Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com

EcoModder.com (https://ecomodder.com/forum/)

- EcoModding Central (https://ecomodder.com/forum/ecomodding-central.html)

- - 97 4x4 3.4L Extra Cab Tacoma Project (https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/97-4x4-3-4l-extra-cab-tacoma-project-29056.html)

97 4x4 3.4L Extra Cab Tacoma Project

Goals: 32+mpg (100% over epa) year round average. Maintain towing/hauling capability.

History:

1st owner had it and put 117,000 miles on it before it through a rod after he overheated it. It sat in his garage from 2002-2011, when he sold it to the 2nd owner, who happened to be a Toyota dealership mechanic. He purchased the truck and immediately had the frame inspected to see if he could get in on the 1st gen frame rot recall. The inspection came back as a really great solid frame so he decided to put a rebuilt engine in it. He also did the timing kit with a water pump, along with a new starter and alternator and a new suspension system. He also redid the rustproofing. He had paid $6,000 for it and put another $2,500 into it doing most of the work himself. He drove it for 18,000 miles mostly from Florida to Michigan and back on road trips before selling it to a friend of his for $7,000, when he bought a new one. His friend already had a Ranger when he had bought the Tacoma off him and decided he preferred the ranger because of gas mileage. So he list's the Tacoma for $5,000... after only a year and putting like 3,000 miles on the thing. I offered him $4,000 as a hopeless lowball offer and he came back at $4,200 and I came to pick it up the next day Needless to say I feel that given the current state of the truck and all the work that was done it's probably worth almost double what I paid for it. I love it so far, and feel very blessed to be owning such a quality piece of equipment. :cheers:

Current Mods:

- UltraGauge
- 55PSI Tires
- Front Grill Block
- Removed Wipers (have them in the cab for rain)
- Folded Side Mirrors
- Flush Fiberglass Cap
- Synthetic Motor Oil (0w30 Mobile1 High Mileage)
- Differential Fluid: Amsoil Severe Gear Synthetic Extreme Pressure Gear Lube 75W-90
- Removed Spare Tire (70lbs)
- Full Coroplast Under Panels
- Radiator Clutch Fan Delete
- Side Skirts
- Rear Wheel Skirts

Planned Mods:

- Smooth Wheel Covers
- Kill Switch
- Synthetic Differential and Transmission Fluid
- 2000 W circulating heater
- Tranny, Differential heaters
- Led Lights
- Alternator Switch
- Electric Radiator Fan

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...&sz=w1168-h519
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...&sz=w1168-h519
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...&sz=w1168-h519

Basline Tank:

2014-03-05
272.8 mi
13.653 gal (US)
19.98 mpg (US)
11.77 L/100 km

2014-03-31
326.8 mi
525.93 km
13.258 gal (US)
($50.91 total for this fill)
24.65 mpg (US)
9.54 L/100 km

Last 130 miles was with the new topper. Grill mods and front belly pan for whole tank.

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/w...psa255501b.jpg

2014-04-04 377.5 mi
607.53 km
14.368 gal (US)
($52.44 total for this fill)
26.27 mpg (US)
8.95 L/100 km

Mostly highway. The topper is proving to be a valuable efficiency mod. I paid $150 for it so the Return on investment for the milage increase looks to be about 13,000 miles ->http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...1-a-28590.html

2014-05-17
329.7 mi
530.6 km
12.083 gal (US)
$3.69/Gal ($44.59 total for this fill)
27.29 mpg (US)
8.62 L/100 km

2014-05-24
411.9 mi
662.89 km
14.762 gal (US)
$4.59 ($67.76 total for this fill)
27.9 mpg (US)

Added mid section under belly panel for the last quarter of this tank and it took me up about 1mpg on the Ultragauge.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/emgarage-...d2ecbd6553.jpg

I put taller skinnier tires on (245/75/16's instead of 31x10.5/15) with lighter 2010 Tacoma rims and each wheel was 16lbs lighter! 64 pounds of rotational mass is sure to make a nice difference :)
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/w...psfb27dcd1.jpg

I haven't seen tyres narrower than 185 in trucks at this size for a long time. How does it perform off-road with them?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr (Post 426218)

I haven't seen tyres narrower than 185 in trucks at this size for a long time. How does it perform off-road with them?

That was a mistake. They're 245/75/16 :)

I had a 97 ext cab, 4wd, v6, automatic, with trd super charger. Got between 19 and 16. Torque converter didnt lock up til 50 mph, so thinking of wiring it up to a button to lock it earlier. Traded it for more than I purchased it for an insight. :thumbup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobb (Post 426231)

Yeah I love manuals for many reasons, not the least of which is superior gas mileage. I need to wire up a kill switch soon, and I'm looking into an alternator cut off switch and a deep cycle battery.

