v8 gas economy vs. v6

[shuly]

Everyone knows a V8 is better than a V6. Why is everyone even arguing? More POWER!!! :zoom:

Hehehe....I used to get great mileage...I blame Toyota. I can't have anything to do with the lift/tires/bullbar/winch/skid plates. Nothing at all! It must be Toyotas fault. :biggrin2: Before the mods started I typically would get about 16mpg/tank average. Part city and the highway. I have gotten as high as 24+ when on very long road trips. Haven't seen that since the mods started though.

Today I get around 12-13 mpg/tank. Other than the cost of fuel, the only downside is the decreased range this gives me as a daily driver. But when out on the open road I can easily get out to 18mpg. Of course I don't really care much about fuel economy; if I did I would never buy a 4runner. They aren't for saving gas They are for getting out of the city!

I wouldn't worry about gas mileage V8-V6, it just isn't worth it. It has been typically shown as Chris also said that most people see a 1-2 mpg difference. If you have a 22gal tank and figure you lose 2mpg. That would be say 44 miles you would lose of range and it would require purchase of additional fuel to make that up. If you calculate it, it isn't more than 10 bucks per fill up so cost wise it doesn't matter much.

The bigger hit you will take is the need to change the belt at 90k. Everyone knows why belts are better than chains right? The dealer gets to charge more money for the 90k service!!!
I am sure there is an engineering reason as to why the Lexus engine uses a belt, but I don't know exactly what it is. Maybe it has to do with helping the vvti work more efficiently...

One other thing that you should consider, throwing out gas mileage...do you ever plan on towing? If so go with a V8....the added power when climbing a hill is WORTH it!!!

Just don't make the mistake of making your sole decision based on mpg. That would be the real crime. I hadn't planned on buying the V8, but it was right there and had everything I wanted. Figured what the heck. I would never go back to a V6...I love the power when climbing hills. The rpms stay low even when climbing steep grades. It is fun to be able to accelerate and pass the slower cars while climbing the grapevine! :biggrin2: Of course this is probably why I don't see the best mpg...but it sure is fun!!!

 

[Benjamin Choi]

I couldn't be more happy with my V6. Plenty of power and as smooth as glass.

yea enjoy your v6 bud cuz i be drinking all the lattes and cristal i want while pushin that v8 baby boy

 

[charlier180]

One other thing that you should consider, throwing out gas mileage...do you ever plan on towing? If so go with a V8....the added power when climbing a hill is WORTH it!!!

That is the main reason why I purchased my V8 4Runner (ie towing). Using a V6 to tow my trailer (ie the BIG Brick) would have been a mistake.

I would never go back to a V6...I love the power when climbing hills. The rpms stay low even when climbing steep grades. It is fun to be able to accelerate and pass the slower cars while climbing the grapevine! :biggrin2: Of course this is probably why I don't see the best mpg...but it sure is fun!!!

I love the power when towing up hills. It is even more fun not having to crawl slowly when climbing those hills.
The look on the faces of people when I pass them climbing hills when towing is priceless.
Probably why my MPG takes a NASTY hit when I am towing...

FYI, the manually calculated MPG for my V8 4Runner is as follows:

Winter: Around town = 14.5-15.8 MPG
Summer: Around Town = 16-17 MPG
Summer: Highway = 19-20.7 MPG
Summer: Towing = You Don't want to know.

 

[eskimochaos]

I dont understand why people think towing is the only rationale for getting the V8. I got it simply because I wanted the bigger engine, more power, and much better sound.

IMHO you cant get a V6 to power a 5000lb vehicle.

 

[ric]

I just picked up a 2004 V8 last fri. had a full tank when I got it, and now on the second.
About 80% is city driving, and Im getting an ave. of 18MPG but Im in Denver at alt. and Im driving it like a race car, lol coming from a lifted 99 with 33s to this, the power is crazy, lol and still getting ave. of 18 miles per gallon.
Im thinking once I start driving right, that might go up a little, Im hoping, lol

Benjamin Choi,
if your worried about fuel enconomy sell the runner and buy a Honda or better yet, one of them "smart cars" I hear they get GREAT fuel mileage. I didnt buy mine for the fuel mileage, I bought it to go 4wheeling, after all, its a 4 wheel drive, lol

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Re: Re: v8 gas economy vs. v6

There's no V8 owner that choose a V6 and very few V6 owners that miss the V8. It's hard to go wrong...

