lift, tires and killin' mpg?!?

Been checking out all the pics and comments. LOTS of awesome trucks! Just bought my first Tacoma and love it! 2010 dbl cab LB TRD sport mica pyrite. I like the look of all those with 3" lifts. Seems like enough to beef it up but not to much. I want an A/T tire that really fills the well but not destroy mileage. Thinking about 285/70/17's. It will see some off roading but I also drive quite a bit. Any thoughts and please include pics with details on your lifts/wheels. Thanks!

 

best thing to do is search around and see what people are running and ask them directly, through personal messaging...at least i think that would be the best way! i do it lol

a/t bfg makes a great set of ko and lots of people run them and are very happy. best way to not kill mileage is keep an easy foot, running good oils and enjoy the parts you add on!

 

I run 285s with a three inch lift and I get about 19mpg on the freeway. Was getting 20 to 21 before. I run herculez all terrains

 

how the heck is that even possible???thats great.

 

Here's a pic of 285/70/17

 

heres mine. 2008 taco 4x4 access cab. 3 inch spacer lift with add a leaf in back. Running 285-75-16 mud terrains on 951s and 1.24 spidertrax spacers.

I average 16 mpg. But i dont drive too easily

 

Well with any amount of city driving it drops quickly. Probably 17mpg is what I get with more city than freeway. If I offroad some than it drops to 16mpg

 

I went from stock 16" TRD OR to 265/75/16 Scorpions with a 2.5 front and 1 rear. My mileage on the highway went from 21ish to 20ish... City went from 20ish to high 18ish

Its not that bad... my problem is trying to find a halfway decent alignment tech to get everything squared away! (still experiencing the highway drift).

 

If you're looking for mpg, don't do the lift and tires. My Nitto Terra Grapplers are 10 ply and they are heavy as snot. They look good, are quiet and are fine for me, but after 1 year I'm averaging 15.97 mpg with about 70/30 highway/city. And that mpg is corrected for the larger tires.

 

The only way a lift would really hurt your gas is the added heighth which makes it less aero dynamic. Tires are the issue when it comes to MPG.

The wider the tire you have, the more friction you have on the pavement, means more power to move said tire. The taller a tire is changes the revolutions per minute. The bigger the tire, the heavier they are.

Your truck is pretty much designed to run the best it can as stock. The only thing you could really do to improve it "efficiency" is supercharging it.

Check out my build thread. I think I have a good set up for practicality and looks.

 

So if I understand correctly, If I want the beefed up look and still have some decent highway mileage; I'd be better off with a lift and a taller but not wider tire? That way I would fill my wells nicely but not add as much weight with the wider tire.

 

My rims are 17's, so how tall of a tire could I add without a lift vs. with a lift?

 

Load range E tires is what's hurting your mileage.Way overkill.

 

33" (285/70/17) If you're talented with a saw and grinder. 32" (265/70/17) is no problem.

With a lift, 33" only requires minor trimming.

 

I have front 5100s at 1.75" and the rear spring TSB which added a little bit of heighth in the rear. Leveled it out nicely while adding a little bit of lift. I have 265/75s which fit nicely in the wheel well. Wheels have 4.5" backspacing which makes the wheel/tire combo flush with the fender flare.

All depends on what you do. I fit 265/70/r17s with my truck stock with minor rubbing at full turn. That filled the wheel well nicely as well. Had I leveled it out it wouild have looked even nicer. But I went back to a 16" wheel to get the 265/75 tires for a little more heighth and bigger sidewall.

 

3" lift and 32" tires and I get 20mpg compared to the 22mpg before. Was worth it to me for the lift and tires.

 

good stuff everyone! Thanks!