Toyota Tundra Forum

I had to "Air Down" over the forth from a bouncy 45 psi in my 18" michilens to the recommended pressure inside door jam (30 Front, 33 Rear) to be able to maintain control on broken pavement & washboard gravel roads - Airing up has it's dis-advantages, but everyone with time can "coast" up to a stop.

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5.7L RC Longbox, 4X4 SR5

put it in 2WD.
weight reductions. anything you don't need remove!
also less unsprung weight. ie lighter tires and rims/driveshaft.
underdrive pullys.
CAI that actually relocates lower with a snorkel so it isn't sucking in hot air.
use premium!

or alternatively...

convert to hydrogen
convert to electric
install a hybrid system w/ regenerative breaking
buy a new vechicle



hope that helps

On long trips, I drop my tailgate for better wind resistance. Slowing down really helps. I understand having to be somewhere at a particular time and hoofin' it.....but if you have the time, slow down.

I'm normally a lurker.. but I registered just to comment on this.

While it seems logical that lowering your tailgate would increase fuel economy it in fact results in the opposite. With your tailgate up a pocket of air is formed in your truck bed causing the airstream to flow over your bed. When you lower the gate this pocket isn't formed and the air is sucked down into the bed and then circulates under your lowered gate causing drag.

You don't have to take my word on it, but from real world testing you can see the results.

Mythbusters actually did an episode which contains a study on this which you can search and watch to see the effects I am refering to.

The results will surprise you, but even the Truck manufacturer's will tell you you get better MPG with the tailgate up then down.

-Oz

While I generally don't have any disagreement with your arguments Oz, I'm not sure that I would put Mythbusters' research as anywhere near scientifically valid. On the other hand, they did seem to conduct a somewhat more procedurally consistent follow up study, and showed results that there were little differences in tailgate up, down or off. Interesting that they show the mesh as 5% more efficient. That seems strange as the mesh would seem to be somewhat of a hybrid of tailgate down and up. My 2 cents.

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2007 Tundra Limited Double Cab 4x4 Super White
Volant CAI
Pioneer AVIC Z-2 (hard drive upgrade to AVIC Z-3)
Key FOB Tailgate Lock (courtesy of Toxarch)
OEM back-up camera w/flip down monitor microswitch mod
Sirius Satellite Radio
WeatherTech Floor Liners
20" OEM alloy wheels
Line-X Bed liner
UWS Black Powdercoat Low Profile Toolbox
DU-HA underseat storage unit
JC Whitney Black Nerf Bars
Lund Interceptor II Bug Shield
Tekonsha Voyager Brake Controller

The mess tailgates works like the dimples on a golf ball to break up the laminar flow over the object, that creates a pressure void behind it. This equalizes pressure for and aft creating less wind resistance. Just a Mechanical P. E.'s 2 cents worth.

Thanks for the explanation mdir... I was curious why the mesh would show doing better than tailgate up or down.

Stop moaning about the fuel economy of the Tundra, its a fantastic truck. I live in the UK where fuel if 11 dollars a gallon, but if you want a truck like this the fuel costs are not an issure, if you have to worry about this you cant afford to run it.

Not sure if anybody is moaning about the Tundra fuel economy here. Just discussing how to cut down on fuel expense. What's wrong with trying to conserve fuel and save some money?

I drive an average of 6000km (3750miles) per month. Fuel savings is worth big $$ to me. I added a cold air intake, throttle body spacer and Magnaflow exhaust in an attempt to improve my milage. At best I gained 2mpg. This will not cover the cost of the add ons as I must replace my vehicle every 2 years (company rules). I like the sound of the exhaust but I would never put the intake or spacer on another truck.

I recently changed my tires from the factory Rugged Trails to a set of Toyo Open Country MT's (same size) and my milage dropped by 3mpg.

Also, I have noticed speed and where I buy my fuel makes a big difference on this truck. I improve by 5mpg dropping from 120km/h to 100km/h. Husky or Co-op fuel gets me up to 4mpg better than UFA fuel. (My 5.9 V8 Dodge burned all fuel the same - hard and fast!)

Good highway going I get 18 US mpg, was getting 20.5 US mpg before I switched tires. Has anyone heard how the Hemi's or Chev's are doing in comparison?

I spend alot of idle time in my truck as it is my office on the road and am pleased to say it burns far less idling than my dodge gas or diesels did.

Has anyone found a good chip that improves fuel economy without throwing codes or causing warranty issues?