Gas prices.......sh*t... who's second guessing fuel mileage

I don’t even notice fuel prices any more. I’m coming from a 4Runner, which only got 2mpg better, and I guess I got used to the fuel bill then. I feel like I traded way up for just about the same yearly costs.

Doing your own maintenance on the truck, canceling streaming services, making your own coffee every day, packing a lunch, etc…far quicker and easier ways to tighten up your budget than tying into more vehicle debt. I mean even if you have to spend some money on tools, it’s going to be a lot less than tying into new vehicle debt.

 

What's the specs on your 4runner? My lifted and heavily modified 00' gets 16 on a bad day and 18+ when I try.

 

To save money on gas download the GetUpside app. I’m saving .68 cents a gallon with it. Use promo codes:
PGEGQ
SHOPPER20
100MIL
7CENTBONUS

When setting up account use first promo code and then finish setting up account. You can stack the promos by tapping on the 3 lines in top left corner then hit profile then edit promo code and erase what is there and type in the next one. So on and so forth.

After filling up your tank you submit a picture of your receipt and they give you the cash back in the app which then you can exchange for gift cards, money back to PayPal account, a check or whatever. You don’t have to link a bank account or your credit card or anything so no worries about scams. Plus it’s used by hundreds of thousands of people. You do have to type in the first 6 numbers of your card and the last 4. This is their way of making sure you aren’t just finding receipts and submitting them to earn more money.

 

I hate that the fucking pumps here max out at $95.00, then I have to run my card again or deal with 3/4 of a tank.

 

My 97 4Runner got about 18mpg with 31's. My 03 V8 4Runner got about 16mpg which was pretty good. My daughters 2011 4Runner with minor lift and 33's only gets 13-14mpg. 5th Gen 4Runners are about 1,200 pounds heavier than 3rd Gens.

Stock 5th Gen:


After Lift and 33's:

 

Makes sense, I haven't thought about how much bigger the new ones are.

 

My buddy’s stock ‘99 with 400k miles has averaged 14 for its entire life. He sits and idles in it a lot though.

I got 16 commuting in my old 5th gen. Mix of rush hour highway and city driving. I get 14 in my Tundra with skinny 35s. I can get 16 if I keep it under 65 on the highway.

 

Lol gas down here deep south AL ain’t even peaked $3/gal yet, we’re chillin at 2.75 rn

 

So to clarify a few things here 1) not hard up for cash. 2) have tools , already do own work 3) no plans on financing anything or for that matter any additional debt. My tundra is worth 10k more than I paid 2 years ago , If for some reason I get rid of it I won't be spending anymore than it's worth. Lol

Also so everyone knows, I'm just bitching about gas prices haha if I was hard up, this would not be my other truck.....as a side note it does get better mpg than the tundra haha

 

I don’t understand people who bitch about gas mileage of a Tundra - vs other brands.

Realistically - all things equal a Tundra should average 16mpg - where other brands are at 18-19 with their V8.

Now that 2 mpg isn’t nothing - but it’s also not a world of difference either - it’s 10%.

Think of it as a “reliability” tax - you can pay and have something reliable - or opt out and take your chances.

For me - and my 50 miles a week driving it’s worth it. Now if I drove 1600 - I’d probably opt for something more efficient - like an older S10 with a 2.2 or a 4cyl SUV if comfort and tech was a concern.

No way would I buy and drive any full size truck 30k+ miles a year unless it was needed. And if it was needed - I’d factor that into what I charged for my work and buy a Tundra still probably.

 

Nice

Yes vs other full-size it's pretty much the same. My wife owned an ecoboost f150 it regularly was worse than the tundra, she used to avg 12.8 . My 2015 Sierra did slightly better at 15 but was a regular cab and lowered. Apples to apples tundra is really no worse than any other fullsize

 

Yeeeeessssss same here except ours is 75.00. I have to remember to just fill up at a 1/4 tank

 

Its well over 4 dollars in cali and even over 5 in some cities

 

That sucks so bad

 

Ours is $75.00 also around here

 

Ls? That’s beauty. My 5.3 gets 18.3 mpg haha.

 

Yep. It's a frame off resto. I have zero problem pumping gas into this one lmfao. I'm ls swapped with an lq9 6.0 and 4l60e I get somewhere around 17 , On the highway over 20 if I keep it reasonable. I like that stepside man.

 

On a recent trip to Missouri, stumbled upon a fuel station that had 87 w/ethanol, and 91 octane ethanol free. I typically run 89 because my truck and 4R both seem to like it a little better. Could be placebo too, but that's not the point of this story.

I chose the ethanol free 91 octane and filled up (from about 1/3 tank, so 23 ish gallons). Much to my surprise, the lie-o-meter showed my tank average as 20.3 for the first 130 miles. This was in Southwest MO (I49) heading to north central MO. Once I got on the hilly county roads, it did dip. When we refueled again to head home (after more hilly county roads and some in small town driving) it still showed 18.6 when drained to the 1/4 tank mark. I've never seen above 17.5 on any road trip prior. The next two tanks were back to 89 w/ethanol for the entire trip back to TX, and we got 16.6 avg. for those 800 miles.

So, if you can find ethanol free fuel you might get a little mpg relief. However, that 91 ethanol free was about 20 cents/gal more than 89 w/ethanol, and 50+ cents more than bargain basement 87.

 

Still balances out versus owning a big 3 truck and the maintenance costs.

 

I dont even pay attention anymore. There are stations that I like to use and I like driving my Tundra. I just buy fuel when I need it.

I would pay an extra 25 cents a gallon if I never had to wait in line, the store and bathrooms were clean, the fuel was high quality, the pumps were fast, I could pull in easily with a trailer, and I never had to see a gas station crackhead ever again.

 

Non ethanol gas does get better mileage.

 

I'm from Alberta - aka the Texas of Canada - so I get it.

This is my first truck and I can't see myself not owning one in the future. But I'm working from home and I take my wife's Corolla to beat on - I mean, run errands in the evenings.

 

I hear you. I think putting “second guessing” in the thread title makes it seem to many of us that you’re considering dumping the truck due to high fuel costs.

 

So true. After I lifted my 04 tacoma with big tires it was MAYBE 1 mpg better than my tundra with a lift/35's.

 

My tundra is like a prius to me, 15-16 mpg on a 26 gallon tank. Now, the 6.8L V10 excursion sitting in my driveway however.......10mpg and a 44 gallon tank with average $4 gallon gas prices in socal, yippie. I have gotten it so low that I have actually had to do 3 total transactions, though the last one was only a couple gallons.

 

Just paid $3.45 /gal to fill up. Don’t care. Even at $5/gal it’s cheaper to fuel the beast than buy something else.

 

I drive 250 miles a week on average, 100 bucks a week on fuel, avg 15.2 MPG and I have 80,000 miles on my truck. Average gas price here in Los Angeles is 4.37 for regular unleaded.

 

They're slowly working your way, but I think you'd like Buc-ee's. At least the new ones - there are still a few of the earlier ones around, and they're smaller. The new ones are HUGE! The only downside is that the crowds in there can be huge too. Their claim to fame is clean bathrooms (and they are!)