Great MPG

[4RunnerFan]

On our V6 we can get 23-24 mpg (actual, not from driver information center) on the highway if we keep it at 68-69 mph and the wind is favorable. Going over 70 mph opens the drain plug and the gas disappears. Best mileage is going 55 mph on local highways, but that's too slow for the natives, so the only time I get to do that is when it's late (or very early) and there's isn't much traffic.

 

[rushrunner]

On our V6 we can get 23-24 mpg (actual, not from driver information center) on the highway if we keep it at 68-69 mph and the wind is favorable. Going over 70 mph opens the drain plug and the gas disappears. Best mileage is going 55 mph on local highways, but that's too slow for the natives, so the only time I get to do that is when it's late (or very early) and there's isn't much traffic.

Exacto!!! Over 70 is aweful. You are spot on.

 

[MikeInNH]

Better look up what Hypermiling is. It is a change of many driving habits, not JUST tailgating semis and large trailers.

I have looked at hypermilling.

Here's a link...I suggest you read it..

The Ultimate Guide to Hypermiling: 100 Driving and Car Tips and Resources | EcoTrekker

Please note #5 and #8....THEY'RE ILLEGAL AND DANGEROUS. If you don't know that..then I suggest you give up your drivers license because you are endangering everyone else on the road.

 

[rebelbowtie]

Coasting with the transmission in neutral waste fuel not conserves it. Silly ducks

 

[boondoggle]

"hypermiling" is a pretty broad term. I don't think it's fair to say its illegal and dangerous across the board. If a person skips #5 and #8 are they still "hypermiling?

Gets kind of philosophical at that point. I think a lot of people try to drive conservatively, and legally. If they want to get obsessive with it and call it hypermiling who really cares?

Here's a cops tips for "hypermiling".

For the record, I consider myself MPG conscious, but I'm not 'hyper' anything. :fishing:

"Hypermiling" the law enforcement way

 

[Javelin]

I get about 240-250 miles per Tank with my V6. Mostly stop and go. Thats calculated on the ODO not the stupid fuel computer.

 

[Gatafly]

"hypermiling" is a pretty broad term. I don't think it's fair to say its illegal and dangerous across the board. If a person skips #5 and #8 are they still "hypermiling?

Gets kind of philosophical at that point. I think a lot of people try to drive conservatively, and legally. If they want to get obsessive with it and call it hypermiling who really cares?

Here's a cops tips for "hypermiling".

For the record, I consider myself MPG conscious, but I'm not 'hyper' anything. :fishing:

"Hypermiling" the law enforcement way

Thank you, that is exactly what I was saying. Mike's link proved it also.

 

[OrdnanceMarine]

I've found that a properly calibrated ScanGaugeII can be very, very accurate. In fact, I've often found it to be a hair or two MORE accurate than the single-tank MPG=miles/gallons method when you use multiple cumulative tanks to calibrate your SG2. What I also find is that the onboard computer's MPG reading is relatively consistent even though it reads 10% better than reality.

Around town with most trips being 1/2-5 miles and no more than 45 MPH we get about 15 MPG with my wife at the helm and maybe 16-17 MPG when I pull duty. Highways at 65 MPH we can best 21 MPG, getting about 22 MPG on just the highway portion but by the time we drive around at our destination we're back in the 21's.

 

[zstampe]

I've found that a properly calibrated ScanGaugeII can be very, very accurate. In fact, I've often found it to be a hair or two MORE accurate than the single-tank MPG=miles/gallons method when you use multiple cumulative tanks to calibrate your SG2. What I also find is that the onboard computer's MPG reading is relatively consistent even though it reads 10% better than reality.

Around town with most trips being 1/2-5 miles and no more than 45 MPH we get about 15 MPG with my wife at the helm and maybe 16-17 MPG when I pull duty. Highways at 65 MPH we can best 21 MPG, getting about 22 MPG on just the highway portion but by the time we drive around at our destination we're back in the 21's.

How did you properly calabrate it?

 

[OrdnanceMarine]

How did you properly calabrate it?

Visit the site for the basic procedure ScanGaugeII User Manual : Linear Logic but instead of adjusting the calibration after every fill you keep a running log of your odometer reading, number of gallons until the pump shuts off AND number of gallons the ScanGaugeII "thinks" you burned. Figure out the percentage difference and see how much it varies from the gallons/miles method each tank and overall and if you're averaging right on don't make any changes. If you're consistently different, make the changes. What you're doing is essentially reducing the errors that come from variations in when the pump will shut off (or even in the accuracy of the pump itself) by spreading these over a few tanks instead of just one.

 

[BOSMECH]

If I do the speed limit and drive smart my 03 V6 gets 25 MPG easy.

