maximizing MPG - My experience with manual Tacoma

[Pablo]

I rented a car in Baker City, OR last March. The car owner was fine, but I will not use Turo again.

We’ve had two bad experiences with Turo. The one above and one in HI. This one I swear dude was making extra money with scratches he could cover so no show in renter pictures and magically uncover after turn in.
Plus we’ve had 6-7 perfect experiences

We did Sixtfth the trip in DC that was ok no issues

 

[02SE]

I wish I could get another 10 mpg!!

If you only count the MPG while going downhill, you'll get there.

 

[supton]

As I understand it, ATs multiply torque at the cost of power=less efficient.

When the TC is in a high slip region, it can multiple torque. As input and output speeds match up, any multiplication goes away. As they say, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

That said, slip makes heat, and any heat that is going out a heat exchanger = heat not being used to drive the wheels. Lock up TC's weren't needed until final drives got really steep, then engine rpm dropped down to where the TC wasn't above the stall speed. That made heat and translated into loss, thus the lockup (made worse with overdrive working against tall rearends).

So unlocked TC's cost mpg. But even then... the engine still has to drive the pump that the AT needs in order to do all its shifting and stuff. There's no winning.

Back when MT and AT's kinda coexisted, it seems to me that MT's had one more gear than the AT's had. 2 speed autos with 3 speed manuals. Then 3 speed autos and a move towards 4 on the floor. Eventually 4 speed autos and 5 speed manuals. Give or take, that is. The MT needed an extra gear as that TC slip & torque multiply feature was pretty big. Today's automatics are just trying to get wide spread but tight ratios so as to mimic a CVT.

 

[Legs4Arms]

It got enough range for me.
Seems like you're saying I should have spent a whole lot more money on a bunch of range I don't need or use.

Nah, I think if you lived in an actual city, got hemmed up in an hour traffic jam you had't planned on, ran out of juice and plugged up a lane of a main thouroughfare you'd feel it more.
Peeps misjudge every day. Cheap fuel is your friend...until it's not.
Tow trucks stay busy in our downtown core...

 

[burbguy82]

When the TC is in a high slip region, it can multiple torque. As input and output speeds match up, any multiplication goes away. As they say, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

That said, slip makes heat, and any heat that is going out a heat exchanger = heat not being used to drive the wheels. Lock up TC's weren't needed until final drives got really steep, then engine rpm dropped down to where the TC wasn't above the stall speed. That made heat and translated into loss, thus the lockup (made worse with overdrive working against tall rearends).

So unlocked TC's cost mpg. But even then... the engine still has to drive the pump that the AT needs in order to do all its shifting and stuff. There's no winning.

Back when MT and AT's kinda coexisted, it seems to me that MT's had one more gear than the AT's had. 2 speed autos with 3 speed manuals. Then 3 speed autos and a move towards 4 on the floor. Eventually 4 speed autos and 5 speed manuals. Give or take, that is. The MT needed an extra gear as that TC slip & torque multiply feature was pretty big. Today's automatics are just trying to get wide spread but tight ratios so as to mimic a CVT.

so you agree?

 

[PMT133]

On my colorado there is for sure a happy place between too light throttle for acceleration and too heavy for acceleration to obtain decent MPG. Back when I was working in the lab and was consistently doing 6-700 miles a week I did play around with any and everything possible for weeks on end to get better MPG. Came to the conclusion the other people on the road drive too inconsistently to ever have usable data. Turns out you get cut off by just as many jerkoffs who'll slam the brakes as they hop into your lane when you are doing 75 as when you do 55...

My take aways were keeping it 75 or less. Going to a less aggressive tread pattern on the tire and keeping throttle input to about 2200 rpm on acceleration as thats where you get the most vvt action to be in a good area on the VE table for my engine. Anything else just fell into the noise.

Under some awesome atmospheric conditions I can near 30 mpg under the right circumstances on the road... but that's not realistic 90% of the time. Only other thing I've found that can help sometimes is going in and cleaning up the tune a little bit. For dollars spent I don't know if you'd ever see a good ROI on that though. Or if there is that much on the table. Some I've gotten quite a bit some no change.