MPG vs MPH Data collection!

[karyins]

Hi I searched the internet but couldn't find the info. I recently got a 2004 v6 4runner stock from my sister. It got about 11-12 MPG (Hand calculated from gas bills.) for the first few tanks since I got it. It was winter in NYC and I was mostly making very short trips with a lot of traffic and stop signs. But still, I just keep wondering how could other people get 15 or 16 MPG for city driving.

Till I reset the onboard MPG calculator.

Before reset (my sister probably hasn't reset it for ages and she drives a typical highway/local pattern), the display was 18.6 MPG, 25 MPH, which is probably the average of the last 10,000 + miles at least. I know the MPG calculator is often 2 MPG higher than the actual but still it's not too bad.

After reset and about half tank later, the display is 13.6 MPG, 12 MPH. Maybe that's why...It has been crawling in this city!

Still, not sure if that's normal so I'm asking your help! Would you please take a look at your displayed MPG and MPH numbers and provide them in this thread? Maybe with enough data entries we can make a graph or something. LOL!

 

[fdbyrne]

I can't speak for what's 'normal' but my MPG calculator usually reads 18.1 to 18.6 with normal driving. I reset it after every tank of gas. The average speed is right around 35 if I remember correctly. That's not something that I look at often.

 

[COn4mer]

I'm in. I've had my 4th gen for about 2 months and have been meaning to do a lie-o-meter vs. actual calculation. Esp as meter has been reporting almost 22 mpg on most tanks, not counting a couple of tanks which included off-road excursions, which seems almost unheard of when I read other posts. I'll check back with the results of the next 2 or 3 tanks.

 

[CXS]

How about the EPA estimates? These are always inflated due to ideal driving conditions etc but give people a starting point.

 

[CXS]

On second thought I think my lie-o-meter is 100% accurate.

 

[Drunner97]

I'll play because I have no idea the last time mine was reset before I bought it. Hand Calculated on the last two tanks I'm right around 16.5mpg which is mostly traffic, city driving, with a burst of toll road before/after work. meter says 17.9 and via the torque app, the difference between gps and speedo is ~1 mph so my hand calculated should be about right. Seems to be about right based on the mpg threads I've seen. I'll probably see 18-19 on a road trip of all freeway @ 80 mph which is on par with my AC Tacoma PR w/ 4.0. Tacoma also gets around 16-17 street/city driving for comparison of the same engine in two different vehicles although the Tacoma is 2wd and the 4runner is 4wd.

 

[karyins]

Guys don't forget the MPH number, displayed when you press the "mode" button on the central console.

You can't hand calculate MPH and I think it is a strong factor for the MPG. In my case, 12 miles per hour is probably why I am getting very low MPG since I stop/start/traffic/idle a lot.

 

[COn4mer]

Tank #1:
Display - 21.0 mpg, 31.0 mph.
Actual - 19.6 mpg.

 

[ChaosStarter]

You also don't know what kind of maintenance she has or hasn't done to the truck. When was the last time she changed the spark plugs?

My truck is rated for 19mpg highway, but I've calculated nearly 21mpg on long highway cruises. My truck is also in tip-top shape though as far as maintenance is concerned.

 

[NOVA46]

On second thought I think my lie-o-meter is 100% accurate.

I love the ol' "Coast down a hill and reset the lie-o-meter" trick. Great way to fool passengers

 

[BillyBoost]

You also don't know what kind of maintenance she has or hasn't done to the truck. When was the last time she changed the spark plugs?

I bought a used 2003 4Runner limited in January of 2015 with 136k miles. I got my best mpg to date after I swapped out the engine oil Mobil 1 5w30, transfer case, front and rear diff fluid with Mobil 1 gear oil. Then I changed the spark plugs. All done since I did not know the last time any of that was done. The real test for the truck will be 2 weeks from now when I pull a trailer with my RZR 900 XP from NJ to CO.

Bill

 

[yosh2000]

being the engineer i am...i have records from every vehicle i have owned, every fill up since '05! below is a shot of my '05 v8 4runner. notice the tire (265/65/17 street tires to 265/75/16 duratracs) made over a 1.5 mpg difference. the icon lift that replaced the sagging suspension doesnt seem to have changed the MPGs much at all.

i work 3 miles from the house, so if i do not do a lot of field work, i do have lower MPGs.

