Tacoma MPG question

[Missing Link]

Can any of you provide "real-world" MPG data for second generation (05+)4x4, V6, manual transmission Tacomas with FWC or ATC camper? I curently have the auto trans version of the above and average a little over 16.25 MPG on trips. I am curious about how the mannual trans compares. Thanks. - Richard

 

[jw]

i have a 2009 6 speed manual. Loaded up we get 16.5 mpg.

- jw

 

[TGK]

Missing Link, I don't have an answer to your question on MPG for 6cyl Tacomas carrying a FWC. However, I am curious about what type of MPG either you or JW have experienced with your Tacomas when not loaded up with the FWC. My daily driver is a 2010 Pre-runner manual trans with a 4 cylinder (I have a FWC Grandby on an older Ford F250 for camping). It has the same suspension as the 4x4 only comes with a 4:10 rear end. I know the 4:10 gear ratio likely hurts my mpg but have often wondered about real world MPG in the 6 cylinder rigs, 4x4 or Pre-runner, which, I believe, come with a 3:73 gear ratio from Tacoma.

Best I can get driving around town is 18.5 - 20 MPG in town. That is running totally empty save for gas in the tank and the driver. Best I've ever gotten on short highway jaunts out of town is 23 - 24 mpg if I take it easy.

I primarily bought the Pre-runner as a daily commuter and for hauling yard debris. I expected better gas mileage based on reports I saw about the 4 cylinder engine in the standard Tacoma. I suspect the combination of the ethanol, gear ratio and climbing up and over the hills above Downtown Portland in both directions of my commute (900ft) are the main culprits.

JW, I see you are in Coos Bay, so you are probably also running the Oregon Ethanol Blend. By the way, my wife and I spent the week before Christmas camping just south of Coos Bay. We love going down there in the winter. We had beautiful weather that week and the beaches to our selves. Of course, things would have been different if we had been there the last week or so.

TK

 

[Argonaut20]

6 Cylinder auto: 17 - 20 in town (not many stops in the route). Roughly 20 - 21 on the road in calm conditions. With camper it will go from 12 mpg in high head wind in mountains to 19 with calm conditions and 60 - 65 mph in relatively flat land.

 

[Missing Link]

Missing Link, I don't have an answer to your question on MPG for 6cyl Tacomas carrying a FWC. However, I am curious about what type of MPG either you or JW have experienced with your Tacomas when not loaded up with the FWC. My daily driver is a 2010 Pre-runner manual trans with a 4 cylinder (I have a FWC Grandby on an older Ford F250 for camping). It has the same suspension as the 4x4 only comes with a 4:10 rear end. I know the 4:10 gear ratio likely hurts my mpg but have often wondered about real world MPG in the 6 cylinder rigs, 4x4 or Pre-runner, which, I believe, come with a 3:73 gear ratio from Tacoma.

Best I can get driving around town is 18.5 - 20 MPG in town. That is running totally empty save for gas in the tank and the driver. Best I've ever gotten on short highway jaunts out of town is 23 - 24 mpg if I take it easy.

I primarily bought the Pre-runner as a daily commuter and for hauling yard debris. I expected better gas mileage based on reports I saw about the 4 cylinder engine in the standard Tacoma. I suspect the combination of the ethanol, gear ratio and climbing up and over the hills above Downtown Portland in both directions of my commute (900ft) are the main culprits.

JWTK


TK - Without the camper I get 16-18 around town and on two long trips I have averaged a tad over 21. Others may have better insight, but I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the things that are impacting your MPG . . . ethanol, gearing and the hills. MPG may improve as you put more mile on the truck. Also, while the MPG is below your expectations, it isn't terrible, and you've got a super reliable daily driver that will serve you well for many years.

