With non-crazy tires, a reasonable load, and reasonable highway speeds, you should be able to reach 13mpg. That's a 30% increase. Pretending that's not significant is ridiculous and defeatist.
De-modding - am I crazy? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Vision19
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We do have some great wheeling up north, but even for us who live in the cities it's a 4hr drive. It's called Iron Range Offroad recreation area (state owned).
- Thread starter
- #44
Very true. 2-3 mpg in these do make a big difference.
I would be curious to know the real world difference of a 35" MT weighing 76lbs versus a 35" AT weighing in at 63 lbs. Probably would take a long time to pay for itself, but on road driving might be a lot nicer (+ siping for snow and ice).
For comparison's sake, imagine this plus family of 4, needless to say heavy. I averaged the whole trip about 12.5mpg (MN-AZ) with obviously a mixed long cross state driving and then off-highway trekking CO-AZ. This is also on a heavy 35" AT (Falken ATWs). Last i looked i am down 11.2mpg driving locally so like most folks say, mpg on this is pretty crapshoot.
I just switched from AT to MT on my other rig, and my non-scientific observation is about .5 to 1mpg which i think is mostly rolling resistance.
I just switched from AT to MT on my other rig, and my non-scientific observation is about .5 to 1mpg which i think is mostly rolling resistance.
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- #47
For anyone curious, I switched tires last week and noticed a significant change.
Old tires were DynaPro MT's in 315 weighing 73 lbs a piece.
New tires are Cooper AT3 XLT in 315 at 62lbs a piece. AT tires make much for sense for the purpose of the vehicle - good siping is a must.
So far through several tanks of fuel I went from an average of 10.1 MPG to 12.7 MPG (mixed driving). That would be a 26% increase.
There are lots of formulas and opinions on tire weight and rolling resistance.. all I know is it does appear to make a difference.
Old tires were DynaPro MT's in 315 weighing 73 lbs a piece.
New tires are Cooper AT3 XLT in 315 at 62lbs a piece. AT tires make much for sense for the purpose of the vehicle - good siping is a must.
So far through several tanks of fuel I went from an average of 10.1 MPG to 12.7 MPG (mixed driving). That would be a 26% increase.
There are lots of formulas and opinions on tire weight and rolling resistance.. all I know is it does appear to make a difference.
COYS
SILVER Star
Since op asked, my fast forward hot take is your 80 is a very tired 80 and a poor example of how it should drive and perform. To get it back to even near the vicinity of a sorted 80 is easily a five digit endeavor, 6+ months of sourcing parts, plenty o’ ih8 search engine queries + wrench time.
The very fact that it’s in the condition it’s in is merely evidence of the vicious cycle and race to bottom of no budget, no time, no interest in upkeep. I’m not sure this example has hope of being rescued.
Please don’t take this personally. If anything, go crazy and prove me wrong. Good luck.
The very fact that it’s in the condition it’s in is merely evidence of the vicious cycle and race to bottom of no budget, no time, no interest in upkeep. I’m not sure this example has hope of being rescued.
Please don’t take this personally. If anything, go crazy and prove me wrong. Good luck.
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The only thing that would prevent a Land Cruiser from being "rescued" is severe rust/structural damage.
I know parts and especially labor can get expensive if you want a full restoration or the like, but maybe the OP just wants a trail beater. At the end of the day it's just an old workhorse.
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Everyone is saying your rig is not worth it and you should get a different vehicle or different 80 series but I didn't read that anything was wrong with your 80 other than the gears.
If you got a decent deal on your rig than just get it re-geared or swap your 3rds with somebody for stock gears. Than stay on top of maintenance, drive it, break it, fix it, and repeat.
My 80 looks like straight garbage, it is painted with poo colored bed liner and it has more dents than a golf ball. But it is still just as fun to take exploring even with the liner and dents.
If you just want a fun adventure, wheeling, and camping rig than run with what you got. Selling it and starting over won't save you any money!!!!
If you want a show rig than consider starting over from scratch.
If you got a decent deal on your rig than just get it re-geared or swap your 3rds with somebody for stock gears. Than stay on top of maintenance, drive it, break it, fix it, and repeat.
My 80 looks like straight garbage, it is painted with poo colored bed liner and it has more dents than a golf ball. But it is still just as fun to take exploring even with the liner and dents.
If you just want a fun adventure, wheeling, and camping rig than run with what you got. Selling it and starting over won't save you any money!!!!
If you want a show rig than consider starting over from scratch.
Your rig is similar now, to my '94 that I've owned since 1998, bought used with 125K miles on it - just under 300K now. It was stock when I got it and I've made a few changes, most of them have had a negative effect on mpg....
. I guess my mpg is similar to yours and I've chalked it up to weight from the armor, 24 gal aux fuel tank, 5.29 gearing and the 35's. I can get 12 mpg in the summer if not towing. I chose the gears because I tow a squareback off road trailer for overlanding. I highly recommend the LRA aux fuel tank - it effectively doubled my range, but have to agree that the 5.29's are a bit much for 35" tires if you're not going to load it up or tow anything. I got really tired of jerry cans, especially before I had a trailer to mount them on. And if you're going to drive the Alcan, you'll be glad you have an aux tank, not to mention trips of any distance.I don't run mine as a DD, just for overlanding runs, usually with a group or up into the local hills around here in eastern OR. I just have to say that our '94's are getting old and will require that we keep up with the maintenance to be reliable. Parts will need to be ordered and waited on, especially in AK. IMHO, you couldn't pick a better all around reliable rig for most off roading adventures. If you're curious about what mods I've made over the years, there's a link in my sig.
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Could improve aerodynamics, like a golf ball
If you had bought a stock rig and decided to build it up for touring, would you baulk at spending money to add suspension and gearing to suit your needs?
Think about changes as modding the rig, not de-modding. Does that change your thoughts?
Think about changes as modding the rig, not de-modding. Does that change your thoughts?
- Thread starter
- #54
It makes it feel less painful in a way. Hindsight being 20-20 I would have bought a stock one, but you don't know what you don't know.. All my hours in baselining and learning about 80's got me the knowledge to know that. Changing gears and everything for maybe 1-2 MPGs isn't worth the effort in my mind. I think we will just drive it at long as we can! Getting rid of the mud tires has definitely improved road manners, and I'm thinking some Dobinsons 1.75 progressive coils with the IMS shocks might do the trick.
Run a ad for a swap, there's bound to be someone that will trade you for stock gears.
LandLocked93
SILVER Star
just a data point ime...
265/70 E-rate A/T (~30.5"x10.5") garnered 18mpg over a 2-way hwy run @65mph over 90 miles on flat ground. Repeatable +/- 2mpg for about 15 mos or so during my baseline period, but before anything more than a lift, bumper, and winch were added (ex. 2-banana wood rear build-out for 'overland' base camping)
But the tires look a bit goofy and it is extreme for daily use.
Nice control but harsh with anything more than medium spring rate - have 860X heavies installed, ride like a bus without the build out weight in place.
200 mile range is just enough to drive the Alcan but don't skip too many gas stations and carry 10ga or so of extra fuel.
I drove my 80 on 36's w/ 4.88's up the Alcan in the month of Nov. years ago towing a 26ft enclosed snowmobile trailer and averaged 8MPG from Nebraska. I had to stop for fuel every 2-2.5hrs during the day then used the jerry cans to drive late into the night after the gas stations closed, slept in the cruiser and gassed up in the AM.
