Weight Reduction

Call dude from Nevada in the "How far can you go on 1 tank of gas." thread. Who claims over 400 miles per tank over 44 times.

Me thinks he drink too much unicorn juice.
 
JLTD said:
Probably keeping your speed down will do the most for better mpg. That, plus tire inflation.
Click to expand...

This ^

Unless you have your stock tires still, swapping tires means buying them, so that's also a non-starter unless your current set is on its last legs

Run slower, and pick routes off the bigger highways so you can enjoy the slower speeds, that's what's going to save you a little gas cash
 
OK, so on a serious note how difficult is it to remove the top roof rack and what does it weigh on a 4th gen 4Runner? I would assume that the roof rack coupled with the running boards and the tow hitch could add up to a real number though.

With my 2008 4Runner getting older, I feel like it could get a bit more pep in it's step. Mine has over 170k and I'm the only owner (4.0L V6), but it just doesn't pull highway grades the way it used to and feels a bit tired overall. A little targeted weight reduction could go a long way, but I fully appreciate that most people with these great trucks just don't think that way at all.

I do think that way, but I haven't really devoted much time/effort to my 4Runner to work on these ideas. Here are a few tricks that I have thought of, which may or may not be helpful to others in a similar frame of mind.

Remove roof rack
Remove running boards
Remove tow hitch
Lightweight battery (warning...this can be expensive)
Aftermarket wheels/tires (stock must be quite heavy, but this will be $$$ too)

I'm less clear what the stock equivalent parts weigh on this vehicle though, so it's much harder to just declare victory on anything without knowing what it weighs. Even though I'm a weight weenie when it comes to performance, I'll also be the first to tell you that some things are just not worth it.

One thing I've personally noticed is that I've fed my 4Runner 87 octane (always top tier) fuel for nearly it's entire life. It seemed to do fine on this fuel, and some early experiments I ran years ago seemed to demonstrate no noticeable differences when run on 92. However, just this year I tried again and I feel that even running 89 is helping the vehicle perform much better. This is only based on my own butt dyno and not quantifiable verified, but my butt dyno has 170k of miles of experience and it seems to be a lot happier on 89 octane now. Your mileage may vary (figuratively and literally), but that may be a way to unlock a bit more performance if your vehicle is getting older like mine.
 
Gas weighs a lot. Just keep about 2 gallons in the truck at a time, and stop every 30 minutes to put another 2 gallons back in.
 
Steve Theodore said:
OK, so on a serious note how difficult is it to remove the top roof rack and what does it weigh on a 4th gen 4Runner? I would assume that the roof rack coupled with the running boards and the tow hitch could add up to a real number though.



With my 2008 4Runner getting older, I feel like it could get a bit more pep in it's step. Mine has over 170k and I'm the only owner (4.0L V6), but it just doesn't pull highway grades the way it used to and feels a bit tired overall. A little targeted weight reduction could go a long way, but I fully appreciate that most people with these great trucks just don't think that way at all.



I do think that way, but I haven't really devoted much time/effort to my 4Runner to work on these ideas. Here are a few tricks that I have thought of, which may or may not be helpful to others in a similar frame of mind.



Remove roof rack

Remove running boards

Remove tow hitch

Lightweight battery (warning...this can be expensive)

Aftermarket wheels/tires (stock must be quite heavy, but this will be $$$ too)



I'm less clear what the stock equivalent parts weigh on this vehicle though, so it's much harder to just declare victory on anything without knowing what it weighs. Even though I'm a weight weenie when it comes to performance, I'll also be the first to tell you that some things are just not worth it.



One thing I've personally noticed is that I've fed my 4Runner 87 octane (always top tier) fuel for nearly it's entire life. It seemed to do fine on this fuel, and some early experiments I ran years ago seemed to demonstrate no noticeable differences when run on 92. However, just this year I tried again and I feel that even running 89 is helping the vehicle perform much better. This is only based on my own butt dyno and not quantifiable verified, but my butt dyno has 170k of miles of experience and it seems to be a lot happier on 89 octane now. Your mileage may vary (figuratively and literally), but that may be a way to unlock a bit more performance if your vehicle is getting older like mine.
Click to expand...



Of the things you listed, wheels and tires would make the biggest difference.

