This blog is about my search for better fuel economy for my truck. I have a 2004 Toyota Tundra Double cab with a V8 engine, four wheel drive, and a four speed automatic transmission. Of all the years the Tundra has been available it appears that the 2004 DC truck, because of its size and engine/transmission configuration, gets the worst mileage of all the Tundras. The Gross Vehicle Weight of the truck is 6600 pounds and the EPA fuel economy rating for the truck is 14 mpg in the city and 17 mpg on the freeway. In all honesty these fuel economy figures are both generous and unrealistic.
I have a personal Blog with more detailed information about my testing and my findings. Detailed spreadsheets of my fuel economy and test conditions can be emailed from my email account at highwaylizard@gmail.com
Please feel free to subscribe to my blog here on this forum through the RSS feed or my personal Blog.
Thanks for looking and ask any questions you may have.
I have a personal Blog with more detailed information about my testing and my findings. Detailed spreadsheets of my fuel economy and test conditions can be emailed from my email account at highwaylizard@gmail.com
Please feel free to subscribe to my blog here on this forum through the RSS feed or my personal Blog.
Thanks for looking and ask any questions you may have.
MPG Numbers 3-23-2009
Filled up today:
In looking through the records of my fuel economy for the time I have owned the truck and find that this is the worst non-O2 failure related fuel economy I have ever gotten in the truck. It may very well be that I have another O2 sensor getting ready to take a dive on me or the other catalytic converter is going bad. I just recently had the driver’s side catalytic converter replaced which was ridiculously expensive.
I will have the opportunity to run the truck for a day or so without the trailer and am interested in seeing where the numbers end up. On a different note, I am currently in the process of redesigning my ram air scoop to reflect recent testing results. Several members of the Forum are either currently engaged in testing or are watching the test results and considering a ram air intake of their own. One such person with a ram air intake installed on his is truck USAFTUNDRA and he has initially returned some very promising results.
The picture for this post at my blog was taken with the leaf blower aimed directly into the scoop with the top of the air box off and the filter removed. This test showed me that my scoop needed some major re-work.
As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to email us. For more information about my testing take a look at my personal blog at Tundra Fuel Economy. Feel free to drop in, look around, and drop some comments or ask questions.
- 108.6 miles
- 10.007 gallons
- 7.9361 decrease in MPG since last fill up
- 10.8524 MPG
- All city with a trailer loaded
In looking through the records of my fuel economy for the time I have owned the truck and find that this is the worst non-O2 failure related fuel economy I have ever gotten in the truck. It may very well be that I have another O2 sensor getting ready to take a dive on me or the other catalytic converter is going bad. I just recently had the driver’s side catalytic converter replaced which was ridiculously expensive.
I will have the opportunity to run the truck for a day or so without the trailer and am interested in seeing where the numbers end up. On a different note, I am currently in the process of redesigning my ram air scoop to reflect recent testing results. Several members of the Forum are either currently engaged in testing or are watching the test results and considering a ram air intake of their own. One such person with a ram air intake installed on his is truck USAFTUNDRA and he has initially returned some very promising results.
The picture for this post at my blog was taken with the leaf blower aimed directly into the scoop with the top of the air box off and the filter removed. This test showed me that my scoop needed some major re-work.
As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to email us. For more information about my testing take a look at my personal blog at Tundra Fuel Economy. Feel free to drop in, look around, and drop some comments or ask questions.
Total Comments 2
Comments
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Toby,
Although the mileage numbers are lousy, 10mpg seems like it is pretty close to what I'd expect with a fully-loaded trailer in stop-and-go city traffic. Do you have previous numbers with the exact same setup (weight, driving area, etc.) that showed significantly higher numbers? Duff |
 
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Hey Duffy,
All of the miles on this last run were with the trailer and it was loaded for at least half of those miles. The last 20 or so miles were with 3 yards of wet mulch with too many stoplights to count. Although I did not roll across the scales I am guessing she was pretty close to 6,000 pounds total combined (trailer/load) weight. I had really expected to pull 12 MPG out of her. Running without the trailer tomorrow so I will see how she does. |
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Updated 03-24-2009 at 06:58 PM by Highwaylizard |
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