MPG versus MPH sweet spot? Can I do better than 17.0 mpg

Fluids thicken in cold temps too. Here in Nebraska winter wreaks havoc on fuel mileage in both warm ups and cold boxes.

 

RE: Aerodynamics I found Julian Edgar's YT channel interesting but is catered more for the race crowd:

https://youtu.be/YDirvbQeGbc

 

To a point aerodynamic shortcomings can be overcome with increased power, but the best performance mod is weight reduction.

 

Best I did ever.

 

The best mpg is 24 the trick is to only drive down hill

 

I recommend adding as much weight, biggest tires, and tow/haul mode. Then shred across country at 80 mph. Makes the gas stops within reason to hold the pee between! I got between 9-11mpg Next time I do it I’ll be on a slightly smaller/lighter wheel tire setup! Will report back in a few years haha.
Almost forgot: add drag from a lift and cab over camper

 

OP isn’t coming back.

 

I purchased my truck 11 months ago and I have averaged 11.6 over 28,000 miles. When I drive 88mph with a duck boat it gets around 7.5. Without a boat or trailer and doing 72 with a good tailwind its about 17.

 

Could always be worse...

 

If that 2-3 mpg is less than a 20% improvement (you didn't mention what you started at), it wouldn't be cost justified here. (Obviously, the price spread between regular and premium will depend on where you are.)

 

I thought I heard that most vehicles are most fuel efficient at 55 mph (90 kph).

 

Yup.

50kmh for city and 90kmh for hiway, same as our unposted speed limits.

 

In Alberta it's 100 on primary highways and 80 on secondary roads. I've only ever seen 90 in the national parks.

 

Mpg on a 4.6 tundra is nearly the exact same as a 5.7, ive owned both. Aerodynamics, weight, rolling resistance are everything. Wider tires can sack mpgs faster than the bigger engine

 

@ 55- 60 i can do 20.8- 21.3. Limited Crewmax 4x4 with the 20" wheels and 275 55 tires. I don't know if my soft tonneau cover helps.( weighs 21lbs) but that being said I didn't buy a tundra for it mpg so I average 11.8.

 

Very small improvement but it does help. Someone over in Tundratalk quantified their MPG gains (search Tundra Tonneau MPG) it would take years and about a hundred thousand miles to offset the cost of the tonneau.

 

If my tire measurement knowledge is correct those are kinda skinny for our trucks right? That would make sense, less rubber on the road is easier to move.

 

That was in my '18, trip up to Tenn on the back roads at that.

 

Skinnies are the 255/70R-18 that come with the steelies. I have them and with the v8 they're better called spinnies.

There's three things with tire size and mpg:
-How much air gets moved as a result of the width of the tire; thinner tires have less drag.
-Mass and its distribution determining moment of inertia and how much energy is needed to spin it up; lighter thinner tires and smaller rims tend to do better.
-Energy loss due to tread compression; wider tires do much better. The contact patch is more or less a strict function of F=PxA, so for a constant force (weight of truck) and air pressure in the tire, the area touching the road will be the same between two tires. The skinny tire will have a patch that is longer front to back to keep the same area, thus more deflection in the rubber, and more energy loss due to heat and friction in the material. This is why with bicycles a skinny road bike tire will take 100+ psi to not compress to the rim with its very long contact patch, but you can get both a smoother ride and lower rolling resistance (but much higher wind resistance) using a 2"+ wide fat tire and half the pressure.

So yes, my 255 width P-rated tires *can* get better mpg than the more common 275s, but only if I pump the pressure up.

 

This is the best I've ever been able to get. 230m trip, started about 5AM & lost about 1k ft of elevation. Took this pic in some road construction w/55mph speed limit, but had the cruise set at 69 the rest of the trip. I was pulling a 6'×12' utility trailer surprisingly. Usually I get around 15-16 highway and 11-12 in town.

 

A buddy of mine gets 19, confirmed on paper. Has a 2020 crewmax SR5, 45 minutes commute each way ad drives around 50mph with few stops. He does the small things too, aside from shutting off the engine at stoplights. MPG is kind of a hobby. He averaged 29.5 in his 16 Tacoma.