Fuel Mileage Improvements For a 2009 Manual Access Cab

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for improving fuel mileage on a '09 V6 manual access cab. I have a leer cap on the truck and im driving on 265/70R16 Michelin Defender LTX tires.

I'm currently getting around 16.1 MPG US / 14.6L/100km

30% City 70% highway over the course of 3 fill ups.

It's Winter in Ontario at the moment and the truck is new to me, is this a reasoanble range?

Thanks!

 

Are you doing a lot of idling? Seems a tad bit low but not far off from what my old truck got in the winters here in the Midwest.

 

Cold air + winter gas = not great mileage

Keep it at or below 100kph on the highway

Maintence. Spark plugs. Fluids. Etc.

 

Smaller tires, get rid of the cap and put in a tonneau cover, slow down, move to a warmer and flatter location

 

No not really, maybe couple minutes to wipe the snow off here and there. Yeah fair. Thanks!

 

I have been going 110-120km on the highway.
Oil was changed 2k ago when purchased.
Was wondering about the spark plugs..
Will look into gettingthe fluids swapped in the near future.

Thanks!

 

Do you have any tire recommendations?
I'm going to keep the cap on because I plan on fitting out a bit of a camp setup in the back.
Roads are pretty straight and flat where I am atm, and I like snow in winter.

Thanks for the suggesions!

 

And my old trucks set up was pretty close to yours. DCSB, stock height, 265/70/17s and a cap.

 

265/70/16 is oem size for some models, no need to go smaller.

The LTX’s are some of the best tires you are going to get for road manners and minimal rolling resistance.

I wouldnt worry about changing either. Now, if you had 35” e rated mud terrains and you were concerned about mpg then yes that would be something worth considering.

Plugs, fluids, general maintenance, yes address as needed.

16 isn’t bad for winter and is about normal. I get 16-17 in winter and 18-19 in summer.
Mixed driving.
4wd will tank mileage. If I’m using mixed 4wd I’ll see as bad as 13-14.

 

The tires are small enough and the cap isn't hurting your fuel mileage. It weighs less than having another passenger in the cab and makes the truck more aerodynamic. At worst it's a wash and if anything the cap is helping.

Make sure your tires are aired up and drive sensibly. For that type of driving in winter that's about right.

 

I have an 06 4x4 manual transmission 2.7l....

I'm getting 21-23 on the highway and all I did was put in a factory style drop in k&n air filter

Sorry.... I didn't realize that yours was an v6 so your gas mileage will be different than mine. Sorry

 

Going fast on the highway is the sure way to get bad MPG in these trucks.

If you can keep it under 65mph, you'll get 20+ MPG. I once set my cruise control to 60mph on a 75mph road and got 23mpg, but it was "fun" watching everyone nearly rear end me (in the right lane) for going so much slower than them (and holy crap a lot of people are NOT paying attention when they drive).

 

That's why I drive with daytime running lights. I have the total tail light conversion as well as some rear-facing ssc2s with red back lighting. It isn't perfect but it's a lot more light than factory

 

For that ratio, I get about 16.5 mpg, so I think that's normal. I don't have a cap, but run a SC and sliders, which hasn't dropped my mileage much.

 

I did a lowering kit on my 07. I have not done a before and after mpg.
I have noticed how it pulls lower rpm in OD better.
I like to ski in the winter.
The resort is about 100 mi in the mts.
I have found that keeping the rpms between 2K and 2.5K seems to work best for me.
On the downhills is am not afraid to use OD to build speed for the next incline.

I should check my MPG?

 

I bought my truck new and have taken the same identical 1200+ mile one way road trip with it every year and typically stop for gas in the same locations all the time driving back and forth. I track the mileage for every tank because I'm an idiot, so I'm not just guessing when I say that I lost one MPG on the highway when I changed from the stock tires to Michelin LTX AT2. I didn't lose any noticable MPG when I added an ARE cap. As said, the mileage drops off very quickly once you go faster than 60 MPH. Cold weather starts and lots of idling will also kill your mileage. I typically get around 20 MPG, a range 19-21, but 95% of my miles are highway, and I rarely go over 70 MPH. The best I've ever gotten for a tank was 24 MPG, but that was mostly on rural roads with 55 MPH speed limits, and in CO above 8K ft elevation where you will get slightly better mileage than at sea level.

Edit- note I have a 4 cylinder, 5 speed MT, 4WD

 

Right on. Those are heavy tires too. FWIW, pizza cutters can be lightweight giving you ¬1 mpg better and they do very well in snow.

 

This also