MPG!! I've got to eat crow!!!!

[docsg]

Originally Posted by v8Toilet

My secret is I have 2WD, weigh in under 4400 lbs, have a tonneau cover, use all synthetic fluids (engine, trans, diff), and I have some breathing modifications. I also had a new Toyota air filter in at the time of the test.

My mileage was achieved traveling at 65 mph with the cruise control on and I was about 200 ft above sea level. 22.7 mpg was the best I have ever got with a few 21 mpg in there too.

If I go 70 + mph I’ll only get 18.5-19 mpg.

If you have 4WD you’ll take a highway mileage hit because 4WD trucks are higher off the ground, weigh more, and have more mechanical parts to move with more inertia even if your 4WD is not engaged. If you have a cap or no tonneau or bed cover you’ll have more aerodynamic drag. If you drive with your tailgate down you’ll have more aerodynamic drag. If your tires have high rolling resistance you could get up to 2-3 mpg worse gas mileage according to Consumer Reports. I bought tires with very low rolling resistance. If you have low tire air pressure you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have a dirty air filter you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have a K&N or TRD air filter you’ll get slightly worse gas mileage. If your 02 sensors are getting sluggish you’ll get worse gas mileage. If your engine tends to ping on 87 octane and the knock sensor retards the timing as a result of that you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have bigger tires or a lift kit you’ll get worse gas mileage. If it’s cold outside you’ll get worse gas mileage because your truck will take longer to warm up. If you use the A/C or drive with your windows down you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you drive with all your lights on you’ll get slightly worse gas mileage (the fog lights each are 110 watts!) If the wind is blowing against your truck while traveling you’ll get worse gas mileage. If it’s raining out you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have dragging brakes you’ll get worse gas mileage.

I think that’s it!

Hell, if I just drive mine I get worse gas mileage! I guess I should just park it an forget it, especially if it is raining and the wind is blowing.

[JTs02Tundra]

I always got about 17 mpg around town.
Two weeks ago I replaced my brake pads and rotors. I have done the same driving as I always do these past two weeks. The first week I got 18 mpg, Ok might be a fluke. This past Sunday after my fill up, 19 mpg.

The only change was the pads and rotors. However the pad caliper pins were a bit dirty and hard to get out. Before I replaced them, I cleaned them with a wire brush and put a little caliper grease on them before I slid them back in and pinned them.

Now I understand that the pads slide back and forth on these pins. I assume they must move better with the cleaning and caliper grease. I'm no expert, but that's the only change and I drive like I always do. By the way stopping is no problem. (Hawk Pads and SP drilled and slotted rotors)

I have noticed that coasting is easier, meaning that when I ease off the gas it rolls and doesn't "drag" if I can compare it to that.

Well, I'll see what kind of mileage I get this week.

I'll take it.

[JTs02Tundra]

Oh yes, and I do have a Leer fiberglass lid..

[Puffnstuff]

I filled my truck up the other day and registered a whopping, drum roll please, 13.7mpg in town. While I wish it was better I've seen worse from a smaller vehicle with a v6 engine.

[River19]

Filled up after a 365 mile trip back from hunting in northern New England 20.5 gals for 17.8 mpg including going up through Franconia Notch with a truck loaded with 2 guys, 2 dogs and a bed full of gear. I was psyched to see anything with a 17 in front of it.

I usually get 16-17 in mixed driving.

Pretty stock 2001 V8 4x4 with just Bilstein Coilovers and Geolanders for "mods".

Steve

[Xfercase]

I'll start by saying I agree with some other posters- I'm skeptical about some of the high MPG figures people are claiming. Not saying anyone is a lier but perhaps they're method of computing their MPG is off. I do mine the old fashioned way: take the miles traveled and divide by gallons used to fill up. Anyway, I've been getting 16-17 MPG mixed hiway and city for my 06 Tundra AC 4x4 V8. But I only have about 1500 miles on it so far. I've been getting on it more this past week so probably won't even get 16 MPG at next fill up. I expect to see better numbers as I rack up the miles.

[Ivanhoe76]

Originally Posted by Xfercase

I'll start by saying I agree with some other posters- I'm skeptical about some of the high MPG figures people are claiming.

I drive city and get 11-12mpg (stop and go kills me) and since I live in Florida I have the air on almost all the time. 2wd/DC/with no top. When I have been on the highway I get 15-17mpg. Glad to see gas prices start to come down. Luckily I don't have to go far to work so I only fill up my tank every 3 weeks or more.

[u2drvr]

One variable nobody has mentioned is the gasoline you are burning. Different states and regions have different requirements for oxygenates in the gas such as ethanol and MTBE. These are added to decrease pollution, but also have the effect of decreasing mileage. I have noticed an increase in mileage when I travel outside of CA.

[Puffnstuff]

I agree that the quality of the gas also plays a role in efficiency.

PS: I'm still waiting on that pixie dust dispenser...

[morgaa01]

I agree. There are many many factors that go into MPG. I average 30,000 miles a year and have had a number of new trucks - the last 2 being a 1995 Taco 4x4 (300K) and 2006 Tundra DC 4x4 (28K since Jan!) . I have measured my MPG on almost every fillup since 1995.

On occasion, I have seen unusual variations in MPG but on average. My MPG is usually right around what Toyota had on the Window sticker when I bought the truck:

19 - 21 on my 95 Tacoma
15 - 17 on my 06 Tundra

If we think we can do consistently better, we are kidding ourselves. However, I do agree if you do not maintain your truck or drive like a nutcase, you could do worse.

