How to improve gas mileage

You can go here and compare various tire sizes. One thing to remember is that not all manufacturers run true to size. Depending on the make your 295/70R17 may be a bit larger or smaller than others marked the same. I ran into that when I bought mine. Specifically went with the 275/70R18 because another member had done so with no rubbing after removing the little front air dam under the bumper. Well, I did a different brand and they are about a quarter inch larger than the brand he had, so I wound up with more rubbing issues.


Anyway, here's the ballpark change on your suggested tire size. You'd be going up a bit over 4% so your speed AND odometer will be off by the same percentage.

 

Whats wrong with our mpgs?

 

LMAO I've only seen 19 once on a long freeway drive. I'm 90% city driving and average about 11.

I didn't buy this truck expecting to get good MPG, though. I knew what it was and how I drive and was okay with that.

 

You and me both, I took this ouch because I was like HOLY SHIT ITS HAPPENING

 

Were you driving downhill with a 50mph tailwind?

 

Pfft of course not!


...I was driving 65 tucked behind a c class

 

How many inches off the bumper?

 

"A safe distance" haha

 

After a 5.5hr highway drive I was showing 19.4mpg. This was mostly ACC but I’d manually throttle cruise control as well with the stalk, ranging between 60-75mph depending on traffic. I found that manually adjusting cruise control was smoother than only ACC which sometimes brakes awkwardly.

Do I believe the truck was getting 19.4 mpg? No. It was cool to see though...

 

I recently did a 7-hour freeway trip and averaged 19.9mpg hand calculated, anything is possible!

 

I routinely have the display showing over 20 mpg on my 19 mile trip to where I work and golf. It is about 2 miles to get on the interstate, and another 1 mile with 3-4 stops before I get to the parking lot. I usually drive about 65 even if the limit is 70. That said hand calculations show 17.2 mpg for every gallon I have pumped into the tank. Fine by me since I might put on 8500 miles in a year (I bought it early May, has 3900 on now). This truck weights almost 6k pounds, shaped like a brick, has a 381 HP V8 and 4.30 rear gears and is fun to "floor it" from time to time in Tow/Haul mode. There is nothing efficient about any of that!

 

Tundras love tail winds and hate headwinds much like other pickups. My worst highway mileage ever was driving west into the 50 mph NW winds that hit Dallas several weeks ago. It went up by 5 as soon as I headed south.

 

I love these BETTER GAS MILEAGE GUYS , Why did you buy a truck to start with? Best way to improve mileage is to LIFT IT , LARGEST TIRES THAT BARELY FIT , AND YOU CAN ONLY GO STRAIGHT , AND PULL OUT AND BACK BACK IN , THEN SET IN A LAWN CHAIR AND ADMIRE IT.

 

Quit trusting the lie o meter in the dash. Calculate it yourself.
I was told time and time again my 1999 4runner, 5spd manual, 3” lift, 33x12.50 tires would get 15-17 mpg.
it gets 20mpg.

 

I just bought 2021 SR5, less than 2000 miles on it and was actually not disappointed with the mileage. I did run non ethanol premium fuel, over 2 mountain passes 2500-3000 ft. Running between 65 and 70. Total average was 18.6
CPU. Hand calculated at 18.76 MPG But…..In town it does suck it down though.

 

The best I have gotten is 15.6 mixed MPG City and Hwy; However, I mostly commute short distances to work each week. I think it’s acceptable for a V-8. My former truck ( F-150) would get 15.2 average in the same environment.

 

The fuel mileage on these trucks does make one scratch their head. When most other trucks are getting a significant difference in fuel mileage it makes one wonder. driving habits are big issue with fuel mileage. Just slowing down or speeding up 5 mph can make a big difference. Wind load, flat ground, hills, bridges, other traffic all make a difference.
I pay close attention to fuel mileage and after owning many diesel and gas vehicles I can say this effects all of them. latest diesel was a 2011 ram 2500. It’ll amaze you what a big difference speed can make in an unloaded diesel truck with cruise set on the interstate.
And again don’t trust the lie o meter in the dash and remember to adjust actual mileage when running a bigger tire.
I currently have a 2021 tundra 5.7 sr5, 3” lift, 315/70-17 toyo mt on 17x9 wheels. I don’t have 500 miles on it yet so at this point I havent figured out the sweet spot and driving characteristics of this drivetrain.

 

I agree that every truck has its sweet spot but I disagree that the Tundras mpg’s are significantly different than other V8’s currently on the market. My buddy has a 2019 Chevy 1500, a family member has a 2019 F150 5.0 and I have two neighbors with Ram v8’s (purchased new within the last few years during COVID). My Tundra, the F150, and Chevy all are used similarly (75% highway 25% cityish). And none are breaking 20 mpg’s. I average 17.5 while they are 18 (Ford) to 19 (Chevy). I don’t feel that’s significant especially that the Tundra has a largest motor. The Rams are mostly used around town for short tripping and they are in the 18 range. I am respectfully admitting it’s (Tundra) one of the lowest in the mpg department BUT its much closer than people perceive. In my opinion there is not a significant difference in mpg’s.

