About LC Gas Efficiency

[Bigfoot]

1958 with 265/70/R18 KO3s. I get 19 to 19.5 usually, in eco, on pavement. Got about 22.5 with the Yokohamas (although I only did one tank with those). I'm no expert, but is it possible that we might see a slight improvement in the summer, due to hybrid battery temps? I'm wondering. I ran that first tank with the Yokos, and then it got cold about the time I put on the KO3s.

Air temperature is one of many factors affecting fuel economy. This can be due to a different winter gas formula, warming up the car longer, tire pressure dropping, and less combustion efficiency. Plus the KO3 tires weigh 19.5 lbs more each than the stock Yokos. Temperature probably doesn't put much measurable strain on the battery.

 

[ultane]

I’m running 275/65/18 @ 35psi and I’m lucky to get 17MPG and 277 MTE should I increase the psi to 45? I feel like I’m driving an EV with this range.

I don’t know what to tell you, but I would only go up 2 PSI at a time (based on other vehicles and my LC FE). My Michelins were down to 30 psi, and that cost me 2.5 mpg in fuel economy.

 

[thognar]

This is common with turbo engines. When fully engaged, turbo generates roughly 1 atm pressure. Making the 2.4L displacement volume effectively 4.8L when fully boosted. So depending on how a person drives, a fuel efficiency will similar to an engine with 2.4L to 4.8L displacement volume.

I was wondering about this and was wondering if any vehicles have a way to disable the turbo. Ya know, grandma mode -- just live with that that little 4 cylinder can do without turbo. Probably annoying on hills but maybe good enough in some cases.

 

[PACruiser]

Hmmnn, that seems counter intuitive to the purpose of the turbo. If you disable it, I would expect it to simply reduce the horsepower significantly and get worse fuel efficiency.

 

[stug4]

On my recent trip bay area -> pismo beach dunes -> death valley -> tahoe, with ~100 miles offroad, cold weather, snow and heavy Wildpeak AT4W SL I got ~19MPG average. I think it's OK I use "Normal" drive mode.

 

[egibson606]

One thing I've noticed pretty consistently is the LC absolutely hate short trips. I'm lucky to get 15mpg most mornings on my trip to work(less than 6 miles). It seems like it needs at least a 20 mile trip to get 18-20mpg

 

[thognar]

Hmmnn, that seems counter intuitive to the purpose of the turbo. If you disable it, I would expect it to simply reduce the horsepower significantly and get worse fuel efficiency.

Certainly get less horsepower, yes. Probably rather disappointing sluggish performance. But perhaps better fuel economy. Just curious.

 

[TakaraLC]

Certainly get less horsepower, yes. Probably rather disappointing sluggish performance. But perhaps better fuel economy. Just curious.

If you drive very conservatively, you might see a negligible improvement in MPG.

The energy required to accelerate a car and maintain speed is essentially fixed, and fuel contains a set amount of energy. Therefore, disabling the turbo wouldn't significantly improve MPG, as you would still need a similar amount of fuel to perform the same work. In fact, engines with higher compression ratios have better thermal efficiency, so disabling the turbo could actually hurt MPG for more aggressive driving (as turbocharged engine deliver power more efficiently).

Choosing a smaller turbocharged engine over a larger naturally aspirated engine makes sense because the turbo engine has higher thermal efficiency, less internal resistance, and lower fuel consumption at idle. However, these benefits diminish if we compare forced induction and NA versions of the same engine.

 

[dobermancruiser]

Mine is still stock and I actually drove down the five last week. I averaged 17 mpg on the entire trip. I probably averaged around 78 mph. However once I got to the desert, I started getting 21 mpg but that was more mixed driving.

 

[Markarian421]

This is common with turbo engines. When fully engaged, turbo generates roughly 1 atm pressure. Making the 2.4L displacement volume effectively 4.8L when fully boosted. So depending on how a person drives, a fuel efficiency will similar to an engine with 2.4L to 4.8L displacement volume.

Completely agree. When I had a WRX I really noticed that if I drove it carefully I'd get the MPGs one would expect from a small efficient 4 cylinder engine, and when I drove it like a mad man I'd get worse mileage than my old V8 Mustang.

YMMV.

 

[dobermancruiser]

I pulled the spreadsheet either from this thread or another and just tracked a 1400 mile trip. What I found was if I kept it at 76mph or less, my mileage improved by 3mpg. Moreover, I got better mileage the 200 miles I drove in town when I got there (4 mpg improvement) than I did on the highway. I'm not a super easy driver but I also rarely put my foot in it.

 

[gxsandiego]

Good thread. Thank you all for your input. I'm pumping up my tires after reading this thread.

 

[LcAz]

Ive been super happy about my mileage lately. After 4500 miles of analyzing driving patterns and MPG, I have turned my dash to other displays and havent looked at MPG at all. I fill it up when it is empty and go again. Happiest I have been with MPG since I bought it.

 

[Doggman1525]

Ive been super happy about my mileage lately. After 4500 miles of analyzing driving patterns and MPG, I have turned my dash to other displays and havent looked at MPG at all. I fill it up when it is empty and go again. Happiest I have been with MPG since I bought it.

 

[monikersupreme]

I like going fast as much as the next person, but I don't see this as the one I'm doing 90 in!

I do think that if Toyota was going hybrid on these, they could have found a way to boost fuel economy, but they clearly were going for some increase in economy, but a greater focus on torque. I swapped out the Michelin 265/70/R18's for Nitto Terra Grappler 275/70/R18's. Went from an average 21mpg down to 19mpg. Not horrible, but since the Nitto's aren't much heavier and are still SL rated tires, they aren't that far off the OEM's. Doesn't feel like I should see that much of a decrease, but that's where it currently stands. I'm running them at 40psi and will be trying 35psi this week. Don't think going down will improve mpg though.

Selling the Michelins on another thread if anyone is interested.

Keep in mind that you need to account for the speed/mileage differential with larger tires - your speed/odometer will understate your mileage slightly with larger tires.

 

[Roots]

One thing I've noticed pretty consistently is the LC absolutely hate short trips. I'm lucky to get 15mpg most mornings on my trip to work(less than 6 miles). It seems like it needs at least a 20 mile trip to get 18-20mpg

I think this is a function of the beast.

One - not a plug in hybrid. The engine is going to run to charge the battery after sitting dormant more than it does if you’re well into a drive.

Two - it’s winter. Warming up the car is going to decrease mileage. Literally providing heat is going to run the motor more. Our other ride is a plug in hybrid and the range on the EV has dropped 5 or 6 miles since the temps dropped.

This is in addition to other comments on tire pressure and such.