MPG Mods

Sounds like you've got a much bigger problem than tire size man.

 

Has anyone out there tried the gf performance chip in a 2011 taco 4x4 double cab?

 

There really are no milage secrets out there and no mods anyone can simply bolt on to a vehicle and gain much in the way of milage, and still be legal. Back in the early 70's, we went to a national speed limit of 55 mph, because the cost of gas had skyrocketed due to Saudi Arabia and others in the cartel shutting down some of their refineries in protest to US policies.

55 mph was chosen because at that speed most vehicles will maximize their gas milage. There is a milage "bucket" if viewed on a graph in which vehicles get their best milage. It starts out low on the graph and then moves up as you go faster and sort of levels out above 50 or so and keeps on going up slightly after that to about 58 mph. This is in top gear, or overdrive and on a level road with no headwinds. It is often simulated in test cells with the engine on a test stand.

Anyway, about the slowest speed you should go, again, in top gear, is 42 or 43 mph. Below that, the engine is not running at it's most efficient and there are pumping and friction losses. Above 58 mph, air drag becomes a negative factor and continues to negatively affect mileage from then on. This will vary per type of vehicle, but even the big 18 wheelers get their best mileage at 58 mph.

So it's actually very simple, the slower you run your engine in top gear, the less gas you will use. Heavy footed driving will use up gas at a much higher rate than driving as if there were and egg under the accelerator pedal.

Brakes that drag a bit will also reduce mileage. Racks on the truck reduce mileage. Anything that causes drag, including driving with the windows down, will cost mileage.

Corky Scott

 

Truck Nuts!!!

 

My information is that lugging an engine, any modern engine, does not damage it in any way. This is an old belief that some ascribe to early hyper fragile small bore racing engines that had to be kept revved up so as to make adaquate power and not damage the crankshaft bearings.

But todays engines have plenty of oil pressure to protect the engine at any speed, including lugging it. In addition, todays oils have come a long way and are superior in almost every way to those of 40 years ago.

 

Installed a ScanGaugeE late last week with recommendations from others on this forum. Found I was getting lower MPG by not shifting to 5th sooner, previously shifted around 50MPH. Tried shifting to 5th at 45MPH going "easy" on the gas pedal on mostly level roads yesterday. Two 35 mile local trips mixed with interstate driving up to 65MPH and not loaded, got an average between 30 to 31MPG during each trip.

Purchased the ScanGaugeE to help find better MPG towing the TT Camper, but found my non towing driving habits needed improvement, too.

 

for sure, driving no faster than 55-60 mph everywhere i go, no cruise control has helped my mileage. light foot. i have 33s with a 2.5 inch lift

 

My 2010 just ran 26mpg, mixed speeds up to 70 mph,,,it's still stock.

 

wouldnt it be better if you change the cold air intake or just the filter

 

Charles, I'm not disputing your information on engine lugging but I would like some more comments or data. I guess I've always been taught lugging an engine is always a bad thing and that it's time to change gears. I totally agree with you about the improved abilities of today's oil to provide better engine protection.
Bill

 

Does Acetone ? work? if so how much do you put in and how often

 

No

 

Driving Habits make a huge differnce. Keep your tires filled and fluids topped. Dont use tune ups in a can. Toyota and other Companies engineer vehicles to perform the way they do, Dont expect a 250$ intake system to out perform or enchance your tacoma in great amounts.

Lighten your truck , remove uneeded weight ( not the spare ).

 

Bought a 1990 Miata, it gets 32mpg on the highway, and looks better than a Prius.

 

I was taught that too. Way back in the late 60's when racing autos interested me I used to read a lot of car magazines. I happened to be reading Car and Driver, an article about a modified Camaro written by Brock Yates. He was driving the car around with the car's owner/builder. The engine was highly modified with special carburation, a full race cam and high compression pistons. Yates was describing how he was driving around while talking with the owner and realised that he was lugging the engine and apologised. The owner, who had been building engines for a long time, responded that the idea that lugging the engine, even such a high performance engine, would damage the bearings was a myth. The oil pump supplied adaquate pressure to float the crankshaft at even the lowest rpms he said.

