OutdoorLiving

Need yellow decals. Everyone knows yellow decals add horsepower.

gpcollen1

New studies say...

Wind drag with windows open is generally less fuel efficient than running with the AC on.

I just had to call mom and tell her when I read this b/c she would never let us have the AC on when on the highway.....

BajaRunner

So how do you calculate your actual odometer reading with larger tires.

Say my odometer reads 100mi, I've actually traveled more than that since my tires are completing a larger distance per revolution...right?

I just signed up for that site. Pretty sweet. I've always kept track of my MPG, but, this is just cooler

13 MPG baby 90% city!! Lets hope that goes up a little bit since I should actually be driving further than I thought I was.

OutdoorLiving

Uh-oh, boys. I've been driving Ms. Daisy all week and looks like I'll be breaking 300mi before I hit the red light. Will find out tomorrow what the final gas mileage is for this last tank of gas. (The previous tank was 18.9mpg, I believe...) I'm almost sure this one will top 20mpg.

tulsa_97SR5

The easiest way is to use the odometer function on a GPS. That's what I did when switching from my stock 28" to the 32" revos (no re-gear). I calculated that it should have been 13% based on tire dimensions, but found that in the real world it was just a hair over 10%. My speedo/odo must have been reading a few % high before.

So I guess that is another possible reason for inflated MPG numbers, even completely stock it's possible that your odo is saying you went farther than you did - causing inflated mpg numbers. Probably only a few %, less than 1mpg I'd think.

With the 4cyl + 5spd and tires that are basically 32x9.5 I regularly get 17 - 19 for mixed driving, 21-22 hwy, and i've seen a few tanks over 23. Looking at all the numbers from you guys with 6cyl engines, the 4cyl really isn't that much better on gas, is it?

hupptoy

My 2 cents...

Well, I have tracked my mileage for my 99 (4x4 3.4 auto 265's 4.10's) since new on my Palm (but lost everything before 52,819 due to a bad "crash" back in 5/01) using AutoMobile.

I regularly saw 24-27 mpg doing 56-57mph on state highways (varies with head wind or tail wind), 23-24 @ 65mph and 21-22 @ 75mph.

My overall average mpg from 52,819 to 78,839 is 20.9 mpg. This 20.9mpg avg. figure includes thousands of miles of towing snowmobiles and misc. stuff on a small trailer and all the tanks that had minimal highway driving (wife works close enough that engine doesn't warm up before she gets to work).

My corrected (3% for tires) avg from 78,839 to 149,027 is 18.0 mpg. Several things happened to affect my mileage at this point:

- new larger A/T tires (went from OE 265/70-16 GY RTS to 265/75-16 Mich LTX A/T)
- remote starter (wife gets off work at 4am and needs the car warm to defrost/de-ice the windows and to warm (or cool in the summer) the car for the babies - usually 15-20 mins of 0mpg)
- significantly reduced highway travelling (son that used to live 100 miles away moved in with me)
- Truck is now heavier (TJM T15 + sub + lots-o-tools & recovery gear)

I should also note that I do not drive aggressive while on-road (well, maybe when I am on the Interstates around Chicago ) and usually (but not always...) stay within 5mph of the speed limit. Plus, the remote starter usually reduced fuel mileage by 3-5 mpg depending on how cold it gets and we do have winter blend gas here which also reduces mileage in winter.

I also think that the rolling resistance of the Michelins is more than the Goodyears as there is a ~1 mpg decrease that seems to be directly related to tires. But the Michelins do have significantly better traction in all situations compared to the Goodyears. Definitely a good tradeoff.

Also, I have had many tanks with over 400 miles and used to regularly go 350-370 miles. Now that we have limited highway miles, a typical tank is 250-300 miles.

Again, this is accurate data that has been entered in my Palm at each and every fillup (only takes a few seconds) using the program AutoMobile. It does not rely on me using the trip meter (which I use also) as it uses the actual odometer reading.

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to relay as much info as possible.

hupptoy

X-AWDriver

5 speeds definetly should see much more mileage since I drive the same style as I do in my '99 auto which I can squeeze 240+ out of a tank but with my '97 5 speed I saw over 280 and that was with mostly city driving in both Runners. 2wd I don't dispute the mileage since the few hundred pound disadvantage of 4wd makes a huge diff.

Gerdo

You are going to hate me.

I can get 280 - 300mi before the low fuel light comes on. I usualy drive another 30-50 miles and still only put in 15 - 15.5 gallons. I figure that I could go about 100 miles after the light comes on with an 18.5 gal tank.