I’ve tracked every tank of gas that’s been put in my 4Runner. Some where along the way, I removed the roof rack. I never used it and I think it looks better without. Trust me when I say that removing it will not make a noticeable difference in mileage. The quickest and easiest way to get better mileage is to slow down. The difference in 65 and 75 is 2-3 mpg.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Pull the rack, put 50 lbs in the tires, drop the spare, pull the hood, tell the kids to keep their belts on and pull all the doors, bungee the load in back and pull the hatch. (flow thru ventilation means no A/C needed) glue a 2x4 under the gas pedal and drive 40 (just leave SOONER!).............OOOOOooorr, just budget an extra $20 for gas and ENJOY yourself!
 
Steve Theodore said:
OK, so on a serious note how difficult is it to remove the top roof rack and what does it weigh on a 4th gen 4Runner? I would assume that the roof rack coupled with the running boards and the tow hitch could add up to a real number though.

Remove roof rack
Remove running boards
Remove tow hitch
Lightweight battery (warning...this can be expensive)
Aftermarket wheels/tires (stock must be quite heavy, but this will be $$$ too)


One thing I've personally noticed is that I've fed my 4Runner 87 octane (always top tier) fuel for nearly it's entire life. It seemed to do fine on this fuel, and some early experiments I ran years ago seemed to demonstrate no noticeable differences when run on 92. However, just this year I tried again and I feel that even running 89 is helping the vehicle perform much better. This is only based on my own butt dyno and not quantifiable verified, but my butt dyno has 170k of miles of experience and it seems to be a lot happier on 89 octane now. Your mileage may vary (figuratively and literally), but that may be a way to unlock a bit more performance if your vehicle is getting older like mine.
Click to expand...

This is a 5th gen thread. The roof racks don't weigh enough to make a difference either way.

Removing the running boards would help but I can't imagine they weigh much.

Removing the tow hitch would help as the 4th gen one is rather elaborate.

Lightweight battery sounds like asking for electrical problems.

Stock wheels are typically pretty light. 5th gen stocks weigh about 22lbs I actually had to search for aftermarket wheels that matched that. Most are far heavier then oem.

Tires can get heavy.

The truck will 100% run better on 93 compared to 87. Both from a power and efficiency standpoint. However gains in MPG will be mitigated with higher average cost of fuel.

Long story short I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish.

Better MPGs? No amount of weight reduction in part from making the truck useless will make much of a difference. Adding forced induction will increase your mpgs (if you keep a light foot) but that costs more money then will be gained from fuel savings.

More power? Strip the truck of everything non essential and it will be faster. But at what cost? Add forced induction to solve this issue.

In short idk what you are anyone asking this question is trying to accomplish. Go trade in for a rav 4 if you want economy. Trade in for a trailhawk or supercharge if you want power. Or just accept that capable (modern) 4x4's are heavy pigs by design.
 
meltdown said:
Of the things you listed, wheels and tires would make the biggest difference.

I’ve tracked every tank of gas that’s been put in my 4Runner. Some where along the way, I removed the roof rack. I never used it and I think it looks better without. Trust me when I say that removing it will not make a noticeable difference in mileage. The quickest and easiest way to get better mileage is to slow down. The difference in 65 and 75 is 2-3 mpg.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

I'm not the one trying to get better fuel economy, I'm the one who always wants to increase performance by improving the power to weight ratio.

Trust me when I say I know none of the things I mentioned will add up to a significant result, but it's the way my works from being into high performance cars and bicycles. I'm hardwired to think about weight reduction.

If it helps to illustrate my point, while tracking performance metrics over the past few months I've personally lost 15 pounds (my Covid-15 as I call it), and it makes a slight improvement on my acceleration times in other cars I own that I track with an app called Dragy.

I know this isn't normal in the 4Runner world! :)
 
Mutant138 said:
This is a 5th gen thread. The roof racks don't weigh enough to make a difference either way.

Removing the running boards would help but I can't imagine they weigh much.

Removing the tow hitch would help as the 4th gen one is rather elaborate.

Lightweight battery sounds like asking for electrical problems.

Stock wheels are typically pretty light. 5th gen stocks weigh about 22lbs I actually had to search for aftermarket wheels that matched that. Most are far heavier then oem.

Tires can get heavy.

The truck will 100% run better on 93 compared to 87. Both from a power and efficiency standpoint. However gains in MPG will be mitigated with higher average cost of fuel.

Long story short I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish.

Better MPGs? No amount of weight reduction in part from making the truck useless will make much of a difference. Adding forced induction will increase your mpgs (if you keep a light foot) but that costs more money then will be gained from fuel savings.

More power? Strip the truck of everything non essential and it will be faster. But at what cost? Add forced induction to solve this issue.

