help this new guy with a 3.0 truck

[ponie2kool]

Hey i was looking all over for a site like this where people care about Fuel Economy. I drive a 1992 Toyota pickup and it's a V6. yes it's a gas hogger compared to some of your cars, but i want to increase my FE so i wouldn't have to pay so much at the gas pump. can you guys throw me some key ideas where to start? i don't care for the power, i'm all in for better FE. thank you guys

[tomauto]

Welcome to the site!

You can find so much here to help you. Use the search button to find topics we have previously discussed.

A couple things you can do off the top of my head:

Mods:
- Change wheels + tires to lighter ones (looks like you have some swampers on)
- Install a bed cover. (For better air flow) --less wind resistance, more mpg
- Take out un-needed objects from the truck (rear seats and plastic pieces)

Simple things to do next trip:
- Avoid braking (when you brake all your previous kinetic energy [forward motion] is lost, thus fuel economy suffers)
- Take un-needed items out of your truck (every pound out helps)
- Drive slower! (less wind resistance)
- Avoid multiple cold starts (combine trips) Multiple cold starts are not only harmful to your engine, it is a fuel economy killer.

[SVOboy]

Here's the super thread that we're working on making more complete: http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=1088

Certainly a good place to start.

That said, welcome to the site! I think you'll find that the two most significant things you can do are driving and aerodynamics. What kinda mileage do you get already?

Don't forget to fill out a garage and gaslog entry for the truck!

[MetroMPG]

Welcome.

Are you tracking every fill-up? In case you're not, that's where to start. Establish a baseline and set some reasonable goals. (The gaslog is great for that.)

One of the first things to do is invest in a ScanGauge to give yourself instant feedback. It will pay for itself without question if you're serious about this.

I agree with SVOboy: the biggest savings will come from changes to driving technique first. What kind of driving do you do typically?

The easiest single thing you can do to net the largest savings is reduce your speed on the highway, particularly for a truck (aerodynamically challenged).

[GasSavers_Ryland]

What do you use the truck for?

Synthetic fluids, you have rear end oil, tranny oil, and engine oil, each one of those is an area that you can loss energy.

find out what the narrowest tires are that will fit on you truck, they will most likely be what was used on the regular cab 2 wheel drive modle, inflate them to the max psi.

will the suspention from another model alow you to lower your truck to a more reasonable hight and still leave room for the drive train?

[QDM]

I have a base model 93 Toyota pickup with the 4 cylinder and 5 speed. Among other things I use it to tow my teardrop trailer and haul my ultralight aircraft. Even pulling the trailer it can get 30 mpg. Not nearly as good as my Swift but I can't really tow anything with the Swift.

Just like the others have said, keep the tires inflated, upshift at low RPMs, be light on the throttle peddle, put on a lightweight canopy, use synthetic gear oil in the tranny and rear end.

Q

[Matt Timion]

BTW, you might want to take a look at your garage entry. YOu have 41mpg as your combined EPA value. I believe it should be 20mpg..

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/2001c...ef.jsp?id=9318