Radiator Clutch Can Delete

Mod: Radiator Clutch Fan* Delete
Estimated Hp Gain: .2-.4 constant, 1-5 during fan engage
Estimated Savings: 1mpg
Time Taken: 75 minutes (The clutch was quite stuck :( )

I'll get to fabbing up a mount and installing the electric fan tomorrow hopefully. I'm going to be using a 12v fan off of a 99 Volvo V70 XC, because I have it on hand :)

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...&sz=w1168-h562

Electric fans are a good move. Some folks still claim they can't provide a decent air flow under heavy towing or hauling conditions, but it's just a myth.

Mod: Power Steering Belt Removed
Estimated Savings: 1mpg or 36.75gallons/$147 per year based on 10,000 miles of $4/gallon gas
Time: 2 Minutes

Quote:

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr (Post 426611)

Electric fans are a good move. Some folks still claim they can't provide a decent air flow under heavy towing or hauling conditions, but it's just a myth.

My belt driven fan was more than adequate for my needs thus far during 80F with 90% grill blocking. I scaled by grill block back to 80% and it did fine today on a test run of 20miles, without even having a fan installed. Once I get the E-fan installed I will do a more rigorous test and be prepared to scale back my grill block as summer approaches. I see no reason for concern at this point though.

A noticeable advantage from the electric fans is their constant flow regardless of engine speed.

My first trip towing the tool trailer. I had a 52 mile round trip of mixed driving. I hit 21mpg and only brought my overall tank average down to 27. :)
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...&sz=w1168-h562
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...&sz=w1168-h562
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...&sz=w1168-h562
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...&sz=w1168-h562

2014-06-01
468.7 mi
754.3 km
15.944 gal (US)
$3.85/Gallon ($61.38 total for this fill)
29.4 mpg (US)
8 L/100 km

New (old) tires 245/75/16 + more under body panels. Ran 91 octane ethanol free this tank.

On my trip today after gassing up, I was excited to see what mileage I would get because I had 40+ miles of all back roads driving. I decided to try really hard to max out my mpg on this trip and ended up with 38.8mpg on the way there. I was excited, needless to say, but I blew that out of the water on the way home and got 41.3!! Round trip average today was 40.2!! I doubt I'll have a chance to pulse & glide that hard again any time soon, but it was fun. Lots of back roads with 10' shoulders help allot ;)

2014-06-13
539.9 mi
868.88 km
15.413 gal (US)
$3.89/Gallon ($59.96 total for this fill)
35.03 mpg (US)
6.71 L/100 km

This tank had 90 octane ethanol free. 90% Back roads. 40 mpg is the next tank goal.

2014-06-22

478.8 mi
770.55 km
13.017 gal (US)
49.27 L
438.67 kWh
$3.68/Gallon ($47.90 total for this fill)
36.78 mpg (US)
6.39 L/100 km

Ultra Guage read 37.21
80% Back Roads 20% Highway
87 Octane Fuel (Mobile 1)

Had to use my heater once during city traffic to nullify thermal runaway of the cooling system. Opened up more of the grill to compensate afterwards. Just finished Air Dam and changed rear differential fluid to Amsoil Severe Gear Synthetic Extreme Pressure Gear Lube 75W-90

Updated fuel logs. I've been writing them down lately, so it's been a while since I've uploaded them.

Man, you are doing great with the V6. Couple questions, did you ever install your electric fans? Also, since you have had it for a bit, how is the air dam holding up? Anything you would have done differently?

Quote:

Originally Posted by aardvarcus (Post 444959)

Sorry I missed your comment, I've been away for a bit. I made it through the summer without a fan and without incident. The air dam was fine, but was difficult to work around so I went back to what I had before that. If I had to do it again I would have gotten different tires than the new ones I bought. I lost about 3 mpg over night when I switched.

Winter is settling in and my UG is putting out about 24mpg for this tank... It's going to be a long winter...

Current tank is at 23mpg running 100% 4x4 and terrible coasting on snow covered roads. This might be my worst tank since baseline, but I'm happy with what I'm getting considering the conditions.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/fe-graphs/graph8206.gif

Yay temps going up ^

Temps going up is a huge relief. This may be the last tank for a while on this beast, as I bought a little brother for him. 98 Single Cab Tacoma 2.7L "Smudge"

2015-03-19
394.4 mi
634.73 km
14.236 gal (US)
11.85 gal (Imp)
53.89 L
($35.45 total for this fill)
27.7 mpg (US)
8.49 L/100 km

I need to do a few maintence things I've been holding off on till the weather got better and I had more time.

Here's the short list:

Replace spark plugs (#2 cylinder throwing a code
Coolant Flush
Prep and rustproof the frame and undercarriage
Replace windshield
Replace exhaust rear of the 02 sensors
Replace rear leaf springs