denverbikeguy

Disclaimer: What you are about to read is not BS, I measured these values. "Your mileage may vary" but this is what I got.

Vehicle: 1997 4Runner SR5 3.4L V6. 86k on the clock.
Changes made: ISR, Deckplate, new plugs, cleaned throttle body with carb cleaner and a rag, Chevron injector cleaner ran through about 3000 miles ago.
Driving: I did both highway and city driving. 85-octane gas (5200+ft altitude, at lower elevations you may need higher octane.)

Notes:
After doing the ISR/Deckplate I found myself driving with major LFD ("Lead Foot Disease"). However I didn't notice a mileage change, so thought that if I mellowed out a bit I might get a 1-2mpg improvement at the most. Boy was I wrong!

The first thing I noticed was that I needed a lot less throttle to do the things I used to do at the same performance level - acceleration from lights, highway cruising, you name it. It has been noted that with the ISR/Deckplate, highway cruising is actually quieter - this makes sense, as the engine isn't working as hard to maintain your velocity (inertia and all that).

Driving like a normal, sane person on the highway netted a 5mpg increase to an actually economical 24mpg! (Yes you read that right, and I confirmed this based on miles vs fuel used.)

City driving still requires a lot of stop and go no matter how hard you hit the gas, so I saw just under 2mpg improvement there up to 20mpg.

I must say, so far these extremely simple and cheap mods/changes/maintenence items have paid for themselves many times over just in saved gas money. I had to go back and check the numbers a couple times because the increase just seemed like too much to me, but it's not a fluke - I can repeat these results, and am thus very pleased!

My next foray will be to run a bottle of Amsoil engine cleaner through, and replace with Amsoil 5W-30 synthetic. People have reported improvements there as well, so I am anxious to see what happens. I'm also going to pick up some valve cover gaskets and do before/after pics on cleaner, to see how much sludge it cleans off the top end at least. (I wish I could see all of it, but that would require tearing down the engine, which would be insane.) Of course I'll post it all up for ya. I am also going to look at the used oil before and after running the cleaner through to see what sort of nasties wind up in it. Might cut up the filter too, we'll see.

HaveBlue

The synthetic 5W-30 will help, too. Have you changed the fluids in your diffs to synth?

I believe those numbers. With all my modifications, I scored 27 mpg in the mountains and I have yet to use sythetics in the diffs. Unfortunately, that was not all "sane" driving. Much of it was lead-footed.

Now that I've broken my 25 mpg goal, I'm working towards 30!

I, too, used the engine cleaner and it works wonders. I drained about 12 oz of used oil fron my crankcase into a clear jar, added the engine cleaner and let it run for 12 minutes. I drained another jar full and looked at the difference. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures. But there was quite a difference. I will repeat the process at my next oil change.

WAY TO GO ON THE MILEAGE!

denverbikeguy

No I have not changed the diff's over yet, my plan is to do the engine first, then in a month or so go for the rest. Money's a bit tight right now and since I ran that injector cleaner through I need to get rid of that oil pronto.

I think the first engine cleansing exercise will be the most dramatic, I'd be surprised if your second go at it nets near the same results just because most of the goop will be out of there by now... I will be sure to take pictures, with everyone raving about the stuff I have no doubts it will be a marked improvement...

Mmm, 30mpg... Damn that would be nice in an SUV! I plan to do 2 more mileage tests: one after I change the engine over, and another after doing the rest of the fluids. My guess is, it'll be a good selling point for Amsoil if nothing else...

rimpainter.com

That's insane.

I swear its the altitude. I get 20.5MPG in the mountains, and 17.5 down around Sea Level.

And I hardly ever go easy on the gas.

Bob_98SR5

Guys,

This is really amazing. Alan, how much of your mileage improvements have been from the Fuel Atomizer? I read through that thread but since then, what's been the latest results?

Bob

HaveBlue

Bob-
Honestly, I couldn't tell you how much is specifically attributed to the Fuel Atomizer. I've done so many modifications since the installation of the Fuel Atomizer. Here's what I believe helped:

Fuel Atomizer w/ heat exchanger
electric fan
Mobil 1 5W-30
BG QuickClean
BG 44K
BG MOA
38-40 psi tire pressure
deckplate mod
headers
maintenance at regular intervals

vmaxjohn

I gotta ask, since I've yet to make any mods to a Yota. What the heck is a deck plate? Are we talking a cold air intake, er what?

On my '91 Xcab with a 22re, I ran Amsoil 10w30 in the motor, and Amsoil in the axles too. You could feel a small difference, especially cold mornings. I never did get around to doing the 5speed though.

If we wind up keeping our 92 4runnr for another year, I'll have the axles switched over too. While sledding in Ontario last year (average morning temps of -30*f!) I had to use 4low to even move out of our parking spot. What ever is in those axles was like the best tupelo honey you've ever seen!

I did feel a difference with the Amsoil air filter too, however slight.

denverbikeguy

The deckplate mod is simply taking a marine Deckplate, which is a bracket with a water-tight cap you can screw into it, and fitting it onto the front of your airbox. It dramatically improves the amount of airflow into the engine.

Check out the tech section from the main page, there are several writeups on it.