Good MPG is Achievable

Lots of complaints about poor mpg but by staying stock, driving conservatively, good maintenance and keeping your speed down to 65mph, 20mpg is achievable.
I’m in Florida and a 60mile trip I achieved just over 20mpg @65mph and in the last part of the trip when speeds dropped to 55mph the mpg went up to 22.5. The day was perfect for a mpg test with no wind and the temp was 73F.

Speedometer in KPH (Canadian truck). 2016 Tundra DC OR 4X4

 

The stock part yes but staying under 65 ain’t happening. Good way to get run over when speed limits are 75-85.

 

Basically you can't drive in the city lol

 

My city and highway mileage are identical. 13.7. Either stop and go or running 75mph. At least it’s repeatable. Makes it easy to budget for road trips.

 

I get 18.5mpg or so on road trips straight highway driving between 65-75mph. All stock with a camper shell and roof bars. Mild AT (more all season than off road) tires in stock size.

 

Best mileage I’ve ever seen from my tundras was my prior 2010 with 285/65r18 Atturo ATs, and ironically there was 2 guys and their gear in the truck, a dual sport in the bed, and a dual sport on a hitch carrier. Hand calculated 21mpg in early summer. With my current truck and all the extra weight and tires I usually can’t get over 15 on the highway, I get 13 everywhere else.

 

The highway that I was on the speed limit is 60mph and patrolled. Even at 75 I still can achieve 18-19mph. Acceptable and similar to other half tons.

 

You get run off the road at any speed in the northeast. No civility left here, might as well save some gas…lol. All kidding aside I can understand 85 mph limits in rural areas but it’s divine intervention that more people don’t die where I live. Fully loaded tractor trailer doing well over 80 in dense traffic with less than a car’s length distance to the vehicle in front is the norm now.

 

You be surprised when you just roll along @ 55mph

 

The only time I ever hit 18 was driving through the Carolinas on 95, was a pretty steady 70mph. Generally though as I average around 80 the mpg comes down to 16-17 area. But driving through the hillier roads (even the interstates) in the northeast it's 14-15.

 

I. Think about getting the best gas mileage sometimes, but then I hit the buttons and put the gas to it, just seems like a waste of that 5.7 not to

 

Over the span of the last 5k miles the computer says I'm averaging 13.8mpg. I don't know what the actual is because knowing won't change it so why bother? LOL.

I'm not overly aggressive with the gas pedal but run 75(ish) on the interstate when I have occasion to be on it. Most of the miles are on rural county roads & secondary Hwys in the hilly terrain along the VA/WV state line. I'd guess the biggest reason for the lowish MPG is the 285/70-17 Goodrich KO2 tires the truck is shod with. No surprises from my viewpoint. It's a truck.

 

I own 2 tundras and live in the DFW area , one is a 19 trd-pro and gets 19 mpg and the other 2014 supercharged henessy and it gets like 22mpg ... driving mostly the speed limit .

 

I don't know about 20+ but on last summers trip to NC we average 16.6 mpg. If I was able to do a back flip I would have as that's pretty respectable mileage form the 5.7.. In winter I only get about 12 mpg and that's NOT using the 4wd.

 

This was after a ~ 10 mile run after filling up. Level ground, couple of stop lights and some 35 and about equal 45 & 55 MPG

 

If someone bought a tundra based on mpg they made a mistake. And mods to improve mpg are a waste. Just accept it. Don’t calculate it and fill up before you get to half a tank and the perceived amount of $ fuel used is less if your fill up is always like $50. You’re only fooling yourself!

 

I disagree about the fuel mileage mods. A very inexpensive one that does work is putting a thumbtack in your right shoe. Point up.

 

I absolutely agree with you the 2/2.5 gen is not an efficient fuel vehicle by any stretch of the imagination.

BUT, like @Retired...finally said driver input has a major impact on mpg’s.

I average about 16.5 to 17. I don’t let my truck idle much if at all. I get in and gently go (I realize this isn’t practical in all areas of the country and even lifestyles).

