Chin Strap Experiences

I hate the ugly chin strap on my 2019 SR5, seriously thinking of removing it. I drive mostly highway, anybody experienced much change in MPG or ride quality without it? That's my only concern...

Didn't find much when I did a 'search' on here ... thanks in advance

 

I took mine off the day I bought it. Haven't looked back. MPG is so relative to the exact situation. Unless you've been staring at your readout religiously, you'll never notice a difference.

 

My difference was "negligible" for the improvement of look. It was about ~1 mpg less each tank. Similar driving conditions each of the 3 tanks I paid attention for. 3 before taking it off and 3 after. I stopped paying attention after that.

Also now a days I get pretty close to the published MPG numbers too, Highway and city. Small lift and 265 70 17s.

 

I can't say for the Tacoma, however people experimented on the Colorado and found they averaged one MPG better in the city and one worse on the highway (if I remember right). But, as was pointed out the difference is relative to your situation.

 

Mine was mostly stock. I took it off after owning it for a year. So far I have run it a little over a year without.


City mileage is negligible to not noticable. Slight difference with highway. Below 65mph, less than one mpg difference. Maybe a little more than 1 mpg difference at 75.


Then again, a slight change in wind direction will skew the numbers more than that. But to answer your question, overall I didn't notice it or miss it.

 

I encourage all to remove it. If fuel economy is an issue, you shouldnt have bought a truck lol.

 

Check your mpg over several tanks of fuel with it on.

Take it off. Hang onto it for a while. Checked your mpg over several tanks of fuel.

Compare the 2 mpg (with vs without). Decide when you have numbers particular to your driving habits.

 

Yeah! Just haul shit around in the back of your Prius!

 

Many of my truck parts (rock sliders, etc) were hauled home in my Subaru hatchback. Just my dumb luck that parts come in during a mod day with my truck on jack stands

 

Toyota rates the MPG exactly the same on Tacoma's that come with the decorative spoiler and ones without so there shouldn't really be any difference.

 

Gotta remember that most vehicles are laboratory tested on a dyno, by the manufacturer. Their calculations probably didn't account for it.

https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml


But still, if they didn't even account for it, the difference between strap/no strap will be small.

 

MPG isn't an issue as much as ride quality (squirrelly front end) would be at 75 mph for me but it sounds like I won't notice. If it was 5 MPG difference then I would hesitate ... and yes I'm well aware of truck gas mileage, been driving them since 1986 ... all good.

I'm gonna pull that sucker off today ... thanks for the replies guys

 

What I really want to know is whether anyone has managed to come up with a practical use for one. Right now mines just hanging with the paint cans.

Id really like to think up a good place for it. Maybe it could be a garden border, or I could fix my rain gutters, or make a piece of folk art. I dunno. Anyone do anything useful with theirs?

 

-The chin spoiler counteracts the wind drag from the skewp, which is why the Sport and OR get same MPG.

-SR5s get the same mileage without the skewp, and with spoiler, because the smaller tires cause you to turn more RPMs.

-The limited gets the same mileage with no skewp, and with a spoiler, because it has heavy-grain leather. Switch to light grain leather for more savings.

-The pro gets the same mileage as all other trims because Toyota is lying about that one.

 

You won't experience any difference in 'ride quality' or vehicle 'performance' with the removal of the chin strap.
To some, it might look 'sporty' but that's where it begins and ends..

 

Yep they do coast-down testing to apply fudge factors. It's actually quite the boondoggle with EPA certification.

All the aerodynamic mods Toyota added from 2nd gen to 3rd gen (air dam, taller tailgate, gap filler between cab and bed, flush door seals, windshield side trim) are probably worth 1 mpg together.

 

Well, this will be controversial. I have a 2021 TRDORDC auto. I do a lot of highway visiting my kids at college and volunteer work. I wanted the OR for some future off roading when my wife retires early next year. I actually put one on my truck, I got one from a member that took their off an SR5. Parish the thought. I did record my mileage for several thousand miles before adding it and have several thousand after adding it. I save not quite a gallon of gas each tank. Not alot, but for me, it still saves some gas. For me that's 2 fill ups each month, $6 per month, or $72 per year. Not much, but that pays for one fill up each year It is ugly...but I don't notice it any longer. That is my unscientific test. Toyota would not waste the money to put it on the trucks if it didn't make a difference. Car companies don't spend money like that. They leave it off the OR because they know those customers would take them off or they get ripped off in an off road situation. I did the test because I wanted some limited facts for my self...

 

Removing will increase the wind noise at highway speeds and reveal an ugly skid plate.

 

Then what's this apparatus doing on my hood?

 

That apparatus made you spend an extra $2000 on the TRD Sport pkg, so it made a big difference for Toyota. One skewp probably paid for 100 airdams