Third tank of gas, about 900 on the odometer, and I hit 33MPG today with typical
suburban driving!!

First tank ~27-28MPG
Second ~30MPG
Third 33MPG Exactly

I was getting worried when I saw all these people posting complaints about not
getting the expected gas mileage, but with careful driving and proper maintenance
I think I'm going to get really close to 34-35MPG consistently which is impressive
with Chicago stop-and-go rush hour traffic!

I'm really noticing the motor is more peppy and responsive then when brand new,
I'm hoping it will tighten up a little more over the next few hundred miles.

I'm still debating doing my "break in oil change" at 1000 miles.

Just thought I'd share in case others with new boxes got scared at all the people
with lower then expected gas milage!

I had the dealer change mine at 1000 miles. Then I switched to synthetic at 4500 miles. My overall avg to date is about 33mpg at 6700 miles.

Walt

Then I switched to synthetic at 4500 miles.

I didn't think full synthetic was recommended under 30k??

Then I switched to synthetic at 4500 miles.

I didn't think full synthetic was recommended under 30k??

myth.

I'm beggining to think that the '04 xB's had major mileage problems :nope: ? Maybe, but my '05 xb is going on for mor than 300 miles per tank (on only its second refill) and it still had about half a bar to go.

Porsche comes with Mobile 1 from day 1 and recommends
nothing else. There are lots of Synthetics that are nothing
but dino oil with addidtives, so be careful what you
use!

Not to mention corvette z06 , m3's and many audi's , but Good luck trying to keep that mileage , I mean I know i'm not getting that high but I don't mind so.....

i got 325 niles on one full tank and i got 5500 miles on my 2005 xb just keep it under 3000 rpm you should get 300 plus per tank............

i got 325 niles on one full tank and i got 5500 miles on my 2005 xb just keep it under 3000 rpm you should get 300 plus per tank............That would mean shifting so slow that every bucket will pass you and , driving no faster than 60 mph. Do you have an auto?

My shift point (depending on situation of course) is between
3k-4k. So no, I'm not nursing it anymore not that I *feel*
the motor is settling into it's purpose, but I also rarely
rev 5K or higher.

For some reason, even after driving Porsches and Turbo SAABs
for the past 6 years, I'm comfortable driving at whatever
speed I happen to be at, and less worried about GETTING THERE!

Either I'm getting old, or I happen to enjoy the box and I'm
simply driving it for what it is rather then all it's worth.

My shift point (depending on situation of course) is between
3k-4k. So no, I'm not nursing it anymore not that I *feel*
the motor is settling into it's purpose, but I also rarely
rev 5K or higher.

For some reason, even after driving Porsches and Turbo SAABs
for the past 6 years, I'm comfortable driving at whatever
speed I happen to be at, and less worried about GETTING THERE!

Either I'm getting old, or I happen to enjoy the box and I'm
simply driving it for what it is rather then all it's worth.

I got 30.5 mpg on my first tank... Been doing the break in process in my usual way.. Easy starts and stops... but running it thru the rev band up to about 5500 every now and then.
Did a freeway run yesterday and got it up to 90 keeping the revs up there under load for a while... Don't want to baby it too much.. I dont want it used to going slow :)
I plan on doing my first oil change at 2K miles... maybe 3K... no rush really.

Not to mention corvette z06 , m3's and many audi's , but Good luck trying to keep that mileage , I mean I know i'm not getting that high but I don't mind so.....

Yep... Synthetics are great to use right from the start... I had my 99 vette for 5 years before I sold it... It had Mobil-1 from the start and never an issue.... My Z06 also requires synthetics as they run pretty hot and no oil cooler... My oil temp hits 230 degrees when I run it hard and up to 260+ at a driving event! There is a oil monitoring system in the car that tells me when the oil needs to be changes... it can go up to 15K miles depending on driving habits.. its calculated by RPM's driving cycle time and other variables.... I usually get 7K miles between changes...

I might go to synthetics with the Xb... not because of hard use... but to extend the drain intervals and synth oils really keep the engine clean... they don't leave deposits and keep the dirt suspended much better than conventional oils. If I don't have to change it as often, the cost factor will be similar.. so not a big deal..
Is the filter easy to get to? I haven't looked yet... I hope its vertically mounted.

I change the oil in all my cars... The Z06 requires a special procedure as it has baffles in the oil pan so the car must be level to change the oil and it takes time to drain.. I have 2 sets of ramps for this.... I need to get the box up so I can look around under there....

