It's about a 3% improvement in fuel efficiency with the chin spoiler. For a few bucks worth of hardware, that's actually a really significant improvement from an engineering perspective.
I would suggest prolonged testing to confirm, but that would only be 2.9% difference. If you did 15k per year at 23mpg, with gas at $3/gal, it would amount to less than $60 per year. I agree, ditch that ugly thing.
That's also assuming the aerodynamic drag of running at 75mph for the entire 15k. The difference will be even less at lower speeds (city or small country back road). Yeah, definitely chuck it.
All I can think is Toyota put it on there knowing that everyone will take them off. It was for advertising they can see "Tacoma gets "x" mpg. @@Cocky.Rooster
Nathan’s quick witted one liners are the best. If you’re not paying attention you can miss some really funny ones. 3:24 “Do we have to pay to stare at it?” Referring to all the absolute asinine “subscriptions” manufacturers are making up that customers have to pay to use standard vehicle features.
@dwreckd1836 how is that even mildly humorous? He optioned his truck without cruise control. I've driven for decades and have never once used cruise control.
You seem to have missed the running joke my friend. It’s funny because Andrea DIDNT KNOW it would come without cruise control and that Mr truck and even Tommy have razzed on him about it. Also funny that for the price he paid for the truck that it didn’t come standard. Sorry you didn’t know the running joke on their vids…but maybe talk to a proctologist about how easily you’re butt hurt
@@theTealStory - and probably adds 2-300$ to the price tag at the dealer. I’m not concerned with what it costs Toyota, I’m concerned about how much it costs the customer
Tires make a huge difference. My 21 Ridgeline was averaging 24 to 26 on the stock Firestone highway tires. 56000 miles I put on contential all terrain contact stock size and lost 3 to 4 miles per gallon
@@wolfeadventuresthose wildpeaks are incredibly heavy. I had them on my last truck and even though they were awesome they were like 8 pounds heavier than other all terrains.
Toyota was definitely right about how easy and fast it was to take off that chin which is nice. Pretty straightforward to just slap it on if you’re doing very long distance trips where you know you’re not going places that ground clearance is needed.
I had a 2015 Canyon and had to use an angle grinder to remove the chin because the bolts were inserted top to bottom so it was impossible to unbolt even though they claimed it was 'removable'
@@ALMX5DP Nope, No way to access the bolts without removing the entire bumper. It was bolted from inside the bumper top to bottom. You only had access to the bottom of the screws. (which I cut off) I could have used a dremel cut off wheel but the angle grinder worked fine. Came off in a few minutes
I don't know why I keep watching these tacoma videos cause I can't afford a $700/month payment for 6 years. Too bad Toyota went crazy with their profits margins on these new ones.
Yep. How bout that new Gmc Canyon AT4 AEV that is showing a sticker of $ 67000 plus all the taxes and dealer fees? With current interest rates for most buyers that would be a 100k mid size truck time it is paid off. Nuts.
@@deweysturgill6220yeah not worth it because by the tike itd paid pff and it cost you that much you will get way less back after selling it as a depriciated asset
I wonder if the mpg difference would be greater at sea level vs your elevation because of the difference in air density? In any event the numbers are pretty respectable considering the passenger load and that the Limited has a some extra weight power running boards etc. Thanks for doing this test!
@@matt45540the aerodynamic deficiencies would actually get amplified as you get faster or drive in more dense air; so the gap would likely increase in percentage...
Gents you need to do this test at sea level. Air density is less at 5,000 ft. elevation. You’ll likely experience a greater difference in more dense air.
In the olden days, on the 82+ Firebirds and 84+ Corvettes, if the owner complained about overheating while driving, it's because they lost their chin spoiler somewhere. That spoiler guided airflow into the radiator while at speed since there was no grille for the fire breathing (for its time) V-8.
Ty for making this happen. great vid. gotta be honest with full size trucks coming close to these numbers and in similar price point as this limited i would personally go for the less packaged more capable fullsize instead of the smaller taco ... guess part of the reason this segment faded was cause it couldn't do enough to justify itself over fullsize trucks
Some people just dont want to be driving a studio sized apartment around town or off road and have the ability to fit their vehicle in their garage. Theres pros and cons to everything in life you just have to pick what suits your needs best.
Good video guys. I did a similar test on a 2019 Chevy Colorado Z71 I had (one of my fav cars I ever owned) and had similar results. Only lost little over .5 mpg when I removed the air dam/skirt. I enjoyed the extra clearance so I was good with it.
