Improving Gas Mileage on a 5.7

[jcvara]

Hello all, Newbie here and as the title states I am looking for some of the better, battle tested methods of improving my gas mileage. I know the old obvious "easy on the gas pedal" but what other mods is there to get into the low 20's highway?

[DawgBonez]

A TRD Supercharger will dramatically increase highway mileage.... I push nearly 400 miles a tank of straight up 80MPH interstate driving....
But it will also dramatically decrease city mileage....<-- not by function, but by fun factor of mashing the right pedal to get to speed at a rapid pace....

Other than a SC.... Not much can be done.... It's a thirsty, large displacement, V8.....
But I DO get MUCH better fuel eco when I use non-ethanol fuel....

Otherwise...vote wisely... is all I can say...
Being from TX.... you would think that we wouldn't have to care about MPG and stupid high fuel prices...

[jcvara]

Otherwise...vote wisely... is all I can say...
Being from TX.... you would think that we wouldn't have to care about MPG and stupid high fuel prices...

hehehe, I'm still in therapy over that. Anyways, I was looking at the s/c and may make that move especially for the long haul with the boat. Have you heard of any experience with the K&N CAI that promises? that near 400 mpt sounds amazing especially from a 4X4! I dont even think I can get much over 300.

I know its a small price to pay for having this beast but I stay on these highways and spend upwards of $600 month on fuel.

I saw something on here about a $500 chip but I've never really known them to be that effective

Thanks for the info

[Larry Lawton]

I haven't seen anything that proves a chip will do much. Truth be told, Toyota (and everybody else) has pretty well picked the low-hanging fruit when it comes to performance and fuel economy. I'm old enough to remember when you could make noticable gains in fuel economy AND performance with headers, dual exhaust, etc. More recently, gains could be made with chips or other modifications to the OEM electronics. Even that's been marginalized now, no matter what the chip salesman says to get you to part with your plastic.

What can you do?

1.) Tundras have a whole lot of truck facing into the wind, so slowing down can improve your MPG. I was in a hurry to get my covered cargo trailer across Wyoming once, and got about 11 MPG going 85 MPH -- and that was eastbond (prevailing wind at my back.) Comin' home, I slowed to my usual trailer-towin' 77 or so, and got close to 15, going upwind, but with an empty trailer. I don't think the 500 pounds I carried eastbound made that much difference!

2.) You can gain a bit more by pumpin' up the tires -- some guys run 45 to 50 pounds. Makes for a pretty harsh ride, though. I just check 'em frequently, and try to keep the tires at about 35 psi.

3.) It might be my imagination, but I think I got an extra mile or so out of a gallon of gas when I installed a bed cover. You'd think there' be dang little room for the wind to hit the tailgate when it passes over that long Crew Max cab, then goes a short 5 1/2 feet to the tailgate, but I swear that bed cover made a difference.

4.) Replace the air filter when called for - and a whole lot sooner if you gettin' into that Texas dust.

5.) if you do all this faithfully, you might hit 20 on the highway -- but I won't. Too much fun exercising all those horses, and it's just too far from point A to point B to EVER go under the speed limit.

[11Tundra]

Hello all, Newbie here and as the title states I am looking for some of the better, battle tested methods of improving my gas mileage. I know the old obvious "easy on the gas pedal" but what other mods is there to get into the low 20's highway?

How fast do you drive on the highway?

If I keep my 5.7 DC 4x2 below 70 mph on flat terrain it nets me highway mpg's in the (very) low 20's (20-21 mpg). Keeping my shift points below 2k improves my city mpg's.

Sorry, IMO, the only proven, "battle tested" method of improving gas mileage is driving and accelerating slower . . . or trading your truck for a Prius. Unfortunately, for every person (or company) who claim better mpg's with a certain mod, it seems there's another person (or testing agency) who claims no change, or worse, with the very same mod. As for any mods that everybody concurs actually works, chances are Toyota, GM, Dodge, Honda, and Ford, are already using it. My two cents . . .

[deviltundra]

Changing your tire rotating mass will help quite a bit.
I lost 4 mpgs a gallon across the board from more aggressive metal and rubber.
I'm positive you could Go the other way if so inclined.

[justgregg]

So the supercharger helps??? If I keep my foot out of it?

[sbcrewmax17]

The 5.7 engine can be thirsty, but if you drive it smart as with any truck you can get decent mileage (for a truck). Your mpg enemy in the city is traffic lights. There is no need to race to the red light. If it is red, then coast. When I accelerate I do not launch it, I ease in to it. Let it shift into 2nd then give it some gas, keep the rpms in the 2 - 2.5k region. My current tank avg mpg is 16.1 all city driving. My best highway is 18.5 avg with about 500# in the bed doing ~75mph (this was hand calculated and compared with the computer, which is pretty accurate). I have been getting 15.5 to 16mpg around town (hand calc'd and computer), usually around 300 to 320 the low fuel light comes on, this means there is ~6gal remaining in the tank. It does not take much throttle to get this truck moving, but it is fun to stomp on it every now and then. For comparison my 2003 5.3liter Chevy Z71 was getting ~15 around town, and 17-19 on the freeway depending on my speed. This was the 285hp/325tq engine. If I can get better mileage with another 100hp, I am pretty happy.

[Tundergas]

I personally try to only drive downhill.

[Vettelover84]

I dropped my CM for gas mileage....... not really though...

I just ordered the Electric Fan Modd too!!

[ChrisWest]

i found there was a few mpg to be gained just my adding a cat back exhaust from gibson and a simple k&n panel filter....sounds nice as well and wont crush your bank account like the supercharger.

[jcvara]

Yeah, I' thinkin the first thing would be the K&N CAI then possibly the SC. I' afraid to get the exhaust because even if it is supposed to improve ileage the chances of that happening with that soiund are slim to none at all.

[WVToy]

I've noticed on my old DC that a tonneau cover helps. Keep the right air in tires and your filter clean. I averaged 16mpg with my stock rims/tires. This is with "smart driving" in the city and keeping it 70-75 on the interstate. Now I have a CM with no tonneau (yet) and 20" tire/rim. So I'm averaging 13.8-14.5.

If you go SC, keep in mind you will have to run premium fuel...

[RLD Hobbies]

I have a leveling kit and I get 16.5 mpg @ 75 mph on Shell, Conoco/Phillips or Marathon fuel. and yes I've found brand does make a difference.

[Larry Lawton]

Well, I got 17.6 MPG on a quick trip to Casper last Wednesday, which pleased me. No freeways, so my speed seldom went over 70 MPH. On the other hand, I went over Togwotee pass comin' and goin', and had to slip it into 4X4 for about twenty miles of packed snow/ice each way.
Saw over twenty deer, didn't hit a one.