Need better MPG's

[Martinjmpr]

However, having said all that...

Having said all the above, 17mpg is not terrible for a 4300 lb SUV with a 230+ HP engine and an automatic transmission. The 4th gen 4runner has all the aerodynamics of a flying brick.

I had a 1990 Mitsubishi Montero with a weak 150hp engine, a 5 speed manual, no AC, no airbags, and 15" wheels and if I was really careful I could get maybe 17.5 MPG on the freeway.

If you were getting 13 to 15 MPG then I could see that there might be something wrong, but 17 from a vehicle as big as the 4runner is not that bad, especially with all that crap on the roof.

And yes, those lights and rack CAN make that much of a difference. Have you thought about maybe putting the lights on the grill?

 

[AZ4runner08]

I average about 25-26 mpg when on the freeway. I never go over 70mph and I accelerate slowly. I also don't have anything on my roof.

I highly doubt it....

 

[BackOff]

New spark plugs, synthetic oil, clean air filter.
Don't run MT tires if mileage is a concern.
Driving habits, lead foot burns more fuel.

 

[Joeggernaut]

Companies spend millions of dollars on research testing the aerodynamics of vehicles in computer simulations and air tunnels optimizing body panel design by a few millimeters and people throw on giant aftermarket roof racks, lights, etc and wonder why their mpg falls by 3 mpg or more.

This scenario applies for every car.

To main key to the game is gearing for optimal engine speed (think cvt/9-speed transmission), aerodynamics, and weight.

 

[ran]

I used to get 24 MPG when my '07 V6 was new, and running CA gas. Not Oregon ethonal.

 

[heliguy]

Im assuming you drove I86/84 Over to Boise. I know the speed limit is 75 MPH and you probably had the cruse control set at 80. Its hard but if you back off and set it at 65- 70 MPH it will make a huge difference. The difference in wind resistance of 10 MPH is a lot more than you would think.

250 miles at 80 mph = 3:07

250 miles at 70 mph = 3:34

17 mpg for 250 miles 14.7 gallons

20 mpg for 250 miles 12.5 gallons

Savings of 2.2 gal at 70 mpg with 20 mpg

with a savings of 2.2 gallons at $3.20 a gallon you would save about $7.00

So i guess all this math comes to the conclusion is $7.00 worth about 30mins of your time? hope this helps.

 

[eddiebx]

How the heck are you getting 24-25 mpg? I do drive a little aggressively, but I don't have anything on the roof and I'm getting 16.5ish (unofficial, based on the meter, I know I know not accurate - still close enough for govt work I think). Even with the driving factor and the inaccuracy of the electronic meter, I don't think there should be a 8-9mpg difference, should there?

 

[AKmoney]

I have no idea how people get 20+ mpg in these trucks. With my truck's mild lift and larger tires, I'm lucky to break 17mpg, even on the freeway.

My daily driver is an '07 335i. It weighs close to 1,000lbs less than my 4runner and has WAY less rolling and wind resistance. In mixed, normal driving (ie, not like a maniac), I get 20-21mpg in it.

Calculate your MPG out using old-school methods. The computer display is overly optimistic.

 

[CXS]

These numbers got me curious so I looked at the gov EPA site to see what my 2005 is rated at. It may, or may not, provide some insight.

 

[svana]

My average tank full to empty runs me about 320-330 miles. Divided by 20 gallons is right at 16mpg. I drive an 03 V8 Limited, no sombrero on the top or anything.

 

[daka320]

When we had our 2500 lb pop-up we avg 17 mpg driving 60-65 mph. With no pop-up behind we avg 18 mpg on highway driving 75 mph. Once driving from Wichita towards Dalhart, TX we encountered 30-40 mph headwinds pulling the pop-up with a cargo rack on top full of crap and only avg 10.3 mpg! Yikes!!! Without the headwinds we were averaging only 14 mpg.

Currently we pull a 5500 lb travel trailer and only average about 10 mpg driving 60 mph.


So, a lot of mpg is all about how you drive, what you are towing/hauling, what you added and how you altered your truck. It is what it is, but I feel lucky to have a vehicle so versatile.

 

[earthrealm]

REcently went on a 350+mile trip...filled my tank b4 the trip was averaging btw 65mph to 85mph...95% highway . at the end after roughly 320k miles....had a lil below quarter on my tank, ultraguage siad 92liters remaining, while the indash display said 56miles (recently installed the UG, nad hv calibrated/tank fill ups twice or thrice)

 

[svana]

Well, did some more research on it last night, seems like the consensus for an 03 V8 Limited 4WD is 15 city 18 hwy, I guess I'm not doing too bad then...