As always great job on the testing. I remember on the white Ram "Stubby" the chin spoiler made a huge difference, so I was expecting the same on this one. But with such little savings that would be the 1st thing for me. To me it makes the truck look so bad I would probably take it off right after signing papers.
I don't remember that one being so plow like. It seems like in order to make this chin spoiler easier to remove, they also made it look cheap, tacked on, and less effective.
When he popped the hood I literally laughed a little. Looks like someone dropped a massive pot of spaghetti noodles all over the engine. What a nightmare 😂
Perhaps that's part of the reason why those plastic covers over the engine were put into place years ago, which everyone seems to scoff at, so now the manufacturers have been not putting them on and the result looks ugly.
Nearly 3 percent isn’t too bad of a gain, and it probably gives better gains at higher speeds. If you’re off-roading it seems a lot better to just take it off and you wouldn’t be losing much
I live at 4k+ elevation and notice 5 to 10% better fuel mileage at elevation. I'd think that this should somewhat correlate with the 3% power loss per 1k of elevation.
How about the rear view mirror that is by camera because Cole would be in the view. Think of this have we lost what a truck was, quiet? Radio, windows open, and feeling the environment but I get it as a grocery getter, lol!
Thank you for doing this! I wonder if a skid plate or even a small spoiler would still provide some benefit without being so ugly? The truck looks SO much better without it, but I completely understand why Toyota added it.
I find my tonneau cover helps with mpg more than an air dam. At least Toyota made it easy to remove. If they really wanted to help mpg without giving up the looks, they could include a soft tonneau cover on the bed. I think customers would appreciate it given the asking price of new trucks. And if the customer wants to upgrade the cover they could or if they don’t want it they could remove it. Looking forward to seeing the new tfl tacoma. Great video Andre & Nathan
Sometimes chin spoilers are there to create an air differential for the radiator so more air flows through the radiator, increasing its effectiveness in cooling.
Great video. Keep it up. Really enjoy these real world tests. I had a work truck, a 2015 F150 V-8, that I used to travel with extensively. I took off what they called the air dam because I drove in rural roads with lots of snow and it would plow up on the front. However most was on highway. I never noticed a change in fuel consumption. So I’ve come to conclude these air dams or chin spoiler as you call it don’t make much difference in fuel consumption
Fully agree with bad looks for factory extra large spoiler, however a spoiler about half as low, should help with efficiency and might even improve looks, as it does on other vehicles. Maybe a smaller aftermarket version will be available eventually.
The important question is: does the chin spoiler make the exhaust sound better, because that seems to be the most important aspect of any truck for TFL?
I have tried TFL gas technique and noted two things. Foam subsides very fast at my elevation, 30 seconds more than sufficient. Second, the amount for second top off can vary based upon flow rate. Low flow rate gasoline allows higher fill level. Did not appear nozzle depressed same amount.
I removed the front air dam on my F150 after getting stuck in the snow when the air dam acted as a snow anchor. In doing so, I lost 2 mpg on the highway, however, I also noticed the truck was less stable at speed and could feel some turbulence pushing the truck around side to side.
@@volvo09 in dry conditions, it's no problem, I agree good to hear the warning with it rather than hit the oil pan. The issue is in snow, when snow gets deep it first acts as a snow blow, then when you back up, it scoops snow up and into the front bumper leaving you immensely stuck.
The day I got home with my brand new 2018 Silverado z71 I pulled off the plastic chin spoiler and never looked back. Unless it saved me 5 mpg it wasn’t staying on my truck. So glad my 2023 Ram Rebel didn’t come with one at all.
I get an average of 15.2 mpg with my Tundra 1794, so if you're getting 23 mpg that's really good. I love my Tundra, though. What I want Toyota to make is this: Tundra or Tacoma with a diesel engine, six seater, manual transmission with paddle shifters, at least a five foot bed, and good rear legroom-My Tundra Crewmax has insane legroom.
2023 limited V6: 19-24 mpg 2024 limited i4: 20-23 mpg And now we know roughly 1 mpg is from the spoiler... If they offered a 2024 truck with the new transmission, interior, suspension, etc, but with the old trusted V6, who isn't choosing that? The hybrid had better be pretty impressive
Actually increasing tire pressure even just a tiny bit, a few PSI, can easily increase MPG by 3% or more. Pro tip there for everyone, but dont increase your PSI too much and check recommendations and do your research. Off-roading decrease PSI, but generally not below 20.
Was the wind identical on both loops? We commute 1000 km per week and religiously track our fuel economy. Just a small change in the wind or direction can easily add or subtract to your economy by more than an mpg.
