Matt16,

ROTFLMAO. Great pic!! I loved it.

 

I was not quoting you out of context. In light of your stated fuel economy I was saying that you were among those in this thread that would be averaging over 400 "miles per tank"...meaning much fewer fill-ups compared to my truck. Now you're saying that you've gotten as little as 13 mpg. I suppose, statistically speaking, that your data depends on the sample size it's derived from.
Like Cackalan mentioned, a "fill-up" for most is around ~15 gallons. So when you were towing were you getting an average of 22.5 for an extended period (say at least 15 gallons at a time) or was it just a few gallons at a time when conditions were ideal?
I understand that driving style plays a considerable roll in fuel economy and I assume full responsibility for my mpg #'s because there is absolutely no way in hell that I could cruise down the highway at 55 MPH.

 

So now, 20MPG IS possible?

Read the whole chart. I mostly drive on the highway. I can never drive 65mph or less on the highway. I keep the cruise at 70+. I hardly run into traffic. You probably run into a lot of traffic in So Cal, which is lots of stop-n-go and idle time that kills your MPG. BUT READ: I am not talking about highway+extended idle time+stop&go, etc--I am talking strictly highway (with some city) where I get 20+. You can't say your car gets XX highway mileage when you're on interstate 5 during rush hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic--that's not highway mileage! Why don't you take a trip out somewhere, set the cruise at 70 and report back what you get? I don't even know if that's possible near the vicinity of So Cal, which is another reason why it's a great place to visit, but never to live in.

BTW, if I drove in my dream world, I'd be in a GT3 RS getting 4MPG driving up an open canyon road.


Yeah, I know. Oh, well. But if I got that kind of MPG's, I'd be pissed, too, and do anything to keep myself in denial.

 

"So when you were towing were you getting an average of 22.5 for an extended period (say at least 15 gallons at a time) or was it just a few gallons at a time when conditions were ideal?"
The answer is the latter, on a couple LONG stretches of highway 300-350 miles (of ideal conditions 55-60mph) I repeatedly got a shade under 22.5mpg. On a side note which I haven't mentioned yet, on the way to my destination I got a shade under 22.5 mpg, on the way back I'd get closer to 19.5-20 mpg. My average, however, during those trips pulling my trailer was between 20-21mpg which is still quite good. On other trips pulling my trailer to completely different destinations I got considerably worse mpg than 20 mpg (again, traffic conditions and speed play a huge role). All I said from the beginning is that under the right conditions I can break 20+mpg on the highway pulling my apprx 1200# tent trailer. Don't get hung up on my 22.5mpg as it was my personal best repeated a few times on the same long stretch of highway, not an average of an entire trip.

I also acknowledge and respect the fact that you live in an area where you can't cruise below 65mph, which means you'll be highly unlikely to ever duplicate what I got for mpg. But if you lived in Montana, Wyoming, Dakotas, or certain parts of my country, you'd be able to drive differently and not worry about holding up traffic. And for that matter you may never want to drive that speed anyway, that's your choice and I would totally respect that). Most of the excellent fuel economy I received was driven in a province where the posted speed limit is 55mph (I usually was closer to 60mph on those stretches).

Seems like we are somewhat on the same page, but often our ego's get in the way.

Cheers

 

I like the skepticism as it gets me to think. The way I look at it, you and Whitey helped keep me entertained. As you said, no big deal. I've read your discussions in other thread posts, I completely respect your opinions and consider you decent yotatechers.

Peace.

Cheers

 

NICE DREAM WORLD!! Count me in. And good points about a busy interstate vs. strictly quiet highway.

By the way I laugh everytime I see your name. For some reason Cackalak makes me laugh, not sure why. Hope you don't get offended by my remark.

Cheers

 

It's all godd. A difference of opinion is certainly nothing to get bent out of shape about. I have to go now because my wife told me to stop stirring the pot.
Cheers- James

 

as I wrote in a previous post

I use a scangaugeII computer.
----
my mpg numbers are 100% accurate
----
I tank up at the same gas pump with the car pointed in the
same direction, and use the same pump handle and fill until
it clicks off


then program in how much fuel went in for a fillup.
---
THING THAT MAKE MILEAGE VARY

1) 87 or 85 octane will give you +-2% more mileage than 93 octane. this is
equivalent to getting 22 mpg vs 19.8 mpg or so...