 

[Border411]

When I fillup (to the brim) I too can achieve around 404 to the tank. I think the range is more accurate than the MPG calculator, which makes no sense once so ever.

Exactly the same for me. If I do 55-60mph on the highway (which is RARELY the case) I can get around 22 real world mpg.

 

[OrdnanceMarine]

If I do the speed limit and drive smart my 03 V6 gets 25 MPG easy.

What's the speed limit you're referring to? If it's 55 MPH then I'm going to guess you're doing almost nothing but a constant 55 MPH cruise. If it's 45 MPH then perhaps there's more wiggle room. I'm also guessing your use of the AC is minimal. Is your fuel corrupted with ethanol or are you able to get straight gasoline?

Dropping your speed makes a HUGE difference in my 4Runner. So much so that when I towed at 55 MPH on the highway with a 3300 lb trailer for about 150 miles round-trip with another 50 miles or so in between without the trailer I ended up burning the same amount of fuel as my father burned driving his nearly identical 4Runner the identical route without a trailer at about 72 MPH during the 150 mile round-trip section.

Another example was a 400-mile trip where I had my large 18 cubic-foot Yakima carrier and a hitch platform loaded up with 150 lb. I kept it at 60 MPH since we were caravaning and I did a hair better than if I would have driven the same route at 65 MPH without anything strapped on my rig.

Third example: Driving from Fresno to Yosemite Valley and around the valley for an hour I ended up with one of my best tanks ever. In the mountains you're mostly limited to about 35 MPH so the drop in aerodynamic drag more than offset the inefficiencies of climbing and descending, sitting in traffic and not being able to have the transmission in the lowest gear for half of the trip.

 

[Sungod]

There is no way anyone is getting a 25mpg average per tank. That is impossible. It always cracks me up how people seem to stretch thier fuel mileage, but never the opposite direction. As I said, when I see someone post up some real numbers, I will believe it. I am not talking about just dividing the number of miles drive by the gallons it takes you to fill up one time. I want to see some history. Until then, keep dreaming.

 

[Sungod]

Here are my historical stats. Until I see someone posting something like this showing 25mpg, I will continue to be a non-believer. I would love for someone to prove me wrong that 25mpg is possible in a 4 runner. As you can see the only time I hit 20 mpg was when I pumped in 3 gallons. I could have easily skewed that number by pumping less, but you make up for it on the next fill up when you keep historical records.

