ECO Systems VPE Test Results

ALL HIGHWAY:

Without the VPE the highway average was 18.20 MPG.
With the VPE the highway average was 19.55 MPG.
That is a 1.35 MPG increase with the VPE.
With the Tacoma’s 21 gallon tank that is a 28.35 mile per tank increase.
That essentially saves you 1.45 gallons per tank.
At $3.00 per gallon, that saves you $4.35 per tank.
At $228.00 for an ECO-2 through the group buy that would take 52.41 tanks of fuel for you to make your money back.

MIXED CITY AND HIGHWAY:

Without the VPE the mixed driving average was 15.90 MPG
With the VPE the mixed driving average was 18.25 MPG
That is a 2.35 MPG increase with the VPE
With the Tacoma’s 21 gallon tank that is a 49.35 mile per tank increase.
That essentially saves you 2.70 gallons per tank.
At $3.00 per gallon, that saves you $8.11 per tank.
At $228.00 for an ECO-2 through the group buy that would take 28.11 tanks of fuel for you to make your money back.

I ran those numbers based on my data at the preliminary group buy price for an eco-2. The finalized group buy price is a little lower than that so it is going to be a few less tanks, but I am in the middle of some other things tonight, and can't re-crunch the numbers right now.

 

Put a rag on driver's side fender, under the fuel line disconnect.

Remove furthest forward disconnect. (See pictures in my gallery (click on the little camera icon)

Install VPE between the hard fuel line fron tank, and soft fuel line going to the fuel rail.

Secure with provided zip ties.

More detailed install instructions are in the other thread.

Click on blue VPE line in my signature. Should be about 3-5 pages from the front.

 

wow, it literally took me 3mins max to install this thing. Hope it works! Thanks for the pic Maverick491!

 

Just got mine.

I must say I am rather disappointed in their packaging. No padding of any kind as it was just in a regular fedex box flopping around. The unit does not appear to be damaged. Not a good start to this....

 

Our shipping is mainly to distributors or fleet maintenance departments. The units are shipped in individual boxes and the kits are packaged seperately. They are not assembled. For ease of installation to the members we pre-assembled the units for you. There are no fragile parts that would be damaged in shipping this way thru FedEx. We have shipped several thousand units this way and have experienced no problems at all.
Thanks,
Ben

 

Yeah, these things aren't fragile at all. They are solid as rocks. Only thing I would be worried about is scratches as I like to show off under the hood.

 

"$228.00 for an ECO-2"

Forgive my ignorance, but why this model? What's the difference between this and the other two (ECO-1 & 3)?

Is it only price or is the $228.00 for an ECO-2 the specific model for Tacomas?

Why is the ECO-1 less and the ECO-3 more expensive?

 

I think it mostly has to do with the price of the amount of copper that is required to act as a catalyst with the fuel without causing restriction on the fuel lines. V6 engines use more gasoline under heavy acceleration, so they require more fuel to the fuel rails than my 4 cylinder would. You don't want to restrict your fuel lines as that could cause undue stress on the fuel pump(s).

 

007 pretty much covered it, but my data is based on an eco-2 because that is the correct size device for the 4.0L engine.

The 2.7L uses an eco-1.

V-8 engines larger than 5.0L displacement use an eco-3

LIke 007 said I suspect the price difference reflects the cost difference in material to make the different size units.

 

So with my V6, I'll need the ECO-2??

EDIT: For some strange reason, maverick's reply to my question post wasn't showing, so thanks for the info that I will indeed need the ECO-2!

 

VPE installed and testing.

 

I haven't had time to read the whole thread or study all the results but thanks for your time and effort guys. Not only in using your trucks but putting together a great lookiing easy to read chart. your hard work is appreciated

 

Thanks for the support!

 

/\ X2

 

I'd like to hear what kind of numbers other members are getting. Will other members post their results in this thread too or should we start another thread for mass member results?

 

James, (cvillechopper), started this thread. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/performance-tuning/4052-volumized-gas-mileage-trending.html to do just that.

He is asking for everyone who currently has a VPE installed on their truck to send him data, as well as for people without VPE's to also keep records and send data so that he can take the work that Mark and I began to the next level, and continue to get a more and more detailed and complete results set compiled.

 

Thanks for the plug Mav. I've only got about 300 tanks in the data base right now but the majority have come from 5 or 6 true data junkies like me. The folks at TN have been helping out too. I'm hoping to get a few more data points by this weekend and work up the first set of tables with a HUGE disclaimer. They'll be mostly just examples of the type of data we'll be able to get but until we get a few hundred tanks from each particular configuration it'll be a bit sensitive to individual driving styles.

 

How did this mod effect the power and torque curves? Seems like there needs to be some sort of tradeoff for this mod, otherwise it would be in Toyota's best interest to increase the MPG by ~10%.

 

Not really. A manufacturer would look at it on a cost versus return basis. They wouldn't see the benefit to them. If a manufacturer doesn't have to spend money, then they won't. This is especially true if the dealerships are putting them on as an aftermarket item. Case in point - High Flow Air Filters. It is easier and cheaper to put in a paper filter that has to be replaced than to pay 4 times as much for a high flow foam or oiled-gauze filter just for a possible 10-15 HP gain and a 1-2 MPG better fuel economy.

The real benefit is to the consumer. That is why I decided to keep the one I used in the test.

As for the HP and Torque curves, I am trying to get a dyno run or two in when I have the money and the time.

 

Yeah I see what you're saying. Manufacturers do somethings we can't understand sometimes. I hope the HP and TQ curves show no adverse change, it's a real promising idea. I really appreciate the amount of work you have put into this thing, very impressive. Keep up the good work!!