MPG 2011

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roadsalt

roadsalt

Crusty 05 LX470
Joined
Aug 15, 2023
Threads
33
Messages
382
Location
New Jersey
What can I do here to improve folks?

2011 lx570. No mods other than wheels (rock warriors with Michelin ms2s 285/70r17) and a half iron man sliding drawer in the back instead of a seat.

My guesstimator is saying I get 9-11mpg
 
roadsalt said:
What can I do here to improve folks?

2011 lx570. No mods other than wheels (rock warriors with Michelin ms2s 285/70r17) and a half iron man sliding drawer in the back instead of a seat.

My guesstimator is saying I get 9-11mpg
Click to expand...
Under what driving conditions………
 
You need to calculate actual mileage, no guestimate.

Miles driven divided by gallons of fuel used. Your tires are about 4% larger than stock so multiply your result by 1.04

About what you can do.

Change your driving style if not conducive to mpg efficiency.
Clean the MAF sensor.
Check the PCV valve.
Disconnect the battery for a couple minutes to force it to relearn your diving style.
 
Your avatar pic shows you have a roof rack add on mounted. If you still have it on, that would be a major source of drag.

1786942482707.webp
 
Sajan said:
how much did it improve?
Click to expand...
It didn’t improve acc to the onboard calculator.

Current mpg since last fill says 9. This is worse than my old 05 lx470. That one had a dissent bumper with winch, two drawers, same wheels, full roof rack platform, and deleted AHC.

Which leads me to believe that something must be wrong here.
 
Cruising at 80mph I get 11-12 MPG in the flatlands of the mid west. 35s, 4.88s, and all sorts of crap on my rig don't help.

There are a number of things which could affect MPG even on a stock rig.
  • I'm assuming since you have an LX you're running 91+ octane. Fuel type can matter, and I'll notice a difference in throttle response when the ECU keeps the knock correction learning value above 18 (monitored in OBD Fusion). For me running 91+ helps.
  • Brakes that are dragging, especially if the eBrake is a bit rusty and not fully releasing, can definitely matter.
  • Aerodynamic drag makes a huge difference
  • Larger, heavier tires. Even if you are running OEM tire sizes and brand/model often the material formulation for the OEM versions are different and you might take a hit. FWIW on my 3rd gen 4Runner I switched from OEM to an identical size and very close weight P-metric A/T tire but still took a 10% hit in my mileage.
  • Lead foot, especially around town.
  • Speed, on the highway. I seem to lose about 0.5MPG+ every 5 MPH over 55.
  • Wind, especially cross-winds, seem to make a big difference on the highway too.
  • Mechanical, electrical, and emissions system issues of course. Failing O2 sensors can cause you to run too rich for too long, a loose battery cable can leave your alternator working overtime and adding drag to the engine, old spark plugs can impact mileage, a bad alignment can add drag on the pavement, etc.
The only way you'll get an accurate picture is to get out on the highway for a long trip. You really can't mix city and hwy and get an accurate picture of what's up with your truck. I am surprised given your avatar that you aren't getting at least 15-16mpg on the highway though.

1786974113238.webp
 
agreed. you should do a full tank, all highway cruising at 65 mph or something and see what you get.
I was at 16-17mpg on the highway.

I am not close to stock either. (roof rack, front and rear bumpers, R/T tires, sliders, supercharger, ~+600lbs in weight from stock)

mixed driving, I was getting about 11mpg, but last tank after the long road trip, i got 13mpg. not sure why. i do feel like my passenger front tire might have a little positive camber.
 
roadsalt said:
It didn’t improve acc to the onboard calculator.

Current mpg since last fill says 9. This is worse than my old 05 lx470. That one had a dissent bumper with winch, two drawers, same wheels, full roof rack platform, and deleted AHC.

Which leads me to believe that something must be wrong here.
Click to expand...

Agreed something is now right for efficiency to be that bad. Even around town. Even uncorrected for tire size.

What kind of region do you live in? Are you doing a lot of short trips in town? Tire inflation pressure? Just more context but shouldn't affect MPG to that degree.

How many miles on the rig?

As already mentioned, PCV would be high on my list of things to check. If it's a higher mileage rig closer to 200k, O2 sensors. What other maintenance has been done?

Scan the OBD to see what the fuel trims look like. Knock correction learning value.
 
Make sure them drive shafts are well lubed as well, inspect wheel rotation making sure brakes arnt dragging.

i get about 13mpg city in PURE stop and go traffic with the RTT/Roof rack + 1" NST Lift and Sensor lift. (But stock wheels and tires at the time).
Highway is roughly 16-17 averaging 70-75mph.
 
Appreciate all the comments:

Just did a trip 65 mile round trip primarily 40-50mph farmland roads and calculated 4.088 gallons of used gas, yielding 15.9mpg. I failed to take note of the on board computer’s mpg to compare prior to filling. This isn’t terrible, I was hoping for more.

-More details on the truck. Just rolled 150k on the odo
-Tires are at 38psi across the board
-Brakes were recently worked on to rule out warping or dragging
-I have been filling 87, would 93 make much of a difference? No 91 around here really so it’s 87 or 93
-just replaced my accumulator globes and flushed the AHC fluid

Interesting things to try:
-replace pcv valve
-clean maf sensor
-fill with premium
-grease driveshafts
 
16MPG isn't bad in that scenario, really.

Premium is unlikely to make a difference unless you're "under load". Highway speeds might have a small difference (but I really don't see it being more than a few 10ths MPG). Where I find it matters to me is when the temps are hot out (95F+) and I'm loaded down on the highway going 80+, especially in areas with light hills, the truck will often hunt for gearing unless I'm running premium. My setup is obviously different but it's an indication to me that higher octane fuels can make a difference on the trucks when they're being pushed harder.

PCV sensor and MAF cleaning are cheap and easy, but TBH there are a lot of places you can throw $ (like O2 sensors) which could be the cause but probably aren't.

I actually wouldn't rule out the ebrake dragging. In fact if the brakes have been serviced someone might've turned the ebrake shoes out too far, and since they're on a separate set of pads inside the rear disc you might not notice. It's pretty easy to check though
 
I don't think anybody mentioned tire pressure. Have you checked it? It's been a blazing hot summer and we recently had a few cool days and the tire pressure warnings went off in all our vehicles. I found the LX to be under 30psi.
 
Heckraiser said:
I don't think anybody mentioned tire pressure. Have you checked it? It's been a blazing hot summer and we recently had a few cool days and the tire pressure warnings went off in all our vehicles. I found the LX to be under 30psi.
Click to expand...
I had one at 34, I think it might have an ineffective repair in it and a slow leak. Filled it up before the test drive
 
Update: cleaned my maf and filled up with 91. Took a 125 mile RT. Half of which was in excruciating traffic.

Yielded a calculated 17.26mpg
Computer claimed 15.8mpg for what it’s worth

I have a pcv valve coming. I wonder if that will help further.
 
17 mpg with traffic is pretty good.

I notice that I consistently get ~1mpg better using 91 vs 85.
 
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