2011 Trail MPG

[SeattleMike]

Mike I wish I could get that kind of milage, out of mine. It's mostly stock, with only the stubby antenna mod, and E-Rated BFG AT KO's (stock size) and the best I can avg is about 17.5mpg (hand calc and computer are with in .1 always), I got 19 on my last tank but, this tank back down to mid 17's. My Daily commute is 13 miles, 3 city 10 hwy. I'm even running my tired at 55psi to try and squeez more out of them (emailed bfg and that's the pressure they recommened for the e-rated 265/70R17's). Thinking of droping it down to 45.

Are the Duratrac's really that better of a hwy tire then the BFG AT KO's? Could it be the diffrence in location? I even try to keep the eco light on the time, I've kind of made a game out of it to see how long I can keep it on.

According to TireRack, the Duratracs are 5 pounds lighter, but I doubt that 20 pounds will make that much difference. The tread pattern might, but I doubt you'll ever find a direct comparison.

My combined mileage is around 17.5 for the commute we take in the morning, but when I reset it as I turn onto an on-ramp for highway driving, I get the previously posted numbers. And I run my tires at 44 unless it's fully loaded, but there is nothing wrong with 55 as long as your kidneys can take it.

The ECO light is nice, but not reliable. Focus more on the RPMs, keep it as close to (or below) 1500 and you'll get a much better result. The ECO light says on when in "cruise control" no matter what the RPMs are, so it's really more of a gimmick than a useful indicator. Most of my low mileage comes during acceleration (passing, on ramps, long hills, and taking off from stop lights) and I find that the closer gas gets to $4/gal the less I am tempted to goose the throttle.

 

[jpowers]

My combined mileage is around 17.5 for the commute we take in the morning, but when I reset it as I turn onto an on-ramp for highway driving, I get the previously posted numbers. And I run my tires at 44 unless it's fully loaded, but there is nothing wrong with 55 as long as your kidneys can take it. .

I bet it's you resetting your computer that's the diff since I don't reset mine until I fill up. I'll play around with that and see what my results are.

Edit:
Now that I think about it when I do monitor the Consumption Info in the NAV when I am on the hwy it's sitting midway between the 20 and 30 mpg mark most of the time, as long as I keep it under 65, push it to 70 and it drops just below the 20 mpg line.

 

[SeattleMike]

I bet it's you resetting your computer that's the diff since I don't reset mine until I fill up. I'll play around with that and see what my results are.

Yeah, if you are just going from fill-up to fill-up 17.5 sounds normal for mixed driving. I was getting 18 before I started adding things like the rack, tent, cargo, dog, kitchen sink...

 

[BradleyB]

According to TireRack, the Duratracs are 5 pounds lighter, but I doubt that 20 pounds will make that much difference. The tread pattern might, but I doubt you'll ever find a direct comparison.

Mike raises an interesting point. Physics is not my field, but it seems to me that a change in tire weight is quantitatively different than simply adding curb weight to a vehicle. Cyclists go for lighter tire/wheel combos to reduce the inertial mass, which allows for quicker spinning up to speed, especially from a standstill. In the same sense, the engine is applying torque to the inertial mass of the wheels+tires, especially in start stop situations. Increasing the weight of the tire/wheel by 12.5% could be enough to register a noticeable difference in mileage, no?

Brad

 

[jpowers]

I reset it as I turn onto an on-ramp for highway driving, I get the previously posted numbers.

This was it, going home from work this morning I got about 19.5 mostly up-hill and had a head wind, coming to work tonight mostly down hill no real wind to speak off I get 23.7 mpg

 

[Jbahr]

I reset my trail on the Hwy last night and it read 31mpg!!! By the time I could stop to take a photo it was at 28 something. We'll see if it stays there.

 

[tbwill]

I have 28,000 miles on my TE, have changed the tires out to stock size T/A KO's and consistently get 20.5 mpg on my daily commute which consists of 3 miles city at 40mph, 40 miles freeway at 70mph and 3 miles rural at 60mph each way. before changing the tires I was getting about 1mpg better and if I pump the tires up to max I can get the higher mpg but the ride suffers. Towing my 3500 lb travel trailer I get 9-13mpg depending on grade and head/tail winds.

 

[Rob_G]

The mileage on my TE was very good when new, but now after 10,000kms it's noticeably worse. I'm averaging 14.5l/100km which is 14MPG. That's driving it nice too. The only thing I've changed was putting Goodyear SA's on my TE. Before that my average was 13.5l/100kms. Still nowhere near the mileage I was getting when it was new. I have lost about 100km of range on a full tank..

Oh and gas is almost $5 a gallon here now... $1.29/litre for regular

Rob