Mpg

[NMTTDAVE]

Has Anybody Tried A Tornado Fuel Saver, It's suppossed to get you 2 or 3 MPG more. I found one for my 08 5.7 liter for $50 on line.

[ramoine]

Do a search for throttle body spacers and you'll see not much savings there .

[ramoine]

Are Throttle Body Spacers worth it?

[Smed]

I would be VERY surprised if it did anything at all. My guess is that it is like snake oil.

[NMTTDAVE]

Is there anything else out there that would help? If I could get just a couple more MPGs I would be happy. I went from an 04 Tacoma that got about 16 so I am not expecting miracles but a little help would be nice...

[Smed]

May want to check the cold air intake discussion.

[Anchorsaweigh]

Originally Posted by NMTTDAVE

Is there anything else out there that would help? If I could get just a couple more MPGs I would be happy. I went from an 04 Tacoma that got about 16 so I am not expecting miracles but a little help would be nice...

Not for nothing, and I'm certainly not trying to be a smart-ass, but why the hell did you buy a Tundra if fuel economy was important to you?

Cheers,

Bob

[AXLES ETC]

Never even heard of that before. Try the cold air intake. I saved about a 1 mpg with the trd version cai. for about $350.00 it would take you about a year or so to break even depending on how much you drive. For me its about a year and a half.

[jtruck618]

Originally Posted by Anchorsaweigh

Not for nothing, and I'm certainly not trying to be a smart-ass, but why the hell did you buy a Tundra if fuel economy was important to you? -----.

Cheers,

Bob

Why not try and get the best mileage possible? Fuel economy is important to nearly everyone, including myself. I need/want a full size but also want the best mileage I can get.....that is common sense. -------------------Dave, Could be the BFG's that are causing you to get poor mileage. They are a heavy tire

[Rollin Thunder]

Drive Slower.........it's The Cheapest Solution

[AXLES ETC]

Yea,,, but driving slow isnt fun !!! drive fast and take lots of chances !! lol,,, sorry, had to say it !!!

[NMTTDAVE]

Originally Posted by AXLES ETC

Never even heard of that before. Try the cold air intake. I saved about a 1 mpg with the trd version cai. for about $350.00 it would take you about a year or so to break even depending on how much you drive. For me its about a year and a half.

Take a look at Home, I think it's along the same lines as the cold air intake? I'm not really that worried about MPG, just thought if there was something out there that I haven't heard of..... I have only had my truck for a month and I am new to this site. thanks for the help.

[Phoenix]

One thing that works is "engine shutdown at idle". I believe that the US Government estimated that 10-15% could be saved if vehicles didn't idle when stopped in traffic.

I know that right after I reset the graph on our Prius after a fillup, when the engine is idling at a light, you can watch the cumulative gas mileage on the screen tick down like a countdown timer.

GM put this in their "mild hybrid" pickup, but the starter doesn't work like the Prius, and there is a slight delay between when you step on the throttle and when the engine starts. They say it can be "disconcerting", especially in emergency situations.

The Prius avoids this via their power-splitting device between the engine (referred to as the ICE/Internal Combustion Engine), the electric motor and the drive train. (Sorry to rant on about the Prius on this Tundra site, but it's the only hybrid vehicle that I am familiar with.)

If Toyota could put something like this on the Tundra, it could increase the mileage by a few mpg, though it's effectiveness would be more pronounced for those who drive in stop-and-go traffic. Those of us who drive mostly on the highway would see no difference.

The biggest design change would be the integration of a new starter motor on the Tundra. Because the electric motor is one of the drive components in the Prius, it is relatively large (in hp); and it can spin the ICE instantaneously. Also, the lag is almost non-existent, because the electric motor produces most of the starting torque to the drive wheels when accelerating. (The ICE is tuned for high fuel economy, and utilizes the Atkinson-cycle, instead of the Otto-cycle used by most cars and trucks; and it doesn't generate much torque at low rpm.)

This is probably one of the cheapest design changes that would work for large vehicles that tow stuff.

[notevenclose]

The tornado does not work to improve fuel economy.

What the tornado and any other throttle body insert(not spacer) does is reduce the size of the intake tube...that's it. Doesn't matter how you pitch the blade or how shiny it is. By doing this, you make the engine more responsive at low rpm because the intake stroke is more efficient. In doing so, the engine is then choked for air at higher rpm and you step harder on the throttle. Think of it this way, if you have a small diameter straw and a large diameter straw and you are drawing fluid thru it, which one takes less effort to start drawing fluid? The small one, right? But you have to really work to get a high volume. The large one takes more effort but when you do get fluid going, you get a larger volume. Toyota's engineers calculate what the optimum intake plenum size is for 381 hp at whatever rpm. Don't waste your money unless you REALLY like shiny things.

Now, throttle body spacers have a similar effect. What you are doing here is lengthening the intake track making the engine work a bit harder at lower rpm because you have increased the intake volume...like increasing the straw length. However, as the engine speed increases, so does the efficiency because now you have a ramming effect of the fuel and air at a higher velocity headed to the combustion chamber. Then, you end up cramming more fuel and air into the combustion chamber and more power. Like a longer straight-a-way on a racetrack or a longer straw from before. These may yield better performance at higher rpm but i doubt it would pay for it's self. You are talking like a half an inch or so of increased length. And you won't get better gas mileage because you'll have your foot in it to get any effect!

Again, this has been calculated by Toyota...and every other engine manufacturer. The iForce even has variable valve timing to compensate for lower rpm so let the engineers do their job. They don't get kickbacks for low mileage engines but they do sell more vehicles if they are efficient.

[notevenclose]

If you want to increase efficiency you can:
Lower the temperature of the intake air (ie cold air intake...or plumb the intake into the cab!).
Open up the exhaust(cut the cats, cut the mufflers or both or duals...)
Reduce drag
Change your gearing to run the engine at lower rpm(not cheap)
Lower the load on the engine(electric cooling fans, synthetic oils, etc.)
I'm sure there is more but that's all I could think of right now.