Better Gas Mileage

007: I do think that finding real world numbers without towing is a good idea. It would be ideal if you could use the same station and even the same pump if at all possible. Hopefully not including hauling and inclines your mileage will improve. And everyone else is right, we do appreciate you and Adam testing these things for us. Adam, i'm especially curious to see how the 4.0 does. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread

 

Thanks to both of our testers, I am very anxiously looking forward to the final results. I am a firm believer that real world results are far more telling then scientific results since who the heck honestly just goes and drives on a track under the exact same conditions, I only care if it works with sporadic city, highway, stop and go, then maybe some trails, then back to the city driving.

On the subject of gas mileage I have two questions, do either of the following help mpg and if so how much? CAI (ala TRD) and/or Truck Top (we will say bed high)?

oh and please excuse my errr lack of knowledge.

 

Anything you can do to help your engine breathe better should (in theory) help both power and fuel mileage. That said I have no personal experience with the TRD intake, but I do think it is the nicest looking intake out there.

I have heard people who have installed it say that they experienced a 1-2 MPG increase with it, though realistically I am not sure about that as I just don't think that the stock air box is all that restrictive.

I'd look into the secondary air filter removal and a high flow drop in and save the money you would have sepnt on the TRD intake for your exhaust or perhaps an eco-systems VPE pending the outcome of these tests.

Check out the secondary air-filter removal thread here. Link

Check out my choice for a drop-in filter, as well as a nice money saving bonus should you decide that you still want the TRD intake as long as you don't care if the lid of the intake box doesn't say TRD Here

As far as the bed cover goes. I think that several time Mythbusters proved that under "scientific" conditions a tonneau cover provides no actuall benefit to fuel mileage, but I can only tell you from real world experience that when I put one on my 2004 2.7L taco I noticed a solid MPG increase. I really don't know about any increase on my current truck as I had this truck less than 3 days before I installed the tonneau cover I had ordered even before the truck was in. Even if they do nothing for fuel mileage IMHO they add plenty of functionality to your truck and take absolutely nothing away. I have sleak looks when it's on, and I can take it off and have the functionality of an open bed in less than 60 seconds. (Disclaimer that is for full removal, it does take a little longer, like 2-3 minutes, if I am out somewhere and need to roll it up and take the bows out and such.)

 

I think that I can safely speak for both 007 and myself when I say that you are all more than welcome. And while I am pretty sure that even if there were not other members involved that could benefit, Mark and I would still be testing these devices out in the interest of just our own fuel budgets. That said, it is still nice to be noticed and appreciated and I thank all of you for taking the time to thank us.

 

OK, so I wrote a little while ago that I had completed the install of the Eco-2 VPE on my truck and would write up the install with pics in the interest of helping others to do their own install at the conclusion of this test. Well, the next day has turned into 4 days later, but hey, better late than never right?

Ok, so as Mark stated on his install post the process is really completely plug and play once you figure out which is the fuel supply line and which is the return.

So I sat here at my computer and studdied the pictures Mark had posted, and then went out to my driveway and looked under my hood, and came back inside and studdied the pictures again. My conclusion was that my fuel lines didn't look like those on Mark's 2.7L engine. So went outside took of the engine cover and air box hoping to be able to trace the fuel line to the fuel rail to the number one cylinder.... Yea, that didn't work out so well. So I put the truck back together and came back in and E-mailed Ben from Eco Systems for a little help.

Ben got back to me in less than 3 hours I think, confirming that the supply line is the furthest forward of the fuel lines in the engine bay. I have both fuel lines circled, and am pointing to the forward one which is the supply line. This is the same picture from another angle.

Ben also told me that just to make sure, with the fuel line disconnected I could have someone bump the starter and if fuel "came out" of the hard line it was the supply, and if it came out of the soft line going to the fuel rail then it was the return. Well hell, that makes perfect sense, why didn't I think of that. So just to make sure I was connecting the device correctly I did just that. Note to Ben, "came out" implies a little stream, something lacksidasical, like a butterfly. I believe in the future you should use the term "shot out" or perhaps "erupts like a volcano." So after connecting the Eco-2 to the correct fuel line, I proceded to hose down the engine bay , and then take these pictures so in-case you were wondering that is the cause of the water spots in the photos.

Completed picture of the installed Eco-2 on the 4.0L engine. I will re-evaluate my choice of mounting location in a hundred miles or so to make sure that nothing is rubbing on anything else.

So there you have it. The install write up for the 4.0. Of-course I am a shorthaul trucker by profession, so generally if I don't have to drive when I'm off I don't, so I didn't leave the house last weekend, so I have nothing to report as far a numbers go, but the better half and I are heading to the Jersey shore this weekend, which is a part highway trip and part limited access 2 lane backroads so it should provide some good numbers for me to post Sunday evening or Monday morning.