I know some high end folks at Toyota corp and they believe that people who buy trucks consistently understand that MPG will never be great. They have bagged the idea of a hybrid for now because you just can't get the power to a level that could be used for work. The catapilar diesel will be announced soon which is where they hope to tout fuel savings and power to compete with Ford/Chevy/Dodge on the work truck end.

[confederate2]

Driving habits, driving habits, driving habits, along with the other factors mentioned, also helps considerably. Before I instituted the 2000rpm rule in my truck my mileage was about 13 and 17. Once I began to use the 2000rpm rule i consistently get 16 and 21. A person just has to decide how fast he wants to get there and how much gas you want to pay for. I also have 2wd v-8 and truxedo tonneau which helps slightly I'm sure, as the original poster mentioned. The purchase of my Scangauge II really helped me out recently when gas prices were going sky high and that was about the time I drastically changed my driving habits.

[Puffnstuff]

After reading more of these posts I'm pretty sure that we need to organize a hunt for the mpg fairy. Once we capture her and steal her vial of pixie dust we can disseminate it amongst our members. After we do this we should all begin to see magical mileage from our trucks.

Anyway back to reality. A truck has the aerodynamics of a school bus and will never slip through the air like a smaller car. I've owned a few autos in my day and with the exception of compact and mid sized family sedans none of them have reached or exceeded their epa ratings. The only truck based vehicle that I've owned that exceeded the mileage rating was my 87 toyota 4runner with the 22re and a 5 speed. Even with 4wd I still achieved very good mileage and was consistently in the mid 20's on the highway. I'm a stickler for checking tire pressure as well as making sure my air filter is clean. Now my truck has just a little over 700 miles on her but I can already see where my in town mpg's are going to be and it is consistent with every other full sized v8 powered truck I've ever owned.

[hydra]

I could use some dust! My 4L-V6 gets 17 in the city. I'm a flatlander but my buds with the V-8 don't see but 14-16 in town with empty trucks.

Either Toyota makes sloppy engines or someone did too much dust?

My 1969 Ford short bed Econoline Van 302-2bbl with headers, 3 speed, no AC got 20 MPG, but gas was 45 cents a gallon so no one cared!

[edexcsc]

Originally Posted by v8Toilet

My secret is I have 2WD, weigh in under 4400 lbs, have a tonneau cover, use all synthetic fluids (engine, trans, diff), and I have some breathing modifications. I also had a new Toyota air filter in at the time of the test.

My mileage was achieved traveling at 65 mph with the cruise control on and I was about 200 ft above sea level. 22.7 mpg was the best I have ever got with a few 21 mpg in there too.

If I go 70 + mph I’ll only get 18.5-19 mpg.

If you have 4WD you’ll take a highway mileage hit because 4WD trucks are higher off the ground, weigh more, and have more mechanical parts to move with more inertia even if your 4WD is not engaged. If you have a cap or no tonneau or bed cover you’ll have more aerodynamic drag. If you drive with your tailgate down you’ll have more aerodynamic drag. If your tires have high rolling resistance you could get up to 2-3 mpg worse gas mileage according to Consumer Reports. I bought tires with very low rolling resistance. If you have low tire air pressure you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have a dirty air filter you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have a K&N or TRD air filter you’ll get slightly worse gas mileage. If your 02 sensors are getting sluggish you’ll get worse gas mileage. If your engine tends to ping on 87 octane and the knock sensor retards the timing as a result of that you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have bigger tires or a lift kit you’ll get worse gas mileage. If it’s cold outside you’ll get worse gas mileage because your truck will take longer to warm up. If you use the A/C or drive with your windows down you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you drive with all your lights on you’ll get slightly worse gas mileage (the fog lights each are 110 watts!) If the wind is blowing against your truck while traveling you’ll get worse gas mileage. If it’s raining out you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have dragging brakes you’ll get worse gas mileage.

I think that’s it!

Wow! that's a lot of info. Thx btw! I only get 14mpg so far both combined city/hwy. I do have 4WD DC. Hopefully as more miles added to the truck it will get better (only 1500 so far ).

[phanham]

Originally Posted by v8Toilet

My secret is I have 2WD, weigh in under 4400 lbs, have a tonneau cover, use all synthetic fluids (engine, trans, diff), and I have some breathing modifications. I also had a new Toyota air filter in at the time of the test.

My mileage was achieved traveling at 65 mph with the cruise control on and I was about 200 ft above sea level. 22.7 mpg was the best I have ever got with a few 21 mpg in there too.

If I go 70 + mph I’ll only get 18.5-19 mpg.

If you have 4WD you’ll take a highway mileage hit because 4WD trucks are higher off the ground, weigh more, and have more mechanical parts to move with more inertia even if your 4WD is not engaged. If you have a cap or no tonneau or bed cover you’ll have more aerodynamic drag. If you drive with your tailgate down you’ll have more aerodynamic drag. If your tires have high rolling resistance you could get up to 2-3 mpg worse gas mileage according to Consumer Reports. I bought tires with very low rolling resistance. If you have low tire air pressure you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have a dirty air filter you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have a K&N or TRD air filter you’ll get slightly worse gas mileage. If your 02 sensors are getting sluggish you’ll get worse gas mileage. If your engine tends to ping on 87 octane and the knock sensor retards the timing as a result of that you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have bigger tires or a lift kit you’ll get worse gas mileage. If it’s cold outside you’ll get worse gas mileage because your truck will take longer to warm up. If you use the A/C or drive with your windows down you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you drive with all your lights on you’ll get slightly worse gas mileage (the fog lights each are 110 watts!) If the wind is blowing against your truck while traveling you’ll get worse gas mileage. If it’s raining out you’ll get worse gas mileage. If you have dragging brakes you’ll get worse gas mileage.

I think that’s it!

You forgot 1 -- the heavy foot! Great post!