35's, 4.88's, and fuel economy

[lumbee1]

I know "If your driving a Land Cruiser, you don't worry about fuel economy blah blah blah..." I've had my Cruiser for 4 1/2 years and love it. However I'm tired of the poor acceleration, power, cruising, and hunting for gears with 4.10's and 35's. I also live on the east coast near sea level so that helps. But on a trip out west last year, I was begging for better gearing. My only concern with 4.88's is that my somewhat good fuel economy will go down. This is not a daily driver but I pride myself on squeezing 268 miles out of a tank or driving to the beach and back on one fillup. I don't want to be the one guy that says "Hey, can we stop for gas, again..."

I've done some searching and the general rule of thumb is 4.10 for light wheeling and fuel economy, 4.88 for wheeling and restored power, and 4.56 why bother. On the other hand, I have found threads where replacing the 4.10's with 4.88's put the engine back into its optimal power band and fuel economy actually increased. Tall gears for cruising and fuel economy or optimal engine efficiency and fuel economy, so which is it?

BTW, when I calculate fuel economy I usually don't factor in the 10% differential that I get with the bigger tires. When I do it makes the numbers that much better.

15.71 mpg corrected for tire size across Arkansas and Oklahoma.

 

[Cruzerman]

I think these rigs were only rated at 12mpg city, 14mpg highway. I understand the love of these rigs, but they will never get good mileage. If you want range, get a bigger gas tank or a sub tank.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

4.88s will make it feel more normal. Doubt you'll be able to detect any fuel economy differences. These trucks burn gas like it's out there in unlimited amounts. Which it is, just not the $$$.

 

[Qball]

What is this MPG new fangle Thingofmajiggy? I put gas in it when it tells me to.

 

[UglyCruiser]

I haven't even calculated my mpg lately because I'm way over geared with 5.29 on bald 33's saving up for 37 or 35

 

[LINUS]

My 315’s/4.88’s I round to 11mpg.

I know it’s a little more like 12-13, but my way I just call a tank 275mi range & I have a small buffer.

 

[Qball]

So

My 315’s/4.88’s I round to 11mpg.

I know it’s a little more like 12-13, but my way I just call a tank 275mi range & I have a small buffer.

Don’t even remember the last time I got 275 miles on a ful tank of gas.

 

[LINUS]

@Qball - you get the fuel light, for sure.

Seems like it hits at 5g left in tank, IIRC.

 

[Qball]

What!?!?!? You get 275 miles when the light comes on? Did you strip the 80 down to frame?

 

[LINUS]

^^^^ Haha, no.

I mean if I’m in the mood to push it beyond ~215-225mi I see the fuel light.

From what conventional forum wisdom is, it hits at 5g in the tank - so you have 55+ miles yet of gas.

I run Mobil super unleaded gas (92 here) -in winter & alchohol-free super late Spring to late Autumn & Mobil 1 10-30 in my crankcase. Aside from an oddball fill of Shell gas, the Mobil/winter & ethanal-free 92 from Spring to Autumn, 95% of time it’s from 2 specific stations local to me.
Techron added at nearly over-reccomended ~3K intervals to keep carbon on valves to a bare minimum, even add an errant cup of mineral spirits in the tank and Sta-Bil when my 80 is on the trickle charger/planned short-term mothballing.
Detail rich explain since I’m an ex-operator in a large gas refinery, plus my O/C personality & desire to keep my 80 in top runability.

My 80 has iron bumpers both ends, sliders, winch, bellypan & TC plate. I rarely run a spare tire in town, and only leave a small toolkit & winch basics in the back full time. So yeah, comparatively my 80 runs around town in a semi-lightweight configuration IMO.
__________
Edited to specify gas/oil combo & my O/C practices - devil in the details, yeah?

 

[midfat]

Factory bumpers, no skid plates, nothing on the roof. I do have a set of drawers. My weight isn’t terrible. I roll 35’s on 4.88s and regularly hit 265-275 miles on a tank commuting daily in LA traffic. Granted, that’s running well into the reserve light, but I still can’t get more than 22 to 23 gallons in the tank. My avg mileage sits steady at 13mpg. If I do a longer road trip without stop/go traffic, I can hit 300 without much trouble. I love 4.88s on 35s. Feel great.

 

[jonheld]

My LX450 runs 35s and 4.88s and does all things pretty well.
Daily driver and long road trips with 315/75 R16 Duratracs, wheeler with 36x12.50 TSLs.
I have no complaints and it is always fun to drive, even commuting into the city.
I never really spent the effort to truly calculate actual fuel economy using my GPS and Ultragauge. Maybe one day I'll care enough to do that. In the interim, I make sure to lubricate the hinges on the fuel door and the release cable. It's all about maintenance, you know.

 

[DOCBG]

4.88’s with 35’s just feels “right”. I’ve had a armored 80 with and without TRD SC and the mileage didn’t change much before gears, after gears, before sc, after Sc. But, way more fun with each upgrade.
Now my current set up is 4.7 transplant, and I was avg 14.5 mpg. Now I have a TRD SC and I am getting over 15 mpg. Not sure how that works but I don’t get on it that often.

 

[brockdeck]

Nightshadow Pearl color? I dont see very many. This is off topic but nice rig.

 

[baldilocks]

If you will never er go bigger than 35’s then a set of 4.56’s will put you back to stock. Most people just go to 4.88 since the taller tire has a longer lever arm and we add weight with mods and gear. You would appreciate the mechanical advantage that the 4.88’s offer and gas mileage of 13-14mpg should be expected if your rig is running well and not constantly climbing hills or in stop and go traffic.

 

[RayRay27]

On the highway full loaded with about 400 pounds of gear plus bumpers, winch, sliders, belly pan, 315s with 4.88s I can average about 15. I still have the original window sticker and these were only rated at 12 city 15 Hwy. So unless you plan on putting a diesel in or just buying a tow rig, your kida stuck with what ya got.

 

[Qball]

I have a solution! Do what I use to do, buy a prius and get 50MPG during the week and drive the LC on the weekends. I say I would average 30MPG between the two. It does help that my balls are so big I don't even need to hang truck nuts on the prius to feel secure, YMMV.

 

[bugsnbikes]

Truck nuts are carbon fiber and hang from the Prius rear view mirror???

 

[Heckraiser]

I have a solution! Do what I use to do, buy a prius and get 50MPG during the week and drive the LC on the weekends. I say I would average 30MPG between the two. It does help that my balls are so big I don't even need to hang truck nuts on the prius to feel secure, YMMV.

Ditto, Chevy Volt here. 80 uses tons of gas and requires a ton of maintenance in its advanced age. Chevy has only used a little over 100 gallons in 2.5 years and 35k miles and has required literally zero maintenance so far. I never in my life imagined that the cheapest, most reliable car I would own would be a GM.

/hijack

To the point of the thread, IMO, if you're weighted down, you could probably benefit from the 4.88. I wouldn't expect the MPG to change much, but better driving experience with a minimal MPG difference is still a good tradeoff in my book. My LX does ok with 4.10 in normal driving but turns into a real dog when loaded down or pulling the wife's camper.

 

[inkpot]

I got slightly better overall mileage with 4:88’s over 3.15’s that I get with 4.88,s over 37’s.