 

I appreciate the thanks, guys. I am glad to help. Here are my latest numbers...

Tank 1 (Sept 17-21) - to and from work Monday thru Friday.

266.2 miles / 12.003 gallons = 22.177 MPG
*My cruising speed was 75 MPH.
*Top speed was 82 MPH.
*Minimal "heavy footed" driving.
*63% (168 miles) was spent in heavy city traffic.
*37% (98.1 miles) was highway driving with moderate to heavy traffic.
*The Air Conditioning was on 100% of the time.
*No towing.
*No hauling.

I spent quite a bit of time in the city last week for doctors appointments and such, so a bunch of my driving on tank 1 was in-town. 22 MPG in town is pretty good since I usually average around 21 MPG in town.

Tank 2 (Sept 22-23) - Errands around town. Didn't keep good numbers - Sorry.

192.8 miles / 8.244 gallons = 23.386 MPG
*Cruising speed was ???? MPH.
*Average speed was ???? MPH.
*Top speed was ???? MPH.
*Minimal "heavy footed" driving.
*Mostly city driving (slow).
*Some highway driving with NO Traffic.
*The Air Conditioning was on 100% of the time.
*No towing.
*No hauling.

This is more along the lines of what I was expecting from my truck in the beginning. Unfortunately, I was running around so much that I didn't log any of my miles. So I topped off on Monday morning so that I could reset my numbers. To my suprise, I got pretty decent fuel economy.

I do enjoy the throttle response the VPE has given my truck. Even my wife has noticed that it doesn't hesitate as much.

 

Well, I am not sure how much "off" it is, but my numbers were pretty erratic in the beginning, and I have no explanation for that. I did begin filling up at the same station at the same angle every time on the last three tanks. That seems to have leveled out my numbers a bit. Of course the bad batch of gas in Houston throws everything WAY OFF.

 

That is good advice. I looked into the price difference of doing a CAI versus a Drop-In, and the implied fuel savings and performance increases of each. The Drop-In is much more bang for your buck, but I have to say - the CAI's have much more visual appeal.

You know, if I remember correctly, they did that test on a full size truck with a V8 engine.

(WARNING: Suppositions, Theories, and Opinions of 007Tacoma to follow)

I believe they would have seen more "results" if they had tried this on different kinds of trucks. My reasoning is two fold.

First off, it has been my experience (04 Dodge Ram 1 ton w/ diesel, 90 Ford F-150, and 94 Chevy Suburban 1500) that larger displacement engines with high torque tend to get more fuel economy from engine tweaks than aerodynamics. This test should have been done on a vehicle with a smaller engine that works harder against the wind than a V8 does.

Second off, the vehicle they used may have a stagnated air pocket behind the cab already, but a different configuration of the same truck may not have the same air pocket. You can't tell me that the drag on a 4.0L Tacoma DoubleCab Short Bed is the same as the drag on a 4.0L Tacoma Long Bed (DC or AC). Same is true with the Tundra, the Frontier, the Silverado, the Titan, etc... Heck the only "truck" that doesn't give you exterior config options is the Ridgeline.

I think that plenty of people have shown that the right configuration of truck and tonneau cover can give you significant gains in fuel economy. I think that a cover (cap or tonneau) is a great idea for more than just fuel economy on the Tacomas.

 

Ok, first impressions of a drive with the VPE installed. I took the truck to work this morning which was the first time It's moved since I installed the VPE on Thursday last week.

According to my highly sensative "butt dyno" I would say that there was a minor bump in torque and horsepower. By minor I would guess at less than five pound feet, and less than five horses. About the same as you could expect from a drop in filter or cat-back exhaust alone.

Also my very highly tuned right foot definately agrees with 007's right foot and is enjoying a noticible improvement in throttle response. Which is making it difficult for me to maintain a fuel concious granny shifting driving style of keeping it below 2000 RPMs. Oh-well, I'll try to get that out of my system in the next day or so, and then top off the tank before my road trip this weekend and have something in the way of concrete numbers to report Sunday night or Monday morning.

 

It's almost like it gets rid of that little bit of hesitation when you first punch it. That is my favorite thing about it!

 

007: Those latest numbers are starting to look alot more promising.

In response to your theory about the Mythbusters busting the tailgate down vs. the tailgate up debate.... i agree. They only tested one brand of truck. They derived their conclusion by puting "models" of the truck in water and running a current over them with visible particles. I'm sure that give a good idea of how air runs over a truck, but water is not air. I would have been more convinced if they used a wind tunnel with smoke. Plus, they used two different trucks. Although they are the same model we have already discussed how one engine can run slightly different from another identical engine, richer, leaner, whatever. It was a good test but not something you can call definative. I love Mythbusters but they are notorious for not being exact when testing their theories. Its an entertaining show but definately not the authority on scientific research.