<table><br /> <tr><td>Type</td><td>MPG</td><td>Date</td><td>Time</td><td>Vehicle</td><td>Odometer</td><td>Cost/Gallon</td><td>Gallons</td><td>Total Cost</td><td>Octane</td><td>Average Speed</td><td>Total Cost</td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>0</td><td>6/2/2012</td><td>1:43 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>133073</td><td>$3.40 </td><td>13.289</td><td>$45.17 </td><td>87</td><td>30</td><td>$45.17 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>17.8</td><td>5/30/2012</td><td>4:50 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>132837</td><td>$3.60 </td><td>21.34</td><td>$76.80 </td><td>87</td><td>30</td><td>$76.80 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>16.6</td><td>5/22/2012</td><td>3:13 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>132483</td><td>$2.96 </td><td>19.744</td><td>$58.42 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$58.42 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>15.3</td><td>5/14/2012</td><td>9:08 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>132181</td><td>$3.74 </td><td>9.067</td><td>$33.90 </td><td>87</td><td>26</td><td>$33.90 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>16.3</td><td>5/11/2012</td><td>2:24 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>132033</td><td>$3.64 </td><td>16.278</td><td>$59.24 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$59.24 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>15.4</td><td>5/3/2012</td><td>2:31 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>131783</td><td>$3.89 </td><td>3.454</td><td>$13.43 </td><td>87</td><td>22</td><td>$13.43 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>21.1</td><td>5/3/2012</td><td>11:41 AM</td><td>4runner</td><td>131710</td><td>$4.00 </td><td>21.635</td><td>$86.52 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$86.52 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.7</td><td>4/25/2012</td><td>1:20 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>131391</td><td>$3.76 </td><td>9.426</td><td>$35.43 </td><td>87</td><td>28</td><td>$35.43 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>17.2</td><td>4/22/2012</td><td>11:02 AM</td><td>4runner</td><td>131229</td><td>$3.30 </td><td>20.498</td><td>$67.62 </td><td>87</td><td>21</td><td>$67.62 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.9</td><td>4/13/2012</td><td>2:29 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>130924</td><td>$3.90 </td><td>21.4</td><td>$83.44 </td><td>87</td><td>25</td><td>$83.44 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>15.7</td><td>3/30/2012</td><td>1:05 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>130587</td><td>$3.90 </td><td>20.194</td><td>$78.74 </td><td>87</td><td>25</td><td>$78.74 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.9</td><td>3/24/2012</td><td>10:18 AM</td><td>4runner</td><td>130286</td><td>$4.00 </td><td>13.469</td><td>$53.86 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$53.86 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.8</td><td>3/17/2012</td><td>11:08 AM</td><td>4runner</td><td>130086</td><td>$3.88 </td><td>16.514</td><td>$64.06 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$64.06 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.8</td><td>3/10/2012</td><td>10:15 AM</td><td>4runner</td><td>129842</td><td>$3.80 </td><td>20.336</td><td>$77.26 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$77.26 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.7</td><td>3/3/2012</td><td>12:22 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>129543</td><td>$3.80 </td><td>20.987</td><td>$79.73 </td><td>87</td><td>22</td><td>$79.73 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.6</td><td>2/24/2012</td><td>10:25 AM</td><td>4runner</td><td>129237</td><td>$3.76 </td><td>18.129</td><td>$68.15 </td><td>87</td><td>22</td><td>$68.15 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.3</td><td>2/16/2012</td><td>11:20 AM</td><td>4runner</td><td>128977</td><td>$3.66 </td><td>6.613</td><td>$24.20 </td><td>87</td><td>24</td><td>$24.20 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>15.4</td><td>2/12/2012</td><td>4:40 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>128875</td><td>$3.60 </td><td>18.974</td><td>$68.29 </td><td>87</td><td>21</td><td>$68.29 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>13.3</td><td>2/4/2012</td><td>2:36 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>128623</td><td>$3.50 </td><td>19.429</td><td>$67.98 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$67.98 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>15.1</td><td>1/28/2012</td><td>11:29 AM</td><td>4runner</td><td>128329</td><td>$3.46 </td><td>9.506</td><td>$32.88 </td><td>87</td><td>21</td><td>$32.88 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>15.6</td><td>1/23/2012</td><td>3:51 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>128181</td><td>$3.50 </td><td>20.488</td><td>$71.69 </td><td>87</td><td>22</td><td>$71.69 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.3</td><td>1/16/2012</td><td>12:45 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>127889</td><td>$3.27 </td><td>15.183</td><td>$49.63 </td><td>87</td><td>25</td><td>$49.63 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.5</td><td>1/12/2012</td><td>1:28 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>127669</td><td>$3.30 </td><td>17.476</td><td>$57.65 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$57.65 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>16.4</td><td>1/6/2012</td><td>2:32 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>127383</td><td>$2.53 </td><td>20.093</td><td>$50.82 </td><td>87</td><td>22</td><td>$50.82 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>13.2</td><td>12/28/2011</td><td>1:01 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>127117</td><td>$3.27 </td><td>19.829</td><td>$64.82 </td><td>87</td><td>13</td><td>$64.82 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>15.5</td><td>12/18/2011</td><td>6:01 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>126809</td><td>$3.30 </td><td>21.521</td><td>$71.00 </td><td>87</td><td>24</td><td>$71.00 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.3</td><td>12/10/2011</td><td>6:27 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>126502</td><td>$3.34 </td><td>15.935</td><td>$53.21 </td><td>87</td><td>21</td><td>$53.21 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Gas</td><td>14.7</td><td>12/3/2011</td><td>6:29 PM</td><td>4runner</td><td>126268</td><td>$3.40 </td><td>15.5</td><td>$52.68 </td><td>87</td><td>23</td><td>$52.68 </td></tr><br /> <tr><td>Total Average</td><td>15.4</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><br /> <tr><td></td></tr><br /> </table>

 

[OrdnanceMarine]

There is no way anyone is getting a 25mpg average per tank. That is impossible. It always cracks me up how people seem to stretch thier fuel mileage, but never the opposite direction. As I said, when I see someone post up some real numbers, I will believe it. I am not talking about just dividing the number of miles drive by the gallons it takes you to fill up one time. I want to see some history. Until then, keep dreaming.

Here's the data I currently have entered in at Fuel Economy. I need to update it for 2012 but you'll get a good picture of what I'm seeing. Under the "Notes" is the number of gallons my ScanGaugeII "thought" I had burned when I filled up. Please excuse the formatting errors as I exported it to Excel, deleted some fields that didn't add to the discussion and then copied and pasted directly. Notice my tank on 5/01/2011 at 23.2 MPG. This was the one that contained the Yosemite trip mentioned earlier. The 8/07/2011 tank at 22.5 MPG contained my trip to Mammoth (actually Devil's Postpile beyond Mammoth) as mentioned earlier as well. A number of these tanks would read higher if it weren't for the fact that most of them get a good chunk of city driving at the end of the tank because I almost always fill at Costco in the major cities on the way back to our town since fuel is 20-30cents cheaper than at home. I don't know that there's a "highway only" tank there.

