Yellowstone MPG mystery (1 Viewer)

[gil12]

It happened again. For the third time! My 99 LC, which gives me 12-14 all year in Southern California, gave me 18 mpg on a Yellowstone trip. What gives? Better gas in Nevada/Idaho/Montana? The high elevation - is this like doing the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics?! Is it the hours of driving with limited braking and 45mph driving? Is it driving so many hours - driving up as well in the park - that the engine never cools? Bison magic? Bison methane? All of the above?

 

[craaaazzy]

What I have noticed is the less stop and go driving you do, the higher the mileage. I normally average high 12’s in city driving but when I head up to the mountains of north GA, I can get up to the 16’s even though it’s very hilly...I’m not constantly stopping and having to accelerate, that’s the killer.

 

[Blackbirdaerial]

I get the best gas milage coming back from our lake house. 55+- mph country roads with no stopping. Hit 17.5 mpg last week. Mpg drops significantly as I increase that speed.

 

[krice118]

I recently moved to Teton county and I see the same consistent 15-17 mpg. The 100 loves cruising 40-55 and that’s the majority of the speed limit around here.

 

[tjb]

Is it the hours of driving with limited braking and 45mph driving?

Tooling through Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway the last two days, almost 19mpg in an 06 LX. I’m light on the pedal, though. If at a red light and impatient, choose to get behind the 18-wheeler beside me.

 

[2001LC]

Few things effect MPG in a well tuned fuel injected engine, which assume an all stock vehicle.

Driving style and roads/HWY. That is; lite footed vs heavy footed, open HWY vs stop and go city, hilly or flat.

Altitude.
The higher the better the MPG. Fuel system adjust to more or less oxygen available for combustion. As air becomes thinner at say 1 mile high, engine runs lean. Fuel system compensates by slowing fuel injectors (less fuel to cylinders). The trade off less horse power.

 

[87warrior]

I had a similar experience when the wife and I visited Yellowstone. We took her 2002 200k Camry that always got 28/29mpg. I thought the gas gauge broke coming home since it was hardly falling. Turns our we just got 44mpg at 65mph crossing WY

 

[FxFormat]

I used to get 17 on the Michelins LTX, but since mounting these big ole tires on, that dropped to 12-13

Even descending a hill, i'd lose speed unless the hill is really really steep. worth it though, 10/10 would run the same setup again.

The number one killer of MPG is heavy and wide tires, lots of rolling resistance.

 

[krice118]

I have 285s, heavy foot. When cruising speed is max 55 - the 100 is a happy camper.

 

[Pskhaat]

Staying under 50mph and consistent speeds change the MPG game significantly.

 

[MongooseGA]

What I have noticed is the less stop and go driving you do, the higher the mileage. I normally average high 12’s in city driving but when I head up to the mountains of north GA, I can get up to the 16’s even though it’s very hilly...I’m not constantly stopping and having to accelerate, that’s the killer.

Exactly this. I average 12-13 mixed, which is mostly in or around Atlanta so 'highway' is just stop and go with some high speed in the middle. When heading to N GA, I got 16.5 a few weeks back. And like you said, despite hills, the consistent speed is what helps. There's a lot of mass in these trucks, especially with big tires and armor, to have to get moving all the time.

I don't know how some of you guys get away with 55-60mph on the highway. If you're not running at least 75-80mph here, you're getting run over by the troopers. I've noticed that the difference between 60 and 75 MPH for my truck is about 5-6 degrees on the coolant temp. Mileage always sucks so I don't bother.

 

[nukegoat]

Exactly this. I average 12-13 mixed, which is mostly in or around Atlanta so 'highway' is just stop and go with some high speed in the middle. When heading to N GA, I got 16.5 a few weeks back. And like you said, despite hills, the consistent speed is what helps. There's a lot of mass in these trucks, especially with big tires and armor, to have to get moving all the time.

I don't know how some of you guys get away with 55-60mph on the highway. If you're not running at least 75-80mph here, you're getting run over by the troopers. I've noticed that the difference between 60 and 75 MPH for my truck is about 5-6 degrees on the coolant temp. Mileage always sucks so I don't bother.

I'm considering making some wheel skirts to go over the rear fenders to improve MPG in case you might be interested in the plans

 

[LongHaulCruiser]

That's phenomenal. Do you find that the trip computer is pretty accurate? One friend complained his was off.

 

[SHOSHO]

I used to get 17 on the Michelins LTX, but since mounting these big ole tires on, that dropped to 12-13

Even descending a hill, i'd lose speed unless the hill is really really steep. worth it though, 10/10 would run the same setup again.

The number one killer of MPG is heavy and wide tires, lots of rolling resistance.

what tire size?

 

[Kabanstva]

Are there any offroad trails or scenic dirt roads in the Yellowstone/Teton area that you can do with a 100? Curious where would be a good area to get info on specific trails. Always wanted to drive out there.

 

[gil12]

Are there any offroad trails or scenic dirt roads in the Yellowstone/Teton area that you can do with a 100? Curious where would be a good area to get info on specific trails. Always wanted to drive out there.

Not in Yellowstone, that I could find. Either paved roads or walking/ hiking trails.

Perhaps in Teton area. I'd like to know as well!

 

[Asanka]

There are forest roads near grand Teton and around. I've driven a rental sienna a bit and had to turn around. Those are on West side of highway 191

 

[87warrior]

Snake River Road is a designated "4wd" road in the Tetons. My wife and I drove the road in her Camry back in 2010. Coincidentally that car, which typically averaged 28mpg, hit 43mpg on the way home after that trip. The gas gauge was falling so slow I stopped to fill it up just in case...

 

[DuckLN]

The most refined fuels are supposedly piped to cities with existing smog problems like L.A. and Denver but could also be around Yellowstone.

 

[GTV]

Over 15 years and 160k+ miles of ownership with my old 2UZ Tundra I managed 3 tanks that made it just over 20mpg. All three tanks were driving through mountains in Colorado and were years apart. The first two tanks were with 85 octane, the last was with 91 (Unichip installed).