12k annual/11 mpg = 1091 gallons per year

12k annual/16 mpg =
750 gallons per year

341 gallons x 3.50 dollars a gallon = 1193.xx

Approximately, $100 a month is enough for me to keep the skinny pedal in control and keep certain mods away from my truck. Especially when my truck is a the pavement princess/towing/family hauler…

 

I'm ok with bad MPG, that's why I have a tiny car doing all of the city driving. Truck sees action 1-2 times a week + occasional joyride, which is plenty to keep parts moving.
Good MPG on non-stock might as well be impossible.

 

When are you gonna boost it?

 

The point of the thread is to show that the Tundra can get good mpg compared to other half ton trucks. I'm not claiming the Tundra can get "good gas mileage", whatever that means.

 

I don’t think I could if I wanted to. Got this sucker in the way.

 

I just ran 435 miles from Madras, OR to Kennewick, WA, and back to Prineville, OR this weekend. From Madras to Kennewick is 200 miles, at an average speed of 70 mph. That leg showed 14.8 mpg. From Kennewick to Prineville, I took all rural highways. Rarely went over 60. I’ll hand calculate when I fill up after I eat, but my trip is showing 15.3 overall. Basic thinking says I pulled about 15.8 on the second leg to get that average.

I drive more conservatively than a lot of you, I’m sure. There are a few decent passes on this trip, so I’m guessing I could have gotten a little better if it was all flat. Doubt it would see better than 16.5 to 17 if I did right at 60 on flat road.

When I was all stock, the BEST I ever saw at an easy 60 mph was never over 19. Best I saw at 70-75 mph was 17. Tires and weight are the killer folks.

 

Bone stock 2021 SR5 CM 4x4, Raptor side steps and D-back bed cover. Drove NoVA to NM and back twice last year. Two adults, couple hundred pounds of gear. Mostly interstate. Matched traffic speed wise, so 65-77 mph most of the way, with a couple hundred miles of 85 mph in west TX. So 4k+ miles each trip. 17.2 mpg over both trips. Generally a little better coming eastbound with wind at my back. Best I have ever gotten was 18.1 mpg coming down from Twin Falls, ID to Durango, CO, so downhill and downwind. Frankly I was overjoyed with the mileage and you cannot beat the smooth ride, visibility, and raw acceleration when you need it.

 

Does a Canadian truck use U.S. gallons or imperial gallons for this calculation? 22.5 mi/imp. gal = 18.8 mi/U.S. gal


Best thing for mpg is never using AC, never accelerating, never climbing any hills, and keeping the rpms in top gear as low as possible with the torque converter locked.

 

I live in Colorado and there are hills everywhere. Hills aren't bad for MPG in my experience. I get 19+ average from denver to Frisco/Vail/Glenwood and back. Even my 75%highway drive to work when I take my truck is mid 18s

 

If you do a round trip, Denver to Vail to Denver, you’re probably net zero. Uphill uses more fuel than flat road but downhill has some chance to use zero fuel because of fuel cut. The steep grades going down past the tunnel or down vail pass are so long that you could be off the gas to negate the fuel needed to go uphill. It’s a different story with rolling hills. Anyway, if you look at the instantaneous mpg meter while climbing a hill at constant speed, you’ll notice a big difference vs flat road at the same speed.

 

Ok. Home from my weekend trip now, and finishing my report.

I hand calculated when I filled up in Redmond. 441 miles took 29.6 gallons. Easy math, that’s 14.9 mpg. Not quite as good as the instrument cluster read, but close.

After filling, I drove west over the pass to my place. 105 miles. Readout shows 17.8 mpg, which I’d generally say is the best I’ve ever seen. But, we always see very high mileage on that stretch. We drive it a lot in multiple vehicles. It’s not a good measure when you start at 3,100’ elevation, climb to 4,800’, and then coast about 50 miles while dropping to 725’ where I live…

So, that tank doesn’t count at all. Shit, my wife got well over 65 mpg on that trip in her old Prius, over 60 mpg in a TDI Jetta, and close to 55 in her new Jetta with the little 1.4 turbo. All three of those are a solid 20% better than real mileage, which I believe is about the same delta I just saw in the tundra.

Hills matter if both sides aren’t the same…

 

I could give you like 4+ tank averages from this year that are mostly mountain pass trips from Denver to Vail and Frisco with some city driving too. And they're all mid 18+. Higher average than a rolling hill highway average.

I dont look at Instantaneous...what's the point. I hand calculate. And by far my trips into the mountains get the best mpg average. And it's not even close.