 

rav 4 is much better at cutting air and slipping through the hole it creates...trucks always kinda tear through the hole like a dull knife.... this is a FYI i folded the mirrors in on my old tacoma and installed the bed cover (soft snap style) and got 3mpg better out of it...on mag (diesel power) got like 6 mpg increase out of a dodge ram dualie diesel by covering the wheels with tape and carboard,folding mirrors in...and taping off all the body seams..buddy of mine has a 2wd toyota tacoma...with baby moon covers on wheels all the folding mirors and tape tricks and stock engine he got 36mpg out of it

 

Any of you watch MythBusters. They tested a lot of the MPG devices and I think i saw they tested the ECO as well. Not 100% sure on that. There is a lot a variables to MPG but all the things they tested did not improve gas millage.

To get more MPG though which is the purpose of this thread is get a CIA, free flow exhaust and change your driving a bit. One thing to get more MPG is accelerate faster to the speed, then relax the throttle. This wastes less gas then slowly accelerating to speed.

 

Okay....That's very uhmm counter-intuitive. As much as I'd like an excuse to put my foot down a little (just a little) harder, I have a problem with that approach. One common theme in all the discussions of MPG here is avoiding fast starts. Maybe I'm not understanding correctly?

BTW, there are a lot of threads on TW about MPG. You'd think all of us were obsessed with MPG. Yes, I want all the miles for my dollar I can get, but I'm beginning to lean toward making the obvious mods, and driving to suit myself. If MPG were my PRIME concern, I would have bought a hybrid.

 

LOL I know it seems backwards. I will look up the articles tonight when I am home. Studies show that to save gas you need to get to speed quicker. We are talking like super small amounts. Nothing ground breaking.

I had a prius and 45 was my average and 55 was the most I ever saw. I wish we could get some diesel like the get in Europe. Those little low powered POS are not for looks or comfort but 80MPG ya I like that.

 

From my own experience, m3dragon, is correct about the quick acceleration. This does not mean to jam the accelerator.

I had a 1994 Chevy Suburban 4x2 Automatic with the 350ci V8 in it. My father and I took turns driving it back and forth from Denver to New Orleans one summer.

When my father would drive it, he would take 30-40 seconds to get to 70 MPH and then he would cruise. His driving was very light on the accelerator. His average fuel economy over the summer was 16 MPG.

When I drove the Suburban, I would take 15-20 seconds to get to 70 MPH. Then I would set the cruise. I was light on the accelerator unless it was to get to the cruising speed. My average fuel economy that summer was 18 MPG.

Think about it. Would you rather run 20% open for 35 seconds or 28% open for 20 seconds?

As far as the diesels are concerned, I think everyone on this forum knows how much I love diesel engines.

 

I'm new here and I gotta agree with you, MPG is not a prime concern, but it's only practical to want to get as much as you can for the gas money. I'm trying to get a feel for what the "obvious" mods are (nothing's obvious to me yet), what they'll cost, and try to figure out how quickly they pay for themselves (plus any fringe benefits like increased HP). If there's a definitive post about this, maybe we should make it sticky? I suspect a lot of new folks visiting here would like to easily find this sort of info.

 

If you want MPG then never buy a truck.

Obvious mods = Cold air Intake of some sort and Exhaust system (the better the motor breaths, the more power and mpg you will get)

Little tricks.

1. Run tires with more air pressure. Look at what the tire says is max and run 4 or 5 psi below it. hinders performance a bit but your range will go up.

2. Run a additive - Prolong and Tuff oil seem to always work for me. I use prolong in my cars and helps lower temps as well as help mpg. (we can debate which additive works best on a new thread =P )

 

A definitive sticky on MPG - I think that would require a bit of research, and some numbers to back it all up. Some people I have talked to say they get worse MPG on their CAI. Others say the exact opposite. Same goes for the exhaust headers and mufflers.

It has been my experience - anything that increases fuel economy also increases performance to a limited extent. Between the computer trying to re-write it's Air-Fuel ratio mapping and the driver trying not to indulge the new founded power, fuel economy usually suffers before it gets better. That seems to be the case with any modification. I know that is the case with me and the ECO-1 VPE.

There will be a sticky report on the findings that maverick491 and I produce after we conclude our testing. Stay tuned.

 

ok here is the best way for you to get better mpg... shell or bed cover (mythbusters didnt even try this) since you can get a used bed cover for $50 on ebay thats easy money...air up the tires a bit (not like you cant let it out before wheeling) intake and exhaust...(an engine is an air pump more air in+out=more power) and (easier to get air in and out=more mpg) and if you wanted you could add a removable valance to your truck...these help but I'll never be adding a lip on the bottom of my 4x4..2wd mini guys can add a 4wd bumper to get alittle extra airdam up front