How to increase mpg with mostly city driving?

Almost all my driving in my '22 Tundra is in town; Los Angeles. Mostly short distances (2-5 miles), and all stop and Go. Not hauling anything heavy or towing anything.

Yes I know a full-size truck is not a fuel efficient vehicle. But anyone got ideas on how I can improve my fuel efficiency?

Thanks

 

Aside from accelerating as slow/smooth as possible no. With short drives like that you aren’t even warming up the engine

 

Take public transport….

 

Im hoping this is a troll post. Lets say hypothetically if getting 2 mpg better on short trips matters, the truck payments are killing you, sell it

 

Combine trips if possible to try and run in a better temp range. Short trips without hitting the operating temps will always tank mileage. May not be great for your turbos either.

 

In my experience, easing into it too much is less efficient than a firm, intentional acceleration up to speed. My Tundra seems similar in this regard to my old 4runner: if I was too easy on it from a dead stop, it would dump all the way to 5th gear before I hit 30mph, and it would feel bogged down. The Tundra isn't as bad, but if I'm super easy on it, it wants to shift faster into higher gears than I think it should, and it seems like I'm dumping more gas into it than necessary.

 

I very well knew what I was getting myself into, before purchasing the truck, and was very much prepared for the high fuel consumption that comes with a full size truck. So by no means trying to whine or act like "oh poor me".

But figured since I have never owned a vehicle with turbos, and because I haven't read up a ton on this newer engine, that maybe there is some words of wisdom.

 

I live in LA too and there are a couple of ways to improve fuel efficiency

1. Accelerate moderately. You’re going to piss off people behind you though.
2. Try to keep speed up. If you know there will be long uninterrupted stretches wit synced lights it’s better to keep higher speeds (let’s say 45~50ish).
   
3. Try to keep the revs low. Learn at what speeds the rpms stay low. For example, let’s say 41 mph holds 7th gear but 42 mph holds 8th gear, it’ll be better to go 42 mph and the higher gear.
4. Coasting doesn’t use fuel so maximize your coasting. Sometimes instead of braking you can coast to a stop light that is just about to turn green so that you can reaccelerate without coming to a stop. This is much more efficient that cruising up to the stop light and braking to a stop only to start again.
5. Definitely use the stop/start system. If you find it annoying, learn to control it. Light brake pressure will keep it from shutting off the engine. Also once you’re stopped with the engine off, you can get the engine to turn on either pressing firmly or by slightly lifting off the brake pedal.
   
6. This one is a little extreme but you could drive with half a tank of fuel or less. The weight of the fuel (if you have the 32 gal tank) is 200 lbs. 100 lbs of weight off the truck helps use less fuel when accelerating.
7. Try to reduce your AC usage if you can, this will help a lot.
   
8. Finally, when you do go on the highway, drive slowly. 65 mph is brutal on the 10 when people are blowing past you at 80+ mph but it helps immensely. I’ve seen people getting 24 mpg by keeping low highway speeds.

Anyway, that’s all I got for now…

 

My Volvo came with instructions for best mileage recommending to accelerate at 40% throttle. Lift of when momentum can take you to the desired speed.

Hold consistent speed from there. Try not to brake. Coast your stops.

 

Boy do I love these posts. Makes for some good early morning entertainment.

 

Buy the hybrid tundra instead , 100% city it will likely do a decent amount better in real world

 

So why do you own a truck?

 

https://giphy.com/gifs/shrek-gif-funny-PinQmyLYvrGVO

 

For a 2-5 mile trip, why dont you get an electric bike or scooter? I ride an electric bike to work, 2.5 miles, it honestly takes the same amount of time as in a car. I can weave through traffic, always at the front of the light, can turn on streets when cars are waiting and take shortcuts and use sidewalks. You can get a decent one for like 1500 bucks. You will save that on gas and wear and tear on your truck in no time. Plus you get that heart going a little bit, which, lets face it, we all probably need as americans.

 

This is great advice. Vons is a big one for the fuel rewards in my area. Also, not sure about LA, but the Sinclair gas stations in my area are top tier gas and they have Arco prices or less. They have the Dino Pay app which links to your bank account, and if you pay with that you get .30 cents off per gallon, and it activates the pump without you touching it. It costs me an average of about .75 cents less per gallon at Sinclair with the app compared to the mobil station that is 50 yards away.

 

I love standing at the frys pumping for $3.49 while everyone with no points is paying $3.99

 

I used to live 2 miles from work. If i did again , i wouldnt give a what my mileage was. Had a hotrod chevy rcsb lowered and ran it like hell.

 

Im not greedy, I would take the 3.99 with a smile on my face. Over $5 here right now.

 

Could try airing up your tires a little more, you're going to get more ware in the middle of the tread, but might add a little mpg for $0

 

Sunshine tax?

 

Unfortunately.

 

Find a coworker that lives close and drives a fuel efficient vehicle. Pay for gas if he/she will pick you up and take you home every day.

The bike/moped is an option, unless traffic/drivers are like they are here. Any saving in gas would be ate up by life insurance policies and hospital bills.

My commute is 6 miles each way, and if I only drive to work and oark it in weekends I need gas about once every six weeks.

Let's say you were able to squeeze +2mpg consistently on 10 miles per day 7 days a week, you're talking about 60 extra miles per 30 gallon fill up. Or basically, filling up 30 gals every 5 weeks instead of 6. Over a year, it's 2 extra tanks of fuel. At $10 a gallon, it saves you $600 over a year, or $50 a month. Half that at $5 a gallon.

I should note, I used 12 mpg vs 14 mpg above.

Not sure the juice is worth the squeeze.

 

Try not to tailgate -- I know that's hard. But tailgating causes you to be constantly on / off the throttle and brake. Constantly scrubbing off speed with the brakes just wasted the fuel it took you to get there.

It takes practice, but I can often drive in traffic where everyone in front of me has brake lights flashing like crazy, and I can stay off them completely unless I actually have to stop. You see brake lights in front of you, even several car lengths ahead, start coasting. I'll see the right signal come on for a car even a few car lengths in front of me, and I drop the throttle immediately because he's likely to come to a near-complete stop for a right turn. I often don't have to slow below 35 or so because I've opened a gap that'll give him time to slow, turn, and get out of the way.

And yes, I know you open a space, and someone will take it, but in that kind of traffic, you're just screwed anyway

 

I do a lot of bumper to bumper commuting to the point where I have gotten single digit MPG’s on a 2018 RAV4 for a 25 mile commute. But what he said^^ is spot on and the only real thing you can do to improve gas mileage. I don’t find airing the tires up to help much in THESE particular scenarios. Longer highway commutes…absolutely!

 

Buy a scan gauge 2. Install it somewhere visible and calibrate the fuel. Display the trip average mpg, the real-time mpg, and the load sensor, and whatever else for fun.

Watch the real-time mpg and the average mpg, learn to drive so that your real-time is lower than average, it becomes a game. Watch your load and adjust your right foot as you do. You'll learn what saves gas by doing this, and you might be surprised.

 

Actually, accelerating to slow burns more fuel because the engine spends more time outside of it's most efficient zone.

 

there is probably a happy medium. In LA there are so many stop lights, you’re stopping constantly so you’re either accelerating or stopping, almost never cruising