Fuel Economy

I am keeping a log of my truck’s fuel economy that I plan to share with all as my truck breaks in.
I broke my personal fuel economy record.
My tires are the original Firestone Destinations, 89 octane fuel, a combination of highway/city (Orlando to Jacksonville) and 36 PSI (hot) on tires. I got a tonneau cover. I decided to turn on the cruise control and strangely, the MPG went down from 24 mpg to 23.5.

 

there are plenty of studies about bed covers and how they negatively affect airflow in trucks, similar to those stupid nets that were popular back in the 90s and even just leaving the tailgate down.

 

Achieving 24MPG is very common and easy to do, with a Sport 4x2. You have street tires. That helps a lot, believe it or not. What concerns me was that you took a God Damn picture while doing 80mph.

That is not only dangerous, it's reckless.

 

My wife on the passenger side took the pic...
I could have easily taken it as the road was half-empty and safe, and the truck is so stable and smooth-driving… but she volunteered to take the pic when I achieved the goal.

 

When was your avatar pic taken? That looks like a Viet Nam era M16.

 

2010, Iraq.

 

Im getting right around that with stock truck, street tires, tonneau cover as well. Mines 4x4, but close to apples/apples comparison. I do more rural route (45-60) than city/interstate though.
Thanks for your service brother.

 

First: Thank you for your service. You were coasting when the photo was taken, right? Only 2k rpm at 80 mph, if not I wonder what the tach is when around 65 mph? Seems like the automatics (assuming that's what your truck is) are geared nice and tall, helping getting good fuel economy at highway speeds. What engine? I think getting 23-24 mpg in a midsized truck is very good. About 23.5 mpg is what I average in my 2007 2.7L 5 speed manual.

 

I get about the same as you. 2022 Tacoma access cab. 6MT. It is also tuned. Also the cruise control on Toyotas are definitely weird, you will lose economy for sure.

 

Same here with my 4x4 on back road highways doing the same speeds.

 

Bed covers improve MPG ~5% by preventing a wind bucket effect in the bed. Cab-high caps also improve MPG (versus an open bed), but the effect is probably slightly offset by the increased weight.

 

Don't listen to Karen back there. You know how to handle a dangerous situation obviously seeing how you survived a tour in Iraq. If you want to snap a foto going 80 I say right on!

 

wait, that was like 10+ years ago but i coulda sworn i saw them mention the air actually forms a bubble and helps... maybe i'm remembering wrong.

in any case, i got the cover to keep people from looking back there and to keep things relatively dry... not really worried about mpg.

 

The trip average is extremely inaccurate and optimistic (about 2-3 MPG) in my Tacoma for the first 1/4 tank. It looks like your gas gauge needle has barely budged. By the time "please refuel" message comes on, it's only off by maybe 0.5 MPG in either direction.

My Tacoma is "afraid" of 6th gear when I use cruise control unless it's in S6. It likes to use 5th a lot when it definitely can use 6th. I drive up and down the same roads all the time so I know what gear I can be in. I have no idea if that's because I have the 4 cylinder, or if all Tacomas do that, or if it even makes a difference. I tend to only use cruise control when I'm going down a long hill or have a strong tailwind because it stays in the same gear and cruises nicely. If the road has undulations, cruise control is hell unless I use S mode. I find I can prevent a lot of shifting by allowing for small changes in speed so I skip cruise control in those situations.

 

I cant believe the MPG you are getting. Granted the majority of my driving is around a city, the best i usually achieve is 17-18 mpg. Highway the best i got was 21 mpg

 

i can't believe most of you actually believe the in dash rating...

if you want to have a better idea on actual economy just use your trip meter and fill up the same way every time.

 

The instrument cluster display I feel is about 2MPG over reporting. I get 22ish on the radio display. Mostly driving roads through the suburban areas. 35-40 MPH average. Could probably hit 23-24 MPG on a long road trip.

 

The adaptive cruise control is bad at MPGs it likes downshifting any time the person in front of you picks up speed or changes lanes. Rather it pick up the speed slowly then OH MUST GET BACK TO 77MPH FROM 72MPH RIGHT NOW VROOOOOOOM

 

when i was a kid my grandparents had a late 80s caddy and the cruise was broken sorta like this... set it at 70mph and let off the gas, it would just coast down to 60mph then floor it back up to 70 and of course you end up going past it up to 80 or so... then repeat.