Date Odometer Gallons MPG Notes
11/14/2010 35474 18.723 First Fill
11/22/2010 35893 19.458 21.533560
11/27/2010 36251 17.586 20.357101 17.4i
12/05/2010 36580 14.961 21.990507 15.2i
12/18/2010 36998 19.120 21.861923 19.3i
12/23/2010 37430 19.943 21.661736 20.1i
12/31/2010 37851 19.584 21.497140 20.1i
01/19/2011 38227 21.307 17.646784 21.3i
01/29/2011 38478 14.026 17.895338 14.2i
02/19/2011 38841 20.254 17.922386 20.4i
02/21/2011 39052 09.510 22.187170 9.7i
03/12/2011 39323 15.331 17.676603 15.2i
03/14/2011 39666 14.907 23.009325 15.6i
04/02/2011 40020 20.148 17.569980 20.2i
04/16/2011 40477 23.014 19.857477 22.9i
04/25/2011 40819 16.204 21.105900 16.6i
04/26/2011 41229 19.579 20.940804 20.1i
05/01/2011 41734 21.767 23.200256 22.1i
05/29/2011 42118 21.767 17.641384 21.7i
06/12/2011 42391 13.769 19.827148 14.1i
07/02/2011 42835 22.260 19.946090 22.7i 1.9reservew/SB91oct
07/15/2011 43169 17.340 19.261822 17.3i
07/31/2011 43574 21.018 19.269197 21.1i
08/07/2011 43978 17.982 22.466911 18.2i
08/17/2011 44234 13.249 19.322214 13.2i
09/04/2011 44784 26.284 20.925278 26.4i
09/18/2011 45072 14.799 19.460775 14.9i
11/08/2011 45393 19.530 16.436250 19.5i
12/10/2011 45712 19.880 16.046278 19.8i
12/28/2011 46114 20.700 19.420290 20.7i

Note: I just noticed that my 5/1/11 and 5/29/11 fillups came out to the exact same amount of fuel to the 1/1000th of a gallon. I suspect I transcribed in error so I'll look back in my fuel log in the vehicle and see if they match.

 

[TRDCal]

Hypermilling is not only DANGEROUS...but in MOST states it's illegal.

Easy tiger, didn't you get the memo...there's plenty of ways to drive economically or "hypermile" without sitting at a stoplight in neutral or tailgating a 20ton truck at 70mph.

On a side note, I'm sure its not illegal in New Hampshire on account of y'all living free or dieing eh? lol I kid I kid...I have family from NH, been there a couple times, it's a nice state.

 

[stanleybb50]

If I do the speed limit and drive smart my 03 V6 gets 25 MPG easy.

That's nothing.. I get 45 mpg going 130 mph every day.

Lol... 25 mpg.........

 

[OrdnanceMarine]

What kind of driving do you do? What kind of driver are you? What kind of tires do you have? On the Civic Si forums I'm usually one of the highest MPG guys (probably the highest one who doesn't draft or go below the speed limit, turn my car off at lights, etc.) and over the years when someone has the attitude you do:

There is no way anyone is getting a 25mpg average per tank. That is impossible. It always cracks me up how people seem to stretch their fuel mileage, but never the opposite direction. As I said, when I see someone post up some real numbers, I will believe it. I am not talking about just dividing the number of miles drive by the gallons it takes you to fill up one time. I want to see some history. Until then, keep dreaming.

....I've found it often turns out their driving style is responsible for their poor results but we, as fallen beings, have a tendency to smell everyone else's stink but our own. We tend to be poor at the subjective task of rating our driving habits. I'm not saying that I can ascertain that this is the case with you based on the little bit I know, but this has been my experience over the years.

If you're driving a 2WD 4Runner with tires that just happen to have a low rolling resistance for their size and don't have ethanol in your fuel and perform the kind of driving that yields peak MPG (able to keep 5th gear, TC locked up for extended periods of time with speeds closer to 35 and not much time above 55 MPH) I could see someone getting close to 25 MPG but they would be the statistical outlier for the 4th-gen 4Runner crowd.

 

[rebelbowtie]

There is no practical way to drive something the shape of a brick and yield 25+mpg especially whoever it was in another thread that said their 4Runner averaged 27-28mpg and posted a picture of their scan gauge.

That's what my A4 averaged, yet I could skew my fuel averages and yield as high as 39mpg sometimes but I knew I wasn't actually getting that mileage.