Chip to decrease RPM on 2009 Xb?

[inquiring]

Hello...is anyone aware of any after market chip to reduce the 4th gear speed by 500 RPM on the highway? My 2009 Xb pulls far too many RPM (@77MPH, 3K RPM) which reduces MPG and works the engine harder. Thank you all in advance.

[HATEnFATE]

The only way your going to do that is to replace the transmission with one that has a different set of gear ratios. It's not a computer controlled thing, it's physical.

Also, your engine isn't working very hard at 3K to keep your speed at 77mph due to wind resistance and all. If you slowed down the engine but maintained your speed, your engine is working harder because it's turning slower but still has the same amount of wind resistance(and other factors) pushing back. MPG isn't just your engine's RPM. The tranmission in the car is designed to be as efficiant as it can be at higher speeds. The gears in the vehicle are set to be as friendly as possible on our interstate system as they can be.

I used to have a sentra that at 80 mph would be spinning 4000 rpm. At that rate I would see 35mpg. if I slowed down to 70 mph, my mpg would drop to 28. My F-250 gets better fuel economy in 4th gear going 55-60 then it does in 5th gear going 55-60.

I've found that at 77 mph in my xB, I'll get around 24-25 mpg. If I slow down(reduce both rpm AND wind resistance) i can greatly improve that number. Since I'm not a slow driver, I don't see 30mpg in my xB and neither do majority of the xB drivers out there.

I know it's not what you wanted to hear but just how it is. The key is finding a perfect balance.

[inquiring]

Perhaps my expectations are too high as my former 2003 Camry LE averaged 27-30 MPG city/highway for 70K miles and returned 34.5 MPG on a trip to Reno and Sacramento from Los Angeles averaging above 80 mph. I rented a 2009 Avalon and it returned 24.5 overall MPG and returned 28-32 MPG highway only using the 6-speed electronic shift with the engine turning much slower. I was expecting 30 MPG from the Scion Xb as it carries the Camry engine and 3 of the first 4 gears are the same as the Camry. Many times I've seen larger 6 cylinder engines turn slower and achieve superior gas mileage to a smaller 4-cylinder vehicle. I liked the engine and mileage on the new Camry however at 6'4" and 225 lbs, I felt "shoehorned" into the car (its narrower than my 2003). I could run the 2003 Camry and receive 380-450 miles per tank (albeit larger tank) and if I drive 'soft foot' on the Xb, might obtain 280-320 miles per tank once every 7 fill ups.
I expected that a car almost 300 lbs lighter than the same year Camry with nearly the same gearing on the first 3 gears and the option for electronic shifting would obtain mileage as least equal to the same year Camry. I wish Toyota had added a 5th gear (overdrive) on the Xb. I know the trend to meet the CAFE std of 35.5 mpg by 2016 will be thinner, lighter oil, increase in transmission gears (6 will be common), higher pressure tires, and I believe electronic power steering, but I am so disappointed with the Xb that I am shopping for another 2003-2005 Camry LE or a post-2005 Avalon XL. Any suggestions? Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post.

PS-when I called Toyota Corporate in Torrance, CA-(3 miles from my workplace) a Toyota employee told me that "the Xb was never designed to run on the highway". Imagine that!

[HATEnFATE]

The biggest killer for the xB is it's taller stature.

The engine in an avalon, and camry for that matter, just don't have to work very hard to maintain the speeds once they are there. The cars are much more aerodynamic. The 3.5 V6 in the avalon doesn't even break a sweat holding that beast at 80mph so the mileage shows it.

My 96 avalon with 148k on it still gets 33-34 at 80mph.

Just a matter of a number of different variables that play into it but rest assured that you're getting about what everyone else does. I average anywhere from 25 to 27 mpg(on the RARE occasion 28) in my xB. Most of my driving is interstate and mine is a 2008 5 speed manual.

As for your phone call, it makes perfect sense. The xB is technically designed to be an urban commuting vehicle for a younger generation. The current xB was designed as it is simply because the #1 complaint of the 1st gen was a lack of power. Space was also high on the list. What we now have is a short geared, higer powered, larger, city commuter that is more practical for an older generation as well as the younger one it strived to attract initially. I see 2G's all over the place as delivery vehicles and RV tow-vehicles. These were NEVER scion's target market so that is why it is how it is. MPG was a primary thought for the 1G. Not as much on the 2G.

[Bakemono]

Yup, a chip will do nothing to decrease the crusing rpm of your xB. Its got everything to do with gear ratio and wheel/tire size. One thing you could do is switch to bigger wheels/tires. The downside to that though would be your engine would have to work a little harder to get up to speed (and could mess up your transmission eventually if its an automater), but it could lower your rpm.