dman2

I have a Toyota Tundra and want better gas mileage. I have Flowmasters on it now, but that's about it. I heard a filter and riser plate on the intake will improve gas mileage. Is this true? I don't want to spend to money for something that won't make an difference. The pipes were mainly for the rumble.

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merkerguitars

A cold air intake definately will, just make sure you don't put on any devices which are placebo's.

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dman2

Thanks. Do you have any idea of the cost of one?

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stingc

I'm not specifically familiar with Tundras, but I thought that all modern cars already have a cold air intake.

Btw, changing your filter isn't going to do anything. I doubt the riser plate will do anything either.

Ramega

Stay off the skinny pedal. Since most after market parts are designed to make more power, not less, you may be screwed. But I can relate, I drive a Mustang Cobra. Luckily I have a short commute.

KirStang

But you have DOHC (and maybe a six speed?). That should get "decent" gas mileage.

Dman2, if you're willing, and if they make them, try underdrive pulleys, they put less power to the alternator and put more power to the drive train, thus getting better mileage n' Hp

Scorps

does 3 inch exhaust give you better milage or is that just HP?

stingc

I really don't like the idea of underdrive pulleys. It gains you very little, and can cause serious reliability problems.

Something to keep in mind is that the manufacturer is put under a lot of pressure to optimize mileage. If there was anything easy that you could do to improve it, it would already have been done (for newer cars at least). If you find something that works, there is almost certainly a tradeoff somewhere.

merkerguitars

Actually I just thought of something, when I owned a big huge boat of a car that was carb and has a 6.6L engine, there was nothing that I could really do that would help me alot to get better gas mileage without breaking the bank. But a good way to get consistant gas mileage is to install a cheap vacuum gauge. The more vacuum you are pulling the better gas mileage you are getting. It will help you drive more smart. That guage helped me cut my gas cost in half since I knew when I was "too into the throttle"

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shakran

Why woudl a cold air intake get better gas mileage. Just the opposite:

The colder air is, the denser it is. If you draw in cooler air than you were before, you're drawing in denser air than you were before, which means you're drawing in MORE air than you were before. What's the ECU gonna do when it sees more air coming in? It's gonna mix in more fuel. More fuel = lower mileage.

If anything, take off the intake completely and strap a K&N directly to the throttlebody. You'll injest hot air from the engine. This will be less dense, so you'll get less air, and use less fuel. You'll notice a power dip, however.



The practical answer is this: You bought a freaking truck. And it has a V8. V8 trucks are not going to win any MPG contests. Go easy on the throttle and don't do any more city driving than you absolutely have to. That's about all you can do. If you want good fuel economy, though, you won't get it here. Sell the truck and get a 4cyl car.

dman2

A guy has to have a truck!! I like the thought of not filling up the tank as often, but would not consider getting a 4 cyl unless gas goes to like $5 a gallon. My wife would kill me too. She loves the truck.

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dman2

I can't tell because the 3" pipes make it sound so good that I find myself reving the engine more than before for the old intimidation factor.

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Ilow

I can't think of good ways to significantly increase you MPG, but I would say definitely keep an eye on any drops which might indicate a FUBAR O2 sensor or something (although I assume that would show up as a service warning on any newer truck).

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sandinista

Get an ECU that is designed to improve fuel economy for city driving. Of course you'll experience a performance dip, but that's it. Probably the best thing you can do.

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1slOwCD8

Does anyone know if the plastic tube that leads to the outside connected to the airbox is considered as a coldair intake? Or is it considered a shortram, because the filter isnt getting air directly?

etla

About the only thing that may make a big difference is taller tires or taller gears. For example a 94-95 Dodge Dakota 5.2V8 4X4 will gain about .5 MPG going from 3.92 to 3.55 diffs and another .5 going from 3.55s to 3.23s. This on trucks getting 15-20 mpg. Less power off the line though as you move taller. Unless you are unlucky enough to move to a bad place in the power band a 5% taller tire will result in about 5% better gas mileage.

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etla

One other thing. Your best fuel economy on a pickup truck is obtained with a hard bed cover followed by the tail gate down followed by tailgate off followed by tailgate up followed by one of those tailgate replacement nets. Those nets are actually worse than a tail gate in a lot of cases because they dirty the airstream and kill laminar flow. I picked up a good 3/4 mpg on my Dakota on the high way with a hard cover vs tailgate up.

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nick9871

Ill I know is that I added a KandN and exhaust to my Jeep 4.7L v8 and now i get worse gas milage cause i love the sound it makes at full throttle!

animal909

toyota echo would be ur best mod

seriously though, removing ur led foot is a good way to save gas, also not revving over 2500 rpms.

MiSo

exhaust is actually bad for your gas mileage.
it makes you lose tq thus making you get on the gas a little bit more just to accelerate the same. *exhaust is beneficial for higher rpms though.. but thats a different story and gets a little more complicated when trying to match up engine size vs. exhaust size(diameter)


just dont accelerate that quickly.. and use cruise control when you can.

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i have a apexi safcII in my car.. which is a air-fuel converter (optimizes mix for better performance), but also monitors things like revs, throttle, air, and knock.

during normal acceleation from a stop, you waste alot of gas. this is where most gas is wasted.... stop and go. so try to accelerate slowly.

also use cruise control. if im going 70 mph and use cruise, its about 12% throttle to maintain that speed. if i try to maintain the speed without cruise control i'm seeing about 18% throttle. so thats an extra 6% thats being wasted. whenever possible, use cruise control. it helps with gas mileage alot.