miles per gallon.

mike1305 said:
I always get puzzled when I see people reporting anything more than 23-24 highway in a 4Runner. It is important to keep in mind that the wheel diameter can skew the mileage readings. My new tires/wheels are 10% larger around than the stock combo, and thus my tachometer, odometer, and trip mileage are 10% lower than reality. 60 on my tach means 66 on a radar gun, 200 miles to a tank really means 220, etc.

Even after I correct for it, I only get 15/21. I consider 21 highway pretty good, even for an automatic 2WD.
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I dont really understand what you're talking about. I mean i know how you say your tires are 10% bigger but if you go 200 miles, then you go 200 miles ya know? not 220. or are you talking about thats how much effort your engine is putting out kind of thing? All i know is that i'm a conservative driver and i coast a lot and my 4-speed auto never really shifts past 2200rpm unless i'm merging on to the freeway. I check my mpg every monday when i fill up and I can honestly say that the lowest I have gotten is 16.9 mpg in the last 6 months and that was me driving to and from school 4.8 miles each way. When i get my mpg on the freeway, thats pretty much straight freeway. I fill up before I take a long haul and right when i get home i top it off again just to see how my car is doing and apparently its doing really really well. lol
 
Bretski said:
I dont really understand what you're talking about. I mean i know how you say your tires are 10% bigger but if you go 200 miles, then you go 200 miles ya know? not 220. or are you talking about thats how much effort your engine is putting out kind of thing? All i know is that i'm a conservative driver and i coast a lot and my 4-speed auto never really shifts past 2200rpm unless i'm merging on to the freeway. I check my mpg every monday when i fill up and I can honestly say that the lowest I have gotten is 16.9 mpg in the last 6 months and that was me driving to and from school 4.8 miles each way. When i get my mpg on the freeway, thats pretty much straight freeway. I fill up before I take a long haul and right when i get home i top it off again just to see how my car is doing and apparently its doing really really well. lol
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What I mean is that there is a 10% discrepancy between what the odometer shows I have traveled, and the physical distance the car has gone. If I drove down a 1 mile stretch of road, my odometer would only tick 0.9 miles.
 
So far, I'm not too impressed with my '99. I haven't done a fill-up yet, but I've gone 74 miles since I left the dealership with a "full" tank...and the gauge now reads just slightly above half full. The engine seems to run really good, so I'm not sure what the F is going on. Time to start taking things apart and cleaning/replacing I guess.
 
you aren't parked on a hill are ya? mine will read like a quarter of a tank different depending if i am parked facing up hill or down hill
 
Ha! Unfortunately, no. Level ground. All I need to do is go top off the tank, and I can calculate the MPG...I just haven't done it yet. I'm too scared! :D
 
Qyota said:
Ha! Unfortunately, no. Level ground. All I need to do is go top off the tank, and I can calculate the MPG...I just haven't done it yet. I'm too scared! :D
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I would fill it up, then run it till the light comes on and calculate then. You can't be positive the dealership filled it all the way.
 
Yup, for sure. In the meantime I'll clean the throttle body, check tire PSI, and other easy stuff.
 
Once I filled up immediately after the gas light came on (and stayed on, mind you - mine flutters back and forth for a good 10 miles) and it was only 14.5 gallons (for an 18.5 gallon tank). No surprise an average tank of mine takes only me about 220 miles before I decide to fill up.
 
I filled up yesterday and was finely able to get a somewhat accurate reading on my mileage. I pulled off 16.79 mpg witch seems pretty average. I drive mostly highway and at night so not a lot of traffic and the lights are usually green. I also keep it pretty close to 60 mph because so many cops out at night just looking for any excuse to pull you over. One day though I got stuck in a major back up and on another day I had to use 4wd because of a snow storm. So I am thinking I can get a little better if I am lucky.

I also checked the tire pressure this morning. They looked fine but I was shocked to see the pressure down to 21 PSI. I inflated them back to 29 PSI so that might help with the mileage as well. Seems a little quicker and I feel less rolling resistance as well but it could just be in my head.

I am hoping to beat 16.79 mpg on my next tank.

BTW, I find it odd that a vehicle the size of the 4Runner and considering its off road capabilities the gas tank is so small. 18.5 gallons is the bare minimum for a vehicle that averages only 16 mpg. It would be much more cool if the gas tank was 25 gallons. That way you can go off road and not worry about the fuel situation so much. Off roading you will eat up 18.5 gallons pretty quick. Of coarse it makes the fill ups more painful but if you can go further it ends up being a little better situation.
 
