Are you getting bad MPG?

Well i only did 321 miles on a full tank today, is that bad? Ran 65, or 75 where the limits were allowable in Texas. The 05 4runner, same engine gets bout 420 per tank, so i guess the tacoma mpg sucks lol! Oh well, not concerned with it...usually dont drive that much in 3 weeks let alone a day!

 

absolutely nothing. It'll put a little more strain on the electrical system, so the alternator will be a tiny bit harder to turn. but this wont affect your mpg at all.

 

I wonder why there is such a huge discrepancy between mileage between all our trucks (larger tires, lifts, and towing aside)? I have mud tires and different wheels on mine (albeit stock size), and the added weight of some aftermarket equipment but other than that mine is pretty much still a stock truck. If I only got 321 miles on a tank I would be PISSED. I fill mine up every payday (every 2 weeks) and I get well over 400 miles on a tank. When I say I fill it up I mean I fill it UP. All the way to the neck. I know it isn't recommend but at least I know that my calculations are correct on the MPG. I drive 240 miles in a 2 week period to work (24 miles each way 5 shifts) all country back roads. I never get a chance to get it above 50 going to work. Like I said before, I drive like a grandpaw because of where I have to drive. The rest of my driving that I do are short drives around town to take and pick my daughter up from school, to go to the store, or out to eat. Only about 10% of my driving is freeway and I'm sure that makes a difference. But I still average well into the lower 20's on our vacations and I keep it between 70-75 so I don't know.

I'll give you and example:

In March we went to Colorado on vacation. We left on a Fri. evening and drove from Benton Ar. to El Reno Ok. Distance of almost 390 miles. I had the bed full of luggage and 2 other people in the truck. I filled up as soon as I left Benton and made it to El Reno with just below 1/4 tank of fuel left. I drove 70 / 75 the entire way other than through Ok. City.

Only engine mod I've done is a K&N air filter and I know that doesn't make "that" much difference. I have used a lot of different fuels in the past and all have pretty much the same mileage other than the shit I bought in S.D. But I have noticed a pretty noticeable difference when I switched to Shell V-Power FWIW.

If the 12-13 models are getting that type of mileage I'll just keep my 11 for a long time.

 

Saying how far a tank took you isn't very helpful, the only way to really compare at least somewhat equally is how many miles and how much you filled the tank with. Even then it's only going to make sense if you use the same exact pump at the same exact station since different pumps will shut off at different points. Really the only GOOD way to do it would be like on myth busters where you start with an exact known quantity and figure things from there.

I generally get between 320 and 340 to a tank, roughly 17 to 18 mpgs with a commute every day of about 20 miles of 80 mph. I could see somebody getting 20 mpg's if they keep things under 50 all day every day but I'll never be able to test that as that's just unrealistic for me.

 

I have a 6 inch lift and 35's and I got 16.1 on my last tank.

 

How you drive these things has as much to do with your MPG as just about anything. Especially if you have a manual trans. and you do much stop and go driving. Tire size is another biggie, especially if your vehicle has wide or wider than stock tires. Wide tires can dramatically affect your fuel consumption. Another reason I like tall and narrow tires like the 255/80/17's or 255/85/16's

 

Disclaimer: Knowing that I could easily fake this and modify it to match whatever mileage I want.... you guys will just have to trust me on this.

I will take pictures of my miles driven and the fuel gauge to give you an idea of "my" mileage and see if yours is similar to mine. I will fill up at the exact same pump that I filled up at a couple of days ago and show that I top it completely off and then take a picture of the receipt and the miles on the trip odometer. I'm not doing this to brag and in no way is this scientific but at the very least it will be a "baseline" of what my truck is doing.

I use Shell-V Power 93 octane exclusively, have a K&N air filter (no cold air induction just the filter), and use Mobil 1 Synthetic oil.

Where my truck sits right now 5/20/13 9:45 am

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I get 300-330 per tank but Im also not a Prerunner which is another huge difference for some of us. My needle when it looks like that I have about 55 miles on a tank. I might run 93 and see how much it changes my MPG next fill up and if its worth the extra money.

 

Yeah... that is something else i didn't mention. The extra weight on the 4X4 would presumably drop the MPG also.
Like I said I fill mine up to the neck where you can not put any more fuel in it. I know that you shouldn't do it but I have never had any ill effects other than it pisses the people off behind me if the station is full lol. But this is the only way that I know of accurately determining exactly how many miles you are getting per gallon (assuming the pump is calibrated correctly but that is a uncontrollable aspect).

 

My average MPG dropped from approximately 20 to 18 after I put on 265/75/16 Duratracs. Is that significant? Because it sure feels like it.

 

I don't know... I lost about 1 1/2 MPG when I put my mud tires on also. I have mine aired up to 40psi and as I have put some miles on them the mileage has "slowly" crept back up.

 

Damn you drive a lot!! Feeling up weekly Gas here is at 3.32 also

 

I forgot what it's like to pay $3.32 for gas.

Ever since I moved back to SoCal in January my weekly miles have gone through the roof. When I lived in Denver, I filled up bi-weekly for around $3 per gallon.

 

why the hell would you move back to that dump (im a nor cal native who left for denver last year)

Anyhow, decided to check out my spark plugs ... no good .... so i figure ill be able to break 20 again once i get new ones (used to pull 22 - 23 all hwy when i moved here cause the gas doesnt have all the bullshit additives the california stuff has)

And i bet you guys are probably over $4 / gal by now too cause its jumped into the upper 3's here .

 

Oh shit.... I forgot completely about this thread. I was going to post my next fill up but between fill ups I got this and got busy messing around with it.

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The 26.4MPG that it is showing is driving directly from the Shell Gas Station (Filled up with 93 octane V Power) back to the house on the road that I take to go to work (27 miles). Never got above 45 MPH so that looks pretty accurate for that period.

I'm in calibration mode with it right now so I need to run the tank back down pretty low and fill up at the same pump so it will be calibrated. But from the looks of it it is running pretty accurate at the moment sitting at 22.5-23.

I'll post my next fill up and then go from there. For what its worth... Regular unleaded down here is sitting at about $3.20

 

I have been towing my Prius with my Tacoma from North Carolina and I am in north Platte Nebraska and I have been getting 13.25 mpg average I am shocked

 

I don't know yet. I just plugged in my Ultra Gauge and all I have learned is that I suck at getting good economy.

 

Not even sure what to say to that.. loll

New headlights would yield signifacnt results. May 15 to 16 MPGs?? And if your really want some more mpgs, try those octane increasers at walmart.