Another MPG thread

I know that many factors affect gas mileage especially driving habits and environmental conditions, but lets isolate those variables. Lets assume that a 90 year old grandmother is driving on perfectly flat highway with no wind at 65 mph. She keeps her tires inflated at optimal tire pressure and she drives as well... a 90 year old woman would drive, but she has money to burn (house paid, good 401(k) and social security) and want's to improve her gas mileage as much as possible by buying every type of gas mileage improver for her 2011 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4x4 extended cab with 143k miles. What do you suggest she buy?
Some things come to mind but she wants expert opinion on specific products.

Lightweight wheels
Low resistance and thinner tires
High viscosity synthetic oil
Better oil filter
Clean fuel injectors
Replace fuel injectors
Replace o2 sensors
Clean or replace EGR valve
New spark plugs
New distributor caps and rotors
New battery
New/different transmission fluid
Fuel system treatment
Coolant additives
New or different coolant (waterless coolant?)
Oil additives
Transmission fluid additives
Better air filter or cold air intake (not those short ram hot air intakes although I've read a thread where hot air actually increases MPG by decreasing power)
Throttle body spacer
Headers
Exhaust system
High flow catalytic converters
Tonneau cover
Performance chips/Engine computers
Lighter (not weaker) internal and external engine parts

This is all I could think of but I would like to know tacoworld's opinion what of these or others not mentioned are cost effective and which of them are not. Even if they aren't cost effective, do they help at all? Even a 1% increase can add up over time especially on top of other modifications.

 

In a perfect world where I could own more than one vehicle I wouldn't be worrying about gas mileage, unfortunately I have a Tacoma and can only afford payments on only it. BTW, thanks for the constructive comment.

 

Well, its more of a theoretical "how many MPGs could we get from a 4wd extended cab taco by doing every possible thing" and backing it up with real world statistics. I drive the same route to work and back every day. 75% highway, 25% city and so it would be interesting to measure any difference mod by mod, over the same route. If I could maintain a consistent MPG increase, that would be enough results for me. Combined with frugal driving habits, we could understand more about how to best tune and drive our tacos to get the most MPG. If anything, it would provide data for people interested in increasing MPG through specific mods, not just subjective habits.

 

I agree that if you are hurting that bad on MPG's you should sell the Taco. Pay off your loan, then go pay cash for an economical car.

You will not be able to improve MPGs substantially on any car from what it was designed to be. I had a performance chip in my last truck. You lose power and gain almost nothing in fuel effeciency.

Tips:
Drive under 2500 rpms at all times
Limit city driving
Keep the truck light (rip out seats and don't store things).
Limit driving period as much as possible.

 

I know this isn't what you want to hear but... you bought a truck (assuming V6). Yes if you drive like a grandma you might get 21-22 maybe. I'm lucky to get close to 20 and that is babying mine around. If you wanted a truck that gets good gas mileage you bought the wrong one. After doing all the things you mentioned it will take you forever to make up the mileage so the cost / benefit isn't worth it. Enjoy it for what it is... a good capable truck. If you're that concerned about mileage you should have bought a good commuter car.

 

I had something weird happen to me this weekend. I drove about 300 miles to see my parents, and on the way, I was stuck in stop and roll traffic nearly the entire time I was in Virginia on 95, 20-40 mph. I was miserable, but by the end of the tank, I had set a new MPG record for myself, 20.0 mpg. Remember I'm in a 6-speed, so normally I'm at around 18.5 on the freeway.

The reason my mileage was so good is that aerodynamics are terrible on these trucks, so higher speeds=much lower MPGs than in other vehicles. I would focus my efforts, if I were you, on reducing the aerodynamic drag. Things like narrower tires, blocking the grill in cooler weather, air dams, camper tops, and a lowered suspension will do far more for you than messing with headers and lower viscosity oil. Also, slowing down on the highway helps a lot, 70 mph vs 80 mph will gain you another mile per gallon.

 

If we're talking about aerodynamics..... DON'T DO THIS

Then again.... I didn't buy my truck for mileage.

 

If she must have a truck, she should sell this one and buy a '13 4 cyl 5 lug with much more modest miles. This can likely be done for less than the cost of her 'list' (most of which are just routine maintenance), not to mention knocking 100k off the odo.

And likely reducing her monthly payments, which she shouldn't be making on a 5 yo truck with excessive miles anyway.

~29k miles a year? I mean what's she doing, shagging pizzas for all the old boys in town? She needs to stay home more..............

Anyway, back to the 5 lugger. If she's smart enough to not add a poseur lift and big tires, keep it tuned and add a ScanGuageII monitor, she'll find she can pull down over 20 in town (AC on), close to 30 cruising on the road at posted speeds, and on a 75/25 mix be right around 25-26. Not bad for a truck capable of hauling more than a 90 yo has business lifting anyway.

 

i have a 3" lift and 33s on my 2015 and i drive 160 miles round trip everyday to get to work and its all interstate the whole way. the best gas mileage i have ever got on mine is 16.98 miles to the gallon
i guess the only reason im not disappointed is because the yota i was driving before this one got 9-10 miles to the gallon

you just gotta do what you can and make do

 

I hate to burst your bubble, but you can throw all the gas mileage improving mods you want at the truck and you will spend more money doing that than you will save in fuel. If it was easy or made sense, you would already see tons of threads on it here and Tacomas would be know for their gas mileage. Enjoy the truck, drive conservatively and be glad gas prices are creeping down.

 

I have a leveling kit and 32" tires.

Even driving at 60mph on the highway, getting honked at and cut off, I have only ever seen 19.5mpg.

I have never seen 20+ on my 2013 not did I on my 2011.

My v6 6speed averaged 14.5mpg on 32's.

My current v6 auto is in my fuelly below.

 

It's... A.... Truck...... If you are all about gas mileage, you've purchased the wrong vehicle. All trucks have semi-horrible gas mileage. You can reduce drag and such on the truck by: 1) Lower/Remove the tailgate 2) Purchasing a Tonneau cover. Tacoma's already have a cold air intake, so I wouldn't waste your money.

 

running synthetics in the diffs n tcase will help a lil. Also something like 0w-30 syn in the motor will help as well. But MAYBE in total .5 mpg.

Your best bet. take the 65 and drop it to 55mph.

Anything else is a waste of your time.

 

Agreed, If you have the patience to drive 55mph, that will provide the best increase in mpg. The second best idea is some sort of cover for the bed. Other than that, most of the other "gas saving" mods are a load of BS and a waste of money. Although, I'm sure the 2016 taco will provide better mpg if you go that route.

 

I know how to get 24 mpg out of my Tacoma, but it sucks to do. 50 MPH max in 6th gear.

 

I got a roll up tonneau cover for my truck (mainly for keeping stuff from out of the elements) .... mpg impact was 100% nill.

 

That is interesting, maybe a soft topper would provide better results? I think there is probably still some weird flow separation occurring behind the rear window of the truck with just the tonneau cover.

 

My experience as well. Lots of things being written debunking some of these old myths, both bed cover and removing tailgate.

 

I think people just got a little too excited and exaggerated how much mpg increased with a bed cover. There's an exponential relationship between speed and aerodynamic drag. The take away is that at low speeds the topper will help very little, and at high speeds it will help a lot more. So if you are looking in to a cover it should probably be for protecting your stuff, because it wont pay off in savings at the pump for quite awhile lol

 

Spending money on things to improve MPG will cost more money than is earned back. If "she" already drives like an old lady (or worse, a hyper miler) then the best bet is to use the optimal rewards card for fuel purchases and shop for the most affordable fuel.