4 Bangin, Fuel Sippin, Full Tank Challenge!

Towing anything and getting ~19 on the freeway is decent in my book.

I indulged on my last tank and used A/C in the heat wave which dropped that one to 25.2 mpg. I gotta say the 2TR is one sweet little mill.

No one at work believes a 4x4 can get 20, let alone 25+. Then again they mostly drive domestics with rust-enhanced weight reduction.

 

Because my base model 2012 standard cab 2.7 5 speed manual is used as a work truck, I'm totally into economy and have been setting up my truck to get good gas mileage.



I removed the air conditioning and power steering systems. Removed of the parasitic drag of the extra pulleys and idlers. Installed a way shorter simpler running fan belt.




Put on smooth quiet Yokohama 235/60/16 low rolling resistance eco friendly gas mileage passenger car tires. Installed a LC Engineering exhaust header while retaining the stock exhaust so as to enhance low end torque.

The truck always gets a fillup at around a half tank with regular 87 octane gas. So far I'm getting an overall average of 24.3 mpg town/rural driving with no freeway driving. The truck is always fully loaded with about 800 pounds of materials and tools. Translating that overall average to theoretically running a 21 gallon tank dry would yield a little over 500 miles.

I've read that you should never a fuel injected vehicle run dry as the fuel pump can get damaged.

 

I think this might be a little extreme. A/C doesn't really affect mileage unless it's being used. And your steering rack is not designed for long term useage with no hydraulic assist. I think not running p/s will end up costing more money in the long run than your saving in fuel. The best up grade for fuel savings under the hood is probably electric fans.
But I digress. It's your truck.

 

Yes it is.
I enjoy driving a simple basic no-frills vehicle, and since these days it's all but impossible to buy one that comes that way, I make it the way I like it.

Even with the hydraulic assist, exactly the same forces are acting on the steering rack. You just don't feel it because the hydraulics prevent any road feedback from returning to the steering wheel. I like to feel the road I'm driving on because it makes me a better driver.

I removed the power steering on my gen 1 Tacoma the day I bought it, and drove it for 17 years with absolutely no front end issues, uneven tire wear, or steering component failure.

!'ll continue to use the many years of my own personal experience as guidance.

 

Another gas mileage consideration is wheel weight:

1lb. rotating weight = 10lbs. static weight.

When I was running big heavy clunky 245/75/16 truck tires, I could barely break 20 mpg even with odometer correcting for the 13% larger wheel diameter than stock. With relatively light low rolling resistance 235/60/16 stock diameter passenger car tires, my truck consistently tops 24mpg even with no freeway driving.

 

Thanks for the welcome, Ill try to drive more slow, i mostly drive about 10 miles above the speed limit, the speed limits in cali i believe were made for the snowbirds who live here, they drive 10 mph below the speed limit, but if i can squeeze more mpgs ill be glad to save more and get my Bf goodrich ATs

 

Just took a trip from Seattle to Eastern Oregon with 300lbs or so in the back of my 96 2.4. Got 26.5. Automatic. Stock everything, no cruise, no a/c running. Making the trip again on Friday morning for a weekend visit. Will post anything new.

 

Dan's point is worth restating -

I drove to work the other day with a power washer in the back. It was secure, but I pretended as if it wasn't and drove as if I wanted to keep it where it was. I found myself gauging turns differently, coasting through differently, and exiting under power differently. These tactics helped boost MPGs (I got almost 27 MPGs on my 32 mile commute where normally I'm around 24).

I got a good tank in this last go around - 451 miles/17.95 or about 25MPGs. I was over the 250 mark at a half tank but the weather here turned colder and very rainy, so I only managed about 200 out of the second half. Daytime highs yesterday only managed 45 degrees where on most morning commutes last week the starting points were mid 60s. Cool/cold temperatures definitely hurts the MPGs even with regular gas. 27 MPGs while it was warm to hot and 23 MPGs while it was cold to cool.

 

Good luck on the challenge Kristopher!! Look for any nonessential weight and drive like you have an egg under your gas pedal and as if you had bad brakes. Visit www.cleanmpg.com for some other driving tips.

 

Okay, this is nothing but bragging and rubbing it in guys, sorry.

Here is a shot of the dash after 200.4 miles and right at 3/4 tank, I don't top up or anything, just the simple 1 click after it stops automatically. We drove up from Boulder yesterday for a nice hike in Rocky Mt. Natl. park. Round trip 90 miles with an average of 35.3 on the scangauge. It was actually much better than that since the scangauge doesn't register zero fuel use during deceleration fuel cut off, and I drove for miles down the hill engine braking while the scangauge said .7gph fuel use.

Now it's time for Avery beer and a 155# pig.

 

I'm also an economy driver...

...so I'm curious how your truck is set up to log gas mileage that is so far outside the norm for Tacomas.

What brand and size of tires are you running. Auto, or stick? Exhaust or intake mods? How many total miles did you go and how many gallons did it take when you actually filled up your tank? For accuracy and consistency I only record gas mileage at fillups.

 

No real mods, I use 0w-20, changed tranny and rear to amsoil at 30K doubt it effects much. Stock exhaust and intake. I see strong evidence that intake does not effect mpg and see no solid evidence that exhaust would help. They both can increase air throughput but that just means you will need more fuel at high rpm, and I try to keep it below 2000 rpm. Current tires are Michelin Rain-X stock 215/70-15, they have finally broken in some and matching the results I got with the oem Firestones. Wish I could get E0 like I used to in summer.

I do have the advantage of 5440' altitude, which is thinner air for lower wind drag, and less air means less fuel.

I do use engine-off coasting heavily on my daily commute of 9 miles and can in summer get well into the upper 30s to and from work depending on the time. Otherwise it is mostly driving like I don't have brakes and planning way ahead while watching stop lights and learning patterns.

Here is a shot of my scangauge after driving home from work this morning, had to stop in for a few things.



I also just use the scangauge for a guide, and keep track of my tank fills at cleanmpg.com. Here is a graph of every tank since new.



Hope I see you posting up some good numbers.....it's a challenge afterall.

 

Scan gauges can be unduly optimistic. So you compute your mileage by the actual physical amount of gallons needed to fill up your tank divided into your actual odometer reading?

I also do the 2,000rpm thing, as under normal driving conditions on level roads, going over is just wasted revving.

Elevation can make a difference. I'm right at sea level and since it's a work truck, it's always carrying about 800 pounds of tools and material.

 

Didn't make myself clear I guess? Yes the graph is tank miles divided by tank volume. My scangauge is always understating my true MPG since it doesn't understand DFCO as I stated already. My scangauge is unduly pessimistic, not optimistic.

 

Ok.
I only asked because your gas mileage results fall outside the norm for Tacomas by as much as 60%.

 

94 just above the 3/4 line. Typically got/getting around 115 being on the 3/4 line.

 

He's a hypermiler.
Shuts the engine off when going downhill, among other tricks.
Don't try it with an automatic.

But the 5-lug is more than capable of exceeding 25mpg without taking any extraordinary measures, even with an automatic.

 

Yes. That's right in the ballpark. I average 24 with no freeway driving. And just today installed some alloy wheels that removed a total of 25 pounds of rotating weight.



I'm hoping that this will be good for a consistent 25mpg average.

 

What wheels did you get? My Tacoma came from an old man who thought it was cool to have "Hot Wheels" wheels on the truck.. If they are the rims in your photo then I'd have to look at those!!

 

Enkei Compe
16X7
5X114.3
+38 offset
Matt Gunmetal

They're a new design.

I got them from Driven Products on ebay (dpaccessories) when they were running a 10% off sale for $601 no sales tax and free shipping.