Gas mileage mods on a 2008 sport edition v8...

[zu13]

do you guys know of any ways to get better gas mileage without breaking the bank? im getting 16 to 18 city right now and it is not going to well with the 4.00 per gallon cost at gas stations. haha
Everything is stock except i have the biggest tires i could fit on there without rubbing, i forget the size ill add that info. tomorrow (aggressive all terrains), a safari rack with 4 square lights, and a brush guard with 2 circle lights. Not very good aerodynamics but i do not want to take either of those off.
I am willing to try anything that isnt that exxtreme just want better gas mileage!!!!!
HELP?

 

[DC runner]

Sounds like anything that will help you might not want to do. Those tires will be having an impact, minor, but an impact.


Actually, the single largest thing you can do is to modify your driving style. It sounds odd, but the power required to move your truck through the air is immense. Every doubling of speed requires 8x the power. That means that dropping from 65 to 60 represents a significant drop is power, and conversely, fuel consumption.


We want easy and we want it for cheap. I don't trust all the snake oils, but no doubt some might help a bit. But, in all reality, driving style; tires, fuel type will have an impact.

Make sure your tires are inflated and keep the gas even. Learn a few hypermilling tips and you might be surprised.


One that I do, that is easy, and saves a ton of fuel in city. Never BRAKE stop unless you have to. I coast down. When you see a light up ahead, red. Rather than maintain speed, then aggressively braking; pull off the gas and coast down. If the light pops green, it will take much less fuel to pull you back to speed. Make sense? I easily gain several in city MPG by doing this.

On the highway? Not towing? Cruise control, and stay at 60ish. Makes a difference. My highway MPG difference between 60 and 70 is on the order of about 1.5 to 2 mpg, again, due to the insane increase in constant power output needed to move a truck from 55 to 60, 65 and on.


Others will have more suggestions, these are mine...

 

[mrrab]

Only drive when you know you'll have a tail wind in your favor. Head winds will kill your gas mileage!!!

Honestly, if you're getting 16-18 in the city, then you're really aren't going to get better than that.

I mean, if you're driving a V8 or a SUV in general, you know you're going to have a high gas bill. So, accept the high gas bill or go buy a more fuel efficient vehicle.

Luckily for me I don't drive much and only have a 3 mile commute which I accomplish on bike. However, if I had a 15-20 mile commute, I'd defiantly buy a fuel efficient car.

I think it's silly when people complain about gas prices. Gas prices will never get better. There just going to keep climbing.

The real reason Toyota didn't throw a V8 in the 5th Gen. 4Runner is specifically for this reason -- rising gas prices. If Toyota consumers want a V8, then they're options are the Tundra or Sequoia.

Okay end of rant...

 

[v8 4wd]

i think 16-18 city is pretty dam good considering you have upgraded aggressive tires...im getting that mpg with stock tires..

 

[2008t4r]

I am getting 16-18 mpg too if I fill up a gas from shell, speedway or local gas stations. Then I noticed, if I fill up from BP station, I got 1 - 1.5 mpg more. I am not BP employee, but thats what I observed. Any of you experiencing this? I know BP cost more. BTW, I had V8 also.

 

[alex56]

The only thing you can really do is what DC runner said.. Your kinda stuck, its a v8 SUV with non friendly aerodynamic mods.... and I'm sure its 4$ a gallon everywhere probably by now, and everyones pockets getting tighter with gas... and this is a common issue among people

Try being me :lol: about 12-13mpg city and about 16mpg hwy if im lucky, and hey I'm not complaining, comes with having a unique rig.. IMO, don't sacrifice your parts/mods you love, just change your driving style if you really need too for a little help

 

[NJshadow93]

Damn, where I'm at I paid $3.72 to fill up today, and I've seen $3.69 in the area too.

 

[MT-4RUNNER]

i think 16-18 city is pretty dam good considering you have upgraded aggressive tires...im getting that mpg with stock tires..

I currently have my 2004 v6 4runner that is getting around the same numbers that you are.. When driving over winter break on the interstate I got on average maybe 18 miles per gallon, it seemed to have dropped from getting around 21-22 on that same drive. I dont understand how or why, but it is what it is...

 

[zu13]

The only thing you can really do is what DC runner said.. Your kinda stuck, its a v8 SUV with non friendly aerodynamic mods.... and I'm sure its 4$ a gallon everywhere probably by now, and everyones pockets getting tighter with gas... and this is a common issue among people

Try being me :lol: about 12-13mpg city and about 16mpg hwy if im lucky, and hey I'm not complaining, comes with having a unique rig.. IMO, don't sacrifice your parts/mods you love, just change your driving style if you really need too for a little help

Yea i know what you mean and i definitively dont want to take my mods off, but i mean a guy can hope for an easy solution! haha
I was just seeing if anyone has had any good luck with anything in particular like fuel additives, cold air intake, or even a new exhaust. But yea honestly i dont mind getting bad gas mileage as long as i look good doing it haha

 

[Htrailblazer]

If you really do the math, most of the fuel mileage "upgrades" dont really save you money. A $300 Cold air intake that increases fuel mileage by 2mpgs will take over a year to pay for itself in fuel savings. I would just save the extra money and budget it for gas. Do all the things you can that dont cost money and you will be better off in the end.

 

[Gatafly]

i think 16-18 city is pretty dam good considering you have upgraded aggressive tires...im getting that mpg with stock tires..