2) NO ONE is getting 400 miles from a tank. there is no way you can actually get 22mpg for an entire tank. real world results would be near 380 miles max for a 3rd gen 4runner. that would be tank up and immediately hit an on-ramp
to a highway and nail it at 65 miles per hour and not deviate. and no wind and 100% flat roads. actually with careful driving you can stretch 50 more miles from a tank than the next guy in the same 4runner who doesn't drive carefully. but I have never gotten >380 no matter how much I try, because the little side roads and traffic force you do drop mpg while you deal with --driving--

3) alcohol blends and winter blends throw the numbers south. less energy in alcohol.

with the computer I use, no one can tell me I am doing it wrong. look at my numbers in the first post again. these are real world results using 87 octane as carefully as I can without actually weighing the gas I put in. I use the same pump each time I fill up.

my mpg numbers are trip numbers, not entire tank. the entire tank number, best possible is 21.5 mpg
what I mean by this:

get up to speed on highway...
reset -trip- mpg computer to zero
drive 150 miles......mpg ends up between 22 and 22.5
the -tank- mpg will be lucky to get up to 21.5 but never all the way to 22

EPA on my 4runner is 19-17. Real world is 22-17.9 basically. I can make these number change by choosing to drive more or less hills or faster or slower. or use 93 octane.

 

It's cool. I was raised in North Carolina and North Cackalacky is just a slang term for NC, like Dirty Jerzy, Okie, etc.

 

ok Just got back from our trip north. So far I am not at all happy with my results.

16.4 mix of city and highway no towing.
16.7 on tank number 1 towing 55-65
16.6 on tank number 2 towing. 55-65

Does any one have any tips to get 3 more mpg?

 

onesojourner - what is your MPG's for mostly highway miles with no towing? When you say 16.4 mixed, what are the percentages of city vs. highway? (i.e. 40% city, 60% highway, etc.).

 

Uh ohs!

 

I have not been able to check highway miles with out towing- I did check with a bad 02 sensor and it was about 13-15. The first reading was about 50 city and 50 back roads/highway.

 

How many gallongs of gas did you go through? And when you were towing, was it mostly all highway? Just from my experience, towing 1000-1500lbs, it dropped my MPG's down to 16-17MPG, mostly all highway going 65-70MPH, so your figures seem just about right.

Also, the no-towing figure could be right on, depending on what kind of city driving you were doing (lots of stop and go, and traffic/idle time). You should perhaps invest in a ScanGauageII like BigBallsMcFalls. I'll probably be buying one, too.

One last thing: What kind of tires are you running? And size? All-season tires will have less weight and could yield better MPG's, too.

 

If i'm only getting 350kms roughfully 217miles on a tank of gas...should I be checking my O2 sensor ?

 

maybe...

that could be

injectors spraying droplets instead of mist

could be dirty MAF

could be lazy 02 sensor or air fuel sensor

you should easily hit the reserve light at 240 miles on a tank in a 3.4
average 79 miles per hour on highway


so yeah something is chewing up yer gas.


provided you are using stock spec tire size and a mud/snow tire, not an aggressive heavy tire.


if this is all intown, short trips and a lot of hills then it may be normal. hills eat mpg like no ones business

if you have 130,000 miles or more and original o2 sensors, just man up and replace the front one.
get the oem part for your VIN at the dealer.
they definitely do not last much longer than 130,000 miles. and right before they blow the MIL lamp, your
mileage drops

 

Cleaned my MAF sensor a few months back...hopefully its just my O2 sensor. If my injectors are spraying droplets instead of mist...how do I know if they are ?

 

When I told you what I got towing my tent trailer (20+mpg) you have to keep in mind a few things:

First it was 100% highway driving with excellent traffic flow and little to no wind (only 10 minutes of stop and go traffic, that's all). Secondly my truck had B rated summer/all season type of tires (stock size). Thirdly my tent trailer is much more aerodynamic than your trailer with jet ski's. Fourthly I rarely broke 60mph and cruised mainly at 55-60 (55 was the posted speed limit). The second I went over 60mph I found my mileage dropped due to drag. And lastly some highways I went on I would get 16-19mpg as a constant pulling my trailer. For whatever reason, I'd get 20+mpg on some highways and not others. I think it had to do with traffic flow, posted speed limits, wind direction, and overall altitude gain/loss. If you are gaining overall altitude over the course of 300-400 miles theoretically your mileage should be worse than if you are going downhill over the course of those miles.

The mileage you got is repectable and what I consider within normal limits with the set up you have and the speed you drove. Probably what you didn't want to hear. Sorry. I would have to agree with many on this thread, 20+mpg while pulling a trailer is not the norm but is certainly attainable with the right conditions, including 4runner-trailer set-up.

Cheers

 

As hard as it was, I drove 65-67MPH with the cruise on on the last 188.1 miles on the road. I'd say 80-85% of it was on the highway. Filled up this morning - 8.078 gallons. 23.29MPG. I am going to keep doing this for the next week (if I can bear to do so) and see if it levels out.

 

I just drove to tulsa with out the trailer. I was going 70-80 the whole way with some drafting int there. I got 19.1. I thought driving the faster speeds would hurt the mpg more but the drafting might have made up for it.