Just wanted to share some excitement...

Just got back from a road trip to Virginia (about 900 miles round trip). My truck averaged just over 25mpg on the trip - WOOOHOOO. And that's with my 32s and 3.90s.

I have 2 very unscientific theories... (1) taking down my entire roof rack made a huuuge difference, even compared to just my bike carriers (no safari basket). (2) not using the fan for heat or ac helped a lot. I used the "thermostat" to control temp and left the vent/circulate lever on the entire trip. I only used the fan for about 1 hour when we first left.

 

That's not a theory, that's a fact. I found the same thing and it made the thing tippier off road.

 

I knew it would make a different, but I was suprised at how much of a difference. 14mpg in town to 25 and change on the highway.

 

Yep. That's alot of drag up there.

 

My rack isnt that bad, but i can tell its up there.

just think if you had 4.56 or 4.88 jackson, you couldve squeezed some more mileage out of that tank.

steve - hows your mileage with the 35" street slicks now?

 

Turning off the A/C would have made a difference (less drag on the engine when the pump clutch is engaged) but the heat/fan would have been fine to use.

Heated air comes from absorbing heat off of the engine cooling system, so that heat is there already. The cockpit fan is electric, so that won't load up the engine any aditional amount.


Then, like other folks have said, that safari basket is a huge drag.


Congrats!

 

Cool"ANT", remember the heater core principle

 

Whatever you did, 25mpg is sweet! I'm jealous

 

When talking about a roof rack .Are you guys talking about the stock one or aftermarket ?

 

aftermarket.

a Surco, Con-ferr or similar:

http://www.4x4runnin.com/images/rack1.JPG

 

What would you guess your average speed was while on the interstate? 25mpg sounds realistic at 60 mph, but not at 70-75.

 

After market Surco rack decresed my MPG by 1.8 miles, oh well, it looks awsome.

Lamm

 

Speedo said between 65 and 75 the entire way. So I'd guess I averaged somewhere between 75 and 80mph for the trip.

 

If the spedometer is this much off how do you get a acurate reading of mpg? Just curious.

 

Yeah, I also took off my Yakima w/ fairing and saw about +1 mpg when city driving.

 

All I know is i get about 17-18 (hwy) mpg going 70-75 and get the same mpg going 85-90 on the same stretch. :pat: 25mpg would be a dream, although you might have had quite a tail wind to get that high, or your calculations are off. Either way, if i could ever hit 20 i'd be pumped.

 

I'm with my99. Heck, if I was getting 18 i'd be pumped. I'm going to try and air up a bit before my next trip home. When I took my rack off It only got me 1-2mpg. Engine/Injector Cleaner Here I come!

 

Bought my 02 4Runner brand new 1.5 years ago. It's still 100% stock and has a factory rack (I use a hitch rack to carry stuff).
I never broke 20mpg (90% of my driving is highway at about 75mph). No idea how you managed 25, but more power to you.

 

25mpg thats great. How do you do the calc with the different sized tires? My max is approx. 23.5mpg on long trips.

 

I wonder if the stock rack affects mileage in any way. I may have to pull it and see.

Do you have the 2.7 or 3.4? Best MPG I have ever seen was 19.3...in my rig.