peacefrog81

I am sure that many people will be able to benefit from this. I am currently driving a '98 4runner with a 3.4l engine in it. I am wondering if anyone has any good tips or tricks to improve gas mileage without sitting home all day and leaving the car in the driveway. I wish I was in a situation where I could purchase a commuter car and use the 'runner for winter driving and not have it be my daily driver, but unfortunately that is not possible. I would not mind putting a hundred or two hundred dollars out to purchase a part that would help me improve my mileage. Does anyone have any tips or tricks?

Localmotion

basic maintence is the best way. nothing you can really do except pretend there is an egg under the skinny pedal

Ironmike4x4

Search this thread, there are lots of stuff about that. To keep it simple though... you're driving an SUV you wont get the gas mileage of a Honda Civic. You say you dont mind spending a hundred or two. Keep in mind most likely you will not get your money back just by gaining .10 miles to the gallon. The best way to improve it is just keep your foot off of the accelerator or as the popular saying on this boar "pretend there is an egg between your foot and the pedal."

USAtruck6

how necessary is it to drive in a 4cyl car rather than your yota? its the feeling you get when you drive your yota that pleases you. I just sold my 4cyl altima this week cause I'de rather drive my pride and joy more...besides I was wasting my $ on insurance for both...so the money that would of gone in for gas went into geico instead...i think its a sacrafice to get out of my yota that I dont want...just my $.02

THUNDER CLOUD

I agree 100%. Get off the Skinny Pedal, Watch the road in front of you...If the light is red where you goin anyway? I have found myself driving more from my Tach than my Speedometer lately. The 3.4 Doesn't get that bad of mileage. Enjoy your truck...that's why you bought it in the first place!

Nick Cuban

yeah if you stay below like 3 grand on teh rpms and shift at low rpms (for maunals) you can pull some pretty good numbers

Flamedx4

If you figure the actual cost of owning a separate economy car (payments, insurance, oil, tires,) unless you drive like 300 miles each day it just doesn't pay.

Fuel isn't the big cost of car ownership anyway, and really shouldn't be the big consideration. For a typical new car (decent one) you pay EACH MONTH like $450+ for the payment, $50 for insurance, $20 for maintenance, and $125 to 175 for fuel. So if you drive a nice vehicle that you love but gets mediocre mileage you spend something like a total of $700 per month to own and use it, compared to a sucky economy car at $600 per month. Hardly worth the sacrifice...

Here's an example of having a second car for mileage:
Monthly Costs........Yota........ Used economy car

Payment............................ 200
Insurance ...........................50
Fuel..............185.............101 (figured 1200 miles @ 18 & 33mpg, $2.79 per gal
Tires ..............................14 (figured 3 years per set, $500 per set)
Oil etc ................................8 (figured 3 oil and filter changes per year)

The cheap used economy car cost $373 per month to own and operate. Subtract the $185 for the yota gas you didn't use and it cost $188 per month more to drive the POS than your Yota .
Or - assume you pay cash for the car and just forget about the purchase money, you only come out ahead $15 per month. Hardly worth it.

Tips to minimise your daily operating costs:
1. Only drive downhill.
2. Only drive with a tailwind.
3. Only drive when someone else needs a ride and they pay for gas...

peacefrog81

I love my toyota and miss it when I am in other cars. I recently had to get a loaner car when I had service done and those were probably the slowest 4 days that went by not having the 4runner. I got raped and ended up spending 1027 for services that should have been half the price.

Nick Cuban

i hope you drove the loner car like a bat outta hell, the only time i had a rental car (mazda 626) my friend had one at the same time (chevy cavalier) and we would drag race and go like 40mph and pull the E-Brake and do 180s, powerbrake, slide on gravel roads etc. loner cars are an excuse to break the law and not go to jail

Localmotion

Rick F.

Driving habits and maintenance are about all you can do. Add-on hardware are scams. In addition to the above:

1. Coast as much as you can (vs. being on the gas and then braking for lights)
2. Accelerate gently (note the "watch your tach" suggestion above)
3. Inflate your tires to a comfortable pressure but higher than the placard (I keep mine at 34-35 psi)
4. Be sure your air filter is clean (the deckplate mod may also help if you can keep off the throttle )

I maintain strict mileage records, fill-up to fill-up, and get 20 mpg driving hilly backroads and 21-22 highway.

steveh

If it's an auto, the trick (at least with my FZJ80) was to make sure and leave the torque converter locked up in high gear as much as possible - stay in the tallest gear you can.

TACOMANATOR

Try to lighten the load as much as possible. Keeping camping gear,recovery gear,ski/bike racks in and on your vehicle will weigh down your vehicle and increase aerodynamic drag reducing mileage.

THUNDER CLOUD

Rick F.

Gettin about the same myself...If people would just back off the throttle a bit they would be amazed how much they would save!

I love it when a big Dodge or Ford blows by doing 5+ over the limit only to meet up at the next light!

van7559

I was getting 18 on a good day, and did a full tune up, and cleaned my k@n and now get 22 so it was worth it.

dlbrunner

if you have a roof rack, remove it when you don't use it

CoedNaked

Yeah, and the mods that *will* help you increase fuel mileage are honestly cost prohibitive. What I mean is you price you pay for them (IE things like exhaust, headers, intake, etc.) in making your vehicle a little more efficient is prohibitive considering the gains you receive (say like 1-2 MPG improvement say). It'd take you too long to re-coup the investment considering the very mild improvement in MPG. Better off putting those into fuel & routine maintenance.

Honestly I haven't changed my driving habits too too much, even with the advent of increased fuel costs (I still go fishing, I still use my truck as my DD, etc.). Yeah, it sucks, but I think it just takes getting used to. And keep in mind I live in a place that probably has some of the highest living costs in North America (based as a percentage of your annual income).

X-AWDriver

I like acceleration and driving over 70 on the highway and my truck with the slightly larger 265/75s,would usually never get better than 16.5 with a few 15.8mpg in there and I recently got a new filter and reset my computer and on my last tank I got 17.9mpg by half full point (a low normal 110 miles vs 135 after I reset my computer) but I'm not confident that wasn't a fluke depending on my driving that week but I'm on my 2nd tank and so far it's looking good.

bob200587

i hate driving fast on the interstate......I avoid the interstate most of the time on the way too and from college. It just takes too much gas

X-AWDriver

I guess over 65mph is fast in an '87.