I was considering doing the synthetic rout for my box, but
since Toyota has the Toyota Auto Care where they can
change the oil, flush and refresh the fluids, and tune it at
it's expected times, all for only $550 or there abouts, I
figured I'd be lazy and just let them do it all.

I agree with you about all the good features of Synthetics.
The Porsche club has done extensive testing to verify all that.

I'm beggining to think that the '04 xB's had major mileage problems :nope: ? Maybe, but my '05 xb is going on for mor than 300 miles per tank (on only its second refill) and it still had about half a bar to go.

____, I've never seen 300 miles per tank yet. As a matter of fact I filled up last night when my fill me up light came on and I only had 240 miles. I have an Auto and just turned 3k. I'd have to look, but I think 265 miles is the most I've gotten so far. I drive 22 miles round trip every day and about 18 of those are highway. But, hey it's still a lot better than the 10mpg my quad cab got.....lol

I got real ____ed yesterday when I filled up. 200 miles for 3/4 of a tank. I'm usually at 250 by then (approx 12 gal tank, 90 miles per 1/4 tank) we should all be reachin a lot more than we all do.

Maybe you two need to more closely evaluate how your driving,
or maybe how your box is setup. I'm keeping detailed logs,
so I'm 100% sure of the milage I'm getting. Hell, I could
even tell you what time of the day it was when I filled up!

So maybe take a month and just keep detailed records.
Not only gas consumed, but little notes like "Checked Oil"
"Checked Tire Pressure", as well as personal notes like
"It was a cool dry morning and the box seemed very spirited
today"

Sounds geeky to have an auto-diary, sure, but it will help
you evaluate the detales that are maybe costing you $$.

Don't forget to keep track of where you fill up. I'm a firm
believer that not all gas is the same, nor the containers that
it's all stored in under the station...

i got 325 miles per tank and that's when the marker is on the E,maybe i could of got another 10 miles or so,i think the more the car get broken into is better the gas mileage it gets,the 325 i got was from a combination of highway and city driving by the way i got 18 inch heavy hp rims and my box is auto....

That was going to be my next point. I've got 17"s comming
on Tuesday, so we'll see how that effects my milage.

Honestly, I think 17" are going to wear my brakes more
quickly then anything else.

heavier rims will affect mileage as well as braking.

Heavy rims seem to lengthen stopping distance more than they hurt gas mileage from my experience.

More than anything else, increasing the 'unsprung weight' affects handling and reaction to rough surfaces.

It also puts more of an 'impact load' on tires when an irregularity is hit - the heavy wheel tries to stay moving in a straight line, and the tire takes the punishment, rather than the suspension deflecting and taking the load.

The overall effect on mileage and brake wear is minimal. Wider or narrower tires have more effect that wheel weight on mileage, and inflation pressure has a drastic effect.

(Of course the biggest variable is "driving style" and there's probably enough been said about that.) :P

congrats in break in. I was never told to break in my box so i have given it all kinds of driving. Just having fun with it. Hell thats why i bought it.

congrats in break in. I was never told to break in my box so i have given it all kinds of driving. Just having fun with it. Hell thats why i bought it.

Didn't you read your manual? :doh: There's a 1000 mile break in period for the xB and 200 miles for its brakes. :blah:

yeah the mileage sucks REALLY SUCKS... still gettin the same crappy 25 mpg never got 300 . even drove it till needle said running on fumes and got 280 something... did follow manual and it still never ran right also took to dealer and they never even looked ....toyota dealers suck... and there is a tsb for the milage check it out 11k and still crappy must be the 04..will do the tsb for the milage when i have the time

Not to mention corvette z06 , m3's and many audi's , but Good luck trying to keep that mileage , I mean I know i'm not getting that high but I don't mind so.....

Yep... Synthetics are great to use right from the start... I had my 99 vette for 5 years before I sold it... It had Mobil-1 from the start and never an issue.... My Z06 also requires synthetics as they run pretty hot and no oil cooler... My oil temp hits 230 degrees when I run it hard and up to 260+ at a driving event! There is a oil monitoring system in the car that tells me when the oil needs to be changes... it can go up to 15K miles depending on driving habits.. its calculated by RPM's driving cycle time and other variables.... I usually get 7K miles between changes...

I might go to synthetics with the Xb... not because of hard use... but to extend the drain intervals and synth oils really keep the engine clean... they don't leave deposits and keep the dirt suspended much better than conventional oils. If I don't have to change it as often, the cost factor will be similar.. so not a big deal..
Is the filter easy to get to? I haven't looked yet... I hope its vertically mounted.

