500 miles to a tank?? Yes! (1 Viewer)

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This thread got me noticing things on my Trip display. I get 17 or so MPG on the average tank, and if the tank is 25.4 gallons then I should be able to go 430 miles. Yet my 'miles to empty' at full usually shows 340 or so. Is the rest down to large reserve or something? I rarely run the truck down below 1/4 tank.
 
On our recent trip, 1329 miles to be exact, I have used 70.6 gallons of 91 octane gas. Las Vegas NV - Sequoia National Park CA - Reno NV - Virginia City NV - Lake Tahoe CA - Las Vegas NV. If my math is right that is around 18.8mpg. My top speed (gps app) is 68mph on 70mph zones. From Sacramento going up Lake Tahoe is a 65mph zone uphill highway stretch (Donner Pass), I was at 63mph tops because my astigmatism doesn’t allow me to see very well at night (that was 11PM with heavy snowfall), and I must admit I drive like a grandma too. Total of 4 passengers (me, wife, my 12yo and 2yo daughters), a couple of bags and snacks and thats it.

all stock except for 1.25” aluminum wheel spacers and rated-E 275/70R18 Wildpeaks.
Any idea what your normal mpg is, outside of road trips?
 
In Novenber I drove from Oklahoma City back to Tucson. Easy on the acceleration and cruise control was set at 65 mph. 275/70/18 KO2's at 33psi. AC going (was 85 f outside) I managed to squeeze 500 miles out of the tank ... twice. Truck is new to me, I'm the second owner of this 06' LC and was quite surprised at the amount of range. Is this normal? The tank seems to be the standard 26.3 gallons (to the brim). Everything else is bone stock. Truck has 78K.

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99 LC owner here. I am just happy when I get 250 miles on tank. Now that you mentioned and documented it, you will never see those numbers again :)
 
My "low fuel" light comes on with 5-6 gallons left in the tank. I usually get about 17 MPG under the driving conditions described.
 
The best I ever got on my LX was a consistent 16-17mpg when the truck was overloaded and still had AHC a few years ago. I remember driving back from WY on a 1,000+ mile road trip and the truck put itself into the Low setting. Driving 70mph+ on cruise control on the highway at the low setting seems to be the ticket for the best MPG on one of these rigs. At the time, the truck had 33" KO2s, cargo completely loaded, 3 adult males, each 200lb+, full of cargo, sliders, and aftermarket skids.

Since doing a 2-3" lift, my best MPG is around 11-13.5 (full armor,winch, 2 spares, fully loaded).
 
This thread got me noticing things on my Trip display. I get 17 or so MPG on the average tank, and if the tank is 25.4 gallons then I should be able to go 430 miles. Yet my 'miles to empty' at full usually shows 340 or so. Is the rest down to large reserve or something? I rarely run the truck down below 1/4 tank.
My trip computer shows the same as yours usually. I did notice that it adjusts during the trip, it kept saying I have 200 miles left for a fifty miles etc etc. After I had zero miles left I drove another forty miles. There seems to be an extra gallon capacity in the tank before the charcoal canister. I am looking into what kind of vent or mechanisms are used to employ said canister. On some of my other vehicles (BMW) the canister is only used if it gets hot out and the fuel expands past a certain ratio, a valve opens and fuel goes into the canister, in other words I can't fill it up so full that the canister fills.
 
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This thread got me noticing things on my Trip display. I get 17 or so MPG on the average tank, and if the tank is 25.4 gallons then I should be able to go 430 miles. Yet my 'miles to empty' at full usually shows 340 or so. Is the rest down to large reserve or something? I rarely run the truck down below 1/4 tank.

The trip computer is not at all accurate or reliable.

Best I've ever managed was mid 400s (I think 430-440ish) on my stock '99 LX. I've noticed that my MPG seems to decrease by 1 every ~5mph over 65 in my current truck and its current form. Lately I'll pull high 200s out of a highway tank running 75-85 on my 34s and 4.88s.

