2nd gen taco front bumper "valance?"

the black trim under the front bumper that some taco has, is it only 3rd gen an up that has it? i do a lot of highway and apparently that would help my fuel mileage, i only get 250-290miles a tank... i just did a timing chain on it, new plugs and coils, its got 240k miles on it, its now in canada and its cold lately but before winter started i was close to 290miles a tank, now its 250 miles a tank, if it helps a bit i would gladly put it on, but i would need to find a part number or something, i looked around for a while already and no one has been able to tell me where to find one or if it exists and the toyota dealer near me is umm... a lost cause... i would need to travel to the next one thats a few hours away for decent service

 

What year do you have? This might matter

 

There were only two little ones in front of the front tires on the 2012-2015 models. No full width “chin” spoiler that the 3rd and 4th gens have.

 

well that makes more sense as to why i couldnt find one, any clue if the one for the 3rd gen could be fitted to the 2nd gen? or anyone tried something that looked alright?

 

3g folk claim less than 1mpg impact when removing theirs, so may not be worthwhile

Miles per tank isn't really a thing. Do the math and calculate MPG

What mods have you done?

Are you familiar with the impact of winter gas?

If mpg is an issue, do you really need a truck? Because mpg isn't their forte

 

Your miles per tank are roughly what I was getting before I started modding it, so normal fuel consumption for a stock taco.

 

My guess is you're close to what the OP is driving in terms of the actual specs than I would be as a 2 wheel, though I'd love to get specs from OP to confirm. That said I reckon it's around 15mpg which isn't shocking given what little we have so far.

 

Math...not even once

 

replaced your engine air filter lately?

 

all stock, 2011 trd sport, no mods, besides adding a 10" pioneer touch screen, its got a taco subs, has a bed foldable cover, recently gave it a remote starter, oil change is always at about 5k miles, the previous owner treated that truck like it was his baby, practically no rust on it, including frame and its been close to rust belt all its life, and now its in a rust area and im doing all i can to help it, im giving it a OTT next month, i need the truck for work, and yeah i do understand the winter fuel, i guess its just a bit of a shock going from driving cars to a truck, but still 275miles average in a tank that size is umm.. damn... ahah i guess im just used to my civic doing 370 miles a tank and it was 13.2 gallons compared to 275 miles to 21 gallons, i know its a truck and not a car but god damn

 

That makes more sense especially coming from a small car to a truck, even a midsize.

I went from an Oldsmobile sedan to a 2006 Chevy Colorado in 2007, went from 23-24 and decent power for a sedan to about 16mpg and not even close. My Tacoma is about 20-23 city depending on time of year but that's for 2 wheel drive, 15's, stock height etc.

Not necessarily a guarantee but I added an Ultragauge and started watching my habits a little more back in the day, which definitely squeezed a little more out.

 

Winter gas/winter weather really does take a hit. I haven't gotten above 17 mpg besides one tank since Dec and generally in summer I'm up closer to 18-20. Tire pressure can have a big impact as well, 5 psi will take a decent hit. Same with remote starters, if you let it warm up for say 3-5 min the idle time adds up quick, thats sitting there getting 0mpg.

Also miles/tank is pretty useless unless you're looking at it from the perspective of a calculation that uses actual mpg and tank size. (Stock 2nd gens don't have that feature) You don't (and shouldn't) run it to true empty and the needle is not highly accurate. Do the math if you really want to know. Ultragauge helps as well to monitor and improve your habits but at the end of the day its still a truck.

 

yeah i keep my tires between 33-35 psi, i only use my remote start on days where theirs a lot of snow/ice on the windshield, i dont use it for fun and lately we have had a lot of snow/storms and really cold mornings but now that i got my new timing chain kit and coils i hope to see some kind of improvements, the timing was off a little and i had a misfire so i know that will make a difference, the bank 2 chain tensioner wasnt doing too well for some reason, thanks for the info, im fine with the "its a truck" i was expecting a higher fuel useage just not this much

 

That's just it, I am the nerd that will do the math at every fillup on my phone. The UG at least might help the OP with driving habits in real time, similar to the old vacuum gauges if anyone else remembers those.

 

mine came on 17's dunno if that makes a difference

 

Versus mine on 15s, definitely. Now if the tire numbers are the same or different than factory that would also matter somewhat

 

Tire diameter is what matters in terms of affecting final gear ratio, not the wheel size.

Width matters in terms of friction. Which can be helpful for some things like grip, but not some things, like MPG

Weight of wheel and tire package matters. Unsprung weight is the enemy.