How to improve gas mileage

[tsouza]

Hello,

I'm new to the group and also new to the world of own a truck. I owned a Toyota Solara which was very economical (my 1500 mile Canada vacation on 3 full tanks of gas come with no surprises).

However, yearly 05 I traded the Solara for a Tundra Step-Side and although I got the extra v8 'power' I wanted, but the overhead in gasoline is putting a hole in my pocket.

Fortunately my commute is short, but at least once a week I drive from Westford to Boston (about 38 miles), and my normal comsuption is about 15-16 miles a gallon.

Can anyone suggest anything to improve gas mileage?

[LGL002]

Originally Posted by tsouza

Hello,

I'm new to the group and also new to the world of own a truck. I owned a Toyota Solara which was very economical (my 1500 mile Canada vacation on 3 full tanks of gas come with no surprises).

However, yearly 05 I traded the Solara for a Tundra Step-Side and although I got the extra v8 'power' I wanted, but the overhead in gasoline is putting a hole in my pocket.

Fortunately my commute is short, but at least once a week I drive from Westford to Boston (about 38 miles), and my normal comsuption is about 15-16 miles a gallon.

Can anyone suggest anything to improve gas mileage?

Unfortunately the mileage you're getting is realistic for winter mileage in a V8 Tundra. The only practical way to try improve your mileage is to drive/accelerate smoothly and slower. If you want to toss money at it with minimal results there are all kinds of peddler claims out there that will have you siphoning gas out of your tank to keep it from overflowing.

Larry

[Tundraholic]

tsouza,

I agree with LGL002 the milage you get is right in there. I can get 18-19 on the hwy. but in town it is lucky to get 15-16 mpg.

I have even spent a small bundle on things I thought would help. No luck.

I added headers, electric fans, modified air filter w/ K&N element, new idenum plugs, vaccuum gage, hard toneau cover, larger dia. tires ,duals from the cats back, and even IS flairs to try and smooth out the sides of my truck. AND I just cant get 20 mpg @ 70 mph on the hwy.

I do see dropping a cruise speed by 5 to 10 mph seems to help, but it sure takes so much longer to cover a days drive.

Take care Tundraholic

[matttom]

Drive the thing at 55 mph or bite the bullet. That's about what you will get

[tsouza]

Ouch!! Fortunatelly (or not), my driving is about 10 miles round trip to work. I can save in gas, but this leads into another question. Because of my short daily commute, will I have some bad/weird effect on my motor? Although I warm up the truck for a couple of minutes before I get going in the morning and before I leave the office, I'm not sure that is enough time. Any recomendations? Side effects I should be aware? Thank you.

[LGL002]

You shouldn't see any effects from your short drive other than a moisture/oil emulsion build up on the inside of your oil filler cap. This happens to a lot of us that don't make long runs during the cold weather that warm the engine enough to burn off the moisture. Definitely use the severe maintenance column in your manual as far as oil changes unless you take longer trips weekly. By the way Welcome to the group and enjoy your Tundra.

Larry

[tsouza]

Thank you for you kind words, everyone. Regards.

[cleanb13]

I bought a '96 Nissan Sentra for $1300 and only drive the Tundra on the weekends. You can't imagine the $$$$ I save on fuel. I save on the wear and tear on the truck and the resale value stays high because of the low mileage. Make sure your tires are properly inflated, air filter clean, and get an alignment once a year. Use regular gas because that is all that the Tundra requires. If you use the higher grades of gas you're wasting $$$$.

[TundrastruckDave]

Originally Posted by cleanb13

I bought a '96 Nissan Sentra for $1300 and only drive the Tundra on the weekends. You can't imagine the $$$$ I save on fuel.

Oh yes I can... I do the same thing. Drive a '95.5 Tacoma during the week and my Tundra DC on the weekends. That's why my '04 DC only has 3500 actual miles one it! Even so, I let the fuel get below half of a tank this past weekend and the wife and I got into a little pissin' match, over filling it up since... "it only gets driven on weekends."

Originally Posted by cleanb13

I save on the wear and tear on the truck and the resale value stays high because of the low mileage.

Now if I could just get my wife to understand this... .

[vegaman]

I only have 700 miles on my '06 V8 Access Cab 4x2, but I have measured 17.8 and 17 mpg in combination driving (half around town, half highway/backroad). I have installed a modified exhaust system (3 inch single, Magnaflow, y-pipe - see photo gallery) a few hundred miles ago, but not certain what the mpg affect might be. My wife avergaes about 16 mpg doing the same type of driving in a Honda Pilot (3.5 V6). The difference? It's what you do with your right foot. I get the impression that few people really care about gas prices or how rich we make the oil companies when you notice how many people drive big cars with a lead foot. Go easy on initial acceleration, brake gradually, and stay close to the posted speed limit and your mileage may increase as much as 20 percent depending on how you normally drive. If you do this but throw in some abrupt passing moves on the freeway - there goes your savings. I'm hoping to hit 20 mpg on the freeway at 65 mph once the engine is fully broken in. We'll see. Now if Toyota could only solve that rough idle problem.

[nomax]

Are there any new developments in improving mpg for the Tundra ... any aftermarket things that really do work?

I just shifted to the vanpool from work once gas hit $4/gal but I still drive 20 miles just to meet the vanpool (cutting my commute almost in half from 84 miles/day to 40 miles/day and saving me about $10/day).

My Tundra averages between 15.9 to 18 mpg. It's a 2005 4dr Ltd 2WD with the V8.