An MPG Experiment W/Lift and 33" Tires.

I decided to behave as best I could my last two tanks of gas. Totally Pu**y footing the throttle staying under 2000 RPM at all costs. I floored it briefly a total of two times due to idiots who cannot drive (I fully believe the United States needs to revamp their parameters as to how they issue a drivers license.. See Canada/Europe).

90% city driving, 10% highway. 2005 Sequoia with BFG 285/70/17, approx 4 inch lift.

When I filled up each tank, the MPG on the trip screen displayed "15.0 MPG"... The best I've ever had... However when I did the calculation (Miles driven divided by Gallons pumped) I discovered my true MPG was 14.06 MPG... I was able to extract 320 miles out of one tank which I've never done before.

So with 33 inch tires, the MPG display was off by 1 MPG or roughly 7%.

Since my speedometer is also slightly off, I measured to see if my odometer was being correctly displayed. I was abled to verify that the odometer is in fact 100% spot on by resetting the trip computer and verifying by GPS.

 

Cool.

Calling @Darkness. He has 33's & 4.56 gears. I'd say gearing is your best bet for improvement.

FYI Freeway speeds above 67/68mph impact economy fairly quickly.

 

Anything above 60 is death.

37mph-42mph and 55mph-60mph are the sweet spots... If you happen to find a very flat road 65mph can get you respectable MPG.

I used cruise control a lot in town too.... If my AC is on it holds the gear which really bothered me. As soon as it gets to 5th I try to lean it out.

 

Whats the conclusion in terms of actionable results? Continue to baby the throttle and save $40 a year or have fun and proceed to daily jam the pedal around those that don’t follow Euro Standards?

 

who cares ????? LoL

 

What were your transmission temps?

 

Ahh, fuel economy. I tend to say nay to a lot of common understandings on this topic.

I tracked my tank averages for a year and changed driving techniques often to look for what really works. I wish I still had the logged data but it was lost long ago. I had a pretty steady commute so the data was fairly consistent overall. One interesting thing I found is that rpm doesn't absolutely dictate how efficient you are being with fuel.

I started off leaving stops very slowly in attempt to keep rpm low. I later changed to letting my truck move to 3k rpm when leaving stops, I saw no loss in mpg. All that driving like a grandpa got me nowhere fast.

I thought a lot about how that could be, it has to be that the motor isn't running efficiently at the lower rpm. It made sense in another was too, think about pushing a car and how hard it is from a stop, but once momentum starts you don't have to push as hard.

That isn't to say running 5500 rpm will save you gas, but lugging around isn't worth the trouble.

I'm a little surprised that the odometer is accurate, but I suppose the 05 is wired very differently than my truck. If you aren't already, you might want to look into an app that displays real-time mpg and trip average mpg simultaneously, or a scangauge2. I run a scangauge2 in my truck and when in the mood I run real-time and trip average, the game is to try keeping real-time higher than average in order to raise average. It can surprise you.

Damn it @assassin10000 you got me rambling in here.

 

There are people who need to drive a truck and like getting the most out of their fuel. You might be stuck in 10mpg territory but these trucks can do pretty well if you know how to drive them.

If you don't care, kick rocks.

 

Conclusion? Just the facts which have been stated. These trucks suck in the MPG department, but we all know that. I thought I'd give it a two tank break... You know, rather than fuel cutting 110-112mph on a daily basis and having the ABS beep at me non stop from point A-B. The past two weeks friends have been seeing me driving like a saint and are calling me a changed man.

Truthfully, the experiment was to see just how far off that DTE/MPG reading was... I like to know everything.

I mean, I guess you care enough to take your time and post a useless comment in a section that does not pertain to you or your truck. lol.

No idea.

Lugging around low RPMS under load is also bad for fuel economy. Your method of taking it up to 3k for a swift acceleration to cruising speed also works.

 

From your original post, I never saw a conclusion. Are you saying 14.06 is better than you've ever had before in the same type of driving? What did you learn from the experiment?

 

Yes its the best I've ever had in the truck period. I normally average 10.8-11.4 (trip screen). The best overall is my OP, 15mpg on the screen which equaled to 14.06 actual.

I never calculate my fuel economy, ever. I was just bored.

What I learned is the MPG display is not accurate with larger tires. It's off by 1 MPG or 7% on 33" (32.8 technically)

 

I haven't gone fully down the rabbit hole like you have... yet.

I have the 5sp trans which has a much shorter 1st gear, which it shifts out of quickly when trying to drive like a turtle.

I'll probably do some more testing and see how it goes. I'm guessing around 2400 may be the sweet spot on my trans given the different gearing.


Also sorry, not sorry.