In short idk what you are anyone asking this question is trying to accomplish. Go trade in for a rav 4 if you want economy. Trade in for a trailhawk or supercharge if you want power. Or just accept that capable (modern) 4x4's are heavy pigs by design.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize it was a 5th gen thread...sorry about that. It's clear now that you mention it and I saw it on the forum 'tree'. I found the thread when doing a generic search on Toyota 4Runner AND weight reduction.

Like I said earlier, I have sports cars that I do perform intensive weight loss with. With my 4Runner I'm more concerned with keeping up with more modern SUVs and reducing it's overall burden as it gets older, but I recognize that there isn't too much to do. So my answers were more to show that there ARE things that you can do, but not that you SHOULD do any of them. I just get tired of seeing legit weight reduction threads and people answer "join a gym" as that isn't how real weight weenies operate. I dream of stripping 400 pounds off my 4Runner...but it's a nearly impossible and definitely an impractical dream.

Thanks for humoring me just the same! I'll leave you back to your 5th gen section as I got lost on my way here. :bathbaby:
 
Steve Theodore said:
With my 4Runner I'm more concerned with keeping up with more modern SUVs and reducing it's overall burden as it gets older, but I recognize that there isn't too much to do.

I just get tired of seeing legit weight reduction threads and people answer "join a gym" as that isn't how real weight weenies operate. I dream of stripping 400 pounds off my 4Runner.
Click to expand...

"Modern" suv's are unibodies without live axles. You are never going to keep up unless you force induction. Instead of worrying about reducing burden just perform preventative maintenance. 4runners go high mileage with little failures i wouldn't worry too much at 170k.

You get tired of not reading the answers that fit your narrative. People make jokes because it's an absurd endeavor for a vehicle you plan on using practically. You want to remove 400lbs from the truck say goodbye to your entire interior, hood, roof rack, running boards, skid plates, tow hitch, and possibly your rear hatch. Even then I doubt it will weigh 400lbs. Just sell your truck and get something that's more too your liking. This is silly.
 
[MENTION=22586]Steve Theodore[/MENTION]

Just to further clarify the point.

Your 4th gen weighs 4280lbs aprox. You are asking to remove 10% of the vehicles overall weight and still have something that can be used as an suv.
 
For anyone curious, the crossbars from the OEM rack weigh 5.5 pounds when removed. This is for a 4th generation 2008 model, so your mileage may vary on a 5th generation model. :dance:
 
Steve Theodore said:
I'm not the one trying to get better fuel economy, I'm the one who always wants to increase performance by improving the power to weight ratio.

Trust me when I say I know none of the things I mentioned will add up to a significant result, but it's the way my works from being into high performance cars and bicycles. I'm hardwired to think about weight reduction.

If it helps to illustrate my point, while tracking performance metrics over the past few months I've personally lost 15 pounds (my Covid-15 as I call it), and it makes a slight improvement on my acceleration times in other cars I own that I track with an app called Dragy.

I know this isn't normal in the 4Runner world! :)
Click to expand...

You bought the wrong vehicle. The 5th gen 4runner is an absolute pig, riding on an ancient chassis, archaic drivetrain and rudimentary suspension setup. It will always handle poorly on pavement no matter how much weight you are able to pull off it. Simple fact, the concept of a performance 4WD body on frame truck is just silly and useless.

Having said that I do own a "car based performance suv" but it at least gets decent gas mileage (28mpg) and handles like a sports sedan. I would even be comfortable taking it on a racetrack. A 4runner will never get remotely close to that no matter how hard you try.
 
Reducing a vehicle's weight by 100 pounds typically yields a 1-2% gain in fuel economy. So you'd be hard-pressed to achieve any meaningful savings going this route on a family road trip.

As others have pointed out, correct tire inflation and moderation in speed and acceleration will have much more significant effects. Proper maintenance can also yield good gains:
  • Replace a dirty air filter and clean your mass airflow sensor.
  • Clean or replace corroded battery cables so the alternator doesn't have to work as hard.
  • Make sure your wheels are aligned and the tires are balanced.
  • Make sure your brakes are properly adjusted and your calipers aren't sticking to avoid drag.
If you've done all this and still need to save more fuel, start drafting everyone in front of you! :eyebrows:
 
Steve Theodore said:
I dream of stripping 400 pounds off my 4Runner...but it's a nearly impossible and definitely an impractical dream.
Click to expand...

even at 400 pounds lighter a 4runner probably still wouldn't be competitive in efficiency and performance to a comparable unibody SUV. weight reduction seems like chasing ghosts for this platform. the more realistic approach would be to minimize weight gain wherever you can when modding (lightweight wheels, aluminum armor/bumpers, winches with synthetic rope etc)
 
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