4 cyl vs. 6 in 4WD vehicles

engaged,

i get about 23-25 highway on my '89 4runner with the 4cyl. i bet with newer technology, the 4cyl should be able to still do about 25 even with the heaver/bigger trucks.

well the transfer case, extra driveshaft and extra axels add up to a couple hundred extra pounds that you're carrying around, so you have extra weight hurting your milage. also if you have ADD (i think all the taco's have ADD now, but i'm not sure), the front half shafts are always spinning and adding resistance. if you have manual hubs, then you don't need to worry about that.

but, my usual rant during a gas milage thread is this: the biggest factor that affects your milage is your driving style. i'm relatively easy on the car and i can get upwards of 25mpg in my truck. but if i drive it hard, the milage quickly drops around 18mpg. if seen the same cars get 30% better milage when driven by a non-agressive driver. the smoother you are with the car, the less energy you need to put into it and the less fuel you'll burn.

I've got a little 2wd Taco Reg Cab and I'm getting just under 25 consistently on the highway. I've heard that you get much better gas mileage if you drive at 60mph insted of 80 like I always do. My truck seems like its working pretty hard at 80 in 5th. If I had another gear I might get bettter mileage at 80. I've also heard that the aerodynamics really come into play at the higher speeds and play a big part in loss of mileage.

Do you keep the bed covered, or leave it open? I've heard the drag from an open bed is significant.

that's a function of the aerodynamics of the truck and the speed you normally drive. you need to test that yourself over a few tanks of gas and see if you can notice a difference. in my '95 nissan hardbody i never noticed a difference. i remember there was a website that had the results of a test an engineering student did on a chevy full size. for that size truck he found out that it was better to have the tailgate up and not covered. the aerodynamics of that truck created a 'bubble' of stationary air behind the cab and the other air flowed around it very well. i'll see if i can find that article and post it here.

I just got a hard tonneau a few fill-ups ago. Since then I've seen mileage go up maybe a little bit (a few tenths of a mpg) but it is too soon to tell. My truck only has 2,200 miles on it, so as it breaks in the mpg should go up.

The mpg would also go up if I eased it up to speed from stops and traveled at 60mph on the freeway. I haven't been able to keep my driving that tame for a whole tank's worth of gas to find out though. I reckon I would be able to get 27 if I did that.

Even with a little 2wd truck like mine, the mileage isn't anything to write home about, but with a 4wd, or even a Pre Runner the mileage you could expect is probably about 18 or 19. The big tires, high stance, and heavier components really kill the mileage.

Can't wait till they make a little hybrid Taco Mini.

I have a 1995 tacoma 4wd with a 2.7L inline 4cyl equipped with bfgoodrich 31 inch all terrain t/a tires and an aluminum, cab high cap. i get about 20mpg under daily driving conditions (some city, some highway) but can do much better (around or over 25mpg) if all my driving is on the highway and at a conservative speed. if i run at 80+ mph for a full tank of gas, though, i get somewhere between 16 and 18mpg. i should note, however, that those highway milages were on long drives and that the truck was loaded. as far as the cap is concerned, i didn't notice much of a change in milage when i had it installed, but highway handling seemed to improve a bit. i haven't had any other tires on it either, but the bfgs are not the most highway freindly tires on the market so i might get better milage with a more conservative tread pattern. it seems to me like the thing that effects my gas milage the most is how i drive. conservative and slow: good milage. agressive and fast: bad milage. alfred klek

that's a function of the aerodynamics of the truck and the speed you normally drive. you need to test that yourself over a few tanks of gas and see if you can notice a difference. in my '95 nissan hardbody i never noticed a difference. i remember there was a website that had the results of a test an engineering student did on a chevy full size. for that size truck he found out that it was better to have the tailgate up and not covered. the aerodynamics of that truck created a 'bubble' of stationary air behind the cab and the other air flowed around it very well. i'll see if i can find that article and post it here.

I read the same test results but can't find it now. Here is another site that I found while searching for it.