No, it never is. And TFL has a huge tendency to test "loop 1" in the morning and then test loop 2 later in the day as the CO winds pickup. I do enjoy these videos, but TFLs data here is no more real than the 12,000 people each day forum posting images of the MPG screen. Any real live energy use test is nearly impossible to get any useable accuracy or precision out of. I do think it shows that you could expect mid 20s MPG from the new Toyota truck, so that is useful.
I drive a Crosstrek, but am in the process of buying a new house, so I'm planning on getting a truck once my car is paid off... and this new Taco is looking really good!
I could see owning a set of oversized all-terrain 3PMSF, and running them in winter and offroad without the air dam, then having a set of OE size highway tread tires to use with the air dam for daily driving and highway trips/towing. The combined difference would probably be 5-10% MPG, enough to pay for the extra set of tires/rims after many years.
^ so... The difference is an environment where aero effects are *more pronounced*, versus an environment where aero doesn’t help as much (high altitude Colorado). Ergo, the difference (2-3%) widens differentially. It’s still a matter of testing whether the difference changes to 2.5-3.5% (negligible), or if the difference widens meaningfully... which is subjective, but if it approaches 5-6% difference, there are probably people who would keep it. Personal note, I’d eat the 5-6% difference and remove the chin myself lol
The Dino the dinosaur. I remember those billboards from the back of a station wagon. I had a flashback. ... I have a 23 Tacoma. When my spoiler falls off I will be happy with that
So about 1 gallon per thousand miles (41.56 gal vs 42.81) assuming mostly highway miles. Helps, but is almost negligible. Around town at lower speeds it’s basically pointless, just something to drag across curbs
The 4 cylinder engines are supposed to be more fuel efficient than a 6 or 8 cylinder. But John at LHT Performance put a V8 from a Silverado into his 2020 Colorado, and he gets 28 MPG on the highway. Why spend so much money for a 4 cylinder or a hybrid when the fuel economy is worse than a V8.
@@aerynlovell4754 It's more that smaller engines have lower emissions, that's what the Government is pushing for. That being said V8s always got good highway mileage, it's when you're putting around town that it drops like a rock. I had a Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 and the ZF 8-speed. Even with cylinder deactivation best I cold get was 15 mpg. Even my Camaro only gets 18.
@DragonKnightX12 John at LHT Performance used the V8 from a 2020 Silverado and a 6-speed automatic transmission. It still has the factory catalytic converter. He doesn't like heavily modified vehicles for a daily driver. It is what he calls OEM Plus, meaning it complies with emission standards, is quiet (no drone), but has more horsepower and better fuel efficiency. An engine is a giant air pump, so if you remove the restrictive stock air intake and exhaust and replace them with a free flowing aftermarket intake/exhaust, then you get better gas milage.
@@aerynlovell4754 has there been updates on that? I think the fuel economy was just based off a first drive using the onboard display (with no real accessories hooked up yet). I'd be interested to see if he has a follow up where he actually calculated it with everything working.
you know this is interesting. i have a chin spoiler i HATE on my 2016 ford f150 3.5ecoboost. i have wanted to get rid of it for a year now. but i always hated the thought of losing MPG. but this test shows that i will be fine. of course different truck. but if the savings are just 1-2 mpg. well it might be worth it to just take off
I'm a Toyot fan. Had 2 Tundras up to last year. I don't like the direction that Toyota is going with Tundra and Tacoma. Not significant upgrades and in general the new platforms don't seem as reliable. Time will tell i guess
You need to tell everyone that you turned the truck on moved to a safe parking location, then removed chin spoiler before continuing your testing. That small amount of usage matters because now it’s even more insignificant the difference in fuel used.
Can you do some real world parking test with the spoiler on. Does it clear most curbs if you pull in/park nose first and let the front wheels contact the curb (nose is hanging over curb ).
@@thenutsonyourchin well I believe the Tundra's power deploying airdam does stay up when it recognizes a trailer attached. So my guess is there is some effect, depending on the overall vehicle or frontend design when towing or not.
With the levels of powertrains explained from all reviewers, I feel is an overcharge and not really to make each trim level more affordable... rather than sway you to get the more expensive level. The engine is physically the same inside and out and they don't add any performance components to differentiate the power ratings (except for the hybrid) so really the differentiator is via a map / tune and in my opinion doesn't cost a thousand or so to accomplish. I could understand a bump of like a couple hundred or so is more reasonable for basically a spread sheet. again except the hybrid obviously this has additional physical components to reach those power figures.
