Consider me impressed.. 24 MPG!

[TejasRunner01]

Good highway MPG were something that always eluded me in my V6, auto, 4X4, 97 with 4.10s.. I HAD 30x9.5r15 Michelin LTX's on aluminum wheels with a mild lift getting 19-20 highway. I thought that wasn't too bad for the 'ol brick with 175k miles going 70 MPH on average..

Well I just recently got new LBJ, an alignment and Discount Tire Trailfinder All Terrain 265x75R16 passenger tires on steel wheels. I absolutely love these!

So I did what any person who just got big new tires.. I went on a 450 miles road trip!

So I hand calculated my mileage the whole trip and ended up with 24 mpg. Essentially I took the (Miles driven/gallons used) x 1.011900. This last part basically takes into account the difference from stock tire size that my speedometer is calibrated to. Anyways it came out to right at 24 MPG and I'm happy. I've never ever gotten over 300 miles on a tank of gas. Just thought I would share my experience with you guys.

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[CircuitCircus]

Pretty good, but I'm skeptical that it's truly 24 MPG. If the gas pump waited a bit longer to click when you filled up before this road trip, and then clicked early when you filled up after, it would artificially inflate the mileage a bit. I record my MPGs every tank, and usually when I get a really high mileage tank like this one, the next one turns out disappointingly low due to discrepancies in the gas tank being "full".

 

[thecole1098]

I dream of the day that I would be able to even reach 20 MPG.

 

[theesotericone]

I dream of the day that I would be able to even reach 20 MPG.

I used to dream of that day. Then I went fully built rig. Now I dream of 15MPG. lol

 

[thecole1098]

I used to dream of that day. Then I went fully built rig. Now I dream of 15MPG. lol

I'm getting there. Slowly but surely lol. I think the best I can get as I sit right now is maybe 17.. I'll find out for sure on my road trip to Hidden Falls in Marble Falls, Texas this spring break!

 

[IBallEngineer]

Yeah I'm way past skeptical, I'm an unbeliever. I have two 4runners, one is a 3RZ, and a 96 Tacoma 2wd with a 3.4 and there is no way any of them gets 24MPG. The 3RZ once saw almost 23MPG, but that was with little itty bitty tires and me really trying to get good fuel economy. Just not normal. As soon as I put a decent size tire I could never get over 19. V6? just no way possible. And one 450 mile trip is not a quality sample. I'd get 18 in my 3.4 on the highway, then 15 the next tank with mostly street driving. I average out at 16.3, and I check it every week.
:blah:

 

[Scramble]

Yeah I'm way past skeptical, I'm an unbeliever. I have two 4runners, one is a 3RZ, and a 96 Tacoma 2wd with a 3.4 and there is no way any of them gets 24MPG. The 3RZ once saw almost 23MPG, but that was with little itty bitty tires and me really trying to get good fuel economy. Just not normal. As soon as I put a decent size tire I could never get over 19. V6? just no way possible. And one 450 mile trip is not a quality sample. I'd get 18 in my 3.4 on the highway, then 15 the next tank with mostly street driving. I average out at 16.3, and I check it every week.
:blah:

When my 3RZ was new with 31" tires the best I could get was 23mpg but I had to stay at 55mph with no head winds or hills.

And yes OP, before my truck was lifted I got 310-320 miles out of a tank when it was a DD. That's around 18.5 mpg

 

[amalik]

I'm on factory tire size. Michelin P265/70R/16 LTX M/S2.

This happened to me recently on a 20 mile or so highway drive but it was right after a fresh oil change of Mobil-1 HIGH MILEAGE (for engines above 75k) full synthetic w/ a WIX filter. I want to see how this will do the next ~7,000 miles, hopefully keeps improving both city/highway.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I drove 500 miles this week in a dead stock '97 Limited 4x4. New stock size tires, all new plugs, wires, air filter, etc. The ONLY thing I can think of that I still have not done was clean the MAF.

I averaged 17.5 mpg at 75 mph.

I don't see how anyone can get 24 mpg in an identical vehicle without going downhill or with tailwinds the whole way, but I am open to being convinced otherwise. Maybe the MAF cleaning can add 7 mpg, one poster on the "highway mileage" thread seemed to claim that. I'll try that this weekend and see what it does.