:awais: Told you so I totally stand by my "it's hard to go wrong". Good luck and please let us know what you do...



:cheers:

 

[riverider]

You all are just Sooooooo funny, and I thought I was leaving the most funny forum on earth, when I left the Kia Sorento forum.

Thank you all for being just Sooooo much better at the funny stuff. :bigok:

 

[Benjamin Choi]

I just picked up a 2004 V8 last fri. had a full tank when I got it, and now on the second.
About 80% is city driving, and Im getting an ave. of 18MPG but Im in Denver at alt. and Im driving it like a race car, lol coming from a lifted 99 with 33s to this, the power is crazy, lol and still getting ave. of 18 miles per gallon.
Im thinking once I start driving right, that might go up a little, Im hoping, lol

Benjamin Choi,
if your worried about fuel enconomy sell the runner and buy a Honda or better yet, one of them "smart cars" I hear they get GREAT fuel mileage. I didnt buy mine for the fuel mileage, I bought it to go 4wheeling, after all, its a 4 wheel drive, lol

where'd you read i was worried bud? i'm prob the guy here who is least worried. my other car sips premium with not so great mileage as well, seats no more than two people, and it's got a flat 6 motor.

and bud, if you think your 4runner drives anything like a race car or makes you feel like one... you really need to get out more. lol the 4runna is slow as fuq.

 

[signalbobby]

That is the main reason why I purchased my V8 4Runner (ie towing). Using a V6 to tow my trailer (ie the BIG Brick) would have been a mistake.



I love the power when towing up hills. It is even more fun not having to crawl slowly when climbing those hills.
The look on the faces of people when I pass them climbing hills when towing is priceless.
Probably why my MPG takes a NASTY hit when I am towing...

FYI, the manually calculated MPG for my V8 4Runner is as follows:

Winter: Around town = 14.5-15.8 MPG
Summer: Around Town = 16-17 MPG
Summer: Highway = 19-20.7 MPG
Summer: Towing = You Don't want to know.

When I had my 04 V8 4WD w/TRD SC, I towed a 2000lb+vehicle trailer with a 3400-3500lb car on top of it. 3 total passengers and a trunk full of spare parts and seats. I dont remember my MPG but it was horrible.

It was amazing how much power and torque with the V8 and the TRD SC cranked out to pull everything with ease. Couldn't say the same about the brakes as the vehicle trailer did not have trailer brakes I think. X_REAS made a huge difference too.

I know have a 06 Limited V8 4WD non-xreas non-supercharged and it floats and feels like a slow crawl.

 

[Benjamin Choi]

I know have a 06 Limited V8 4WD non-xreas non-supercharged and it floats and feels like a slow crawl.

it's still a 4runner SC/Xreas or not - an affordable, anonymous commuter truck that's still slow and floaty.

 

[signalbobby]

it's still a 4runner SC/Xreas or not - an affordable, anonymous commuter truck that's still slow and floaty.

What I meant was that I miss the SC and X-reas.

 

[r32]

I bought the V6 this year.

I debated back and forth over the V6 and the V8 and after much debate, forum searches and banging my head against the wall, I went for the V6.

I'm not a hard core off-roadie and I won't tow anything heavier than a jet-ski. The V6 generates plenty of power for my driving needs. Hell, I used to drive a piece of crap little pickup in major traffic and that gutless wonder did me just fine too. Like going from eating dirt to Ghiradelli chocolate.

I have no problems passing people on the country roads or the freeway and I'm getting enough power to do all the things I need to do on the road.

It's perfect for my needs.

And I get about the same gas mileage everyone else is getting with a stock V6. Around 19-20mpg average.

 

[boston_kevin]

As I saw this, my first thought was "Not another one of these threads..." These usually turn into a V6 bashing thread and how underpowered they are...

Honestly, for the money, you are getting an okay deal. Not great, but not horribly bad either. V6 or V8 should not sway your decision unless you plan to do a lot of towing or you just have a need to get to 60 mph a half second faster. No matter what anyone else tries to sell you, the V6 gets better gas mileage... PERIOD. Does this equate to more money saved? Very little in reality. I can easily get my '04 (before mods) to get 25 mpg on a flat stretch of highway with the RPM's in the sweet spot. Real world average of city and highway over 4 years shows I average about 18.8 mpg (over 50k miles), hand calculated. Not everyone will get this number, some will get better or worse depending on driving habits and environmental conditions.

