Temperature & MPG ?? (1 Viewer)

[perk]

I recently purchased a 95 tlc with 87k miles for $12,500 from original owner with extensive maintenance records . It is very clean and runs excellent.

I've got new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor in the garage. I'm waiting to install these until after I clean throttle body, injectors, and EGR passages. Currently my gas mileage is in the 12-14 range, I did reach 15.0 on our last road trip. I'm hoping that after decarbonizing, a tune up, a Birfield repack, and all synthetic fluids, it will get 17 mpg on the highway and 14-15 around town. Is anyone getting these high-end MPG #s?

My temp gauge always runs just a slight hair above horizontal (coincidentally, it is near the exact position my wife's 2003 Subaru Outback [inline 4 cyl] sits which the dealer told me is normal). This concerns me a little because in my research on the subject, no one states theirs as sitting above the horizontal position unless overheating. I have flushed the coolant system and added the recommended coolant mixture. No sludge in radiator and no bubbles during head-gasket test . Are others 95-97 LC running at this postion on the gauge?

Sorry for the redundancy for those of you who read my intro,
Perk

 

[mabrodis]

Search my friend...there are lots of threads about mpg...I had a '97 LX450 which I did at times get 15mpg with but it was very rare (correct wind, full moon, rained on the previous wednesday, etc). And no matter what you do to it (syn oils, etc) if you drive it fast and hard the mpg will always suck.

That sounds normal for the temp gauge, if you've done the flush, then also probably put in a new Toyota thermostat and then you know it's not overheating, so whereever the needle shows, that apparently is correct for your vehicle. I'd say on my '97 that was about where the gauge was, about a frog-hair above horizontal.

Good Luck...

 

[Josh83]

Another factor in you MPG is winter blend fuels. This, of course, is dependent on your location. In the winter the oil companies blend in additives that typically drop MPG by 1 or so.

 

[landtoy80]

13 14 summer
11 winter

 

[tarbe]

You didn't mention what viscosity oil you are running. A 15 cSt oil (40 wt) will cost you about 5% in fuel vs an 11 cSt (30 wt) oil (ymmv).

10W-30 Mobil 1 is on the thin side of 30 wt at 10cSt and nets me about 10% better mileage than 15W-40 Schaeffer's synthetic blend.

My butt dyno tells me the rig is more responsive with the thinner oils. And I have one interstate hill on my route that always causes a downshift with the 15W-40, but not the 30 wt!

I do have a couple of oil analyses in the works to compare wear rates. I'll share them when my testing is complete.

 

[Beowulf]

Is anyone getting these high-end MPG #s?

When I got mine it was stock and had 95k miles. On the night trip from Tuscon to home it was getting a little over 16; mild temps, no A/C, nothing in the truck but my svelte 135# butt . Other mileage surveys have shown that the vast majority of guys average about 16mpg on the high end. One or two guys have claimed higher but, IMHO, those are outliers. City driving produces 12+ mpg. Again, this is what the majority of guys are averaging with STOCK vehicles. Unmodified 80's are rare on this board and you can't compare my mileage now to a stock vehicle.

My temp gauge always runs just a slight hair above horizontal [ ... ] Are others 95-97 LC running at this postion on the gauge?

Most guys report that their factory temp gauge stays one needle-width below horizontal. You cannot depend on the factory gauge for an accurate temp reading. As has been shown many times, the OEM gauge is not linear and has a large range of temperatures that are considered "normal." There's nothing wrong with this as most manufactures build their gauges this way. For those of us that want to know EXACTLY what the cooling system is doing the only solution is an accurate aftermarket gauge. See turbocruiser's Greddy install for more information. Rich and photoman have posted test results of the various engine cooling sensors on the 1FZ-FE engines. There's a lot to read if you are interested.

HTH.

-B-