2.7 owners. Power and mpg

I have a 2013 access cab Tacoma with 2.7 auto 4x4 with 60,000 miles on it. It's been trouble free and in the last 5 years has seen very little use due to retirement. In hindsight, I wish I had bought one with the V6 auto engine for a bit more pep and not much sacrifice in mpg. I go back and forth about selling it or continue keeping it as a 3rd household vehicle for light hauling or snowy roads. I don't think I even put 2,000 miles/year on it probably a lot less.

 

I have my 2014 DCSB PreRunner with all terrain Load range E tires. And a 07 4Runner V6 4WD SR5 with no sunroof and Michelin All season LTX tires

On the exact same work commute, stop and go traffic, idling the 4Runner gets 14-15 MPG, the Tacoma gets 20. This is no highway, maybe some weekend errands. On the highway the Tacoma can do 23-25 easily. Once I replace these load range Es I expect a little MPG boost.


The V6 isn't just a little worse on gas, that idling and stop/go is brutal on this thing.

 

Ironically I had more vibrations before the lift and bigger tires, likely due to worn out suspension that I replaced with the lift. The wider tires also reduced any steering wobble. Rides better than it did stock but I’m changing up my suspension soon because the bilsteins on weighted springs are very stiff.

 

I have a 2001 Tacoma with 262000 on it with the 2.7 in it. I get 18 in the city and 25 on the highway

 

'08 Base AC 4X4 5spd, 170K, Pulls my trailered SXS just fine (w/trailer about 2500 lbs). Regular daily use averages right at 20mpg. Anticpate grades, these 4 bangers don't mind RPM's. Not fast, but not last.

 

One other thing to consider, and this may sound dumb to some of you...make sure you're tired pressure is good. When I mounted my overkill 10 ply tires, I figured I only needed 36 psi or so, which technically should be ok, but it was like having an anchor tied to the bumper. Since the max pressure is 80 psi, I started to increase it little by little, finally settling on 60psi. It felt like I regeared it. The engine wasn't fighting the tires anymore. Yes, it rides rough, but I have no trouble hauling a face cord of wood or pulling my trailer. Just something to consider

 

I know that this is a little OT, but the mileage on the 2.7 is not that much of an improvement over the 4.0.

I have an '09 Access Cab TRD OR with the V6, 5 speed auto, and 4WD. Ride height and tire size is stock. Currently, it is at 140K miles (changed the oil yesterday). I use it to drive 45 miles to and from where I keep my boat. I always get 19-20 MPG if I keep the speedo below 75MPH. If I drive in stop & go traffic, like when I am in Florida, mileage will drop to 15-16 MPG.

When it was new, and when non-ethanol gas was prevalent, I would regularly get 22 MPG on the highway.

 

I’m still getting 25 with mixed driving and the worst tank I’ve EVER had was 21. Don’t know about you but I’d call that way more than “not that much of an improvement”. My last truck was a V6 and the power was not enough better to justify the fuel cost. I still get there even if on some occasions I lose a few seconds on a hill. Even the difference of 22-25 means free lunch every tank.

 

Agree - I'm a tight@ss, so every mile counts, even for my diy/homeowner daily commuter use.

Let's say my 2.7 Base gets, on average, just 3 more miles per gallon (25mpg). Forgetting about what the TOTAL tank size is, I generally do a fill of about 16 gallons once per week.

That 16 gallons gave me 48 more miles than I would have otherwise gotten for the week.

This translates to saving me 1.92 gallons for the week.

At $3 even per gallon, that saved me $5.76 for the week.

At $5.76 savings per week, I save $299.52 per year.

The more expensive gas gets, the more I save.

Yes, it's on a spreadsheet...unfortunately...

Edit - just realized that paid for the stupid Meta Quest 3s I just bought for my nephew for Xmas on Prime Day...

 

Did anyone try back a few years ago the nitrogen in your tires. I did it and I did see a difference. Not enough to really have a parade about it.

 

I always understood that nitrogen fill just maintained tire pressure better (thereby improving mileage because the tires were less likely to fall to an underinflated state), but not improve mileage by itself.