Expected fuel economy?

[troyboy162]

Troy, how does the ultra guage work?
Maybe i missed it but did you have a write up on it?

I like it. It has replaced my speedo and my fuel guage. Kinda stinks having to remember to tell it every time i fuel up though

[paddlenbike]

My lowest mileage comes in at 16.5 mpg--that's driving 1.5 miles everyday to work...the start/stop and short mileage are pretty hard on fuel economy. My average mixed city/highway is 17.5 to 18 and mostly highway driving is 19-20+.

Last weekend I got a little over 20 mpg driving to Tahoe with a 15' sea kayak on the roof and loaded inside for a 3-day trip, not to mention sitting in holiday weekend + Burning Man traffic. I have a 2.5-3" lift, 32" BFGs and a Yakima rack. If that extra step from 32" to 33" tires costs that much fuel, perhaps I will stick with the 265/75s (32s).

The only way I can get 10 mpg is to spend a full weekend at the dunes with my foot to the floor. For that reason I suspect you may need a tune up.

[2ndGen]

recently has been 20.2-.5mpg (280 actual miles based on 32" tires). 90 hwy and rarely any traffic, and 60mph. I have a Scangauge II, deadly accurate.

btw 177k miles now.

[slomatt]

Either my ScanGuage has lost its electronic mind or removing my roofrack made a 1-2 mpg difference in fuel economy. This weekend on a trip to the Sierras I averaged over 21 mpg on the way there and then around 21 mpg on the way back (two tanks of gas). I used to average 18-20 mpg on the highway. This is driving at 65-70 with 265/75 mud terrains and an ARB bumper. For the ~80 miles we spent on dirt I got around 15mpg.

In other news, the truck is at 99,200 miles, almost ready to join the 100k club.

- Matt

[04 Rocko Taco]

I've heard the roof racks can make a large difference in highway driving. 1-2 mpg sounds about right.

[paddlenbike]

Matt, I can't remember, what type of rack do you have? I have a Yakima setup with kayak and bike attachments on all of the time. I can't discern a difference in mileage on or off.

[slomatt]

Matt, I can't remember, what type of rack do you have? I have a Yakima setup with kayak and bike attachments on all of the time. I can't discern a difference in mileage on or off.

Ken, this was with the stock rack and cross bars. My mileage definitely dropped even more when I would have my ski rack on with 4 pairs of skis and 2 snowboards up there.

- Matt

[4x4mike]

Interesting about the factory rack. I've had my Yakima on my roof the week I got my 4Runner. I never thought it decreased my mileage considering I get decent mileage. My last trip to Bakersfield then to Santa Barbara netted me 25 mpg, loaded and with the Yakima, for an entire tank. Pulling the rack and getting 26 or 27 doesn't seem plausible.

[paddlenbike]

I have noticed a continued reduction in fuel economy over the past year or two. My truck is low mileage (odometer mileage, that is) and in-tune, but I used to get 22-23 mpg on a more regular basis. Now I'm right around 20 mpg. I looked into the issue and discovered the problem isn't my truck, rather a mess of political B.S. I will try and keep the politics out of this discussion, but we now have about 10% ethanol in most of the fuel we see at the pumps. (Fuel blenders receive a $0.45 tax credit for each gallon of ethanol that is blended with gasoline, regardless of the feedstock, so there's little incentive not to.) On October 13, 2010 the U.S. Govt granted a waiver to allow use of 15% ethanol. Energy per unit volume of ethanol is 34% lower than for gasoline, so fuel economy is reduced. People ARE noticing.

To go further, here are a few other facts about ethanol in our fuels:
Ethanol Gasoline - General Problems/Issues:

1. Water Absorption. Ethanol attracts, absorbs and holds moisture in fuel tank with increased occurrence of lean, water-diluted fuel. If you are in a humid area or some place where the temperature fluctuates you will have water in the gas. The longer it sits the more it will have.
2. Vapor lock or fuel starvation- Most common in carbureted engines, hot weather and/or at high altitude. (Ethanol increases gasoline's vapor pressure).
3. Drop in octane (after water absorption, P/S and W/C occurs).
4. Decreased fuel efficiency and mpg due to lower energy. "Based on EPA tests for all 2006 E85 models, the average fuel economy for E85 vehicles resulted 25.56% lower than unleaded gasoline."
5. Decreased life cycle of parts and engine.
6. Decreased shelf life of gasoline.

