List of Mods to Increase MPG's

Ok so I have a bone stock 2009 4.0 Auto TRD offroad. Looking for mods to increase MPG's. Truck already has enough HP/Torque for me, but adding power wouldn't hurt, but it's not my #1 goal. Heres what I'm thinking:

-Tonneau cover. Roll up type. Need it to keep items dry anyway on road trips.

-Trimming mud flaps approx 3". We've all seen what they look like going down the Hwy at 90mph; boat sails.

-Electric Cooling fan conversion.

-Synthetic

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 Gear Lube in F&R Diffs & T-case.

-TRD Cat-Back?
-High flow Cat?
-Headers/Y-Pipe?

-Supercharger?

-Programmer?

-Irridium Plugs? From what I've read on here the OEM Densos are the way to go maybe.

And no I will not do a CAI. I like OEM filter media. Anyone have opinions/input or other mods to add?

 

Are you looking to increase MPG or Power?

Most of the mod's you list will only decrease MPG while increasing Power. These come from the factory with Optimal efficiency to get high ratings from the EPA. That's why we get stuck with such crappy stock tires.

 

Looking for MPG's.

 

The only thing that might possibly work is a lightweight Tonneau over the back. But I doubt it will do anything at all.

Most effective way to get decent MPG is to keep up with Maintenance, keep the tires files appropriately and don't drive like a mad man.

 

i got a camper shell and it did help with mpg so i know that your cover probably does help it a bit.. i dont understand why completely but it happend haha

 

Mythbusters tested the first one and it didnt help... Maybe a K&N drop in filter will help a little but other than that the only thing you can do to help is drive slower

 

Save your $.

Reg maint, driving smart, be in the right gear, normal accel, and even just driving just 5mph slower, watch you gain a mpg or two, wont cost you anything.

 

Kind of what I figured. But I still need a roll up tonneau cover to keep luggage dry.

 

scangauge is a good tool to help you change you driving habits. But it costs about $150 and it will take you over a year to make up that money in gas.

After all, the only reason why we care about MPG is money. If we actually cared about the environment we would have bought a Prius.

 

X2 if you keep off the skinny you have performed the greatest MPG gaining mod!

 

I want a prius b/c the cost of them has come down to earth, and it makes economic sense now. Especially for me and the wife... we drive a lot, mainly city. And yes you're right $$$ is the only reason I care about MPG's. I could also get a lighter weight, smoother tire... our tires weight 37#. a BFG AT KO weighs in a 51#, just like the Goodyear Wrangler silent armor. That's a lot of weight difference. I did see some tires in the 30-35# range. I wouldn't mind my Taco being a hybrid. Trains are a great example of "hybrids". Diesel generators powering electric motors. I want to see a Diesel Prius, bet it'd get close to 100 mpg's.... Problem is car guys haven't designed a hybrid... only hippies. Why wouldn't I want my Taco to have a electric motor coupled to the driveline and some batteries under the rear seats. Even if it gave +5mpg, it'd be awsome and bumper to bumper traffic would be very quiet.

 

You say you do mostly city driving. I don't think there is a whole lot that will help you with mpg. And if it is it will only be a real benefit if you drive a lot (more than 4,000 a month). I do not know a lot about the new generation trucks. techgeekwill could be right about aftermarket mods, without changing your computer most of the mods won't help a lot or they could decrease mpg. It's a gamble really. Your computer is designed to run with you current setup.
I have a 1st gen tacoma and I put a lot of money into it trying to get better mileage. I get about 18 city and 25 highway. My biggest mpg gain "mod" so far has been changing my driving habits. I also drive about 5,000 miles a month and there for I save well over $100 a month in gas. I have a post out there you can look at http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/builds/38130-gas-mileage-build.html.

An electric fan would be good but the reason for that mod is so that you;re not using a fan when you have enough air moving through the grill to cool the rad (usually at highway speeds). I have an electric fan break on one of my cars so I was able to see how fast you had to do before overheating. about 35-40mph. That was a small 4cyl a 6 might require more air flow.
A k&N drop in filter is a safe bet, probably the only one where you're guaranteed to get an increase. I have a cold air intake That would probably work too and will increase it more that a drop in filter. as far as a cat back they are a waste of money since I assume you're exhaust is not rusting off. Buy a flowmaster or magnaflow muffler and have someone cut the old one out and weld in the new one. That's all an aftermarket really is (unless it has larger size pipes, which will mess with your backpressure and in turn you torque)

If I had you truck however i would take the risk putting on headers an electric fan and k&N cold air intake. In the last couple cars I had they worked for me.

Hope this helped.

 

You know with that initial post... about $10k in mods will make you have to drive about 500,000mi to just make that money back in terms of saving money on mpg... and the supercharger would just kill your net mpg gain and probably make you lose a lot lol...

Honestly I don't understand why people buy a truck and complain about MPG's.

 

I bought a used 95 V-6 Taco awhile back that had a flowmaster exaust. I was getting 21 mpg. It sounded really cool, but just too loud. When I replaced it with a stock type muffler I lost 3mpg.

 

The difference between 18mpg and 20mpg is about $200.00 a year if you drive 15,000 miles in a year and gas is $2.50.

 

Other than driving habbits I noticed the biggest gain with premium gas

 

There, fixed.