Whats everyone getting for MPG?

And it's a Toyota truck

 

I wonder what will happen if you crazy lift a 5.7 L Tundra, put some really beefy tires, and then do 89 MPH on Interstate 90. 8 MPG?

 

It's a truck, you measure in MPT not MPG




* Miles Per Tank

 

I've been to San Francisco a few times, and every time I've been there I've wished that I've had my mountain bike, to bomb down these hills lol.

I have a friend from that area, she grew up in one of the towns surrounding the city, I forget which one. I remember her dad was a auto mechanic who specialized in older Volvos, and they had a really cute Spanish style house. Crazy that (maybe 40 years ago?) an auto mechanic could afford that house, and now it's probably worth well over a million.

 

A few vehicles have that set up. I'm pretty sure the last generation Grand Cherokee, and the current Chevy Colorado's have those air dams that are pretty easily removable.

Tacoma's have them well. The SR, SR5, and TRD sport have those plastic air dams. I'm not sure how easily removable they are though.

The purpose of them is to channel air around the side of the vehicle, rather than underneath it. The thought, which I'm sure is backed up by wind tunnel data, is that it improves aerodynamics and therefore fuel economy.

 

Well I was getting 17 miles to the gallon with my 2020 Pro with 285’s. And now having my tundra Pro bigger tires also 17 miles to the gallon today.

 

If all you're going off is that dash readout, of course you can make it display 24 mpg at times. In real driving, with hand calculations, based on full tank fillups, 24 mpg in a 4R is a fantasy. The 24 mpg on the digital display might make you feel good, but it's not reality.

 

I did get 24 MPG with mine. Once. It was all stock, I was on a 435 mi road trip from upstate New York. Had ideal traffic conditions, which was zero traffic, and I also probably had a tailwind. Doing 65 to 70 the whole way. I ended up with 24.35 ish hand calculated if I remember correctly, but this was a couple years ago.

It was crazy, because adding up the distance to empty, and the miles I had traveled, I ended up with a 500 mi range for that tank.

I kept thinking I was going to need to stop for gas, but the miles were passing by quicker than the DTE was dropping, so I just went with it.

 

I did calculate everything myself, yes it was less than 24 MPG, but hey I had some city driving too. I'm absolutely sure that for that specific stretch of the highway, it was genuinely 24 mpg.

 

About 14.5 with a Kangaroo slayer, suspension, wheels, awning, rack etc.

 

I'm not saying you'll never see 24 mpg, just that it's not reasonable for a full tank. Same reason baseball players' batting averages are calculated over a full season, not just a few games. Even the worst batter can bat 1.000 over two games at times.

 

Yep. Everything needs to work to achieve 24 MPG, and most of the times things don't work
I got that 20 for MPG only once. I think 20 mpg is more practical.

 

14-18 mpg with 285s.

But who cares its a 4runner

 

Almost everyone is within the EPA MPG estimates.

Here’s how they test cars now:
https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml

Check out the details of the driving profiles for City, Highway, High Speed, Cold Temp, etc.
https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

It’s interesting that the 5th Gen numbers dropped by 1MPG for each category (City, Hwy, Combined) at model year 2020. Not sure what changed.

 

Yes, interesting. I wonder if it is because a higher percentage of ethanol is less efficient or something. They all got those Dunlop AT20s for a long time. When did Toyota start putting other tires on the Pro and stuff? Could that be the cause of the average to sink a point? Did they change the grille that year? Worse aerodynamics?

 

It might just be a numerical rounding issue. The EPA numbers are estimates so they use whole numbers. The 4Runner they tested might have been 19.5 highway rounded up to 20, then the next year 19.4 rounded down to 19.

 

True. I think one could average over 20 if they don't drive in the city much, and mostly drive on 55 MPH highways.

I did get over 21 on a tank driving up north with a roof rack, and loaded with gear. 65 mph and below the whole way. I filled up in the morning, and again when I got close to my destination, and hand calculated. I would think a bone stock 4runner could get 23-24 in those conditions.

 

I know this is a little old, but a 4500 lb truck with a 270hp v6, 3.73 gears and all drag ( .36), its just not going to get good gas mileage.
They would need a transmission with a few more gears, with the overdrives being a .5
Or make one in the USA with Diesel or a LS engine from GM so it wont work so hard to get out of its own way( also known as a Tundra V8 too). Flame on..

 

An eight or ten speed trans would surely help.

One other thing that surprises me is the torque converter doesn't seem to fully unlock when you let off the gas. I can feel the engine braking effect as I let up on the pedal. A freewheeling torque converter would probably get another mpg in city driving

 

Yeah, nobody here is expecting good mileage. But, it can be ok if you aren't in a hurry.

I'm pretty sure we're never getting a diesel in the US.

The next generation is supposed to get a turbo 4, and maybe hybrid option. That turbo 4 will make over 300 lb/ft of torque at 1700 RPM's, so I expect a huge improvement in fuel economy. And, overall performance, really.

Are you noticing this in "S" mode, or in "D"?

In Drive, it will engine brake at times. But, I don't think it will if you keep your foot on the gas.

In "S" mode, it will engine brake any time you lift the throttle.

 

I noticed that in certain circumstances if I’m going downhill and touch the brakes the vehicle will actually downshift. I really only notice it in one place in my commute and it’s in a 35mph zone. Thought it was interesting.

I think some folks have unicorn ‘runners. Under normal conditions I’m a 16.8mpg kinda guy and I’m okay with that. But after watching recent reviews on the new hybrid 10-speed sequoias…

 

In "D".

 

I'm not sure what makes it decide when to engine brake when in overdrive. Do you lift your foot completely off the pedal? Maybe it's based on how fast you lift your foot. Who knows.. I recall mine engine braking sometimes going downhill, but can't recall if it coincided with braking, or just coasting.

 

In D, if you give the brake pedal a quick jab while going downhill it’ll downshift and engine brake.

 

Just lift off the gas like I do in everything else.

 

That would make sense. But, it sounds like it's engine braking any time @JerryC tries to coast. It doesn't sound right to me.

 

Ah. I didn’t scroll that far back.

 

It could just be that the torque converter is locked. Maybe try just reducing throttle, rather than completely letting off.

It's not downshifting, though, right?

 

I do seem to remember it downshifting a time or two but I don't remember the circumstances. I think it may have been coming to stop as it kept getting slower and slower.

The trans definitely acts different than other modern cars I have driven where if you let off it's just like you pushed the clutch pedal in a manual and it just coasts.

The thing I like about this is that when you hit the gas the 4runner almost always seems to hit the right gear for the speed very quickly whereas other vehicles have to hunt for the proper gear before power is applied.

 

I think what you’re experiencing is Toyota’s implementation of its “grade logic” braking system. It comes into play and downshifts or upshifts depending on sensing the downhill grade, speed, acceleration, deceleration, application of brakes by the driver, if the vehicle is still accelerating after applying brakes, timing of brake application after releasing the accelerator pedal, and more.

https://www.freepatentsonline.com/9676388.html