 

That feature has never been accurate for me on any vehicle I've ever owned. I've always found if you do the math at the pump it will be different than what the computer shows.

 

We're close to the end of page 1 which means it's time for a thread jack.

We need pics of the Sequoia and can you post up details of the lift you went with?

 

Never checked on the Sequoia, but on various other vehicles it was either spot or off by .1

 

We need pics to judge the aero. for science.

 

She ain't purdy but she's sturdy beneath the veneer. I use it as a beater daily to fly under the radar. I'm mainly the race car type. Hold on for pics and details.

 

I used to somewhat track fuel mileage but it is a moot point with a heavy truck. Then I sold my 2013 with the 4.6 and moved up to the 5.7. I was more interested in the power and reliability. I have no regrets on the upgrade nor do I worry about fuel economy. I lift it, build it how I want it, and go to sleep at night knowing that reliability and happiness is sitting in the driveway.

 

My man...Love that 5.7 and f*** MPG lol.

Pics loading... Sorry guys, not the social media type. I suck at taking pics and I'm the worst at angles.. I got friends who can make my car look 100x better in pics than I can... I also suck at selling cars because my big mouth is too honest.

 

Okay here we go.
Dobinsons C59-169 Springs https://www.1stgenoffroad.com/store/p582/DobinsonsC59169LinearRearSpring20012007Sequoia.html#/

Dobinsons GS59-685 shocks https://www.1stgenoffroad.com/store/p206/DobinsonRearShock.html#/

Bilstein 6112 and SPC upper. Still have a couple more notches to go up.

Metal Tech adjustable trackbar

TRD Pro 4Runner wheels. 14WA calipers can be seen. Brembo Rotors, Hawk LTS pads. Spidertrax 1.25" spacer. BFG 285/70/17

Bi Xenon HID retrofit... That Brian @ Sick HID's is an asshole and a real piece of work. Screw that guy.

Lights and fogs on.

Ugly pic
JL audo 10" sub, took grill cover off to show. It tucks in nicely and uses no cargo room.

Escort 360c with blendmount kit/hardwire.

AVH 4200 NEX
On 5100's which were trashed and leaking. Sequoia's little buddy.. It's the 911's body guard.

 

I hope my Sequoia looks that good some day! Do you have the size of the JL box? I never thought of putting my sub there, but that's ingenious!

 

So are you saying with stock tires your odometer was off by 8% (about 2.4 inches divided by 30.6 inches, the stock size tire diameter)??? That's a lot.

 

It's called a JL audio stealth box https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item-13676-JL-Audio-Stealthbox-SB-T-SEQ-10W3v3.html

I did not pay that price though... I think I found it somewhere else online for around $500... It's a steep price, but in all honesty its worth it. You get a box that's tucked and hidden. Takes up no cargo space, and the sub is a high quality piece.

No, with stock tires all was good. Even with the 33's, the odometer stays true and correct which I verified by GPS.

The speedometer is off by approximately 10% and the MPG meter is off by 7-8%.

Example: If my speedo shows 70mph, my actual speed is approx 77mph. If 80mph, actual speed is approx 88mph.

 

OK, maybe I'm being dense or there's something I don't understand but hear me out...

If with stock tires (approx. 30.6 inches in diameter) the odometer was right on, when you go to 33 inch tires, your wheels turn slower by about 8%. That should mean the number of miles would be low by 8%. So when you calculate actual gas mileage using the odometer, you should be low by 8%. I understand the speedo and MPG meter being off. But I'm not sure how your odometer stays true with both stock tires and 33" tires.

For example, I have a Jetta TDI wagen. I replaced the tires with 225x50x17 which are 3% larger than the 225x45x17. My odometer reads 3% fewer miles. So when I calculate gas mileage, I add (adjust up by) 3%. My speedometer when from 4% fast to 1% fast.

 

I'm as baffled as you are.

I reset my trip meter and traveled one mile with a GPS app on my phone. When the odometer read 1.0 miles driven, so did the GPS app which is not connected to the car.

 

Do it for 10 or 20 miles and see if you get the same result.

 

Will do. I have a feeling we might see a different result

 

Fuel economy is a weird thing. the table below is not consistent because I don't always enter the data every time but you can still see that my MPG is not consistent. obviously highway driving is the best but I can also get a lot of variability when I spend most of the tank driving round town. I put new injectors in and I run my tires at 35 when I'm staying on the road(stock size). But after the what happened in the better mpg thread. I wont recommend anything one way or the other.

 

Looks similar to my MPG Chart in City Driving. Straight Highway 17-18.

 

its not in there but on my drive up California I got 19.8 avg and I no joke, jumped up and down so stoked.