Agreed.

Also, with those bigger tires your odometer will not read correctly unless you have had it recalibrated so your ACTUAL gas mileage is a little different from what you say and will be slightly higher.

 

[blkexp98]

I've always been curious about this. Like some of the other people with V8's I only get about 14 to 15 MPG hand figured. Im sure toyota did their wind tunel tests but I wonder what little details play into the drag. For instance how does the resistance change when the tire is set into the wheel well vs slightly outside or flush? The underbody is another spot that could have some drag. If you could find a way to make that work better then you would still only realistically see a difference on the highway.

Like other posters said the driving style has allot to do with it. Until a new cooling or engine design is made we will be pretty well stuck with the large front end as well. I've even looked into the HHO injection i think it was called and even the makers say it really doesnt work on late model cars. Something else i looked into was electric fans more for extra power but the side effect was less stress on the engine. What i kept seeing being pointed out was since our fans use clutches now and dont always run that doesnt even help that much. The only real benefit is for water crossings.

One easy thing you could do is to make a front and back a deflector for the roof rack to keep the air from impacting the 90 degree surface. That may help some on the highway. There isnt much i can see for the brushguard and its lights.

 

[luvmyt4r]

I just have to laugh when people say they are going to buy a car to get better mileage. I am NOT flaming anyone, just stating what I find amusing. My first question is.....Is you 4Runner paid off? Two simple answers....Yes or No. If Yes....Then why would you want to go spend how much money on a car that will get you 10 - 15mpg more? Just think how long you will have to keep that and drive that with the extra cost of insurance, gas and maintenance to make it worth it. If the 4Runner is not paid off, it will still cost you less to just pay the gas prices over buying the different car. Like I said...I am not trying to flame anyone....Just my opinion on the subject.

 

[rebelbowtie]

I just have to laugh when people say they are going to buy a car to get better mileage. I am NOT flaming anyone, just stating what I find amusing. My first question is.....Is you 4Runner paid off? Two simple answers....Yes or No. If Yes....Then why would you want to go spend how much money on a car that will get you 10 - 15mpg more? Just think how long you will have to keep that and drive that with the extra cost of insurance, gas and maintenance to make it worth it. If the 4Runner is not paid off, it will still cost you less to just pay the gas prices over buying the different car. Like I said...I am not trying to flame anyone....Just my opinion on the subject.

i traded my 2500HD with a 6.0 that was lifted on 35" mud tires that got 9mpg city and 11 highway. it was paid off yet when i traded it in on my Audi A4 that i routinely get 30mpg sometimes more in, the payments, plus fuel and insurance of the new car was still cheaper than driving my truck. sometimes depending on how much someone drives and how low their payments may be it actually does make sense.

now i just bought the 4Runner because i miss having a v8 on tap and dont care much about fuel mileage right now.

 

[M1911]

If you are actually getting 16-18 mpg in the city (real mileage, not the computer which is optimistic), then you have absolutely nothing to complain about.

The only ways to increase your mileage are to 1) remove your mods and 2) change your driving habits. If there was an easy (read: cheap) way to increase the fuel economy of a 4Runner, Toyota would have already done it. There isn't.

 

[luvmyt4r]

True. BUT....you completely got rid of the truck for the car. So that makes a difference. haha. You still did buy another v-8 though....So it KIND of washes out the reason you got rid of the truck. Sure, you are still getting better mileage than the 2500....

 

[rebelbowtie]

True. BUT....you completely got rid of the truck for the car. So that makes a difference. haha. You still did buy another v-8 though....So it KIND of washes out the reason you got rid of the truck. Sure, you are still getting better mileage than the 2500....

yea i'm a dumb dumb but i need a truck for baby duty and towing trailers and what not. i wanted a CUV but after doing some researching i knew that the extra gas mileage wasnt worth sacrificing the body on frame ruggedness of the 4Runner and the v8

 

[rebelbowtie]

If you are actually getting 16-18 mpg in the city (real mileage, not the computer which is optimistic), then you have absolutely nothing to complain about.

The only ways to increase your mileage are to 1) remove your mods and 2) change your driving habits. If there was an easy (read: cheap) way to increase the fuel economy of a 4Runner, Toyota would have already done it. There isn't.

forced induction is the "easy" way to get better MPG but its not very cheap nor does it sit well with consumers. i give it another few years and see how the success of small displacement turbo charged engines do in SUV's and trucks.

i wanted a Tiguan/Q5 for awhile and the 2.0T has as much torque as most v6's and can tow 4,000lbs while getting 25-30mpg unloaded. forced induction is the way...

 

[Nuke]

What everyone said. Since you're not willing to give up the mileage-robbing tires, then you're probably not THAT serious about your mileage.

And I always get a kick out of folks that'll spend $300 or more for some mod that saves maybe 1-2 MPG, if lucky.

Change your driving style to granny, inflate your tires to 32-35 PSI, be sure your plugs are good. Then, in order to support those higher fuel prices, drink water instead of soda, pack a lunch instead of buying that Happy Meal, brew your own coffee instead of StarBucks, etc, etc..

I began driving when gas was about 40 cents/gallon. How do you think I feel? :snacker:

 

[rebelbowtie]

Do not simply inflate your tires to 32-35 psi or whatever some guy on the internet said, no offense. That may be a good ballpark but you at least need to do a chalk test since ever brand of tire has a different foot print and every vehicle weighs slightly different.