real life mileage diff between V6 and V8

[VT 4-Runner]

I think the Landcruisers have a different V8 than the Tundras, Sequoias, and 4-runners??

With the street tires and 35psi we averaged 19.8 mpg over the first 20k on our 06 V8 limited. Prolly get better if I never drove it. I like the fun pedal.

:rocker:

 

[Uneek]

I think the Landcruisers have a different V8 than the Tundras, Sequoias, and 4-runners?

It's the same V8, probably slightly different ECU tuning. However, IIRC the 4Runner was among the first with the 2UZ to get VVT-i before the other trucks. Maybe it was the 4R and Sequoia in 2005.

 

[RickyCRX]

Re: good stuff to think about

I am a pretty mellow driver so the V8 diff in mpg could be quite minimum. Also a good point that the 4.7 V8 has been around for quite some time. I don't tow much weight wise and I am even selling my boat :-( this spring. We adopted last year and it left us a bit more strapped than I like, but being a dad just rocks!!! Eventually I will get another boat and the little guy will be older and ready to go fishing.

Blazer-ohhh yes, breakdowns. Thank God for the 6 yr extended warranty. The dealer just hung their head whenever they saw me coming. MANY, MANY, MANY grand of parts went into it. The darn thing has more replacement parts in it than one might think.

Exact same story here... I'll give a basic rundown list of parts:

Fuel pump
A/C Compressor
Transmission rebuilt
Rear differential replaced
Radiator leaked
Water pump leaked (not at the same time)
Hydraulic lifter(s) failed
Pushrods/rockers damaged and heads had hairline cracks in them when it was torn down (the vehicle was NEVER overheated when I had it)
Door locks sometimes didn't want to work
Driver's window sometimes didn't want to work
Serpentine belt tensioner failed
Balljoints were replaced
Steering was always loose and sloppy with lots of play in it from the dinosaur-era link steering system... C'mon GM, don't you realize that rack and pinion has only been out for decades already?!

Luckily some of the things I replaced myself and some of it was covered under an extended warranty... The fuel pump failure and rear differential caused it to be towed. I should have known it was cursed because the fuel pump died the night I bought it after I had just driven 250 miles back home.

GOD what a piece of crap that vehicle was. The worst thing about it, the body and interior were actually in really good condition on it, so you'd never know that the mechanicals were just all falling apart.

Oh, and when I bought it, it just barely had over 100k miles on it. I don't forsee ANY of this happening with the 4Runner and I'm already at 84k miles and work the 4Runner MUCH harder than I ever did the Blazer (lots more towing, and towing a lot heavier stuff, etc).

You'll never look back if you get the 4Runner and dump the POS Blazer.

I also get almost the exact same mileage in the V8 4Runner as I did with the Blazer. The only difference is, when I push the pedal down, the 4Runner actually MOVES. So, I burn the same fuel AND end up going a lot faster....

Ricky

 

[>MR2turbo4evr<]

Your V8 has an oil filter which is nearly impossible to reach, while the V6 has it up on the top of the engine.....

Have you ever done an oil change on a 2nd gen 4Runner? Their filters are impossible to reach. The V8 is a piece of cake. You just gotta take the skidplate off and its right there! One of the easiest cars I've ever done an oil change on. (and I used to work at an oil change place to earn some extra cash while going to college). I don't even jack the vehicle up when changing the oil.

As to the V6 vs. V8 question.....I'd go with the V8 simply because the engine has been around for a long time and has been proven to be bullet proof. The V6 engine is pretty new and you hear a lot of complaints about ticking from tacoma and 4runner owners already.....why take the change?
Also, Landcruisers and the Lexus GX470 & LX470 use the same V8....thats gotta mean something!

 

[Northof49]

The V6 ticking noise you describe isn't anything you are taking a "chance" on.....just a characteristic of the motor. They all make that sound, nothing wrong with it besides not being pleasing to the ear.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

I have the V6 in my 4Runner, and the top-mounted filter is a piece of cake to change. As for the V8's filter being hard to do, I only know about it from a co-worker who has a V8 4Runner and he said it was very hard to do. As for removing a skid plate, who'd wanna mess with that?
:bash:

I find the 'ticking' in my V6 4Runner all but nonexistent. I never gave it a thought until I saw it mentioned here by others. Then again, maybe I have gotten used to driving a Sentra all those years.
:bigok:

 

[RickyCRX]

Taking off the skid plate isn't the chaotic chore you guys make it out to be.... And if it's REALLY that big of a deal, just switch to synthetic oil and you only have to mess with it once every 10,000 miles. That's what I do. I've already sent off oil samples twice at that interval and they've both come back great, so I'm going to stick to 10k intervals and maybe send off an oil sample every 3rd or 4th time to monitor how the engine is doing.