 

[Skeeter]

A manual transmission is the way to go if you want better gas mileage. I got 30 mpg in my 4 cylinder ranger with a fully loaded camper. I use hyper miling techniques and with any car I greatly improved my mpg. I upgraded to a 03' six cylinder Tacoma and it has a auto transmission. It is a prerunner and I got 19.3 mpg on the last trip to the sierras with a fully loaded camper. Not bad, but I know that I can improve that. Those manual trans are hard to find!

 

[jw]

Without the fwc i get 18.5 mpg. I thought it would be a bigger difference with the FWC on. 2 mpg doesn't factor to me. I should also say that 75% of the time we travel there is something on the roof rack. I've also been interested in installing a fairing, not so much for the mileage but for the debris that gets caught in that space on the camper.

TK- it can be really nice down here in the winter as you saw. Dec. was nice and dry. we had a wild storm come through as you know- 113 mph in charleston and 3 other days with winds upward of 60. nice thing is that most of the weather heads out of here quick. it has been calm and 55 for last couple days. if you get down here- hit me up and i can point you into a few spots you may not know about.

- jw

 

[lqhikers]

before my motorcycle wreck we drove a 2008 v6 ,6 speed manual,always loaded
(overloaded!) drive like a old guy (smartly) also i am a old guy always averaged 16.5
on any trip over 200 miles.
as we live in the lower desert there are times when we head to the Lone Pine,Bishop area
that we will on occasion catch head winds almost all the way up this relates to the lowest milage we
recorded around 15.
miss the 6 speed but had to sell it because after the wreck i could not shift anymore,guess i should
of parked it as now I'm able to shift again.(2 Years)
i believe you have to keep a solid record for the life of your truck as there are to many things that will
effect the milage .
example if you have to travel through LA a lot with stop and go etc ,snow country 4x4 engaged a lot
(lived a lot of years in Idaho)
drive a lot of miles slowly on sand roads ect,(lots of miles in Baja).
also before the v/6 we drove a manual 4x4 4 cyl.toyo got the same milage.
have never driven a empty toyota so can not comment on bare truck milage.
drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"
Les,lqhikers

 

[Missing Link]

Thanks to everyone who has responded to my question so far . . . . good and useful information. It seems that the manual trans. models will get slightly better gas milage than the autos, even though the milage figures posted by Toyota say the opposite. Here is a second, but related question: both the manual and the auto have 373 rear end gear ratios, but the transmission gear ratios are quite different. First gear in the auto is 3.520 and first gear in the manual is 4.171. If my thinking is correct (and it might not be), the manual transmission trucks should be better at "crawling" in first gear low range. Also, because of the lower first gear, the manual should have better engine braking capability when descending a steep grade in off road situations. Am I on the right track here?

Les - Good to see you back on the forum. I remember several years ago when a dog ran out in front of you and wife on your KLR. Very scary crash. Glad that you are recovered. - Richard

 

[EdoHart]

Thanks to everyone who has responded to my question so far . . . . good and useful information. It seems that the manual trans. models will get slightly better gas milage than the autos, even though the milage figures posted by Toyota say the opposite. Here is a second, but related question: both the manual and the auto have 373 rear end gear ratios, but the transmission gear ratios are quite different. First gear in the auto is 3.520 and first gear in the manual is 4.171. If my thinking is correct (and it might not be), the manual transmission trucks should be better at "crawling" in first gear low range. Also, because of the lower first gear, the manual should have better engine braking capability when descending a steep grade in off road situations. Am I on the right track here?

Les - Good to see you back on the forum. I remember several years ago when a dog ran out in front of you and wife on your KLR. Very scary crash. Glad that you are recovered. - Richard


In general, the torque converter of an automatic transmission will lower the overall gear ratio of the transmission, especially the first gear. lower than an equivalent manual transmission. This is why auto's have higher gear ratios. When you think of a torque converter, think 'torque mulitpler." Because of this, the torque converter makes them very good for crawling when you are going up hill. It is also the reason that modern autos have "torque converter lockup clutches" to directly drive the input shaft of the transmission without going through the torque converter.