 

Yep. My truck is the pinnacle of reliability in this market. That difference is WELL worth it in my opinion.

I have had luck in the longevity department with GM vehicles as well (02 Suburban @ 260k, currently a ‘12 Yukon XL @ 147k), but in my experience there are always little issues (motor mounts, electrical freak outs, AC going out, replaced power steering pump, computer glitches/gremlins, oil consumption, etc) to deal with on the way. I do not expect those kinds of issues with my Tundra.

The only thing I’m preparing myself for is the cam tower leak, but let’s be honest: that’s not even a real leak; in most cases it is a barely visible oil wetness. It almost never leaves a spot in the driveway or requires one to add oil between changes.

 

I read this thread since I am in the middle of a trip in a new 21' TRD Pro. Filled up south of Homestead and headed to Key West on the flattest and lowest speed limit roads I ever travel just as a mpg test of sorts. At about 45 mph average after 250 miles to KW and heading back I was seeing 19.2 on the dash. I then filled up in Florida city heading North on 997 and at 55 mph average I was still seeing almost 18 mpg, but once we hit interstate 75 heading across the Everglades speed limit rose to 70 mph and I just flowed with traffic at 80 mph and mpg dropped like a rock down in the 15 mpg range.

I think we all know this and remember that drag is proportional to the square of speed, and the power needed to overcome that drag is proportional to the cube of speed (P ∝ v3). You want to drive twice as fast, you'll have to use eight times the horsepower. So if it takes 15 hp to push this truck at 40 mph, it takes 120 hp to cruise at 80 mph.

Lesson learned to me on fuel mileage (I don't really care but get bored driving and like learning how my stuff works) is that short trips are the biggest killer...the mpg when the truck runs the air pump and everything gets up to temp is just awful. My 9 mile drive to work is halfway spent warming everything up and no chance whatsoever for decent mpg. The trip with a fully warmed truck is about 17 mpg, but on a cold start it is about 14.5 mpg.

The next is just plain speed. 42-45 mph seems to be the sweet spot if you can let it just lug away in 6th gear on flat ground. CC is significantly worse than my right foot as it forces downshifts and aggressive throttle to maintain exact speed where as I can predict and roll speed down hills and sacrifice up hills if nobody is around me. 55 mph isn't too bad of a compromise but anything much over 60 mph really starts affecting fuel mileage quite a bit, and by 80 mph its best to just not look and start viewing my Spotify or Waze on apple car play and just ignore the MPG screen. Thank goodness for the 38 gal tank!

 

And to take it a step further in the statistics department…

Tundra: 15 mpg average divided into 12,000 year mileage equals: 800 gallons of gasoline

Other domestics with V8: 17 mpg average divided into 12,000 year mileage equals: 705 gallons

The Tundra will use 95 more gallons of gas a year. So at 5 dollars a gallon it will cost 475 dollars more a year to drive (approximately 39.5 dollars a month).

So at the ten year mark with a 120,000 miles on the Tundra and any other domestic, the Tundra would have cost you 4750k more in gas. There is where the Tundra shines financially: the Tundra is going to statistically going to require LESS if any larger repairs than the “OTHERS” therefore eating up the 4750 real quick. So I couldn’t agree more that mpg’s are a moot point because of reliability…

 

and this is where a lot of diesel owners fail to see the end result of diesel ownership.

 

theres also the actual mileage and the claimed mileage from the manufacturer. We know how far off those numbers are. Seems the American manufacturers are very good at lying about mpg. And this is from experience.

 

I have a buddy who wants a diesel in the worst way and doesn’t even tow anything but a small 6x9 trailer. He thinks it’s the only way…. I have had countless conversations with him and he just doesn’t get it.

 

Another thing to look at. I parked my tundra next to a friends 2006 Chevy 3/4 ton duramax 4x4 and my tundra made his 2500 look a lot like an s-10.
The tundra is big.
I talked this same guy into purchasing a 1997 4runner for his kid for a college commuter. When he pulled the wheels he was blown away at the massive size of the brakes, bearings and axels on the 4runner. All I could say was, welcome to Toyota. .

 

lol. I just sold my 2011 ram 2500 diesel because it wasn’t worth keeping for the little bit that I tow now days. One bad tank of fuel can be a $10k repair. The fuel filter systems on the diesel trucks are no where near what they should be to protect such a finicky highly priced power train.
I could do repairs on mine myself but still couldn’t stomach changing a $10k fuel system on a truck. Not even a $5k repair would sit well. Diesel trucks aren’t what they used to be. Once they went electronic they went to shit. pretty much a $60k cell phone. Throw it away after five years

 

Looks good and slick with the lighter setup. Whats your wheel setup ?

 

Is your truck lowered? Looks super sharp and unique!

 

Y’all are going to be waiting a while on a reply. Ol’ Rex is perma-banned.

 

Rex. This message is for you. The year is 2021. We are intrigued by your setup. All we have is an imagination that dwells in doubt. Please...