Driving my Pro at guest speeds

Driving a near 5,000lb vehicle at 80mph with a 6 cylinder engine isn’t going to always be smooth. Your fix is to slow down or look into get a tune.

 

It's an ancient drivetrain that has terrible fuel efficiency but 87 octane was a major draw?

 

Sure, why not? Why would anyone want to spend an extra 40-50¢ per gallon?

Yes, I get the irony of buying something that gets shitty mileage and then bitching about fuel prices. But, there's really no fuel efficient competition for the 4Runner.

 

The Toyota advertised hp and torque figures are on 87. However, 91 is good for extra ~10 lb-ft of torque and 10 hp through most of the power band: https://www.4runners.com/threads/overland-torque-tune-ott-by-overland-tailor.27827/

 

Thanks. I knew that occurred with the Tacoma, but hadnt looked into 4R yet. I'll be grabbing 93 from Costco when there isn't a big price disparity.

 

Good to know about 91 and increased hp/torque-- curious to try it next time. Nearly all of my cars in the last 15 years have had high maintenance costs and required premium gas. It gets tiring after a while. My 4R has $80 dealer oil changes and uses 87 gas with bulletproof reliability-- yes, that was a major draw!

At the end of the day, I think our engines are good enough-- the issue is the lazy 5-speed auto with wide gearing. Usable HP/torque doesn't come until at least 2K RPM, and the trans doesn't anticipate fast enough like more modern 6,7,8 speed auto's. As long as you anticipate for this approaching hills and drive it like a low-HP momentum race car (think Spec Miata or Boxster), I don't think it's a real issue. But going back to the OP, without having a full load or towing something, I think that described hunting is a bit odd, at least in my experience with fast highway driving.

 

Guess what the EPA highway test cycle is done at? https://www.epa.gov/vehicle-and-fuel-emissions-testing/dynamometer-drive-schedules



It's done on a dyno, with the mfr then applying various fudge factors (with data from coastdown testing) to account for aerodynamic drag. But yeah, Toyota's engine and transmission tuning is done to maximize fuel economy for 48 mph on the highway. Blame the EPA for this.

 

80mph is my sweet spot, no hunting. But hills will greatly effect this so it fluctuates 75-80, so ill over compensate as I drive if needed for those hills of West Virginia trips.

87 vs 91 wont make a difference unless you tune for it, not worth it IMO.

 

Imagine an automatic transmission like two fans facing each other - one being attached to the engine and the other attached to the wheels. When you turn on one fan, it will blow air onto the other and cause it to spin. There will be an RPM difference (slip) there, but that's good because you don't want your engine to turn off when you stop your car. A torque converter locking up basically makes a solid connection between the two "fans". This is why you can remain in 1 gear in an auto trans and see RPMs going up/down without actually accelerating.

This is also why in the olden days before automatic transmissions got real good, manual vehicles generally got better MPGs - because they were not slipping constantly.

 

My Land Cruiser with the 4.7 liter V8 2UZ-FE called for 91 octane and I never once put 91 in that truck. Always ran 87 and it never knocked or pinged. The computer adjusts for it and Bob's your uncle.

 

I live out in the North West USA and the speed limit is 80MPH and I just have to put it in manual shift mode and keep it in 4TH gear because the transmission was going from 5TH to 4TH gear to 5TH gear constantly...Wind or No wind.

 

Man, I dont mind short periods of time to 80mph here and there, but I’d hate to have to drive every day for any long distances where 80mph is the speed limit or prevailing speed. I’m such a geezer with driving the 4runner, any time I can take a side road, I’m on it.

I took a road trip out west in a rented minivan. Van did great, but I was a so amped up doing 85 at full weight for hours at a time with people passing me up.

I feel like an old man yelling at clouds, but I’d imagine interstate wrecks out west are particularly nasty.