optimum prime speed mileage per gallon /i4

Hey guys, Im driving down to the beach weds night, which is about 640 miles round trip to meet up with the family already there, And I was wondering what hwy speed do we achive the best mpg with the I4 5spd?

see if this makes and sense, back when I had a ranger I remember RPS forums posting/swearing they got better mpg (5spd) in 4th gear doing 65 instead of 5gear doing 70,which to this day seems to be the strangest things I ever read about that truck.

 

You'll get your BEST highway MPG doing 45 to 50 MPH in 5th gear. Since going that slow on the highway could be dangerous and would add hours to your trip it's probably not worth the savings. Staying at or just below the speed limit is your most economical and safest option.

 

I agree with Roland, that chugging along around 50 in 5th gear will give you the best mileage. I've done some experimenting with the ScanGaugeII in the I4/5speed and have found that mileage improves/declines in a fairly straight line as speed decreases/increases, so if you want the best highway mileage, go as slow as you can without creating a hazard to yourself and other drivers. I find that 55, the old "double-nickel", is a good high-mileage cruising speed where I can get away with it, I can get around 30 mpg in my regular cab 4x4.

 

for manual trans i read the best way to get good gas mileage is to get up to like 70 mph put it in nutreul and coast to 60 or 55 once you get to 55 put it back in gear and get back up to 70. i dont know how it would work in a tacoma, but i know they tested it in a prius and they got like 65mpg. there is a technical name for this type of shifting but i forget what it is called. sounds like alot of work to me personally, but they said they tested it and it works. if i find the link ill post it.

 

ok i found it after about 30 min of searching. and correction it was 110mpg its a technique called pulse and glide. here is the link http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/08/team_achieves_1.php

 

I believe that BMW did research like this years ago, but they were looking more at how acceleration affects mileage. They found that hard acceleration followed by a STEADY speed was the best thing to do. I'm sure it never crossed their minds to do the pulse and glide. Even if you can get superb mileage by doing that, would it be safe to do on the freeway?

 

from what i read its not something everyone can do. they said it takes pracise so it probably would not be safe for a beginner driver. there is also double clutching but it does not work as good as the pulse and glide and of cource your clutch might not last as long

 

At least there's one pic that's OK...

http://www.treehugger.com/legs pic.jpg

 

damn greenies - let us drill for oil and make oil out of coal.

 

My other car is a Prius. And no, I'm neither a liberal nor a fanatical greenie. I love the car, it handles reasonably well, is spacious, comfortable for 4-5 adults, performs very respectably, and has lots of cool gizmos and features, plus gets amazing mileage. What is not to like?

Pulse and glide (called "P&G" by the hypermiling fanatics) is a valid technique for improving mileage and will work to some degree in any vehicle, although it probably is optimized in a hybrid system where you can literally shut down the ICE (Internal combustion engine) and cruise on electric or in "super stealth mode" which is basically a form of neutral, but not quite.... I've played with it in the Taco (using a ScanGaugeII) and it does help some, but find that it is far easier, and almost as good, to simply cruise in 5th gear at modest speed, i.e., 55, if doing so is safe.

 

THOSE guys on the website, not the car or you. You bought the car because your smart and want save money, better mpg.

Those guys on that site, a different story. They believe junk science and think driving that car will allow us to control/save the enviro or some other bs. I guess they think we control hurricanes, tornados, and temps by what we drive.
If the best weather models can't accurately handle a 3 hour forecast then how can model accurately predict global climate for the next 100 years??? Ohh yea and the ridiculous carbon credit scheme, by which idiots purchase eco-indulgences so that mother earth will forgive them for existing, those idiots just funnel money into the pockets of Al Gore which funds bs science "foundations" which scare idiots to give even more money again.This has got to be the most expensive hoax in world history. Man I got way off..