ways to increase gas mileage

newlc · 03-31-11, 05:00 PM

To start i have an 87 fj60 desmogged with a 32/36 webber carb. it starts fine cold and warm. runs fine even if a little underpowered. running 33" with lift stock gears stock manual trans.

my question is what mods on the truck can help you get better mileage, and if anyone has any numbers on increases. i know it will never be a prius but with gas prices these days an increase of 5mpg would pay off shortly. i looked into putting in hei system like msd. i also read about doing a top end rebuild. i know h55f will go straight in but thats 2-3k. obviously plugs wire rotor cap. any other suggestion or gas mileage increases anyone has gotten.

MANUCHAO · 03-31-11, 05:11 PM

Speaking from personal experience....the only way to increase gas milage, some what.. is by tossing that engine out and either put a V8 or a diesel engine in there...... a 5 speed tranny is nice but you wont gain much mileage.....

wheelin62 · 03-31-11, 05:20 PM

draft off 18 wheelers

sl33py · 03-31-11, 05:35 PM

slow down, accelerate slower (if physically possible...), google hypermiling (SuperMiler.com : Hypermiling techniques, tips, and tricks to maximize fuel mileage)...

walk or ride bike/motorcycle!

Heartworm · 03-31-11, 06:13 PM

If you are getting 10-12mpg, as many cruisers are, we can help you. Tell us what you are getting now. If you are at the 15-16 mpg level, you are essentially already there.
Note: If you are running 33 inch tires and stock diffs, a five speed is worthless on the mileage side. The lower first, second and third gears will help you take off, but you will find few opportunities to use 5th gear (do the math). You will need to re-gear to 4.11 to enjoy the H55 with a 2F engine.
Like the man said, better mileage can be found with an engine transplant. However, when you figure the cost of the transplant, it may be a wash financially.
On the mileage issue, the only way to rationalize owning and driving an FJ60 is to consider the alternatives. (A) buy an rice rocket or low to the ground sedan that gets 25-30 mpg but cannot go down a gravel road (B) buy a newer SUV that gets mileage in the mid 20s but costs a lot more to purchase, register, and insure and you cannot work on it yourself so the money you save in gas is burned up anyway.

newlc · 03-31-11, 06:31 PM

i looked at all the alternative vehicles before i bought my fj two months ago. i am not regretting my decision because of the gas mileage. i love the thing and it was the best choice. i am just planning out my projects on the truck, step one complete was getting it running and driving reliably. step two is seeing if i can get the mileage up. then step three is putting ridiculous off road equipment on it and making it look good. i think i am in the 10 mpg range. i will know for sure when i fill it up this morning. i was particularly interested in hei seing as i can probably swing that up grade for the 300$ range and if it make any measurable difference in mileage it would make the money back quick. this weekend ill check the compression. just didnt know if anyone made mpg minded changes and saw a difference.

Cruiserdrew · 03-31-11, 06:43 PM

Sadly, the only logical answer is a different car. These are gas hogs. It's normal. You have to decide if you want to pay the freight or not.

For the best economy, keep it stock, drive slowly, and keep the motor under 2500RPM.

I think that traditional Land Cruisers are special purpose vehicles from now on. Drive it on off road trips, go camping in it, and commute in a Prius.

BlueCruiser84 · 03-31-11, 07:02 PM

The most narrow tires possible aired way up. Keep it between 2000-2500 rpms. Make sure it is tuned well with no vacuum leaks, stay outta the city, and don't be in a hurry. That's about all you can do with these ole motors. I'm happy when I get 13 or 14.

klinetime574 · 03-31-11, 07:11 PM

I keep my 33x10.5's at 38 psi, and drive slow as possible, but having a loud exhaust doesn't help because I like to hear it

Highway is where I can make the good miles. If I were on a highway only tank I might break 16, never tried so I don't know for sure, but with mixed city/ highway I get 14, and city anywhere from 10-12.

I'm happy with the mileage, much better than before the rebuild, and 60's are legit so who cares

Drive slower and people get to drool over it more

T-bones 60 · 03-31-11, 07:11 PM

I get 15 on the highway and 12 around town. I couldn't be happier considering the engine/vehicle. The 5 speed will help by about 1-2 mpgs if your lucky. I know because that is the difference mine made. Like others have said, get an econo car for DD duties.

newlc · 03-31-11, 07:20 PM

i drive about 100 miles a week in it. i didnt think about the h55f not helping as much if i didnt regear. i looked into regearing also but if your talking about regear and h55f that alot of dough. i never go over 2500rpm. thanks to my big tires i cruise at 60mph at 2300rpm. i guess i can try leaning out the carb but its so easy to start in the morning i hate to mess with something that is working well.

