Author Archive for Jason Lancaster

Toyota Tundra Tips: Premium Gas vs. Regular

Here’s the deal: Toyota recommends 87 octane for the new Tundra. In most states, that’s the lowest octane available. Because the Tundra was designed for the lowest octane, you should only use the lowest octane available, regardless of the engine you have. If you live at high altitude, you can even use 85 octane with no problems.

But wait — what about better engine performance? Or better gas mileage? These claims (typically made by the gas companies) are bogus. While there may be some slight benefits to using high octane fuel, the extra cost doesn’t justify the extra expense. Don’t believe it? We found this article that explains exactly why Tundra owners shouldn’t buy premium.

However there is one benefit to premium that the Car Guys didn’t mention: Most high octane fuel contains detergents that will clean your fuel system. These detergents are similar to (but less concentrated than) a bottle of gas treatment that you would buy at the auto parts store. Fuel system treatments are good preventative maintenance — over time, impurities will deposit themselves at the natural “choke” points in your fuel system. Typically, that’s your injectors and your fuel pump. Eventually these deposits can foul an injector, reducing fuel economy and performance. In fact, if the injectors become too dirty they will require replacement. So cleaning your fuel system is a good idea.

But the problem with using premium gas to clean your truck’s fuel system is that price difference between a full tank of premium and a full tank of regular is more than enough to buy a bottle of fuel system cleaner and pour it in yourself. But that’s assuming you remember to do it. If you’re like a lot of people, buying fuel system cleaner isn’t on your list of priorities. If you’re the type that forgets to do these things, then buying premium gas once a year will keep the fuel system clean enough.

Bottomline: Because the Tundra was designed to run on plain old low octane gas, adding higher octane has little or no benefit. Unless you don’t want to mess with putting some fuel system cleaner in your truck every 20k miles or so, there’s no reason to fill your new Toyota Tundra with premium gas. Take that Exxon!!

Search terms people used to find this page:

• https://tundraheadquarters com/toyota-tundra-tips-premium-gas-vs-regular/
• https://tundraheadquarters com/toyota-tundra-tips-premium-gas-vs-regular/#:~:text=Because the Tundra was designed 85 octane with no problems
• https://tundraheadquarters com/toyota-tundra-tips-premium-gas-vs-regular/#:~:text=Heres the deal: Toyota recommends 87 octane for the new Tundra

The Best 2007 Toyota Tundra Videos

When cruising thru the TundraSolutions.com Tundra forum last week, we found a Tundra video list posted by vanlong that was AWESOME.

Every video we’ve ever liked is their, plus a few we’ve never seen.

Here are some of our favorites (in no particular order):

Tundra v. Ram Tug of War – strap a Toyota to a Hemi Ram and see which won wins.

Racing TRD Tundras – a little long, but it’s cool.

0 to 60 then back to 0, then giggling.

Our Toytec Lift Kit Install Video — shameless self-promotion.

Getting a little muddy in S.C. (no rednecks were harmed in the making of this video)

Cool looking launch in the sand.

Thanks to TundraSolutions.com forum member vanlong for posting — you’re the best! We didn’t include any commercials — see his post here for those and some reviews as well.

The Tonneau Cover Fuel Economy MYTH

If you’ve considered buying a tonneau cover for your truck then you’ve probably heard someone tell you that it will improve your gas mileage. They say that because tonneau covers streamline your truck’s bed, they reduce drag improve fuel economy. Too bad it’s a GROSS EXAGGERATION.

Studies have shown that tonneau covers reduce aerodynamic drag. SEMA (the society for aftermarket equipment manufacturers) conducted a study in January 07′ that found tonneau covers reduce aerodynamic drag 4.2-7.8%, depending upon speed. This is the most recent study touted by SEMA, replacing one conducted on a 97′ Dodge Ram nearly 10 years earlier. Interestingly enough, SEMA steers clear of telling us how much fuel savings a “4.2-7.8%” reduction in drag would be. Instead, they say quote: “other tests would need to be conducted in order for fuel economy to be calculated, but it is safe to say that a reduction in drag would improve fuel efficiency for these pickups.”

OUR BS METER WENT OFF when we read that last line. Is SEMA actually saying that they spent the money to test aerodynamic drag on four different trucks, but that they didn’t spend just a little bit more to find out about actual real-world fuel economy savings? Something doesn’t smell right…

Here’s our interpretation of the study:

1) The largest reduction in aerodynamic drag (7.8%) was observed at 85mph. If we’re generous, we could assume that 75% of the engine’s power is being used to overcome the force of drag at this speed (the other 25% goes to tire friction, heat loss, etc.). If drag is reduced by 8%, that would result in a 6% reduction in engine workload. If the truck averages 18 mpg at this speed, then reducing engine workload 6% would improve fuel economy 1.08 mpg. SO, at 85 mph, expect to see about a 1 mpg improvement with a tonneau cover.

2) At a more realistic highway speed of 65 mph, drag is reduced about 5.5%. Using the same math as above but assuming that only half of the engine’s power is being used to overcome drag at this lower speed, fuel economy is improved by 0.5 mpg.

3) At 55mph or below, the fuel economy benefit basically disappears. Aerodynamic drag isn’t significant until you reach speeds of about 55-60 mph. Technically there would be a fuel savings, but it would be small. Less than a tenth of a mpg.

4) Finally, there were 6 different tonneau covers tested. SEMA didn’t disclose which was which, but we’re fairly certain that a fitted, over the rail solid fiberglass tonneau cover gives the best fuel economy results. The cloth/vinyl covers buffet in the wind, and anything that doesn’t go over the rail creates it’s own vortex. Painted to match, these covers cost $700 to $1100 installed.