I change the oil in all my cars... The Z06 requires a special procedure as it has baffles in the oil pan so the car must be level to change the oil and it takes time to drain.. I have 2 sets of ramps for this.... I need to get the box up so I can look around under there....Isn't the Z06 dry supmed?

yeah the mileage sucks REALLY SUCKS... still gettin the same crappy 25 mpg never got 300 . even drove it till needle said running on fumes and got 280 something... did follow manual and it still never ran right also took to dealer and they never even looked ....toyota dealers suck... and there is a tsb for the milage check it out 11k and still crappy must be the 04..will do the tsb for the milage when i have the timeHow would they be able to give a tsb for a driver related thing?

so you peeps telling me that i'm the only one getting 300 plus per tank hmm maybe there's something wrong with the 04 i guess or it's maybe the way some of you drive,i change my driving habits like tailgating,speeding,hard braking and aggressive driving and i seen a great difference in my gas mileage,i also check my tires regular i notice that the low pro don't hold pressure as the stock,i think if you follow these rules you should see some improvement i did............

Yeah, I'm worried about their results too. Like I said, I'm
not nursing it, but I'm getting 330 miles to a tank already,
and I'm close to my first 1000.

i normally get between 265 and 340 normally around 290 or so.

Not to mention corvette z06 , m3's and many audi's , but Good luck trying to keep that mileage , I mean I know i'm not getting that high but I don't mind so.....

Yep... Synthetics are great to use right from the start... I had my 99 vette for 5 years before I sold it... It had Mobil-1 from the start and never an issue.... My Z06 also requires synthetics as they run pretty hot and no oil cooler... My oil temp hits 230 degrees when I run it hard and up to 260+ at a driving event! There is a oil monitoring system in the car that tells me when the oil needs to be changes... it can go up to 15K miles depending on driving habits.. its calculated by RPM's driving cycle time and other variables.... I usually get 7K miles between changes...

I might go to synthetics with the Xb... not because of hard use... but to extend the drain intervals and synth oils really keep the engine clean... they don't leave deposits and keep the dirt suspended much better than conventional oils. If I don't have to change it as often, the cost factor will be similar.. so not a big deal..
Is the filter easy to get to? I haven't looked yet... I hope its vertically mounted.

I change the oil in all my cars... The Z06 requires a special procedure as it has baffles in the oil pan so the car must be level to change the oil and it takes time to drain.. I have 2 sets of ramps for this.... I need to get the box up so I can look around under there....Isn't the Z06 dry supmed?

The 05 Z06 will have a dry sump. The 01 - 04 models do not. They use a baffle system in the pan to keep the pickup from being oil starved on the track... The car is capable of 1g in the twisties. They also tell you to add another quart of oil just before a race to keep the level up for those turns...

Yeah, I'm worried about their results too. Like I said, I'm
not nursing it, but I'm getting 330 miles to a tank already,
and I'm close to my first 1000.

A larger wheel tire combo will change the drive ratio to a higher ratio. This will give you slower starts but a higher top end and less rpm's on top...

I'm thinking of going to 12's so I can drag race at stop lights :)

i have an 04 xb and i get about 340 miles a tank....
my best was 370 but almost ran out of gas..heheh

i have an 04 xb and i get about 340 miles a tank....
my best was 370 but almost ran out of gas..heheh
wow...i can only wish to get even 300. i think i did that once when i put 15's on it and drove only freeway all day. although i did do 2 runs at the track and a 70-115 pull on the freeway. most time i get around 25-27mpg with 19's and now since the motor doesnt run right, i get 25 max.

full tank, 85 mph, with a/c on, Borla exhaust, AEM CAI...I got 26.5 MPH!

My first oil change was at 3300 miles, no problem, can go up to 5K for the first change (if you dare) per dealer..

how long have you guys had your xb for? this is my 2nd week and i already have 1400 miles on it

Wow dude, you drive a lot.

I got mine Feb 2nd, so I'm almost 3 weeks at 1024 miles
as of now.

so you peeps telling me that i'm the only one getting 300 plus per tank hmm maybe there's something wrong with the 04 i guess or it's maybe the way some of you drive,i change my driving habits like tailgating,speeding,hard braking and aggressive driving and i seen a great difference in my gas mileage,i also check my tires regular i notice that the low pro don't hold pressure as the stock,i think if you follow these rules you should see some improvement i did............
It is not the 04's. I have an 04 automatic and it is very unusual that I get under 300 per tank, filling up when the light comes on. I am happy with the mileage. Oh, by the way, I am still on stock 15".