Clemsonfan15 said:
I think your tires should be at 32 PSI minimum. I'm sure you'll beat that number come next fill up.
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I have a compressor in the garage so adding more air is easy. I am pretty sure the sticker inside the drivers door indicated 29 PSI so that is what I went with. Any reason to go higher?
 
It's almost a rule of thumb to start at 32psi and adjust according to your tire wear since some brand do respond and wear differently than others.

I run my Nittos at 35psi and am getting solid even wear.
 
My CooperLTZ's call for 55psi and I went to a quick oil change place for the first time ever about 2 months ago and the ****s let pressure out of them to 35psi, I came out and just started laughing and was like "why are my tires flat??" without looking up from the clipboard or blinkin an eye dude said "oh we adjusted the tire pressure for you" after bout three minutes of me pleading my case I finally got him to read the side of the tire where it F'in tells you the pressure it needs, I know I pissed them off because I pulled out the door about 50 feet and popped the hood to check all the fluids to make sure they didnt screw anything else up
 
I will go ahead and air up to 35 PSI and see how well that works for me. Its an easy thing to do.

One thing I noticed at 20 PSI is the tires felt rubbery and my 4Runner felt like I was driving on jello. It made me think perhaps the suspension bushings are worn out. At 29 PSI it felt a lot more firm and handling was greatly improved.

Tires are brand new Toyo Open Country A/T's in the stock 265 size. Not sure why they were so low. All were the same exact PSI so I doubt any are leaking. I don't think they ever put enough air in them when they put them on or someones gauge is off. I know its normal for tires to bleed some air over time but not this much.

I suppose another theory is the previous owner might have aired them down for whatever reason as well.
 
Since we are on the topic of tire pressure I'll ask a question. I have the Michelin LTX tire on my 4runner and I normally run them at 32 PSI. Is this PSI fine, can I go higher?

On a similar note they were made in the 38th week of 2002. Should I look at getting them replaced? I don't know how many miles are on them.
 
There is a max PSI rating on the sidewall, don't exceed that. You probably can't damage the tire too badly running at max PSI...but the truck might handle funny, or have not as much grip.

About your tires...unless there are obvious signs of old age (cracked sidewalls, etc.), just leave 'em! Tires aren't cheap, ya know!
 
Well, I did my first fill-up calculation.

89.9 miles on the trip meter (set at fill-up).

6.25 gallons pumped.

That's 14.38 mpg, folks.

Something ain't right. Any suggestions? The truck runs great, but I was expecting at least 17mpg. And my figure includes 60% hwy (less than 60mph) and 40% city (gramma driving).

:(
 
Qyota said:
Well, I did my first fill-up calculation.

89.9 miles on the trip meter (set at fill-up).

6.25 gallons pumped.

That's 14.38 mpg, folks.

Something ain't right. Any suggestions? The truck runs great, but I was expecting at least 17mpg. And my figure includes 60% hwy (less than 60mph) and 40% city (gramma driving).

:(
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That's pretty bad. I get close to 17 with all city and my tires were low. I'm hoping that continues, knock on wood.

One thing that might be hurting you is the gas. I believe northern states use a different mixture that can cause worse gas mileage.

You might also want to try some Sea Foam.
 
beallen21 said:
My CooperLTZ's call for 55psi and I went to a quick oil change place for the first time ever about 2 months ago and the ****s let pressure out of them to 35psi, I came out and just started laughing and was like "why are my tires flat??" without looking up from the clipboard or blinkin an eye dude said "oh we adjusted the tire pressure for you" after bout three minutes of me pleading my case I finally got him to read the side of the tire where it F'in tells you the pressure it needs, I know I pissed them off because I pulled out the door about 50 feet and popped the hood to check all the fluids to make sure they didnt screw anything else up
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Ummm......sounds like you have 6 ply tires that are really meant for 3/4 or 1ton pickups. That is the maximum tire pressure. If you were hauling 6,000 lbs, you might want to run that pressure. There is nothing wrong with running those tires at 32 psi either. all you are doing is making the ride harsh for yourself, and it also cuts down on traction.
 
I was wrong it is 50psi, it says 5ply on the sidewall (i dont recall every seeing a 5ply tire)with a load rating of 2833lbs, personally there's no way i would drive on them with 32psi, I'll let the pressure out to 32psi and take a picture they really do look flat, i'm afraid that they would wear weird
 
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