Fuel Economy of the 2nd Gen Tundra

2011 Rock Warrior, 5.7, stock height, E rated stock tire size, I get between 10-15mpg depending on how I'm driving and if I'm loaded with my FWC (1000lbs bed mounted camper). The biggest factor on the highway or heavy foot driving is as soon as the RPM's get over 2K the milage drops off and fast. Driving 75mph + highways with my FWC in the bed it's 9-10mpg all day long... Cruising 70mph I can get 15mpg, around town its 12mpg.

 

I think someone else mentioned it but the Rock Warrior package comes with 4.30 gears. That's a ratio that isn't exactly made for fuel efficiency when combined with an ancient six speed transmission.

 

I have the exact same truck as you, and I get 16 MPG. I replaced the plugs, removed the throttle body and cleaned it well, cleaned the MAF sensor, and I am diligent about only using Top Tier gas. Another thing to consider is if your bed is covered. I have a Gator tri fold hard cover, which eliminates the wind buffeting in the bed.

 

2" lift up front
285/75R18 load range E tires (65lb each, compared to 41 lb for stock Michelins)
Retractable bed cover, skids, 2nd battery, Plano trunk of tools.

I get 14 combined if I don't care. 16 combined if I pay attention to my right foot. I do not use cruise control.
I can get over 19 mpg easily if I aim for 65mph and let the truck slow down on hills instead of shifting to maintain speed.

It's not great fuel economy obviously, but driving this truck is cheap insurance that keeps me away from the dealer.

 

I’ve got 305’s on mine as well, + 2.5/1 lift BAMuffler, DAP tune, and a bed cap, avg mpg is 12-13. Best I get is 15mpg on the highway at 70-75mph. The 5.7 Tundra is a beast and it needs to feed!!

 

Is your truck a flex fuel?
If so might want to look into ethanol reading and how to reset

 

I just drove to and from Wilmington to Raleigh on I-40 last week. Two hour drive one way. Almost all highway and I put the cruise on 75, except for a couple short work areas. I averaged 15.7 with stock tires. However, if I stay under 66-67 and drive relatively flat land I can average around 18.5-19.5 MPG. The drive back did have me in THICK (20 mph) traffic through roadwork for the first 18-20 miles.

The tires make a huge difference and those few extra MPH on the highway can knock off 3 MPG fast. I may be making the same run next week and if I do I’ll make a point to make two runs at different speeds and report back. If I didn’t have to be there so early I’d do a 65 MPH run both ways and see but on I-40, running 5 under can get me killed within an hour of Raleigh. If not a crash then a drive by shooting!

 

I've experienced this too. The computer reports 18-19 for 65MPH but it drops to 15 or so for 75MPH.

Note I have 33" LT tires so the numbers are maybe 12% under. I also have OVTune on 93 octane.

 

Yeah i was wondering the same thing, I have a RW, 35x12.5, and yeah pretty heavy foot, dont tow, im getting 9s to 10s, mainly in town, stop and go. The gearing, tires, and lift add all that much drag/friction ig. I did put a cold air intake in and have seen the truck idling lower in the revs, and also cruises lower in the rev range. My biggest learning experience from these trucks in make sure u r replacing/cleaning your intake filters more often than usual/factory specs. This helps the mpgs imo. I got 3ish mpgs more with the intake, so now doing 12ish to 13. Just for under 200 bucks, i think it will pay for itself. Another thing is some ppl like my dad like to put the cheaper 88 octane in the Sienna and told me to try it on the Tundra, I noticed: rough idle, less performance, and less mpgs, like close to 8.5 to 9s mpg smh. Also question: do aftermarket exhausts such as flowmaster (I have the whole system) cause a dip in mpgs, usually?

 

I average upper 17s on the freeway (75-80mph) and hilly out of town highway driving (setup in the sig). I expect altitude helps on the freeway. Short trips around town it's worse, but I don't spend much time idling, so it's ~14. These motors suck a good amount of fuel at idle.

There is a big variation of rolling resistance for tires. Hysteresis of compounds used and construction vary quite a bit. Width and diameter actually reduce rolling resistance, while sidewall stiffness and tread thickness tend to increase it. Pretty sure my fat 35" ATs have less rolling resistance than the stock Bridgestones, though they are 2x the weight. Some very similar tires are much worse. Aero drag will increase with bigger tires and a lift.

 

Eibach 2 inch, 4.88s, 295/70 18s E and best I’ve ever seen was 15.9 on a 1600 mile trip at about 60-63. I’m averaging right around 12-13

 

? 33" is ~3% vs stock. 36" is ~12%.

 

Yeah you're right I got that wrong.

 

Okay. So I made the 2 hr run again this week from the coast to Raleigh. On the way up I set the cruise on 75 and with just a few exceptions for road work and getting into town, I stayed there. Upon arrival I showed a 15.3 mpg avg.

On my way home I set the cruise on 65, and pissed a lot of people off in the 70 mph zone all the way home. But this was for science! When I got home I showed a 18.4 mpg avg.

 

For science it would be best to do multiple runs over a stretch of road (both directions). A few miles should be sufficient. Ideally pretty flat and low wind.

I've gotten over 30 mpg with a 30 mph tailwind and 4k elevation drop over 75 miles. It was <10 on the way back.

 

I have a 2011 CM (2WD SR5) 5.7L at 174k. I was getting around 14 MPG until I pulled plugs and realized they need to be replaced. I used the NGK single tip iridium plugs (checked gaps before install) and now averaging 16.4 around town and highway. I have had a tri-fold bed cover on the truck since I purchased it new.

 

07-13 trucks get worse mileage than 14-21’s.

My 2wd 08 leveled with fox shocks, oem pro wheels and Michellen tires filled with nitrogen, bulldog gt tuner on stock tune running a TRD intake and exhaust.

I’ve been running non-ethanol 89 and mixed city/highway. Last night mostly highway 75-80 no A/C bested me 15.5. I’m in the Deep South, humid and flat.

Can’t beat the computer, it’s to strict.

 

I am a big fan of NGK plugs. I also have them in my truck. I have used them for many years in all of my motorcycles.

 

My 07 SR5, 4.7 & 116K miles, gets 13.5-14 mpg granny driving in town...16-16.5 hwy on 255x70Rx18's. Pencils out at the pump, too. The onboard mpg estimator is about .4 off from pen & paper.

 

I'm sure you are not going to believe this but here it is anyhoo. This comes from an 09 RCSB. Just returned to BC from south Arizona. Hauling a trailer. 60mph was my tops. Any slight uphill or even on the flat it hardly ever came out of 4th gear. My Canadian readout showed at best 23L to 100kms. At worst, 30 to 32. I could be wrong but I think that works out to around 8 miles per gallon. There was a big difference unhooked but still not what u guys are talkin about. I'm selling and going back to a good ol (actually much newer) F150. I could even still live with the gas mileage but the exhaust drone is a definite deal breaker. Between 2000 and 3000 rpm it was horrendous. I actually think I lost part of my hearing. Ear plugs didn't even help.