Now before anyone goes off on us for making assumptions, etc., we did speak with a couple of engineers when writing this article. They emphasized these are rough numbers, and that they could be off by as much as 25%. That means that the best case fuel economy improvement is 1.35 mpg at 85 mph, and 0.63 mpg at 65 mph.

Assuming gas is $3.50 per gallon, here’s how the best case math works out:

Driving your tonneau cover equipped truck at 65mph for 20 minutes per day would save you 0.04 gallons of gas, or about $0.14 per day. Under these circumstances, we figure it will take about 30 years of workday commuting to save enough to earn back the cost of a $1000 tonneau cover.

Drive your tonneau cover equipped truck at 85mph for 60 minutes a day and you’ll save 0.33 gallons of gas, or about $1.16 per day. We figure that’s only 3 years and 7 months of workday commuting to earn back a $1000 tonneau cover. Of course, during that same period, you’ll spend over $13k on fuel. We feel sorry for anyone that has to drive their truck 85mph for 60 minutes a day — the fuel costs for just three years would be enough to buy a nice toy (ATV, boat, motorcycle, etc.).

Bottomline: Tonneau covers DO save gas, but not very much. While the aerodynamic drag numbers sound impressive (4-8% reduction), they don’t actually result in enough gas savings to justify the expense for a normal user. If you buy a tonneau, do it because it keeps your bed dry and secure.

Search terms people used to find this page:

• tonneau cover gas mileage
• fuel economy with truck bed cover
• do tonneau covers improve mpg

Toyota Tundra Auto Dimming Mirror

Have you seen this line item on a Toyota Tundra sticker?

• Auto-dimming mirror — MSRP $280

That’s a lot of money for an accessory you can install yourself. Thanks to “Billy Bob” of Lancaster, NY, (a TundraSolutions forum member) we’ve got the low down on the best place to buy the mirror, and some tips for installation.

Aftermarket = Savings

First — where to buy. Your local dealer will charge anywhere from $400 to $600 for these parts, but you can get the exact same Toyota parts from dnd-enterprises on eBay. One tip: Make sure to ask for the long wire cover.

Here’s the link: 2007 OEM Tundra Auto Dim Mirror w/ Homelink and Compass

Price: $229 + Shipping. You can also look at the USA-made Gentex universal mirrors. Skip the compass feature, and you can get the Gentex K2 for about $100. If you want the compass, the Gentex K5 runs about $165. Neither Gentex mirror comes with HomeLink.

Installation

Depending upon your truck, install could be either easy, or very easy. Here’s how:

• Remove the overhead console. Should be four (4) torx-head screws.
• There should be two plugs tucked away behind the console.
• Check to see if the power plug provided with your mirror will fit into one of these plugs. If your truck has the right plug, you can skip the next 3 steps.
• If not, you’ll need to figure out which wires to tap into. Don’t worry, the tap connectors are provided. First, locate the plug with three input wires (it should be clipped into a holder).
• Using a test light or multi-tester, find the ground wire, the constant power wire, and the ignition switch power wire.
• Using the provided in-line snap connectors, attach the provided harness to the factory wiring.
• Remove your current rear view mirror and attach the new one. Run the wires into the liner and attach them to the kit harness.
• Test, then make sure to cover the wires between the base of the mirror and the headliner with the wire cover.

Next, to calibrate the compass, drive around the block once or twice. The compass should self-orient.

That’s it! You’re money ahead ($50 – $130) and you have the satisfaction of knowing you improved your truck. Don’t worry about “messing something up” either — this is a common dealer installed accessory. No problems with warranty, etc. provided you buy the OEM kit.

Thanks again Bob for posting this info on TundraSolutions, and allowing us to paraphrase.

Honda Tuning Magazine’s Readers Rides

We were honored when Honda Tuning Magazine asked us to review their “Reader’s Rides” page. While we aren’t really into the “rice” scene as much as we used to be, one of our site owners, Jason, decided it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane…

To start with, here’s a pic of Jason’s old Acura:

Cool right? Lightning bolts and chrome NEVER go out of style!!

But seriously, that was a fun car for Jason. It was a 94 Acura Integra GS-R, with the VTEC B18C 4cyl. Sure, it was only 1.8L, but it had almost 180 hp. Says Jason “that car was sneaky fast — from idle, it would race to 8300 RPM in first gear in about 5 seconds. The hardest part of racing that car was shifting from 1st to 2nd as fast as you could, which you almost always had to do to win a street race because first topped out at about 45 I think. Anyways, it was fun until somebody screwed up the driver’s door trying to break into it.”

So, needless to say, Jason helped us with this review.

To start with, we don’t like the pop-up that loads when you hit the Reader’s Rides page. We’re not sure what the pop-up says (it was blocked), but we think pop-ups are SO 1997. Anyways, the site loads fast, looks good, and has quite a few pics on it. While there aren’t a lot of vehicles on it right now, it seems to be growing quickly. Our favorite car was Jale’s 2000 Honda S2000 nicknamed “Chuck Norris“. Sharp car, seems fairly stock, but the comments had us laughing out loud. Here’s a taste:

• “Chuck” is my daily driver. When I hit bumps on the road, it feels like a roundhouse kick to the back of my head.
• Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
• Chuck Norris cannot love, he can only kill.

Here’s a glimpse of “Chuck”:

We like the Honda Tuning Magazine Reader’s Ride section, and we encourage anyone with a Honda family product to put it up on the board.

This was a paid post. Thank you Honda Tuning Magazine!