The draw back is that an auto (and its torque converter) isn't very good at retarding your speed when going down hill.

So, for extreme crawling the automatic may be better, but for engine braking, the manual is better. Does that help?

If I had to choose, I would go for a manual. Fortunately, I don't have to choose as I have an Allison transmission.

 

[Missing Link]

In general, the torque converter of an automatic transmission will lower the overall gear ratio of the transmission, especially the first gear. lower than an equivalent manual transmission. This is why auto's have higher gear ratios. When you think of a torque converter, think 'torque mulitpler." Because of this, the torque converter makes them very good for crawling when you are going up hill. It is also the reason that modern autos have "torque converter lockup clutches" to directly drive the input shaft of the transmission without going through the torque converter.

The draw back is that an auto (and its torque converter) isn't very good at retarding your speed when going down hill.

So, for extreme crawling the automatic may be better, but for engine braking, the manual is better. Does that help?

If I had to choose, I would go for a manual. Fortunately, I don't have to choose as I have an Allison transmission.

EdoHart- Yes, very helpful. Thanks a lot.
Richard

 

[CraggyMan]

My 09 Tac-TRD (6cyl/auto) really seems to vary with MPG. Unloaded as a work rig around town (I am a builder)it seems to jump around a bit and the colder weather sending the mileage in a bad direction. (but seems to stay around 15-16)
With my camper on board (85 Palomino which is definitely on the heavy side - 900lbs) the mileage can be depressing as in 12 mpg or worse with headwinds, high speed roads (read NV cruises and lots of mtn passes). But for my local in state (OR) trips can be reasonable, especially if I watch lead foot tendencies and plan my trips to take advantage of tail winds... 16-21 mpg.

 

[twinomad]

Can any of you provide "real-world" MPG data for second generation (05+)4x4, V6, manual transmission Tacomas with FWC or ATC camper? I curently have the auto trans version of the above and average a little over 16.25 MPG on trips. I am curious about how the mannual trans compares. Thanks. - Richard

2009 Tacoma, Every stop and fillup milage is logged, manual 6 with six, Wish it was the five speed. I get a steady 17 to 18 mpg, loaded with ski's, camping and sometimes with a kayak. Once in a while I get 19 but its always on open highways like coming back from Bakerfield on 5 thru 40 or going back on 10 to San Antonio, on the long flat stretches. While on interstate I use 42 lbs, I have two extra 120 amp batteries with diode separators for radio equipment and HAM

 

[Desertboater]

I don't have much other data than my first drive with mine, but driving from Bend, OR to Prescott, AZ I averaged 18-19 with skis, camping gear, food, water, and a bike on the back...same engine and drive-train as you were asking about. I've also got an OME lift, ARB bullbar, and 265/75/16 tires.

Cheers,
West

 

[Mike M]

I have a '03' manual Tacoma and I get similar MPG to what everyone has posted. Has anyone experimented with a windbreak on the top of the cab to help with MPG? Or any other helpful methods to improve MPG? Thanks
Mike
Boulder, CO

 

[nyco]

I've got an 07 Tacoma V6 double cab manual with a FWC shell and was surprised that it didn't lower the mileage much. The past 2 trips I was loaded up with gear and towing 2 dirt bikes + 2 or 3 mtn bikes and got 17mpg. That was with a mix of 2 lane hwy and windy mtn passes. Without the camper I never really saw higher than 19 anyway.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

In the 40 days between selling my 425 pound Flip Pac and installing my new 2012 Eagle shell with options - 840 pounds I drove around with an empty pick up bed on my '99 Tacoma 4 cyl 4WD 5-speed manual. Weight 3640 pounds. Milege city 20.4. Highway 23.5.

With FWC Eagle shell Milege 20.5 Hyway, 18.4 50/50, 16.5 city.

I always wondered what the second Gen Tacoma's got in milege and now I know - about the same with the 4 cylinder. The V6 gets the same milege as the First Gen Tacoma's with V6.