Put a tonneau cover over the bed and leave this on if you’re really concerned the gas mileage on the highway going on a roadtrip in your Tacoma. I doubt most people will keep this plastic on, I’d get rid of it at the dealership. Lol
Let's be real, 57 miles isn't anywhere near long enough to get an accurate idea of the actual MPG. Either way, I wouldn't care if I got 5 MPG less, I would remove that front chin before I drove it off the lot.
I did a track day in my Volvo v60 cross country on Primacy's when my Mini broke down. Scubbed the script of the side wall lol but didnt hold up too badly.
87 octane in a forced induction engine seems wrong to me. I know Toyota says it's fine but I am wondering if premium would result in better power and mpg.
@@carbonking53 higher octane won’t produce more power. It will produce as advertised only. Lower octane will produce way less performance than advertised.
@@carbonking53 I agree and understand. My wife drives a Mazda CX-5 Turbo and Mazda states you can run it on 87 but you will get more power and MPG with premium. Her car has never seen a tank of anything but premium since the original dealer fill up of which I assume was regular.
Wonder if it helps keep the underbody and sides cleaner. Would it break off in deep snow. One thing for sure, thats a 100% pain the backside if you want to get under the truck from the front. Stay gold.
@thenutsonyourchin A chin guard on this will never be able to create enough wind deflection to save 5mpg. Not even a completely different front end with a low drag design would save 5mpg.
Every Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator include a little tool kit with a ratchet and bits to remove the doors and hardtop and fold the windshield. Toyota should include a ratchet for the chin spoiler.
Agree that it's about a $75 dollar difference per 15k.... but some people put on 4x that in a year. Do you want an extra 300-500 dollars in your pocket per year? And gas prices will go up at some point, like milk, houses, and trucks have. At least keep it around for a quick re-install when it starts to affect you more.
You guys should do this test with the F150 lightning active air dam. I removed mine from the actuators which only requires a 7mm socket for 3 bolts on each side. Saw no change in my mostly 70mph highway commute.
You’re lucky to get 20 in an F150 and it’s no quicker. Being bigger is not a selling point. It won’t fit in parking spaces or garages so it’s basically useless.
“ (F150) won’t fit in parking spaces or garages so it’s basically useless.” $hit. Nobody told me that my F150 was useless because it didn’t fit into parking spaces. I though after driving it 80,000+ miles that it fit into parking spaces pretty well. It also fits my garage. Definitely didn’t seem to be useless when hauling construction material in the bed or demo debris to the dump or when I was camping for months out of the camper in the back in state forests. Thanks for letting me know. I will get rid of that junk immediately and replace it with a new 5-foot bed midsize truck so finally I will have a useful truck. Originally I just wanted to add a Tacoma to the fleet but you opened my eyes. I should just dump that useless F150.
@@carbonking53 Most people aren't commuting 90% highway tho. Look up on Fuelly the avg for the 2.7 is around 18, only 1 mpg more than the 5.0. Definitely blitz the Taco, and it's coming too the new Ranger.
@@carbonking53 The truck mileage computer is optimistic. Try parking in a garage that’s 18 feet deep. I’m not removing snow and ice in the winter. Acceleration is limited by traction. A pickup with little weight in the rear is not accelerating very fast.
@@JohnDoe-nz6bk Is it the exact same truck as shown in the video? As in 100% exactly? Same town? Same distance? Same elevation? The answer is NO. Your anecdotal evidence is MEANINGLESS at best and useless since there's multiple factors at play here.
@@JohnDoe-nz6bk So we are in agreement that your arbitrary "tests" are INVALID because THOSE VEHICLES ARE NOT BEING TESTED ON THIS VIDEO. Great to know.
The MPG at 60 vs 75 is definitely NOT a negligible difference. I just did a test drive of 2,600 mile’s keeping my HD diesel truck running at 65 MPH vs the usual 75 MPH that I drive on same route and I got 20.5 MPG vs the usual 16 MPG. And that’s over 2,600 miles. No towing just the truck. The difference would be even bigger for keeping the truck at 60 MPH.
I noticed you were missing a bolt on your chin spoiler as you were removing it. Did you remove it previously, or might it have accidentally fallen out along the way?
If you want to improve in the aerodynamics of your truck then get a tonneau cover. It can improve drag by around 5% and depending on the conditions gas consumption by 10%.
After owning the vehicle for 50K miles thats a lot of gas saved. Of course its not going to be significant in this scenario. The point is that IT WORKS.
@@devengudinas1649 That's a lot of gas saved and less emissions that are spread when you consider potentially thousands of these trucks will be on the road... It not always about you.
