Very Happy With MPGs

Well I've been driving for 54 years and every vehicle I've kept MPG track of the mileage has increased with age not decreased. This is my first Toyota and first Japanese engineered vehicle so maybe it's the opposite with them. Time will tell. Meanwhile I need to go on the 3rd gen forum and let them know what lemons they bought.

 

I can easily get 26mpg on my 3rd gen … keep it under 70 light foot and good fuel .

 

Driving from Spartanburg to Savannah I was getting as high as 28 MPG (I couldn’t believe it either), my usual “city” driving for daily commute puts me right around 22. I’ve noticed when I have my softopper on it puts a bit of a dent in that number. But hey, it is a truck after all.

 

I don't think any 3rd gen is rated over 23 mpg highway. I highly doubt that you're getting 26 unless you're traveling downhill with a tailwind.

 

I did most of that drive this past weekend, Clinton to Beaufort, in my second gen with a high cap with roof rack, at 75mph and got 17.8mpg in my mostly stock (slight lift) 2nd gen with 4.0

 

dang. At that time my sr5 was pretty much bone stock with the exception of a tonneau. i just put a Prinsu on my truck a few months back. Haven’t done any hwy driving yet but I’m sure it’ll take a hit.

 

I'd be happy too with mileage like that

I'm lucky to get 16

 

i stopped counting after a couple months. ignorance is truly bliss when it comes to MPG.

 

Just because it’s rated doesn’t mean it can’t do it …mpg numbers are posted by the average mpg the truck gets . If u actually read my post stated under 70 light foot and good fuel . Just for fun I think k I’ll take a picture of it on my way to work this am .

 

Run the numbers, don’t post a pic of the lie o meter
Calculate it based on gallons used and distance covered

 

bfg trail terrains stock size … chevron midgrade fuel … 66f temp … avg speed street 40mph …highway …65mph … light foot .

 

Ronny Dahl just did a video about MPG. Only in Austrailia they do Liters per 100 Kilometers which really is a much better way of looking at it. You can do gallons per 100 miles here. The point is a broader look at economy.


This was a hotly debated topic on the Xterra Firma forum 20+ years ago. Basically what we determined was that up to 40/45ish miles per hour, weight is the key component of drag on the engine. The amount of energy and fuel it takes to get that mass moving. So in town stop and go kills a heavy vehicles economy. This is also why a City Bus is flat on the front and shaped like a loaf of bread.

But after about 45mph wind or atmospheric resistance rises to exceed the drag of weight. I want to make that clear. Some think that as wind resistance goes up, weight drag goes down - that is not the case. Weight drag is constant but is over taken by the increasing wind drag.

Then there are the tires and un-sprung weight which is a lot of complicated math so I'll shorten it to this - The lighter your wheels and axles and shocks and springs and bump stops are is a huge improvement. Good luck figuring it all out. I can tell you that a 5lb difference in tire weight x 4 tires is only 20lbs. That's nothing in the gym. But that's everything when you have to sling it at 600 RPMs to go down the road.

So for everyone getting poor mileage, regardless of your Generation of Tacoma, look at how much you are carrying. Everything adds up Every 100 LBS (rough order of magnitude) is worth 1.5% to 2% off your fuel economy. That's why I don't want to outfit my truck with a ton of gear. I already tip the scales at 280lbs. If you clean out and weigh all of the stuff under and behind your rear seats you probably have an easy 100 to 150 lbs in there. Do you need to keep snow chains there in the winter? Does a NoCo Battery Pack weigh less than a Jumper Cable? Do you need a full tool roll set for any vehicle on the road?

I know why people get good and bad miles per gallon. It has as much if not more to do with how much you put on your truck than how you drive it. And if you store all of your crap on the outside of a rack for all of the world to see how cool you are because you have stuff, then that weight doubles as wind drag too.

 

Yeah in the last MPG thread there were dozen plus pages all over the board. Hyper milers always claiming they are getting high 20's to even 30's. I am sure they are. Plenty also do not calculate the MPG correctly so the data sets are also all over the board. There is no exact way to get higher MPG unless you truly are a speed bump and dangerous out on the road. Probably getting passed and then people slamming the brakes in front of you are flipping you off.

I have found that tire PSI and weight makes the biggest difference. Other than that the delta is not all that much trying eco vs sport, high octane vs low octane etc etc all things else left consistent like your location and your daily drive. The retired guys driving a back road at no more than 40 mph to the store and back are the ones getting crazy MPG's.

My worst in the winter with 36 psi and 240 lbs in the bed is 15. The absolute best I could get with 40 psi, eco mode, driving like I have a dozen eggs in the front seat for an entire tank (just for fun of course) 19 MPG. I can't drive less than 75 on the interstate or I seriously would be a car wreck waiting to happen. Semi's drive faster. The claims of high octane etc does not calculate to anything more than maybe .5 MPG and that could have just been a million other factors so it is negligible.

 

It does happen with vehicles of any brand. When I had my Dodge Challenger R/T with manual trans it was rated at 24 Hwy. I always got 28 mpg at 80 mph from Tucson-Phoenix-Tucson loop. Amazing for a V8. My V6 Challenger is rated at 30 mpg Hwy and I get 30-32 combined City/Hwy. Some vehicles just like a certain rpm.

 

Lots of bogus assumptions there about other drivers. I am regularly passing people. My mileage was calculated by dividing miles by gallons. It's not rocket science. But some folks have a pre-determined belief in something and just can't stand to be wrong so they pretend to know what other people they've never met, do.

 

Yeah ok then I should take mine back because you driving like that and getting 10+ mpg more is either BS or I have a lemon. Appointment made. Oh wait maybe I will join the other guy and sue Toyota for false advertising. And boy with all your assumptions, how black is that pot of yours.

 

Trim has a bit to do with it. The SR5 has always done better on gas with its lighter and narrower wheels and tires. When I put sport take offs on it SR5, I noticed a drop in mpg.

 

What is the year, model, and trim level of your Tacoma? 2wd, 4wd, tire/wheel mods, etc.

 

20 Tacoma .trd off road stock setup with bfg trail terrain tires .posted a pic with a commute this am .. scroll up a few posts .

 

Wait.... Is Premium gas recommended by Toyota for that engine??