mods for better gas mileage

snowbrdkid0 · August 25, 2006

What mods help with gas mileage?

chips/programmers?

headers?

muffler?

intake?

any others?

mcreyaufmiller · August 25, 2006

What mods help with gas mileage?
chips/programmers?

headers?

muffler?

intake?

any others?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jessee at Wait4meperformance has a economy tune that should get you 3-4 mpg. The problem with doing things that gain you milage is that they also gain you HP. When this happens, you tend to keep your foot in the injectors because it is fun, and loose the milage you should have gained.

rdnkcpa · August 25, 2006

Cheapest and easiest...keep your foot out of it. Drive the speed limit, and keep it to 2000 rpms and below. Somedays I feel like a little old lady driving to church, but keeping it at 65 and starting out evenly and gently at traffic lights had improved mileage by about 2 MPG. Keep your tires inflated.

And amen to the above post about the mods, they add power, they do not reduce weight, drag or number of cylinders. These vehicles are meant to haul, tow, etc.. Fuel economy was not a top priority when designed and built. Believe me, somedays I wish I was getting 30MPG instead of 18, but I bought a truck not a rice burner. If you want good gas mileage, buy a Chevy Cobalt.

95Sierra2500 · August 25, 2006

These vehicles are meant to haul, tow, etc.. Fuel economy was not a top priority when designed and built. Believe me, somedays I wish I was getting 30MPG instead of 18, but I bought a truck not a rice burner. If you want good gas mileage, buy a Chevy Cobalt.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

amen to that. I honestly kinda get tired of hearing people complain that their truck gets bad gas mileage. IT'S A TRUCK, IT LOVES GAS! If you want good gas mileage, you gotta buy a car. I knew when I bought my truck the best I'd see would be 15-16 mpg, which is why I kept my '98 Grand Prix GTP that gets 22 city/30 highway.

2004GMC1500CC · August 25, 2006

What mods help with gas mileage?
chips/programmers?

headers?

muffler?

intake?

any others?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A tonneau cover will help some as well. Synthetic fluids are a good idea and may help some with mpg as well.

snowbrdkid0 · August 25, 2006

I have a tonneau cover. My truck(in my sig) usually gets around 13 mpg around town. if i could get 15-16 i would be very happy. and i already drive like a grandma. I rarely hit 3k rpms, and i just set cruise control at whatever the speed limit is.

A tune does sound like a good idea though, but i have to run premium to get 3-4 mpg . Is the new pcm hard to install?

C & A s Dad · August 26, 2006

All good advice above.

The following are a sure thing

1) Slow down and drive like you have an egg between your foot and the pedal

2) 35 PSI in tires. Check them when they are cold.

3) Synthetic in engine, trans and rear

The following can be debated

1) CAI (but I do mean a true CAI) I use a Trueflow set up and it increased my MPG by just less than 1 MPG. Used several tanks as averages

2) Premium fuel. I am still testing this but as of right now, it looks like it will help me about 1 MPG

3) I use Lucas fuel treatment at the rate of 3 ozs per 10 gallons. It will help for sure but the extra MPG will not offset the cost of the product. I use it because of the benefits it offers as an injector and combustion chamber cleaner and an upper cyl lube. I also buy it at cost which certainly helps.

4) A bottle of Techron every 3,000 miles or so

camshaft · August 26, 2006

I recently changed my front and rear dif's with Royal Purple, and the transfer case with stock GM stuff and noticed an immediate difference in mileage. I attribute this solely to the Royal purple, but I am getting at least an extra 20-30 miles per tank.

I probably spent a total of $80 for the fluids and it has already saved me that much and more in fuel savings.

I wud recommend this as it can be done in a few hours, is cheap, and will provide better protection than most other fluids (duh)

my two cents

2004GMC1500CC · August 26, 2006

I have a tonneau cover. My truck(in my sig) usually gets around 13 mpg around town. if i could get 15-16 i would be very happy. and i already drive like a grandma. I rarely hit 3k rpms, and i just set cruise control at whatever the speed limit is.
A tune does sound like a good idea though, but i have to run premium to get 3-4 mpg . Is the new pcm hard to install?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

take off the lift and put the stock size tires back on. that will help you out a lot.

snowbrdkid0 · August 26, 2006

if i had the stock parts i actually would, but it was my moms truck and she lifted it, and all of the stock parts are gone.

is there anything i could do that would mabe cost power but increase mpg?

OnyxMAX · August 27, 2006

gear reduction. but the cost $$ to do it would prolly outweigh the gain.

a tune would prolly be best cost to benifit as long as you can controll your foot.

for real benifit you need things that pay for themselves in a year, anylonger and it is kinda pointless.

snowbrdkid0 · August 27, 2006

what kind of gears would be better?

Dans Denali · August 27, 2006

3:55 gears, 60 mph, max air in tires from tire sidewall, 5w30 synthetic oil, new stock air filter, synthetic gear lube. cheapest gas you can find. Have never seen a gain from a tune my friends have used, the engine is already running all the timing it can with cheap gas and the cost of premium outweighs the small mileage increase you may get if you could keep your foot out of it.

Dan

C & A s Dad · August 28, 2006

Dan, I will not argue the premium vs reg fuel comment at this point because I am still testing this in my Wife's Yukon. After 6 fill ups, I am seeing just less than 1 MPG increase by moving from 87 to 93. At this rate the increase MPG will not offset the cost increase. However, I really tried it due to the fact that I am towing a camper with the truck and was looking for a little more "umph". I have not had it on a dyno nor will I but it does seem to pull better on the hills. There has been a lot of debate on this and after speaking to some people I work with who are ASE Certified and one being a certified Ford trainer, I do believe it will help your power.

The part I will have to respectfully disagree on is the "cheapest gas" theory. You may not want to run premium but I do believe that running no name gas will catch up with you in the long run. These "cheap fuels" simply will not keep the valves, injectors and combustion chambers clean as a "top tier" fuel will. If you do run these cheaper fuels, I would suggest a Techron treatment at least every 3,000 miles.

Dans Denali · August 28, 2006

I run premium in my wifes Mercedes because it requires it and my Mustang drag car but run the cheapest crap I can find in the other cars, we drive my 2003 Yukon Denali from Seattle to Palm Springs 3 times a year and have tried premium with no mileage benefit. It has been on the news here many times that all the stations fill up at the same refinery. I am 51 and have never had a injector or fuel problem with any car. If the owners manual calls for regular I see no reason to waste my money on anything else. You know that the higher octane only helps with detonation and actually has less BTUs? While towing you may get more power because the engine is looking for spark knock and will give you more timing with premium but I havn't noticed any difference while towing with my pickup.

Dan