Dynosoar · 03-31-11, 09:21 PM

Park it and it won't burn a drop of gas.

Dyosoar

cruiser911 · 03-31-11, 10:03 PM

my 40 with a 2brl gets around 8 and my 62 with fi gets around 12.. and it does depend on drivin style but will never be good

Cruzerman · 04-01-11, 05:08 AM

If your getting 12-13 in city, 15-17 highway, your getting what you should. Asking for another 5mpg is just asking too much from this setup. That's like 30-40% better mileage. Get a commuter car.

Tyler Durden · 04-01-11, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruzerman

Get a commuter car.

Yup. That's what I'm in the process of considering.

Heckraiser · 04-01-11, 06:46 AM

diesel swap is the only way to get "good" mileage out of a cruiser, but for the cost of entry, you'd have to drive the truck for a couple decades before it paid for itself in savings at the pumps. By that time, we'll probably all have to drive hydrogen/electric vehicles anyway

slcfj62 · 04-01-11, 07:30 AM

Around these parts, diesel fuel costs about 20% more than gasoline. You'd have to drive a million miles to ever break even if you swapped in a diesel. Unless you cook your own fuel (biodiesel) it doesn't make economic sense to do a diesel swap.

You might get a marginal improvement swapping in a different gasoline engine, but you'd be better off spending the $5 to $10K the engine swap will cost you on a used commuter car and driving the Landcruiser for fun.

Tyler Durden · 04-01-11, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slcfj62

Around these parts, diesel fuel costs about 20% more than gasoline. You'd have to drive a million miles to ever break even if you swapped in a diesel. Unless you cook your own fuel (biodiesel) it doesn't make economic sense to do a diesel swap.

You might get a marginal improvement swapping in a different gasoline engine, but you'd be better off spending the $5 to $10K the engine swap will cost you on a used commuter car and driving the Landcruiser for fun.

Yeah. That's one thing I don't get with diesel swaps. If you're doing it for the novelty factor or just because you want a diesel...I get that. However, don't do a $5k+ engine swap and claim that the ~4-5 MPG that you're going to gain (if that much ) is going to make a difference to your wallet.

Heckraiser · 04-01-11, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slcfj62

Around these parts, diesel fuel costs about 20% more than gasoline. You'd have to drive a million miles to ever break even if you swapped in a diesel. Unless you cook your own fuel (biodiesel) it doesn't make economic sense to do a diesel swap.

You might get a marginal improvement swapping in a different gasoline engine, but you'd be better off spending the $5 to $10K the engine swap will cost you on a used commuter car and driving the Landcruiser for fun.

Although the fuel costs more (call it 20%), fuel economy improves by something closer to 50%, so you're still doing significantly better from a dollar-per-mile standpoint. Of course, not enough to offset the cost of a swap, except over a very long period of time. If you're comparing driving your stock 2f rig and swapping to a diesel, that isn't remotely economical.

But if you compare swapping a SBC and a 4bdt Isuzu or 4bt Cummins, the initial cost isn't going to be a whole lot more to go with the diesel, and you could probably offset the difference in fuel savings within the service life of the vehicle.

:edit: just an example using round numbers.

If regular gas costs $3.00 per gallon and yields 14mpg, the economy comes to 4.66 miles per dollar.

Say diesel costs $3.50 per gallon and yields 20mpg, the economy will be 5.71 miles per dollar, a 22% decrease in fuel cost.

Elbert · 04-01-11, 07:50 AM

IF the truck runs good now then I would leave it alone. Go buy a cheapo econo-box used car to dd before you spend money chasing mpg on a land cruiser. If I got 13mpg on the hwy and something like 10mpg in town then then it is what it is. When you start adding stuff to the cruiser like tires and gears and weight and whatever else...expect mpg to drop. Shop around for a high milage accord or civic for your dd. Just seems crazy to me to spend any money on a LC chasing fuel milage execpt for tune-up, carb rebuild or something like that. Because the end result is not going to be worth it.