Realistic gas mileage?

What I don't get is a Ram 1500 V8 can get around 20mpg easily... why are we getting such low numbers with a smaller engine/truck? Best I manage is around 24 with my 4cyl but typically average 19-20 with a ton of local driving.

 

Because Toyota was keeping it simple. Simple motor design, low maintenance and reliability at the expense of efficiency.

Let’s be honest, up until the 4th gen Toyota hasn’t really improved fuel economy in 30-40 years with regards to the Tacoma and pre Tacoma model.

A 90 22R is/was getting damn near similar mpg’s as a 2020. 3vze vs 1Grfe again almost identical economy wise, but certainly not reliability wise. The 3vze was a pile of garbage that ate hg’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You could argue that economy has actually improved since the size of the Tacoma has ballooned over the past 30 years.

The competition is cranking out better mpgs but they are doing it by more sophistication: cutting cylinders, adding turbos, 8,10,12 speeds, etc.

The 4th gen had to follow suit because let’s be honest, fuel economy is a concern.

 

And they still don't get good mpg with the 4 cylinder turbo

 

True, but 22mpg out of a truck that’s the size of a half ton isn’t bad.

 

2010, 6 cyc, 4x4, auto, 235,000 miles.

Similar problem, but this years' winter blend saw my mpg drop a couple more MPG, sometimes down to 14.5mpg. Bad, bad, bad. I put in new plugs this summer. Would it be worth putting some injector cleaner in the gas?

Also, I haven't driven many highway miles in the last 6-8 months...most town driving. Did Minnesota 'dick" with the fuel blend this year?

 

Less work to pull the load is my guess.

I had a 77 Chevy with the 250 straight six. The fuel mileage was atrocious as was the movement in general, was underpowered as hell on top of sucking fuel. I got it free and it was a reliable car so I lived with it being a college kid, but it's scary to think a 350 that those cars were sold with had a lot more power and better economy.

Are you 2 or 4 wheel drive?

 

only on my 4th tank with my new/old 2nd gen 4.0 6spd man 4x4, first 2 tanks i got 19.4 mpg mixed driving. ran a bottle of Chevron techron & 10 gals of ethanol free 90 oct then topped off with the low grade corn syrup. 3rd tank i ran just the corn syrup and that tank dropped to 16.6 in fairness it was starting to get colder (november in IL.) Bout a quarter tank away from fill up so will see how the numbers change on winter mix. Still running the 265/70R16 on stock wheels for rest of winter but am sporting an Eibach Pro set up in front & new 4pack leaf's in rear so i have more air resistance on highway but not worried about in town driving. Added note*** i did do a mass air flow sensor & throttle body cleaning & really glad i did.....filthy !! My "old guy recommendation" to all of you..... check both every couple years, very easy job

 

I read somewhere, and wish I remember where, every pound you go up in the weight of your tires and wheels is like carrying 10lbs more on your payload.
Example adding 15lbs/tire x 4 = equivalent to carrying 600 lbs more in bed.

 

There isn't any actual way to calculate it as I know, so I've seen numbers between 4 and 10 lbs of sprung weight = 1 lb of unsprung weight. I think rotational mass and distance from the hub (think tires) exaggerate this, but I am not an engineer. Regardless, unsprung weight is a thing.

 

Skip the injector cleaner. Take it on the highway and do some full pedal pulls to blow out the crud. I think your fuel has always been shite because you're in the corn belt.

 

Have you done a M.A.F. sensor & throttle body cleaning lately ??? mine was filthy.....smelly pirate hooker filthy !!
You can also do a double dose of (2 bottles) chevron techron in your tank....that shud clean it up nicely

 

thats very interesting, i was very surprised by that. i am in process of trying to confirm as my future tire set up will be 11lbs heavier just for the tires alone so after rims...prolly right at the 15lb mark

 

Get Osram halogens. If by cool you mean bluish LED, those are shit for yours and everyone's night vision.

 

I have to do what you did but for 285/70R17, so your calculation is from the stock 245 to yor new 265 ??

 

@RonMx18 I am pretty sure my oem tire size was 265 65 17. I have a TRD Sport.

 

i always wondered that too, my 2015 trd OR came with 265 70 16 falken wildpeaks and i dont know if its the same as stock size, but for 31s or 32s they def pulled a few mpg from me, i get like 16mpg town and stock height and everything

 

I don't make any claim on the forum. I started the thread asking for input on realistic gas mileage expectations. You commented that your gas mileage was terrible, and asked for help to figure out why. I call that hijacking the thread. You could have started your own thread.

 

In case anyone is interested, here are some specs I found for different engines that might help explain why I'm not getting the gas mileage I expected.

1989 3.0 liter HP = 145@4800 rpm, Torque = 180 lb/ft@3400 rpm.
2015 4.0 liter HP = 240@5200 rpm, Torque = 278 lb/ft@3700 rpm.

So, 33% more displacement, about 25% more horsepower, and about 50% more torque for the 2015 V6 over the 1989 V6.
While it's probably sometimes nice to have more power, I didn't get a small truck to carry or tow a lot of weight with. Maybe most people want more power, I have a full sized diesel truck for hauling / towing.
Interestingly, my search results for a 2015 2.7 liter truck show not much of a difference in gas mileage, about 2 mpg better for city driving, about 1 mpg better on the highway.
It seems to me that Toyota felt that engineering their small trucks for better gas mileage was not a concern, increasing power output was.

1989 2.4 liter HP = 112@4600 rpm, Torque = 142 lb/ft@3400 rpm.
2015 2.7 liter HP = 185@5800 rpm, Torque = 184 lb/ft@4200 rpm.

 

finally ran er dry today & topped off a 4th time with Shell low grade plus a double shot of Lucas fuel treatment, pretty much all in town driving on that last tank managed to get 15.5 mpg with the winter blend, not too shabby

 

I've now filled my truck up 3 times. I'm getting about 15 around town, pretty much always in 4wd, more idling than I did with my old truck since the Taco has a remote starter, and it's nice to start it from inside, and let it warm up a little before I go out and get in it.