Besides, taking it the skid plate off gives you the change to better look for any possible leaks, etc while you're under there.

Ricky

 

[JungleJim]

Longevity-wise, I still haven't seen a 4.0L Toyota V6 make it to 300k miles without problems -- they just haven't been out that long (and I'm not saying they won't make it there without problems)... It's just that the 4.7L V8 has done it time and time again in many other types of vehicles (Tundras, Land Cruisers, etc).

Ricky [/B]

But there have been many, many more Toyota 4 cylinder engines make it to 300,000 miles than V8's. Toyota hasn't been making V8's very long as compared with their vast experience and expertise in 4 cylinders.

So if you're so worried about proven longevity, then you'd better throw a 4 cylinder in your Runner :

 

[huntingfora4run]

Blazer troubles - our lists are darn near identical but mine had the majority of the troubles before 80K. It has been comparatively better since then, but I've lost faith in the vehicle since whenever I feel I can breath easy the bloody thing throws me a curve ball.

Guys, great info.

? What's this V6 ticking and when does it occur? Is it always ticking, during acceleration, hmmm when? Loud, soft, barely noticeable or is it related to an imminent failure?


V8 vs. V6 mileage - sounds like I wouldn't take a major hit in mpg, at least on the highway with the V8.

***ANOTHER MAJOR QUESTION*** ACTUALLY several ?'s

Unless I fly to a location for the dream 4Runner, many of the Minnesota 4Runners for sale are Rental or lease vehicles that MN dealers have bought. Am I just too darn cautious, or should I not worry about purchasing one of those vehicles. Do lease vehicles have decent maintenance requirements?
How about the rentals? I don't know what kind of maintenance they have to follow before the company unloads them. Then there is the concerns over some Banzi renter beating the thing. Any thoughts, rules of thumb to follow? Just cause Carfax doesn't freak on them doesn't necessarily mean I have a great feeling about them.

Any suggestions from the group would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

[huntingfora4run]

Re: Fuel Mileage

Hi Jeff Kleb, great offer to get a vehicle from someone who you wouldn't worry about buying from, but I may be insane if I keep the Blazer that long!!! (But I'll keep it in mind incase I end out holding off for longer than planned.)

My worst fuel mileage was 15.7 mpg -- when I filled it up three days ago. Yuck! My driving was pretty typical, but it was rather cold and I think I did a bit more idling than usual. We also have oxygenated gasoline here - formerly with MTBE but now with 10% ethanol added.


My best mileage I ever got was around 22 mpg on a highway trip with my girlfriend driving. Her foot is not as heavy as mine. My typical mileage of mixed driving is around 17 to 18 mpg, maybe a bit more when the weather is a bit warmer.

The EPA mileage for my V6 4Runner is 17 city/21 highway, so I suppose I am not that far off the mark. I bet those chaps at the EPA don't drive on the highway at the same speed as most people in VA do. The 4Runner is so smooth that it is hard to keep it below 70 mph on the open road.
:bash:

BTW, I use the miles driven and gallons used method of computing mileage. The trip computer is way too optimistic! I find it to be 1.7 to 2.1 miles per gallon above my actual figures.

To "hunting":
My 4Runner's lease expires in January of 2008, so I'll probably be looking to sell it if you are still looking for a 4x4 at that time with about 36,000 well-maintained miles on it. I just turned 20,000 miles last week.
:awais:

Peace and good night to all.

 

[RickyCRX]

I would have zero concerns about buying a used 4Runner, but I would have a lot of concerns about purchasing a rental vehicle. Lease returns probably less likely a problem, but definitely I would steer clear of rentals. I know what *I* do to rentals that I would never do to my own vehicle, so take that for what it's worth.

I also notice that you don't save that much by buying a used rental car verus a clean used single owner vehicle. I'd just keep checking autotrader.com in your general area (within 200 miles or so) and go with that. If you're patient, you can find the color you want with the features you want for a price you're willing to pay. I know I did within just a couple of months, and I was being REALLY specific with what I wanted. I actually ended up with more features than I wanted; I ended up with leather and a sunroof and neither of those were on my 'wish list.'

Good luck to you and congrats on deciding to get rid of the Blazer.

Ricky

 

[jimsi]

11 mpg (US gallon)

Just filled the tank for the first time on my 06 (40000kms) v8 and calculated a whopping 11mpg. It is been cold and I have used the command start so I guess that what I should expect...anyone else seeing 11mpg?

btw for the metric fans I got 320 kms on 71l of gas!

Jim

 

[RickyCRX]

Umm... I get 13mpg towing 5,000lbs worth of trailer at 75-80mph out of my V8...

I've gotten as low as 7mpg while towing a VERY large enclosed trailer that was about 3' taller than the 4Runner.

Ricky