As gas prices continue to rise I've been thinking of other options to improve my mileage. We all know about the little things such as removing excess weight (ie bowling balls, tools, junk) , proper tire inflation, OEM tires, clean air filter, tune ups etc... I have a 2003 double cab prerunner and for the size truck it is, I'm not too impressed with the V6 fuel consumption. I drive a lot on the fwy and rarely if if ever tow anything bigger then the occasional appliance a couple of miles to where ever I'm going. That all said, I was wondering if the ring and pinion has anything to do with the poor fuel mileage(imo) these Tacoma's are getting. 17-20 mpg isn't very good especially since there are full size trucks that get the same or better. I've noticed that the truck is pretty quick off the line when I need it to be however when traveling around 65 to 70 mph ,the rpm's are somewhere around 2400 to 2600 rpms. This tells me the motor is working to hard and needs to drop down somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 rpms to improve mileage. Has anybody had any experience with running a smaller gear ratio and more importantly improving hwy mpg? I know going to a lower gear will decrease the towing capacity but I'm not to concerned with that. My truck is my daily commute vehicle and it would be nice to gain a couple more MPG's if it's out there.
Best ring and pinion upgrade
- Thread starter Larr75fj40
- Start date
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Duane
IH8MUD Wookie
You won't want to hear this one but the quickest way to get 2 mpg better is to slow down to 60 mph on the highway... 55 would maybe yield even another mpg... but as Sammy Hagar( I think it was) sang..I can't drive 55
I would say if you are revving 2500 rpm the engine isn't working too hard it is reving too high as you mentioned. You could regear it and don't go too far or you might fall off the torque curve and end up burning more if it can't pull a taller gear. Yes ideal would be to drive it at about 1800 rpm likely what ever speed that ends up being... Can also go up in tire size to effectively get a taller gear..putting it up in the air will likely increase air resistance more as well.either way you would have to correct your speedo.
A box cover will reduce drag which can help mileage as well.
I would say if you are revving 2500 rpm the engine isn't working too hard it is reving too high as you mentioned. You could regear it and don't go too far or you might fall off the torque curve and end up burning more if it can't pull a taller gear. Yes ideal would be to drive it at about 1800 rpm likely what ever speed that ends up being... Can also go up in tire size to effectively get a taller gear..putting it up in the air will likely increase air resistance more as well.either way you would have to correct your speedo.
A box cover will reduce drag which can help mileage as well.