 

[marc_l71]

Ok I have an 04 v6 with 130k on it. 265/70/r16 running at 40psi on all 4. when i bought it used back in Jan i noticed that i was getting 18.8 mpg. Went on a little trip over spring break and saw 16.9 mpgs. Towing a little trailer loaded with camping equipment and 4 kayaks. Along with head wind doing 65-70mph. Over the past few years i have learned that keeping your RPM's under 2k will help. THAT means no fast starts or lead foot! easy take offs and normal pick up speed you will see the gains. Right now i am showing 18.6 city driving. my other 2 previous vehicles were v8's 4.7 and 4.6. there i would see 13 mpg. i would drive those with heavy foot.... POWER AND ROAR of a flowmaster and magna flow did me no justice...........So i say at the next fill up reset mpg, and drive easier and keep it under 2k in the city. oh and make sure tires are inflated properly and see what you hit at the next fill up. Thats with a rack on top and front Daystar spacer as well...

 

[guarddog]

You will see a much larger mpg increase from changing your driving style than anything else. Go read up on hypermiling and try to incorporate some of those tools into your daily driving style.

You will be shocked at how much driving behavior impacts your mpg.

Yup, pretty much this (and the light bar as you found out makes a huge difference.

Its also necessary to monitor and measure your driving habits. Just like an exercise and nutrition routine, you need to keep a hawk's eye on it to know if you're 'cheating' with snacks or just having one more scoop - it adds up.

Here are some recommendations. (I couldn't find one, but it measures your stops and start and accelerations and gives you feedback via lights - pretty interesting and had 10% gains on average in fuel economy for city driving).

http://plxdevices.com/product_info.php?id=SCANKIWIMPG

3 Gas Gadgets that Really Work: DIY Auto - Popular Mechanics


.

 

[tjhaf2007]

So I did the drive back to Pocatello from Boise this afternoon. I took off the roof rack and this is the results:

Averaged 24.1MPG
Average Speed 71MPH

That's about a 7MPG increase from having lights and a rack vs. not having anything on the roof. Kinda impressive.

 

[Ask10]

Not my 4Runner, but wanted to add this.

I used to drive a Range Rover Sport (4.2 liter V8, 390 bhp) and it's rated for 14? mpg I think. I dropped the air suspension a bit, took off the brush guard and roof rack, and did all synthetic fluids in it (diffs too) and kept the grease joints lubed up.

Previous owner said 17 mpg was the best they'd manage.

I drove 50 mph and averaged 25-26 mpg.
60 mph and it went down to 22
70 mph = 19
80 mph = 17

Towing a 5000 lb trailer (2000 lb trailer and 2500 lb car plus 500 for parts, tools, fuel) and driving in a conservative way at never passed 55 mph I STILL managed 22-23 mpg.

When I let my brother take it, he said he did 13 mpg with NO TRAILER.

Bigger motors in heavier cars have the ability to drink very quickly, but if you drive conservatively (try ecomodder.com or something similar for driving tips), you can get some amazing numbers. No one believed I could do over 20 mpg in a Supercharged Range Rover but I did, day in and day out. If I stepped on it though, I would struggle to do north of 11-12 mpg.

Currently I get 23 ish mpg on the freeway with my 3rd gen 4Runner and my father has the same truck as me and complains he never gets above 16.

 

[ktom3001]

I took a pretty big hit when I put on bigger tires and the roof rack. My lie o meter would read ~20.9 on the highway over several tanks of gas. I routinely got ~400 miles to a tank if I had ~80% highway.
Now I'm struggling to hit 17 mpg, meter reads ~18.
A few things I've noted:

1. No roof fairing seems to get the best mileage, but it's noisy. Half-high fairing was worse than full fairing.
2. A loaded rack gets better mileage (w/ fairing). ~7% better. That's if the items are relatively low profile. I can't explain it except that it must be helping with turbulence at the rear. Makes me think I should put a solid aluminum floor on the rack.
3. My Toyo AT2's are ~6 lbs heavier/each than the AT3's I seriously considered. Next time I will likely go AT3 just to see if mpg improves
4. Tire pressure does help, I think I'm at 36 PSI now and may try 38 If I can handle the rougher ride.
5. Whenever I'm on a long section of hill on the hwy, I always throw it in neutral provided I can maintain hwy speed limit.
6. I always try to keep RPM's below or at 2,000
7. I have to add ~5% to my trip mileage reading in order to get accurate MPG calculations. This was going from 265/60/18 to 255/70/18. Tire calculator said 3% but that's bogus according to GPS

Planning to get a scangauge next to see if that helps.