2's and about 2 inches over factory height in the front. I also have the Body Armor Desert front bumper with a winch. If the wind gets bad I don't even look at what I am getting for mpg, I just look for a gas station.

 

I get somewhere between 15 and 17 around the town, and up to 24.5 Highway. For long trips I keep the speed about 60 or so and I’ve seen regularly between 21 and 23 miles per gallon.

I’m on Maxis ATR razr 285/70/17 with a lift, a tune and a CAI

 

Off to college? You can't put a price on the mud cricket attraction factor. I say go for it.

 

Gas mileage lol

 

Big factor for that size is if the tires are rated SL, C, E etc. Also getting your speedometer recalibrated will show a more accurate reading but it's going to go down for sure.

 

Smiles per gallon son.

I have the equivalent setup as far as ride height goes in 16in rims, General grabbers atx in E rating. Around town about 17mpg. Best mpg is at 47mph, don't ask me why, and I get about 18.5. On the highway at 65mph I can squeeze out 15.5-16.5. Anything over 70mph and it's 14.5-15mpg. Also throw in some highway hills and its around 14mpg. I also have an aluminum bed cap though and that recouped about 1mpg.

You have to start thinking about the weight you carry around too. As you can see, I have bumpers, sliders, roof racks, etc.

Edit: also you need to consider what a 3.5in lift is going to do to the rest of your drive train. The general rule of thumb is nothing over 2.5/3in if you're keeping the CVs and stuff stock. Not gonna play well and may cause premature wear and failure.

 

What wheels are those?

 

Black Rhino Bantams: