It's not so much the mpgs as it is the mpgs AND lack of power. My neighbor complains about his Dodge Power Wagon getting 16 mpgs but that thing has a HEMI!
what is your MPG
- Thread starter beardedforlife
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It's not so much the mpgs as it is the mpgs AND lack of power. My neighbor complains about his Dodge Power Wagon getting 16 mpgs but that thing has a HEMI!
There's a fix for that. But fair warning, it doesn't improve mileage.
Honestly, I'm not worried about mileage. Worrying about mileage on these things is like owning a motorcycle and worrying about being exposed to the weather. 
Keep in mind, the youngest one of these is now at least 22 years old. Is it fast compared to modern vehicles? Of course not. Was it even considered "fast" during its day? No. However if you compare it to the competition of its time it was more than adequate. That said, who wouldn't love more power, I know I would too.
Today on my way home... a warmed-up 1fz with a light tail-wind is a thing of beauty.
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Asking about MPG on a series 80 Land Cruiser is something you do not worry about. If you are curious or concerned, you have the wrong vehicle.
My scan gauge shows 16 mpg average, but when I calculate it at the gas stations it's usually 13.5 
I'm stock on 33s
I'm stock on 33s
Wow. Is that instantaneous or an average, and does it recalibrate for your big tires? Believe it or not, I can only remember filling up mine 3 times since buying it last May and my MPG is always around 13 for JNU driving. (No scan gauge on mine)
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It’s instant, but I was cruising around 18 for a few miles on Egan with that tail wind. I have a yellr box to correct the speedo/odo, verified dead-on with gps. Typical cruising usually shows 14.5-16.5, but accelerating really eats up the average... all these damn traffic lights out in the valley!
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Years ago I got up to well over 20 mpg indicated on my Ultragauge on the more or less level stretch of I-35 between DFW and Austin. Still had stock size Michelin LTX tires back then and I found a truck hauling a huge truss section, lots of very turbulent air to cruise in following him. Was able to sit behind him nonstop for almost the entire trip going somewhere around 60-65mph driving in granny mode. Hit real bad stop and go traffic in Georgetown, TX (~160 miles in) and by the time I made it to Austin (~last 30 miles) my average was down to ~19ish. Around town in LA I'm lucky to crack 10mpg these days.
The traffic lights around me in LA are all camera or induction loop triggered instead of open-loop timers, so you end up stopping at almost every single light unless you get lucky and have enough people ahead of you to turn all the lights green before you get there but not so many as to slow you down with traffic.
One of the things I always thought was glorious about Austin traffic lights is there were certain routes that had a timed sequence to enable pelotons of cars to make it through many intersections without stopping. You could cross all of downtown pretty much from MLK on the north to Cesar Chavez on the south without stopping if you took Guadalupe and maintained 28mph. The lights would turn green in rolling fashion just as you got to them. The exception was if some EMS had come through and interrupted the local timing on a set of lights, then it was all ****ed up until they reset (overnight? not sure).
Grandpa Simpson story over
Edit: misremembered some numbers
The traffic lights around me in LA are all camera or induction loop triggered instead of open-loop timers, so you end up stopping at almost every single light unless you get lucky and have enough people ahead of you to turn all the lights green before you get there but not so many as to slow you down with traffic.
One of the things I always thought was glorious about Austin traffic lights is there were certain routes that had a timed sequence to enable pelotons of cars to make it through many intersections without stopping. You could cross all of downtown pretty much from MLK on the north to Cesar Chavez on the south without stopping if you took Guadalupe and maintained 28mph. The lights would turn green in rolling fashion just as you got to them. The exception was if some EMS had come through and interrupted the local timing on a set of lights, then it was all ****ed up until they reset (overnight? not sure).
Grandpa Simpson story over
Edit: misremembered some numbers
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You can't beat those Michelin LTX's for good mpg. My truck had them (stock size) when I first bought it and I would regularly get 18-19 mpg with the cruise set to 65.
Brand new on bike tire Prius 32s the EPA rates a 1FZ-FE at 15mpg at best yet you’re typically fetching 10%+ mas in 2022?
