Cool because I have been hesitant to use my a/c because it already costs 50 bucks to fill up and I don't want to cut the mileage by a third by using the a/c. I know some vehicles when you turn on the a/c you can see the gas gauge drop as you drive. I usually drive with the windows down and the rear window down and this keeps it pretty cool. I tend to haul ass so the airflow is pretty decent with that technique.

 

Call me crazy, but rolling down your windows might not help the already sail like aerodynamics on your 4Runner. I really doubt that the extra drag from the windows down puts you ahead of running the A/C. When I was in college I hedged my bets though, windows in town, A/C on the highway. Just a thought.

To the original question, mid 20's was not uncommon for me when I hit the highway.

 

02 dbl cab.arb bull bar and warn 9000lb winch.Borla turbo muffler,K and N filter,stock tires.A solid 24 on the hiway going from MS to OK.The crazy thing I average 75 to 85 the whole way.Two people in the truck with me couldnt understand it either.As far as the fj Ill waite to they put an oil burner it.Im not buying anything that requires super unleaded that I have to drive everyday.It will be interesting to see what they came up with in the next few years.

 

I check my mileage every tank. Since mid-March I have logged about 4,000 miles on the 4Runner, mainly on wheeling trips (Death Valley, Mammoth, Downieville, four trips to Tahoe, etc.) and nearly all of those miles I have had bikes or kayaks on the roof. My mileage is consistently 21 mpg. Two things I have going for me though--1) summer blend gas and 2) most of this is high elevation highway mileage.

Noteable mods that might affect mileage:
275/70R16 tires
heavy rock sliders
5-speed
deck plate mod

 

I have been able to average 22 MPG on a long highway trip with few hills but to have that as an average including city driving is very unsual.

 

Wish we could figure out why theres so much of a difference in milages. I wish my stock vehicle could get 25-26 mpg like some people report, but instead mine is dropping to below 20

 

does filling up at half a tank help mileage or is that just something some people do?

i've always thought the long downhill coasting sessions in the mountains was what made my PreRunner get good mileage. always have better mileage at higher elevation than down by the sea. best i got was 365mi on a full tank going East on I-70 toward Denver then a little more back and forth driving.

 

I was pretty happy when I averaged 23.5 mpg on my last all highway trip (mostly near sea level) but that is huge if you are doing mixed driving!

 

What octane gas are you guys using? I've got a stock runner with a deckplate and 265/75 tires and I'm getting 14 mpg, 15 to 16 when I do a lot of highway driving.

I cant figure out why my mpg is so low compared to everyone else. What can I do to increase my mpg?

 

87 octane for me. Runs perfect.


Mike.

 

Seeing these mileage differences started to make me wonder so the wife and I (who drive nearly identical trucks, same tire size, same deck plate mod, about the same driving habits, etc) did some comparing.

I get 18-20 MPG between fillups and she gets 15-17 MPG between fillups. It just seems like there are some of us that get better mileage than others. I do track my mileage pretty closely as well. Have been for years.

 

I've been tracking my 6cyl 4Runner for a few tanks, seems my average overall is about 19, but that's mostly highway. I've been getting about 17 city, and 20-21 highway, basically what EPA said it would get. I haven't modded it at all except for a K&N Air filter, and I didn't notice a change in mileage after putting that in. I do know that mileage is strongly related to how you drive (like having to be the guy in front at the bottleneck onramp, or letting the other guy pass...), so that might make a difference. Try driving like an old lady (safely of course) for a tank, you might see quite a difference. Like driving the speedlimit/5 over, slow acceleration, etc. I might try it next tank just for kicks...