Whats the best mpg for a stock 92 fj80? (1 Viewer)

[cojack128]

I'm currently getting around 11 mpg on the highway. I hear this is normal, but then I hear of some fj80s getting up to 15 mpg. Is this possible?

 

[Squash]

Well,
The 80's are really like pushing a sheet of plywood into the wind. The faster you push the more energy wasted. Now factor in what you carry inside, what you have attached outside, and of course the tires. Everything is using fuel. Then of course we have wind, hill country vs flats, not to forget how aggressively we mash the skinny pedal.
If you want MPG's then the 80 needs to go on a diet, and you have change your driving habits.

 

[Mark W]

In the past I routinely saw 15 mpg on the highway over relatively gentle terrain from a couple of different bone stock 3FE powered '80s running on 32 inch diameter tires. I see about the same under the same conditions in 1FZ powered '80s on 35s. My current primary '80 averages 13mpg on 35s with 4.88s over all types of terrain.

I have found that in my current primary rig cruising as slow as 60 does not gain me anything on the highways runs compared to 72 or so. Around town gentle acceleration makes a noticeable different in duel economy. I never carefully compared the effect of different cruising speeds on the 3FEs, but around town a heavy foot was a definite detriment to economy.

Mark...

 

[mudgudgeon]

Best I've seen was about 16L/100km or 14.5mpg with 1fzfe, 5 speed, on 33s. No racks. Medium weight in the rear. Alloy front bar.

That was highway miles on country highways ( not motorways) doing about 100-110km / hr

 

[Mixelplix]

I've had my '91 for 10 years +. I get 12mpg pretty much no matter what. Highway? 12. City? 12. Offroad? 12.

So I'd say you're in the ballpark.

 

[COYS]

Well,
The 80's are really like pushing a sheet of plywood into the wind. The faster you push the more energy wasted.

True for any vehicle. Drag increases on an exponential curve the faster you choose to go go go. Drive the hwy 65 mph and you’ll probably net a good 2-3 mpg on your typical road trip v the socially acceptable 75 which keeps semis from passing you.

There is no magic in this. The 80 loves to guzzle fuel. People here love to add a ton of weight. Drivers in LA go 80 mph+ on the regular especially sht box trucks. It all adds up. They’re literally burning cash getting bent at frequent Arco nozzle stops. No money, no honey.

If you’re averaging 13 real mpg, you’re close to the pin.

 

[sodafeld1]

I perk up when I see mpg posts. At best 1988 hj75 troopy 2h diesel, 90-95kmh, 56mph ish, 2-2100 rpm, tail wind, 9 l per 100km or 26mpg on fwy ,no stop start, cruising not racing. Fresh mechanical injector nozzles, mechanical fuel pump. Set and forget cast iron timing cogs, not belt or chain. No roof rack, no bull bar, no bull. At worst 13 l per 100km or 18mpg on fwy . I don't bother counting in stop start traffic, too much mass.

My friend's latest petroleum hybrid rav4 gets 4.5 l per 100 or 52mpg, but they are quite gutless for carrying loads. I don't think it will live 36 years.

Another friend's 1996 hzj75 troop averages 11-12 l per 100km or 19-21mpg on fwy. It is more powerful, goes up hills quicker and can tow heavier loads.

Mind you, diesel is a denser fuel.

Makes me question progress.

 

[Navyator]

91 here. I drive basically 55-60 on the highways, and there will be some error in my calculations as I have to convert from km and have 33" tires (for quick math at the pump I use 3mi/5km and multiply by 1.06 for the tires). I average 13.2 usually. With more highway I've broken 14 and the worst I've seen for a fill-up was 11.8

Setting cruise control around 58 in the right lane yields the best results for me. You go nowhere fast, but I find my blood pressure doesn't rise nearly as much as when I'm driving the wife's car 75 and getting mad at the old Land Cruiser in the right lane putzing along

 

[sodafeld1]

yep, slow miss daisy are the old cruisers, I can live with that. I fill up at start of trip, odo at zero, do the 132km without stopping and fill up again , 12 liters.

 

[effjay80]

Evanston WY to Cheyenne across WY on 80 with 75mph tailwind 18mpg in my 94.
Cheyenne WY to Evanston across WY on 80 with 75mph headwind 4mpg in my 94.

Normal conditions, sane highway driving, 12 is normalish.

 

[jpoole]

I'll play,

'97 80 with a fairly stock and sorted setup that's on 33s with speedo correction gear and accurate speedo/odometer. Have tracked MPG for every tank over the 80k miles I've driven it.