This was back in the late 60's, as I mentioned, and oils have been improved greatly since then. When I was an auto mechanic, I never heard of an engine being damaged by lugging, under any circumstances. We even had a Mazda come in that had broken the chain that drove the oil pump. The owner noticed that oil light was on while driving down in Boston. He drove it all the way back to Vermont at normal highway speeds because he thought it was just a malfunctioning light. When we discovered that the oil light was on because the oil pump chain had broken, we tore the engine down to check the bearings. No damage, and we REALLY looked them over. We conjectured that the engine was lubricating itself by the crankshaft arms splashing in the oil, but I'm really not sure. The oil showed a bit high on the dipstick so that might have been possible, but it's remarkable never the less.

Charles Scott

 

I want to put a programmer in an also a new air filter an possibly exhaust Iam new to this toyota because i drive a 2500 hd duramaxx. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

 

Assuming you are try to improve MPG then the exhaust and intake are not recommended.

The programmers I am aware of are only good for wide open throttle. Not helpful for better mpg either.

 

Yeah, I think that many of us probably hoped that there were loads of bolt-on gadgets that would boost our fuel economy, but there aren't many.

synthetic oil
Scanguage/Ultraguage
Tonneau cover
smaller tires/rims

The guages might be the most important: gives you feedback while educating yourself to drive smarter. Driving 'blind' and following the tips the others have given will get you pretty far, but the guages help you to dial in on your specific vehicle configuration.

 

My first Toyota was an '89 X-cab, 4x4, 2.4L EFI. I installed 30x9.50-15 tires and a Competition 'Sprint' camper shell (125 lbs). It only got around 15~16 mpg in the city, but mid to high 20's on the highway. It didn't have enough power to pull a trailer, so I sold it in '96 and bought a new Tacoma 4x4 X-cab, 3.4L with 31x10.50-15 tires (also installed a Competition 'Sprint' shell).

The Tacoma only got 14~15 in the city. I installed a Magnuson (TRD) supercharger when they came out and it reduced the fuel economy about 1 mpg. Gas was fairly reasonably priced then so I didn't mind ... the increase in HP and torque was worth it. It made pulling a trailer a pleasure. The only problem was the TRD was not intended for installation on 3.4L engines until '97 (EGR and different ECU) and I had to reset the ECU every 5k miles.

In 2002, I bought a new Tundra LTD Access Cab, 4x4, 4.7L V8, LSD for towing purposes and planned to sell the Tacoma. I removed the supercharger from the Tacoma shortly after. The mpg went back up to 14~15 city, 17 highway.

Well, against my wife's wishes, I kept the Tacoma and recently joined this forum to gain technical insight on maintaining it (except for oil changes and brake jobs, we always had it serviced at the local dealer where I purchased it). Time to change the timing belt, water pump (and possibly head gaskets), and I want to do the repairs myself.

I installed an Afe dry filter element on the Tacoma a month ago and have noticed an increase of about 1 mpg in both city and highway. I also noticed a little more pep going up freeway on-ramps.


I recently changed the tires on the Tundra - went from the original 265/65x16 to 245/70x16 (.78" narrower and a 'smidge' taller). I immediately realized a 2mpg increase in mileage both city and highway . I just purchased an aFe dry filter for it and will check to see if it helps any. I'll report back my findings after a few tank fulls.

I may go with one size narrower tires on the Tacoma (unless I sell it prior to needing new tires).

 

Just ordered an AFE filter for my 01 even if I don't gain much performance improvements, it will pay for itself in four oil changes at 15.00 bucks a pop for OEM at Wally World. One thing I just rolled 200,000 on my first 2.7, is there anything that needs to be checked after that many miles? Lifters or anything? No probs just wondering otherwise we'll just keep bumping along.