Also notice i like to look at things at a MP$ (miles per dollar) aspect. yes this is always fluctuating due to gas prices, but it gives me a way to estimate how much a roadtrip will cost in gas, for example.

 

[yosh2000]

also, dont know how much you will actually learn from one single MPH number. you will need a lot more data points to even come close to a conclusion. is there some sort of amp that tracks speed, idle time, etc? that would be the way to go about this!

Maybe start tracking your fillups and find out your average MPDay. This will at least help you start trending data.

but at the end of the day, if you are concerned w/ MPG, go get a jetta TDI or a hippy prius!!

 

[1engineer]

being the engineer i am...i have records from every vehicle i have owned, every fill up since '05! below is a shot of my '05 v8 4runner. notice the tire (265/65/17 street tires to 265/75/16 duratracs) made over a 1.5 mpg difference. the icon lift that replaced the sagging suspension doesnt seem to have changed the MPGs much at all.

i work 3 miles from the house, so if i do not do a lot of field work, i do have lower MPGs.

Also notice i like to look at things at a MP$ (miles per dollar) aspect. yes this is always fluctuating due to gas prices, but it gives me a way to estimate how much a roadtrip will cost in gas, for example.

Do a six point trailing average column and graph it to see the difference in summer versus winter gas. Pretty eye opening. I did it for a few guys over in the 5th gen section. As long as you have lots of good accurate date you can really get some good overviews.

 

[bzettler83]

being the engineer i am...i have records from every vehicle i have owned, every fill up since '05! below is a shot of my '05 v8 4runner. notice the tire (265/65/17 street tires to 265/75/16 duratracs) made over a 1.5 mpg difference. the icon lift that replaced the sagging suspension doesnt seem to have changed the MPGs much at all.

i work 3 miles from the house, so if i do not do a lot of field work, i do have lower MPGs.

Also notice i like to look at things at a MP$ (miles per dollar) aspect. yes this is always fluctuating due to gas prices, but it gives me a way to estimate how much a roadtrip will cost in gas, for example.

I would have never made it as an engineer! I am OCD but my god, this is next level! Impressive record keeping to say the least.

 

[yosh2000]

four basic inputs and the rest is calculated, not that crazy!

 

[karyins]

Tank #1:
Display - 21.0 mpg, 31.0 mph.
Actual - 19.6 mpg.

That's similiar to what I got on last trip out of NYC. About 60 miles round trip mostly highway. It was traffic free on the way there and the display was

21.5 mpg, 31.0 mph.

Some traffic back home and the display (didn't reset) for the whole round trip was

20.5 mpg, 24 mph.

 

[karyins]

also, dont know how much you will actually learn from one single MPH number. you will need a lot more data points to even come close to a conclusion. is there some sort of amp that tracks speed, idle time, etc? that would be the way to go about this!

Maybe start tracking your fillups and find out your average MPDay. This will at least help you start trending data.

but at the end of the day, if you are concerned w/ MPG, go get a jetta TDI or a hippy prius!!

Admire your engineer mind! I am not too concerned about MPG but I do want to find out if there's something wrong with my 4runner. Keep seeing 12, 13 MPG on it is no joking! But after last trip I think the low MPG was indeed due to my crawling city driving (12 MPH), because last trip I got on display:

21.5 mpg, 31.0 mph.

20.5 mpg, 24 mph.

which is in normal range I think.

I think comparing MPG to MPH is useful because MPH can give us a rough idea of your driving pattern. Short trips, city driving, traffic, idling etc will lead to low MPH, which will lead to low MPG.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[yosh2000]

well, my stats on the info display are:

16.7 mpg, 34 mph

yours:

21.5 mpg, 31 mph
20.5 mpg, 24 mph

so now what do you deduct?! something wrong w my runner? See where i am getting at it is very hard to reason anything with a single data point.

i would suggest tracking mileage and % city/hwy each day and each fillup stats. once you have enough data to establish a trend, you can actually start to see if you have an issue or not. shoot, collect the numbers and i'll run a graph for you!

i will be posting my 6pt avg plots as 1engineer suggested, pretty cool way of looking at it!

 

[KrazedJD]

I use this app GasTracker+ it keeps track of MPG, cost, mileage and you can set it to alert you for service if you use it by the odometer not the trip. Has a nice webiste to look at my info and others of similar year. Check it out if you have a few!