• 16.2 Maximum MPG
• 7.1 Minimum MPG
• 11.7 Average MPG

I've achieved close to the Max and Min MPG values above on multiple tanks so they aren't isolated anomalies. Max MPG comes with tanks burned on the highway with a consistent mid/low-60s MPH speed, no AC, clean roof and few hills. As I add hills, AC, city driving, roof rack with stuff on it, camper/trailer, etc. the mpg goes down. Lowest MPG is typically when towing in the mountains or when I don't leave the city, hotfoot it around and let it idle too much running the AC, etc.

I think that there are a lot of little ways that the 80 tells us to slow down from cabin noise to mpgs to handling and it's higher center of gravity. Sometimes giving it extra skinny pedal seems as much about making extra noise as making more speed. The 80 is far from the slowest vehicle I've driven long-term and it can perform at safe speeds on current roads in my opinion but it shines when it can be cruised around without hurry.

 

[Marvelicious]

Part if the trouble is that wind drag goes up exponentially as you try to go faster. Much of the time I pick my routes so I don't have to be the a****** doing 58 on a 70mph road. Granted, everyone is still annoyed at the old Land Cruiser driving too slow, but at least I'm actually going close to the speed limit.

Evanston WY to Cheyenne across WY on 80 with 75mph tailwind 18mpg in my 94.
Cheyenne WY to Evanston across WY on 80 with 75mph headwind 4mpg in my 94.

Normal conditions, sane highway driving, 12 is normalish.

I don't doubt it on that road. That's a windy bitch!

 

[Navyator]

Part if the trouble is that wind drag goes up exponentially as you try to go faster. Much of the time I pick my routes so I don't have to be the a****** doing 58 on a 70mph road. Granted, everyone is still annoyed at the old Land Cruiser driving too slow, but at least I'm actually going close to the speed limit.



I don't doubt it on that road. That's a windy bitch!

Luckily around here in VA the max speed limits I ever see are 55. I'd sacrifice the MPGs before I'd be the guy driving UNDER the limit!!! haha

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Toyota touted the FZ engine as 10% more fuel efficient than the 3FE, for comparison's sake. I would be quite disappointed with 12 (11 +1.1) mpg highway driving. That's a city driving figure.

It seems to me that you should be able to garner 13-15 mpg on open highway in a stock fj80. And btw, congrats for keeping it stock.

 

[lumbee1]

1995 1FZFE

Before rebuild, drinking oil, stock gears (2017)
15.17MPG once somewhere in Oklahoma with a tail wind and heading east
250K miles
usually 12 to 13MPG

After installing 4.88 gears (2018)
260K miles
~13 MPG

After engine rebuild (2022)
275K miles
~13 MPG

After supercharger and Lutz Auto speedo correction (2024)
290K miles
12 MPG*
This is only one data point. I'm hoping to do some additional hwy miles and get a little better fuel economy.

This is all hwy driving. Consistent cruising at 60mph would probably get me 14MPG with the supercharger and 4.88's but I'm always in a hurry. I'm happy to say that I've never seen less than 11mpg with city, mixed, or hwy driving.

On the same trip that I got 12mpg, my friend in a turbo HZJ75 troopy used a little less than half a tank. I literally used twice as much fuel as he did.

 

[Marco Lau]

I avg. around 10-11 mph (mixture of highway, dirt, rocks, steep grade)
91 3FE, 488, TC high range underdrive, part-time, Nomad HD valve body, 37s. and needs a diet.

 

[effjay80]

Part if the trouble is that wind drag goes up exponentially as you try to go faster. Much of the time I pick my routes so I don't have to be the a****** doing 58 on a 70mph road. Granted, everyone is still annoyed at the old Land Cruiser driving too slow, but at least I'm actually going close to the speed limit.



I don't doubt it on that road. That's a windy bitch!

I don my firesuit on trips to Denver on I25 where the 90mph traffic is flying by me extending one finger salutes to me in my lumbering 80.

 

[ozarkmud]

I see 13/14 MPG, mostly highway, with the 3FE. I feel like it's a good running 3FE (although I can't compare it to any other 3FEs). 31x10.5R15 tires.

Our stock FZJ80 might edge it out slightly in mileage, but burns more oil doing it (valve seals, I think).

I can believe it that the 1FZ-FE could get a little bit better than a 3FE in the same conditions. I have a soft spot for the 3FE, though.