I have an '04 auto and my last tank netted 22 mpg, I have about 8500 miles on it. It was a demo from the dealer, could there be a problem already? New plugs? I want to get high 20's for mpg.

so you peeps telling me that i'm the only one getting 300 plus per tank hmm...

Well, Squarepants, I'd probably easily get over 300 miles on mine if I didn't fill it up when it only needs eight gallons or so. I don't wait for the "search for a gas station, now" light to come on - I stop at my favorite station at about a quarter tank...

UPDATE!

So after all this talk, I figured I'd experiment a little bit.

On my 4th tank of gas, just past 1100 miles on the box
and currently getting 33MPG, I figured I'd really jump on
it and throw the box around like I do my Porsche.

I still got somewhere between 30-31MPG.

Now, I've dropped the box, and put my big 17" on. Figuring the wheel size difference
throws the Speedometer off by 3.7% here is what I'm getting (Warning, Math is Involved)

Tire Size Comparison

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
185/60-15 4.4in 11.9in 23.7in 74.6in 850 0.0%
215/45-17 3.8in 12.3in 24.6in 77.3in 819 3.7%

So I got 266.4 miles on my 5th gas tank, add on the 3.7% difference with the taller
wheels and I get 276.2568 divided by the 10.7 gallons I burned up and that
puts me right around 25.8 MPG.

So, my next step is to keep the new wheels on the box, but try and drive more
sane...lets see if I can get my milage back up. But as I'm seeing it, I went from about
30MPG to 25MPG or there abouts just with big wheels.

More info as I have it.

Very interesting, Raven.
Go back to your old driving habits and see how the box does.
Did you by any chance weigh your new wheels/tires and compare them to the stockers?


BTW, I just took my first highway trip up to Park City. The Box did ok on the passes, but I was holding about 70mph in 4th gear. I'm interested to see how my mpg does this tank. :eyebrow:

There is a mail scale at my work, but it's in a highly secure
area, and would be a real PITA for me to get too...Doubly
so since I'd have to somehow pop off one wheel to weigh.

So what I'm going to do is see if I can find a good digital
fish scale that's accurate from 1lb to 50lb, and that should
help give me a good idea of how much I'm changing the
weight of my wheels.

So Sorry, but I don't have that info just yet. I'll get wheel
weight up soon though...I just need to find the right tools.

OK, final update and I think I'll let this rest till next Winter
when I go back to stock tires.

For the past 5 fill ups, I've been hitting about 277 miles per
tank, plus the 3.7% difference with my larger diameter
wheels, puts me at 287.25 which puts me at about an
average of 28MPG with my big wheels and casual driving.

I was seeing consistantly 33MPG as some other have,
so I can only conclude that my larger contact patch, and
larger, heavier wheels results in a 5MPG drop.

Any questions or comments, please feel free to ask here or
in PM.

Thanks!

Raven, it sounds like you're assuming the odometer is correct when using stock tires. That isn't my experience -- by comparing trip odometer readings against posted mile markers on the NJ Turnpike, I found that my odometer (NOT speedometer) reads about 4.5% too low. This confirms what another member posted in a different thread, so it isn't just me. Too-low odometer means your car is travelling further than you think between fill-ups, and therefore your true MPG is higher than calculated.

I'll have to compare my ODO to my GPS then. I've been
too lazy to set it up in my box, but I know for a fact it's
extremely accurate. I know lots of guys here have them, so
hopefully some peeps can chime in.

I'm totally stock and getting about 26-33MPG depending. Low mileage when it's &!^#*$ cold out, high when I just put 1500 miles on the box in four days.

I love the xB. I don't even have trouble passing in my stick shift...

Hmmm. Interesting post.

I have some 17's (3.7% difference with 215/45/17) on my box wih a 5-speed. I drive like an asshat, crusing speed on the freeway is around 80mph and shifting usually at 6500rpm.

My usual tank lasts my 260 miles. With the tire difference, i dunno around 267miles?

I guess i average 26mpg. My car only has 1050 miles on it. I am finished with the rough break-in period.

UPDATE!
...
Now, I've dropped the box, and put my big 17" on. .....

Did you align the car after the drop? excessive toe in or toe out will kill mileage (and tires)

hmmm