Hello from Old Saybrook, Ct (94 Toyota pickup)
 

Hi folks
a noobie here looking to mod a 94 Toyota pickup with a cap to higher mpg.
5 speed manual, 2wd, not looking for 90 mpg, but 33 would be nice. First mod is a custom, professionally built 4 cyl 22RE from the master in Ca. Fully balanced and blueprinted, flywheel and clutch also balanced. My biggest question is, what tires ? EXACTLY how much better are skinny tires than normal width tires ? I'm thinking I'll be finding out myself. This truck has no power steering or power brakes. The front end isn't exactly aerodynamic.
Any experience or suggestions with small trucks is welcome !!

pwr333

Deleting or unhooking the braking power assist isn't going to help fuel economy.
Since its a 2wd what gears does it have? You could always swap the gears.
Toyota liked to put 4.11 gears in the 4x4 trucks, don't know about the 2wd.
The V6 trucks came with 3.73 gears standard and the rear axle had a locker.

no real difference between 'skinny' and normal tires. stay w normal. But you need to look at the over all gearing as mentioned above.
Taller tires (than stock) can lower rpm at highway speeds. how much time on freeway or in top gear.
Also all engines have a sweet spot in the rpm curve. I got my 02 Infiniti Q45 V8 to around 1700 rpm at 65. Really helped the milage. Went 5.5% taller on the tires.

Hi,
I have a 1987 (Josie in the Garage page) and have pushed it as high as 39+ mpg on one occasion. I probably had more than a few angry drivers hammering past me, but I was able to disregard them on that trip. I have seen 30+ many, many times, and it's only been infrequent use that has pushed my average down over the last several tankfuls.

So: my truck has 3.73 gears. It's a 22R, carbureted, and not equipped with any special tow package. It buzzes along at highway speeds. If you can find out what your gearing is, that would be good to know. I think a 3.35 was also offered on my generation, it may have been offered on yours as well. I'm pretty sure my engine could pull the taller rearend with no trouble whatsoever, it's torquey enough, and the 22RE brings just a tad more to the party than the carb version, so that wouldn't be a problem for you. So if you have the 3.73 but wanted to make the switch and can afford the parts, I think that's got huge potential.

I have a cab-height cap on the back of my truck. I did notice a small improvement in my fuel economy when it was installed. Installing an aero cap would probably make a large, noticeable difference.

Stick with the stock height tires. If nothing else, having a wonky speedo and odo is a pain, and I don't think there's an aftermarket speedo gear that would correct something that small. I have never tried installing narrower tires on mine. I did have light truck tires on for a couple of years and that knocked about 2-5mpg off every tank until I switched back. Never again.

The 22R is wonderfully flexible and torquey for its size, get into the highest gear you can at first opportunity. It'll motor along happily in 5th at 25mph, all day long, and even pull a slight grade.

Aside from the cap, I have done NO aero to my truck, and I know it would benefit from some. Virtually anything you do is probably going to have a big positive effect. The aero underneath is a nightmare, you could reap big dividends from a modest air dam or lots of bellypans and no one would ever even notice.

Trucks from my generation were sometimes equipped with manual steering, and I think the steering box might fit on yours too. Some research would definitely be required. But that would free up a couple of horsepower, no problem.

My truck still runs its original belt-driven fan, and could easily carry an electrical fan that would also lighten the load. That's also worth considering. If nothing else, it would free up a bit of space under the hood, and that's never a bad thing.

I agree with Elhigh. Best bang for your buck on a yota pickup would be aero considering their was obviously no thought put into it from the factory. I would imagine that even with extensive mods it would be difficult to pull the mpgs capable of a more modern FI truck. The holy grail would be a 2rz engine swap from a 1996+ tacoma