Though, I did snag this while caravanning to a trail with a TJ in our group who was limited to about 60-65MPH. This was prior to re-gearing.

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The patience you have to maintain the truck at 65mph especially on those areas where speed limits are between 70-80mph is impressive than the fuel consumption you clocked.

You mean the patience of people behind him...

65 on a road trip, not towing... Ugh, that would kill me.
 
500+ miles on a tank ? Sure, with a 50 mph tailwind, downhill, strip all the weight out of the truck, keep your foot out of it, drive it till it's totally out of gas.

I have two LC's and get about 300 miles per tank, with reasonable reserves before filling. No big tires, just OME lift, no armour, etc.
 
I've only been on the high side of 400 a couple times. Only once with California gas. When I run Nevada supreme, I can sometimes eek out 430.

Last time I really pushed it a few weeks back, I was a 415 and did manage to put 26 gallons in my 25.4 gallon tank.

Quality of gas seems to be a factor. In California our gas is formulated to be 10% less polluting, but I use 15% more of it. I sure am glad we pay a 25% premium for the pleasure of using a higher quantity of less polluting fuel. Gubmint idjits and shrub cuddling eco-weenies!
 
I did some experimenting this week. Most my driving is on North I-25 or county highways. Speed limits 45-75.

Using strictly the infotainment MPG, I can get up to 14-15MPG by keeping highway speed around 65-70. I'm normally driving 75-85 and get 13.0 so that's a ~15% improvement. Add about 1 MPG to those numbers to correct for tire diameter (I'm running 275/70/18).

The rough math says that reduction in highway speed is helping about 15%. I need another 20% to get up to that 18+ MPG territory, but that 15% improvement is more significant than I would have thought.
 
230 a tank best I’ve done so far. But I have a VW that gets 40 mpg so I’m just telling myself it all evens out
Similar scenario for us, we have a 2007 5SPD MT Honda Fit Sport and a 2020 Honda Fit 7SPD CVT that we use for in-city errands, very happy with 40mpg average. It’s always nice to have a very practical car to compensate for a hungry big vehicle like the Land Cruiser.
 
I did some experimenting this week. Most my driving is on North I-25 or county highways. Speed limits 45-75.

Using strictly the infotainment MPG, I can get up to 14-15MPG by keeping highway speed around 65-70. I'm normally driving 75-85 and get 13.0 so that's a ~15% improvement. Add about 1 MPG to those numbers to correct for tire diameter (I'm running 275/70/18).

The rough math says that reduction in highway speed is helping about 15%. I need another 20% to get up to that 18+ MPG territory, but that 15% improvement is more significant than I would have thought.
Factor in also the topography of your location. Colorado entails a lot of uphills that would require more frequent downshifts (higher RPMs means motor will demand more air-fuel ratio) to maintain that cruising speed.
 
Keep in mind the Hundys have a coefficient of drag of 0.4, and the frontal area of these rigs is "not small"

See this graph for typical examples of how frontal area and coefficient of drag affect the air resistance seen by a vehicle for a given speed.

Speed reductions at highway speeds will increase our MPG significantly more, %-wise, than say a slippery shape like a McLaren.

This is why closely drafting a semi-trailer can really increase the MPG - perhaps at the cost of pissing off the trailer driver though.
 
Factor in also the topography of your location. Colorado entails a lot of uphills that would require more frequent downshifts (higher RPMs means motor will demand more air-fuel ratio) to maintain that cruising speed.

I-25 isn't an uphill or downhill gauntlet. From denver to the springs or denver to foco its + or - like 150 feet over 30-50 miles. It balances out pretty well if you're round tripping things.
 
I-25 isn't an uphill or downhill gauntlet. From denver to the springs or denver to foco its + or - like 150 feet over 30-50 miles. It balances out pretty well if you're round tripping things.
I can attest to this fact. My wife lived down in the springs and I made that drive more than twice while we were dating. From my old house in Castle Pines to her house on the west side of the springs was not more than 100 feet over/under. I was driving a 5.7 XK at that point and was always proud of my 12 mpg average.
 

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