 

[mrwebb]

I have had both. An 06 4runner with a v-6 and I now have a 07 with a v-8. My biggest problem was I traded a Sequoia for the 06. I really noticed the difference in power, even with the Sequoia being so much bigger. I liked the 4runner but missed the power of the Sequoia so I got a v-8. All three trucks were 4wd. The v6 seemed to downshift alot from OD but other than that it's a good engine also. Different people like different things and you can't go wrong with either. But since we have a choice I took the v-8. I've not checked lately but it seems I have gotten 19 to 20 mpg combined city and highway driving(checking miles driven against gas refilled-not computer in vehicle). Not the type of city driving where you sit numerous times through a red light though. Just stop and go normal driving. I'm very easy on the gas, just my driving style. If I could go back in time though I would never have traded my Sequoia. New ones just cost to much and I'm sure gas will start it's march upward any time now. It was the nicest, roomiest, most comfortable 4wd vehicle I will probably ever get to own. Obviously the Sequoia was not as off-road capable as the 4runner. That was a big selling point on going with the 4runner.

 

[SlvrRunner]

I drive a GX470 in vancouver (V8), and a V6 SR5 4runner in Toronto.

to be honest, V8 has more power and it's smoother. However, the V6 does fine and it's more than powerful enough for daily usage (i commute mostly on hwy). Bare in mind that the v6 in our runners are more powerful than many other SUVs on the market, including the ML350 (yes i've driven that as well). V6 is no where close to not being smooth, it's a powerful engine for 4th gen 4runners, and I'd recommand it to people in a heart beat.

In terms of mileage difference, I don't feel much of a difference. My foot spend less time on the gas pedal on the v8 (not saying I need to keep my foot there on v6 to keep it moving). Both accepts regular fuel.

V8 or V6? V8 if u need to tow and can justify the price difference. V6 if you want easy oil changes (don't need to go under the car) and save some money for modding it a bit.

 

[riverider]

I drive a GX470 in vancouver (V8), and a V6 SR5 4runner in Toronto.

to be honest, V8 has more power and it's smoother. However, the V6 does fine and it's more than powerful enough for daily usage (i commute mostly on hwy). Bare in mind that the v6 in our runners are more powerful than many other SUVs on the market, including the ML350 (yes i've driven that as well). V6 is no where close to not being smooth, it's a powerful engine for 4th gen 4runners, and I'd recommand it to people in a heart beat.

In terms of mileage difference, I don't feel much of a difference. My foot spend less time on the gas pedal on the v8 (not saying I need to keep my foot there on v6 to keep it moving). Both accepts regular fuel.

V8 or V6? V8 if u need to tow and can justify the price difference. V6 if you want easy oil changes (don't need to go under the car) and save some money for modding it a bit.

I don't understand the not smooth deal with the v6 mine in a 08 SR5 is smooth as silk even the idle is smooth.

 

[steve germany]

where'd you read i was worried bud? i'm prob the guy here who is least worried. my other car sips premium with not so great mileage as well, seats no more than two people, and it's got a flat 6 motor.

and bud, if you think your 4runner drives anything like a race car or makes you feel like one... you really need to get out more. lol the 4runna is slow as fuq.

My V6 runner and my C4S get almost the same milege - unless I'm tracking the Porsche. If I had found a used V8 4Runner when I was looking, I would of bought it. I've very happy with the V6 (but I don't tow)

 

[Uneek]

I don't understand the not smooth deal with the v6 mine in a 08 SR5 is smooth as silk even the idle is smooth.

The V6 in my 4Runner is smoother than the one in my '05 Tacoma. I could feel a slight shake some times during idle in the Tacoma. A difference due to where the engines are made?

 

[Falls]

Even if you tow the V6 is just fine , all the posts are like if you tow get the V8 if you don't get the V6 , such BS the V6 is a great powerful motor and can tow plenty pretty easily .

I would buy a V6 in a heartbeat and I tow quite often. I do love my V8 , but still honestly it does not matter to me.

If gas milage is a concern , there are so many variables from person to person , tires , air pressure , terrain , weather , ect........ reported people here show 2-5 mpg difference depending who you talk to , but hey when gas goes back to $5 + per gallon every little bit helps. Even though we didn't buy these 4Runners for gas milage it's nice to get as much as you can out of a vehicle you like.

If you upsize your tires to 265/70's like most do maybe you would would be in the V8 milage range , I don't know for sure , just a guess.

 

[eskimochaos]

The V8 is just a better engine period. Its made better, it has higher quality components etc etc.