You want actual numbers: 360 miles on 16.8 gallons = 21.4285...

I average around 19-21 mpg. I can tow 2000# into the Colorado mountains, driving hard and still get 19 mpg.

I drive moderately, not a grandma nor a hotrodder. I run the 85 oct. gas. Mine is a 5 speed.

X-AWDriver

I guess there's just factory freaks out there since anybody who sees over 300 isn't in the majority.

DOT3

The guys in the higher elevations have big advantages:

Less drag - thinner air
Thinner air - less horsepower (like running with a smaller engine)
Lower barometric pressure - can run on the lower octane numbers

When I run in the mountians I can get 21-24 depending on my speed.

TxDox21

Is that 360 all highway or mixed?

Gerdo

That is mixed mileage.

BeMiceElf

iTrader: (1)

i have a 99 and i usually get about 310-320 on a tank. no where near 360 though, thats crazy! i wish i did though. i usually only put about 15 or 15.5 galons in when i fill up. i really dont understand the gas light on the 3rd gen though, i can go a good 60 - 70 miles after it comes on. i am sure that i can go alot more, just dont want to push my luck.

OutdoorLiving

Just damn, I jinxed myself!

Ok, as I said, I'd start tracking mine in more detail.

2006-05-17: 15.719gal, 297.8mi = 18.945mpg
2006-05-21: 14.931gal, 298.5mi = 19.991mpg

So, about a 1mpg gain going from driving gently to driving Ms. Daisy. I'm sure I could break the 20mpg barrier if I backed down on the Interstate. But who in Atlanta actually drives the speed limit around here?

Roadtripr

I generally get 250-260 before the light comes on. Before I had a kid I would keep going to I reached 300+ miles, now I don't.
My milage has gone down to about 17mpg around (I used to get 18.5 around town and 20-21 on hwy) since I put Revos on (high rolling resistance) and have a lot of short trips to do. I do notice much better milage when I am in the mountains (hit 24mpg once!)

OutdoorLiving

I've noticed that before. I averaged almost 24mpg (23.X) on one entire tank of gas that was 95% dirt & gravel and the rest paved. I was in 4WD high between 2nd-3rd gear the entire time. What gives with that?

X-AWDriver

Hmm,does altitude hamper MPGs maybe? Until I recently started leaving the ECT on I struggled to see 220 a tank and now I'm getting still under 250 and I'm content with that but even just another 30 miles a tank would be nice. I do have a leadfoot from a stop and I have the 265/75 D load range Nittos but that's not really a big diff over stock.

sswearin1

Tires make the biggest difference. I track my mileage by GPS and can average almost 23-24 on road trips, but average close to 17-18 for 50/50 mixed (to work, around town, etc).

1. Stock 2000 4Runner 4X4 with All SEASON tires kept at about 38psi
2. stock means my lazy ass hasn't even done the ISR/Deckplate yet.
3. New timing belt at 85k
4. New plugs (stock) and wires (stock) at 85k
5. currently at 107k on the ODO.
6. Dino oil in the diffs, Mobil 1 in the motor.
7. Remove roof rack unless using (rails kept on!).
8. Seafoam treatment before oil change (usually around 6k)
9. Techron additive every 3k.
10. I checked this by GPS, but as I have 4.10 gears and my rig came stock with 265/70R16, which I replaced with the same size, by spedo and ODO are only slightly off and give a good ballpark estimate of fuel mileage within 2-3 miles a tank. not MPG, but miles, ie my most recent tank with a 15.1 fillup / 321 (GPS) vs 319 (ODO) is still about 22.5 on that tank, all highway at 60-65mph (or around 2000k on the tach using cruise control.
11. This sounds about the same as the good mileage maunals and mine in AUTO!
12. Flush tranny oil every 30k, use synth.

ha!

sswearin1

oh, and I think I would buy a prius if I could only get 220 a tank. that just makes me cry!

surf4runner

believe it!

i just went 352 mi on the last tank and filled w/ 17.054 gal = 20.6 mpg
at 111K mi and 98% stock, ECT always on, 60/40 hiway, at least 1 window open (or roof), try to keep it under 2500 rpm on the road(approx 77mph) and under 3500rpm (auto) when shifting. i like to floor it when i can... WAAAHHHHHH
maybe taking off the roof rack slats and openning the scoop makes it more efficient maybe time for a sticker or 2 for +5hp and exceed 22mpg