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Gringo-Gaucho · 11-09-2022, 11:09 PM

Ok, so back at the economical minivan ranch- a few weeks ago I said we were headed south to get a lite-ace, which we have now done. Van is a JDM 1996 toyota liteace 2.2l turbo diesel with true 4x4 (not AWD)manual hubs and manual transmission. All the things we need. Smaller than imagined, but still seats 8 total humans, plus gear space. So far, with 600kms traveled, we are seeing right at 29 mpg's. Not bad, but not as good as our hopes. I suspect this is because the toyota 3c-t diesel is being revved at 3100 rpms to maintain 100 km/hr (60 miles/hr) This is very high, and must reflect the different driving realities of Japan, where I have never been.
My first thought is to use a larger diameter tires/wheel setup, but even 2" diameter increase only equates to an 8% reduction in rpms(I think?) so around 2800 rpms at 60.
Second thought is to alter the gear ratios somehow, but I'm not sure how hard that is to do- but ALL the gears seem really really low to me. I don't need 1st gear from a stop unless on a steep hill, and I can use 5th gear by around 25-30 mph.
Ecomodders, what ideas for improving this van, and also ,what minivans can beat this mpg?

11-09-2022, 11:09 PM	#171 (permalink)
Gringo-Gaucho EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Alaska Posts: 15 Thanks: 3 Thanked 11 Times in 6 Posts	Liteace efficiency report and high RPM issues Ok, so back at the economical minivan ranch- a few weeks ago I said we were headed south to get a lite-ace, which we have now done. Van is a JDM 1996 toyota liteace 2.2l turbo diesel with true 4x4 (not AWD)manual hubs and manual transmission. All the things we need. Smaller than imagined, but still seats 8 total humans, plus gear space. So far, with 600kms traveled, we are seeing right at 29 mpg's. Not bad, but not as good as our hopes. I suspect this is because the toyota 3c-t diesel is being revved at 3100 rpms to maintain 100 km/hr (60 miles/hr) This is very high, and must reflect the different driving realities of Japan, where I have never been. My first thought is to use a larger diameter tires/wheel setup, but even 2" diameter increase only equates to an 8% reduction in rpms(I think?) so around 2800 rpms at 60. Second thought is to alter the gear ratios somehow, but I'm not sure how hard that is to do- but ALL the gears seem really really low to me. I don't need 1st gear from a stop unless on a steep hill, and I can use 5th gear by around 25-30 mph. Ecomodders, what ideas for improving this van, and also ,what minivans can beat this mpg?