GAS MILEAGE

Yes. Can see it partially here:

 

I know the mechanical fan can draw off some mpg, but I never thought it could be that much.

 

I don’t get that coasting downhill for a mile. Best mine has ever lied about was 15.

 

15 is my best with the '08 Tundra

I have not tracked the the '21 mpg yet. I'm expecting similar.

The 08 is a double cab, the 21 is a crewmax. They better be close to the same.

 

It has both clutch-driven fan and electric fan. Latter one is for more robust A/C, I think.

Also Sequoia, unlike Tundra, has a full time 4WD, and wife in fact never switches to 2WD. Also stock Sequoia is 3 or 4 hundred pounds heavier than stock Tundra. With the same 1:4.30 diff ratios it still manages to get better MPG. I can only think of a different transmission software tuning that lock torque converter more eagerly. That same theory may explain why folks report they have better MPG in newer Tundras.

 

That is outrageous mpg. I have never known anyone to get that bad. If you told me that was towing mpg I would have believed you. Typically, when I am pulling my 7400 lbs boat I get around 9-10 mpg depending on the terrain in which I am towing. If it is Texas where I live and it is flat I get in the 10s with no problem. I took the boat to Colorado last summer, and once I got into the mountains it was pretty much 9 mpg from that point on. That is why the 38 gallon tank is so nice. My previous truck was a F-150 ecoboost and that POS got 7.5 mpg no matter where I was with the same boat. Plus it only had a 24 gallon tank. I f-ing hated that truck for towing. I got rid of it because I had a turbo go out at 81,000 miles and they wanted $3,500 to replace it. F-that. Turbos are a terrible idea unless they are on a diesel.

My average is 15-15.5 city and 17-18.5 highway. That is a TRD Pro double cab.

Never forget, the 2007-2021 Tundra was designed in 2005-2006 and that is the technology era it is from. When the 2nd gen Tundra came out it blew every truck out of the water. It got way better MPG, it had the most power and most torque in its class. It out towed everything. My 03 Silverado only towed 7,500 lbs. LOL. It did not get beat until around 2011 by the F-150 Ecoboost that's how great that engine tranny combo was out the gate.

For reference my 2003 Silverado got 12 city and 16 highway on a good day. That was the OG 5.3L V8.

 

I’ve owned a ‘12 ecoboost, ‘14 Chevy, ‘20 Chevy, and ‘16 hemi Durango, any one of those on a bad day got better mileage empty or towing than my tundra does empty. 12.5mpg empty in city or highway for a 2018 model is just dumb. But as I keep telling myself, the lack of repairs will help offset the fuel costs.

 

You know what is interesting about every vehicle you mentioned? They all have variable/active fuel management systems installed. All of those vehicles shut down cylinders to save gasoline hence why they might get slightly better mpg. The problem is those systems have a 100% failure rate if you keep them long enough. That is where the 5.7L Tundra's dominate which is in longevity and reliability. One repair and your so-called fuel savings go out the window. The Hemi and the 5.3L Vortec are the biggest culprits. Lifters, camshafts, pistons, o-rings, short blocks all go out because of the fuel management systems. The classic Hemi tick repair alone is $3-5K depending on how bad it got.

Outside of the water tower leak which impacted 2007-2013 Tundra's, there isn't much that can go wrong if you change your fluids on the Tundra. Trust me, when my F-150 died in December 2020 in the middle of Oklahoma pulling my boat because the turbo went bad and grenaded the engine, I wished I had bought the Tundra instead. I had to abandon the truck and boat in the middle of no where. Thankfully Geico towed my truck and boat but it ruined the trip. I sold the truck as is to the Ford dealership when they told me the engine was gone (131,000'ish miles!), and walked across the street to Toyota and ordered a Tundra. Gas mileage should be the last of your worries.

 

Ruining a vacation trip in US, with no federal mandated time off minimum, is the worst thing that can happen.

 

You know what else is interesting, is I turn all that fuel management crap off on every one of them and they still all got better mileage than my tundra. And all but that ecoboost went over a 100k miles with no issues. That truck was junk. Blew the cats out at like 10k miles because the intercooler was puddling water in it on humid days. I dumped that truck early.

 

Around town I can go as low as 9-10. On the freeway I can go as high as 19-20. My average is 14-15. It’s a truck, I expect it to drink gas. Feels worth it knowing it starts every time, won’t grenade like some “other trucks”, and the roar when I punch it is intoxicating.

 

two tanks below 15mpg for me in the 17k i've put on mine since I got it. both were almost entirely in 4LO, aired down, with 3 people and a boatload of camping and recovery gear.

normal usage i'm in the 16.8-17.8 range and that's with lift, 35s, bumper/winch, full steel skids, sliders, bed rack, and RTT

i also don't drive like an A-Hole with a heavy right foot

 

I am curious on your tire size.

 

255/75 17. I went with Method 314s to save weight and Cooper Road and Trail AT tires. Shaved 11 pounds off each corner compared to stock/OEM steelies and 255/70 18.

 

Wow nicely done! Those are 9 lbs lighter a piece nearly 50 lbs lighter for the set so I can see you getting pretty good mpg with that.

 

Yep. A lot of people don’t understand the importance of minimizing unsprung weight AND rotating weight.

 

Titan 7 has set of 17s that's 19lbs, so does RRW with RS2 wheels.

I'm sure with those 255s and if you go with long tube headers and equal length exhaust from someone like SPD performance, you can see huge mpg gain, I saw almost 2mpg gain with the equalize length.

 

Don’t buy a tundra to save money on fuel. If it high mpg you want buy a Corolla

 

The first few years I did it for every tank of fuel. I've gotten as high as 21MPG on the highway keeping at 65-70 and mostly flat ground on the OEM tires.

Jumping to a bit larger tire, 285/70 mileage dropped to 18-19 best highway, around town was about the same 13-15. I find the computer pretty accurate, or at least by memory it is.

I now reset the Average fuel mileage counter with each oil change. I average 15.8 the last two oil changes (5k-7.5K intervals). I've used several oils, all 5W30 Synthetic from AMSOIL, Valvoline, Pennzoil, Edge with little change. HOWEVER, I was feeling cheap last month and decided to try out the new Synthetic Castrol GTX (nostalgia) and noticed an immediate improvement in mileage and noise. I'm at 1500 and my average which has been mostly local driving is sitting at a solid 16.8. No rhyme or reason to this.

I'm taking a trip (500 miles) after Thanksgiving and will reset it to see what a highway trip will show.

 

I've only seen mileage that low while towing or driving like I was in a race.....

 

mine pretty much like clockwork, 13 in the city, 17 on the highway. 11 if I'm towing about 2K-3K lbs.

 

2018 SR5 loaded HEAVY, I'm talking about 7200 lbs over here and I'm averaging 12-14 in stop and go and 15 highways. Think you guys must have heavy feet or wear big boots.

 

If MPG is going to be your determining factor leave now.