The Skinny on High MPG

That's because NASA Calibrated Scientific Equipment in a Wind Tunnel can't tell the difference between your truck and the Great Wall of China.

Most of you are too young to remember that the speed limit nation wide was capped off at 55MPH - EVERYWHERE. For the better part of a decade too. Car manufacturers made cars with engines, transmissions, and differentials geared to not exceed the speed limit. Then in around 1985ish they bumped up the speed to 65 - just 10mph. Every car made in America or for the American market was a giant brick when it came to performance - abysmal. That extra 10 MPH was almost too hard for most cars and that's when the European cars started to get a reasonable market share sized foothold in America.

Same is true with our trucks. Toyota CAN build a truck that is better at high speeds in the 90MPH range but there isn't a need really. Anything faster than about 75 in these trucks and we aren't geared for that so MPG starts taking a hit. Our posted speed here is 75 and traffic flow is 85. That's reasonable but in the Tacoma it's unenjoyable for any length of time and when I do it my MPG goes down like Monica Lewinski.

The same can be said if you drive the speed limit but load the truck with more weight than it was rated to carry. Any time you exceed design specs, there is a trade off and in our trucks the first trade we make is in MPG.

 

Agree with much of your post but... many here (and I agree) that with the auto the 5th and especially, the 6th gear are too high and therefore the constant up/down shifting. I truly never use 6th, with the hills here in N.W. PA. even on the open highways like I-80 in auto mode the transmission rarely stays in 6th for more than 30 seconds.

 

Yep every car that I could afford when I was 16 had a red "55" mph marker on the speedometer.

 

With my 2021 Sport 6MT, the milage difference between a little less than 60mph and a little more than 70mph is AMAZING. (having driven coast to coast twice "Not on the interstate")

But, that slow pace is VERY difficult in this modern world.

This thread is testimony!

PS
The recently aquired VESPA GTS250 easily goes 75 mph, but it's usual 60mpg suffers. Meanwhile, It seems no matter how I ride, flogging or subdued, the Honda VFR800 gives 45 mpg. With four times the horsepower on tap!

Go figure

 

I’ve never met a Monica Lewinsky reference I didn’t like.

 

Survived very nicely with the skinny pedal being exercised down and back!

 

step on the gas pedal and get up to "the moral speed limit" i.e. 7 mph over in my area.
Finish the pass comfortably, put your blinker on and return to the RH lane.

 

you gonna eat those?

 

dolphin fish is delicious