 

[Mark_BC]

On my 6500 km Mexico trip I averaged 20.2 mpg. This included quite a bit of narrow slow dirt roads. On the freeways I averaged 22 mpg. 6 cylinder manual tranny with 31" Michelin LTX's, 60 mph on freeways. I know this is accurate because I checked my odometer against the 5 mile markers on the freeway. I kept every receipt and all the numbers for every fill. I had a rack and bike on the roof. On a previous trip with nothing on the roof I got 24 mpg.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I love these threads.

 

[amalik]

I drove 500 miles this week in a dead stock '97 Limited 4x4. New stock size tires, all new plugs, wires, air filter, etc. The ONLY thing I can think of that I still have not done was clean the MAF.

I averaged 17.5 mpg at 75 mph.

I don't see how anyone can get 24 mpg in an identical vehicle without going downhill or with tailwinds the whole way, but I am open to being convinced otherwise. Maybe the MAF cleaning can add 7 mpg, one poster on the "highway mileage" thread seemed to claim that. I'll try that this weekend and see what it does.

Check out my post a few lines above. Identical to you, I have 97 limited 4x4.

 

[kolelt]

Add armor, gear and bigger tires. Let us know then . On the other hand. That’s good mpg.

 

[TejasRunner01]

Well I have noticed anything over 70 MPG I will get 19, but if I stay at 70 I will get excellent MPG in the range of 22-24.

Regardless of all the skeptics, after a fill up mid way through the trip, I started using a GPS mile tracking app that has a speedometer included in it. My miles driven and my speedometer with bigger tires calculation are spot on. So the miles driven is correct. If it helps any of you accept this MPG claim, I do pull the handle at the gas station to make sure I get a full tank.

Also I do meticulous maintenance and run synthetics everywhere in my rig. Happy posting.

Anyways I'll report back for my next highway MPG post.

 

[Acorn22]

Thought I'd throw it out there that I get 19-21mpg with 265/75s and a 4 inch lift out here in temps below 15 almost everyday, that is a daily 30 mile drive at 60mph. Keeping the oils and ignition parts fresh definitely help out as well as keeping the tires at the correct PSI

 

[thecole1098]

Thought I'd throw it out there that I get 19-21mpg with 265/75s and a 4 inch lift out here in temps below 15 almost everyday, that is a daily 30 mile drive at 60mph. Keeping the oils and ignition parts fresh definitely help out as well as keeping the tires at the correct PSI

That’s great and all but why such small tires for a 4” lift?

 

[Acorn22]

That’s great and all but why such small tires for a 4” lift?

Who doesn't like 21 mpg? I get the same tread pattern as a bigger tire but it's about 15 pounds lighter, and I have 0 rubbing with max articulation, which is a lot for LX coils. Yeah they may not fill out the wheel wells as much, but I'll trade the looks of that for the mpgs and suspension articulation.

Maybe I can post a Pic later

 

[Horsethief]

I believe it's possible. I got 23.1 mpg last spring in a rented '01 Taco ext. cab V6/AT travelling from Grand Junction CO to Moab UT. I used the cruise at times, and was travelling between 65 and 75mph. Speed limit in UT is 80mph, but I felt bad pushing that poor Taco up those grades at that speed.

When I filled up right before getting back to our rental house in Moab I was quite impressed when I did the calculations.

Also, weather conditions can help. Perhaps there was a tailwind, and maybe the OP drafts behind semis. Or maybe he was in some dense traffic. One time I was coming back from CT on 95 in my 97 Grand Cherokee 4 liter, and I was getting about 24mpg at 70. I think it was because I was in some dense, but quickly moving traffic. I think all the other cars helped with the aero.

Anyway, even for you guys getting 17-20mpg, it's not any worse than what the new ones are getting.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Check out my post a few lines above. Identical to you, I have 97 limited 4x4.

I saw that, thanks. Not sure I'd be convinced by a 20 mile drive, but it's obviously better than mine. In fact, everyone's appears to be better than mine.

To be clear, my truck is not neglected in the least, every single fluid has less than 1000 miles on it, as do plugs and wires.

Speed does indeed make a difference, though even at 67 I'm looking at 18 mpg. Here are screenshots at various speeds, I had the cruise on and drove at least 10 miles at each speed on level ground. And I did confirm the accuracy, as I filled the tank after 200 miles and was within 0.2 mpg of the gauge reading.

I am beginning to wonder about the MAF, that's the only thing I can think of.

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[Jason B]

I'm on factory tire size. Michelin P265/70R/16 LTX M/S2.

That's one of the best tires there is more gas mileage. I have them too.