Engine/Parts Damage:

1. Wear and damage of internal engine parts.
2. Damage to metal, rubber, and plastic parts of fuel system.
3. Corrosion of metal parts in fuel system and engine.
4. Deterioration of elastomers and plastic parts.
5. Deterioration of non-metallic materials.
6. Fuel permeation through flexible fuel lines.
7. Drying, softening, stretching and/or cracking of rubber hoses,
seals and other rubber components.
8. Oxygen sensor damage.
9. Damage or premature disintegration of fuel pump.
10. Carburetor damage, including clogging.
11. Dirty and clogged fuel filters.
12. Clogging and plugging of fuel injectors.
13. Destruction of certain fiberglass fuel tanks.
14. Removal or fading of paint and varnish (both internal and external parts of engine).
15. Piston/bore failure through knock/pre-ignition.
16. Piston ring sticking.
17. Unsuitable ignition timing resulting in ignition failure.
18. Gumming-up of fuel injectors, carburetors, etc. due to release of accumulated deposits in engine from ethanol alcohol's solvent properties.

E10 Drivability Issues:

1. Engine performance problems, often simply due to lower energy of ethanol-blends.
2. Hard starting and operating difficulty.
3. Hesitation and lack of acceleration.
4. Stalling, especially at low speeds.

Source: http://www.fuel-testers.com/list_e10_engine_damage.html



And from an article I read:
"Small business owners like Dan Graff and Dave Artigas already are seeing the damaging effects of ethanol in gasoline even though it is just the E-10 formulation containing 10 percent ethanol. In Stuart, Graff's team of service technicians at Crump's Lawn Equipment Center work on maintenance and repairs for a wide variety of lawn care equipment ranging from mowers to string trimmers to edgers and more. Service technicians for both businesses work daily with machinery that has been damaged by E-10 fuel. However, the regular use of E-10 gasoline has resulted in increased maintenance and repair frequency, increased repair costs and decreased performance.

"We've measured decreases in power and fuel mileage and increases in fuel consumption since E-10 became about the only gas you can get on the street," said Artigas. Graff is even more concerned because the simple act of "misfueling" — mistakenly using E-15 fuel in a lawn mower or chain saw — could completely ruin the machine's engine.

"All the information we're being sent from manufacturers like Briggs and Stratton, Kawasaki, Honda and Echo, say their equipment simply won't run on E-15 fuel," Graff said.

The EPA's decision, labeled a partial waiver, only approves the use of E-15 fuel in 2007 model year or newer cars and light trucks. No other engines are approved for use by E-15, including outboard motors on boats, small 2-cycle and 4-cycle engines like those used in lawn equipment, off-road vehicles like ATV's, motorcycles and older model year vehicles.

Part of the problem with ethanol-blended gasoline, Graff said, is it only has a shelf life of about 30-45 days. Ethanol also absorbs moisture, even through a gas tank. What's left in the tank are a layer of water topped by a layer of ethanol with the gas floating on top.

"It causes the fuel to go stale," Graff said. "It's even worse when equipment or gas tanks are stored in a hot equipment trailer, storage shed or even one's garage that can get up to 125 degrees in the day and cool down to 80 degrees at night."

Coming out of this season's cool, dry winter Graff said an estimated 90 percent of his business was addressing fuel system issues on equipment.

"They're going to have to make adjustments slowly because cars and trucks built before 2005 really don't run well even on E-10 fuel," he said. "I have a 2005 Chevy pickup truck and I've had to replace all the fuel injectors thanks to ethanol in the fuel."

Full article here: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/jun/...g-soon-likely/

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel

[troyboy162]

Just revisiting this post after thinking about my MPG and some long trips I want to take soon. I found the stock MPG rating for my 96 3.4 slutomatic was 18MPG combined. Now with MT knobbies, much larger and wider contact patch, armor, high mileage motor, crappier aerodynamics, and the E10 gas Paddle is talking about (Sounds like the old New England winter gas that I'm used to)...My corrected ~14 MPG combined seems on point. Gotta pay to play I guess lol