@@MustangFordJesus Christ. Do you think the tiny bit of emissions saved from this makes even the slightest dent in the world’s emissions? China is building multiple coal plants every single year. The emissions saved if every single driver in America did this would make zero difference. You’re not special. You’re not saving the world. Climate change is a joke, it’s made up by professors and lobbyists to receive billions in government grant money. The oceans are not rising. I can’t believe people fall for this. I’m sure you believe that electric cars will save the world too huh?
There is no way I would ever get a Tacoma with a 4 cylinder I love my Tacoma 2005 with a real V6 HELL YA. And Turbos only last about 100 thousand miles and yes, I will knock it even if I try it and the rear bumper with the drop-down tow hitch I dont like that I hope they put rear disk brake on it but that wont matter to me now that it has a 4 cylinder not all changers are good ones, I wont a V6 with turbos?????? or not??????? Sad Days for us Tacoma lovers :( :( you take so much wait of the bed that you will have even more problems sliding around when it rains or is wet or Snowy out not to happy with this new Tacoma, I guess my 2005 Tacoma will be my last
VERY surprised to see a Toyota owner claiming that turbos only last 100,000 miles. My last diesel was an 02 Ford Powerstroke and it has over 400,000 on the original factory turbo. It was working fine when I sold it at 289,000 miles, and the current owner is over 400K with no problems. That’s with a Ford !!! Are you telling me that a Toyota can’t at least approximate that level of reliability ?!?! I get the loyalty to your V6, I’m still driving a Toyota truck with a 4.7 and haven’t gotten a new one despite the almost 300,000 miles on it because it still runs great. I’m considering the purchase of a Taco for runabout daily driver use, and from every comparison I’ve seen this new 4 cylinder turbo absolutely SMOKES the older V6. It gets better mpg, makes more power, makes a LOT more torque and at lower rpm. I’m thinking if you limit yourself to your 06 Taco then you’ll be missing out on upgrades done before the change, AND the potential of the new truck. That’s a choice only you can make for yourself, good luck !
Semi trucks can put a million miles on a turbo without failure. If you think this engine won’t be reliable you don’t know Toyota.. this motor actually exceeded the reliability of the last generation and the turbos reliability is in Toyotas commercial category.
@@JohnDoe-nz6bk Turbos work the same regardless, and Diesels demand way more. Not only do they run hotter, but they typically are pushing 25-30 psi of boost. Comparably these gas engines on the stock tune only run boost at 10-12 psi. As long as they use a good quality turbo, it should have no problem. Which Toyota is claiming they built this engine up to the same standards as their commercial engines.
For my Tacoma,. Wind can make a big difference ... even a few miles per hour head wind seems to have an equal amount of speed reduction when my little truck is loaded
I agree, I think Toyota is living on a reputation they built years ago. No way the Toyota's of today with small engine displacement & turbos will be as long lasting & reliable as the old. I just hate that Toyota jumped on the bandwagon like all the others.
My 1985 Toyota 4runner SR5 5 speed with the 22re engine and has 289,000 miles and gets 23mpg using gasoline 89 octane , no E10 or any type of ethanol.... truck sits on 35's with 5:29 gearing. getting the 23mpg on said truck using gasoline 89 octane going 70-75mph on a 2 hour trip. I would say this is AWESOME. considering it's age. on a side note, I tried the same trip using E10, fuel economy dropped to 17mpg.
Yes, & very expensive fail point. I remember back in the mid 80's car companies did the same thing, turbo everything. So just like then maybe this is just another fad.
It wouldnt need that 15 foot tall chin spoiler if it wasnt on big wheels and tires. My dad drove a 97 F350 4x4 std cab short box chassis dually. He said anything over 80-85mph you felt the front going light. It was also on 16" wheels and 215/85s (8.5" W x 30.5" H)
I really enjoy your videos however, I’m not very impressed with the results of this test. My 2022 Off Road has a 18-22 mpg estimate. With normal driving I get right around that in reality, occasionally better, a bit less when I’m heavy footed. You show that the new Tacoma with it’s 4cyl Turbo gets 24 mpg. I guarantee many will get less due to the thrill of the Turbo effect. Not much of an improvement. My 2022 rates 278 hp as well though I will give the 2024 props for the higher torque. The truck looks great, and the technology seems nice but with the price and modest to negligible performance improvements I’m not willing to switch yet. Still, a very thorough video series on the Tacoma. I’ll be interested in seeing the long term opinions on the one you are buying. You guys truly do a great job with your videos.
