lift + tires + wheels = terrible mpgs

[iin10ded]

howdy boys n girls. haven't posted up much here, recently did small lift and wheel/tire on the 4r and WOW did my mpg's take a dump. i was getting close to 19 with the 265/65/17's at stock height. tire was a stock ish dunlop type thing. lift is fj springs with 5100's, maybe 3/2?. re that - i'm probably going back to stock springs with spacers. ride is too hard, and i don't plan to carry any real weight.

truck looks killer (imo anyway) but i'm hovering around 14mpg. am i being whiny or is that normal / to be expected?

thanks all!

 

[AdmiralAugbar]

MPG's cannot defy physics. Larger tires (ie, heavier tires) and lift (more wind resistance) hurts MPG's. It's the price to pay for a better looking rig.

Am I slightly sad when I think about my MPG's? Sure. Does looking at my sweet lifted 4Runner with big ass tires make it all better? You bet your ass it does.

 

[Ducks & Trucks]

Yeah, I've given up worrying about mpg's. Not gonna win that battle.
I'm on a 3' lift, with 285's, v6. I was up around 19mpg prior. On our recent trip from SD to telluride, including some wheeling, I got 14.1 mpg, with a rooftop tent on.
Better than I expected.

 

[The Yin]

lost maybe 1 mpg

I've had my Toytec Boss lift for almost 3 months now. And have been running 265/70/17 (E rated) since I got the 4Runner a few years ago. I average about half highway, half city in my driving and seem to have lost maybe 1 to 1.5 mpg, so far. I was averaging mid to high 17, now I'm around mid 16.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

It all depends on how you use your 4Runner. If you take it offroad then it is worth poor MPGs for the clearance and traction of better suspension and tires. If you never take it offroad, then its up to you if the "look" of a lifted rig is worth the hit to MPGs.

Have you replaced spark plugs, air filter, etc? A solid tune-up should help you get the best MPGs possible.

For reference, my '08 V6 4Runner was getting 22 MPG (according to the mpg display) pre lift/tires and is now at 19 MPG with a 3/2 lift and 255/75r17 mud terrains.

 

[DZNUTS]

My v8 gets 12mpg city

Lifted with 285s


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[iin10ded]

thanks guys. i should add that mine's a v6, 4 spd.

for sure all things factor. i just ran a few calculations, i only drive the truck maybe 5k / year... so that's only about $250 going from 18 to 14mpg. sounds worse than it really is.

 

[iin10ded]

great input. yep truck has a fresh tune, only runs full synth everywhere, all fresh fluids, etc. your 08 is a 5spd vs my 4spd which im guessing is the big difference. that's great mpg.

Have you replaced spark plugs, air filter, etc? A solid tune-up should help you get the best MPGs possible.

For reference, my '08 V6 4Runner was getting 22 MPG (according to the mpg display) pre lift/tires and is now at 19 MPG with a 3/2 lift and 255/75r17 mud terrains.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

great input. yep truck has a fresh tune, only runs full synth everywhere, all fresh fluids, etc. your 08 is a 5spd vs my 4spd which im guessing is the big difference. that's great mpg.

Ahhhh the extra gear would make a difference. Have you calculated how off your speedometer is after the bigger tires? You are probably getting a few more MPGs than what your odometer says.

 

[duffdog]

My v8 gets 12mpg city

Lifted with 285s


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Interesting...

My v8 gets 13.5 with 315s, lifted with front and rear steel bumpers, winches sliders, armor and 200lbs of tools in it. Perhaps you drive faster than me?

Also, 4runners get excellent mileage. Have you seen what mpg Jeeps get when you put 38s on them? somewhere around 9mpg or less...

 

[Schmuly]

How are you getting your Miles/kms we put 265/70-r17 on FJ rims and now according to the GPS odometer we get almost 105 miles compared to 100 miles on 4Runner odometer. So after a tank we travel about 18 miles more at least.
I take the GPS as being accurate with the different sized tires, and only use the number of gallons from the pump. When I had a F250 diesel everyone called the trip computer the "lieOmeter".

 

[iin10ded]

i haven't calc'd the speedo error. i'm using the fuelly app (only 2 tanks of gas) which just looks at amount of fuel used and mileage. it's validating the computer - low 14's.

 

[T4RNightHawk]

Interesting...

My v8 gets 13.5 with 315s, lifted with front and rear steel bumpers, winches sliders, armor and 200lbs of tools in it. Perhaps you drive faster than me?

Also, 4runners get excellent mileage. Have you seen what mpg Jeeps get when you put 38s on them? somewhere around 9mpg or less...

You've got a unicorn. I get 11.5 on 34's fully armored.

 

[Civiceg94]

I get hand calculated roughly 12.5 with my 08 v6 with 285/70-17 mixed with city and highway with rock sliders. Planning on getting 255/75-17 soon cooper atw. You guys think ill get way better mpg if i switch ?

 

[Bumbo]

If my 4Runner was a commuter car I probably would not lift it, I think it really takes away from on-road driving... and even if I did I would probably run a lighter road tire like the Michelin LTX M/S2, but I would run that regardless.

My 4Runner is an off-road toy and not much else these days... but my stock 5.3L v8 Chevy is my daily driver gets worse MPG than my lifted 4Runner lol.

I can't win with these things... I just close my eyes at the pump.

Perhaps I need a bigger truck... I hear those diesels get 22 MPG wile carrying a Prius in the bed.

Enjoy the setup OP, I am surprised to head you find it stiff or dont like it. Should have been an improvement with 5100s, but the stock springs were pretty soft.

 

[jsmith21]

Maybe I'm doing something right, or I'm just lucky, but my last tank, hand calculated, was 18.1 mpg. 275/70r18 tires, and about 3.5" of lift


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[Schmuly]

If my 4Runner was a commuter car I probably would not lift it, I think it really takes away from on-road driving... and even if I did I would probably run a lighter road tire like the Michelin LTX M/S2, but I would run that regardless.

My 4Runner is an off-road toy and not much else these days... but my stock 5.3L v8 Chevy is my daily driver gets worse MPG than my lifted 4Runner lol.

I can't win with these things... I just close my eyes at the pump.

Perhaps I need a bigger truck... I hear those diesels get 22 MPG wile carrying a Prius in the bed.

Enjoy the setup OP, I am surprised to head you find it stiff or dont like it. Should have been an improvement with 5100s, but the stock springs were pretty soft.

My diesel was a killer on oil changes the 7.3l ford took 16 quarts of oil every oil change. Letting it warm up before any trip and letting the turbo cool down made it not good for short trips.

 

[TheThunderRunner]

Yeah my mpg dumped from 16 around town (winter) to about 12 when I put on a flowmaster muffler. I just lifted it last week but haven't calculated mpg yet. May take off the flowmaster come winter this year. Have any of you thought of regearing to gain back mpg? I heard a few 3rd gen guys who regeared on 35's and were getting around 20 mpg highway.

 

[Cisco Kid]

i haven't calc'd the speedo error. i'm using the fuelly app (only 2 tanks of gas) which just looks at amount of fuel used and mileage. it's validating the computer - low 14's.

If you are trying to calculate mileage based on what the odometer is giving you, it will be off with larger tires. I'm running 265/70/17's and mine is off 3.7%. What size tire are you running?

 

[Bumbo]

My diesel was a killer on oil changes the 7.3l ford took 16 quarts of oil every oil change. Letting it warm up before any trip and letting the turbo cool down made it not good for short trips.

That thing sounds like a beast