What’s your actual real life mpg and what are your mods? Perhaps they feed your 80s jet fuel up north.
I've found the digital reader estimates to never be real accurate. I do believe calculating fuel mileage to be extremely important from a mechanical point of view. It can be a very good indicator of a problem existing such as problems with fuel injectors, plugged cats, or sensors.
Tachycardic
SILVER Star
I'm running on stock-sized LTXs and I never got 18-19mpg--must be the tired engine vs new. I'm lucky to get 14mpg highway, but I do have a roof rack now. 15.5mpg was the best I ever got without a roof rack. In and around town driving nets me about 12mpg.
This thread is ridiculous.
Says the gentleman who tows his 80 to the trail (sometimes)
.I still put 20K+ hwy miles on my 80 a year, so while the mpg is not the determining factor (smiles per mile is more the motivator), it is certainly something I keep tabs on.
I tow because the dodge seat is comfy and listening to that Cummins get down and dirty in the mountain passes is stimulating. I buy fuel, that’s what I do.
Brand new on bike tire Prius 32s the EPA rates a 1FZ-FE at 15mpg at best yet you’re typically fetching 10%+ mas in 2022?
What’s your actual real life mpg and what are your mods? Perhaps they feed your 80s jet fuel up north.
There might be a little confusion here, and I thought I had included more info that I now see I didn’t. I certainly don’t average over 15, and didn’t say so - I was saying that in moments of highway cruising (so, not the tank average) 14.5-16.5 is typically what it shows I’m getting at that given time. And as stated, the picture of 18.5 was a brief moment on the highway with a tail wind, so the whole point of posting was that it’s unrealistic - I thought it was humorous.
Engine is stock, but running parts are either relatively new or in great condition. Has a J lift with 315 ATs, and I’m a gentle driver, typically squeezing out every bit of mileage I can. Again, speedo/odo are dead on with the yellr box, verified by two GPS units. Tank average was usually 12.5 before I moved to a part of town where I do a bit more highway cruising, and now my average is usually 13.5. This is a daily driver, so it doesn’t spend time eating gas off road. The best I have ever seen was a pure highway trip with no stops, cruising about 60, and I got 15.5, just the one time. I was surprised. I don’t use the scangauge average, I’m calculating based on my fill-ups.
If while exclusively cruising 60 on the highway, I’m getting 15 or so, then an average of ~13 makes sense, considering I still have to stop/accelerate/etc, which eats up a lot of gas and knocks down the average, as I said in that post.
I assume EPA ratings are an average of the given conditions, not the max possible in an isolated moment, which would be misleading. You can cruise beyond 15, but that’s not what your tank average will be.
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TLDR - Mpg hasn’t changed much
Enough of my blabbering, here’s my 2022 update:
*New OEM 1FZ-FE long block replacing the og engine at 278K miles
*New OEM EGR/VSV system
*New chunker currently 900 miles breaking in gently
*Now running 37s on 17” wheels totaling 95lbs per corner
*Still running 4.88s and same OME medium lift, stock body
Averaging 12.5-13mpg LA duties which is a mix of hwy and urban grid driving (i.e. in line with EPA range for a factory fresh ‘97). Will be making a trip to Cruiser Outfitters to fit BP-51s next month so I’ll keep an eye out on mpg cruising the great American hwy.
Enough of my blabbering, here’s my 2022 update:
*New OEM 1FZ-FE long block replacing the og engine at 278K miles
*New OEM EGR/VSV system
*New chunker currently 900 miles breaking in gently
*Now running 37s on 17” wheels totaling 95lbs per corner
*Still running 4.88s and same OME medium lift, stock body
Averaging 12.5-13mpg LA duties which is a mix of hwy and urban grid driving (i.e. in line with EPA range for a factory fresh ‘97). Will be making a trip to Cruiser Outfitters to fit BP-51s next month so I’ll keep an eye out on mpg cruising the great American hwy.
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I’m on 37’s shooting squirrels and bumping up against 11 mpg just cuz. I think if I go back to 35’s I could get 12 if I release the parking brake before I go. 15 highway 13 city, if you are lucky.