MPG

[Tazman]

My truck is a daily driver and God knows I love driving it as much as I can.Yet with gas getting out of hand I need to get better milage.I drive 55 take it easy always and get 17 to 18.5.It has a stock 350 with the 700r trans auto.Any ideas how I can stretch that milage a little more?Thanks

[beastie_3]

not much besides keeping it tuned up as best as possible and keeping a light foot.

[jaredts]

You're already getting pretty good mpg's for your combo.  Keep up what you're doing.

[ccz145a]

Tow it with a cummins.

Seriously, you're doing pretty good as it is. What jaredts said.

[1980c10]

-Bed covers are supposed to help a little.
-Or you could open or remove the tailgate.
-A vacuum gauge will help your driving habits if you pay attention to it.
-keep your tires inflated properly.
-I wouldn't mess with the engine at all as you are getting pretty good mileage already.
-synthetic fluids can help some.
-get rid of any unnecessary weight.
-keep your air filter clean.
-all in all your best tool is using your right foot a little less.

[topp]

You're ahead of the game...

My 06 trailblazer gets 10-12 around town.
My 87 K5 gets 10-12 around town...

[PromiseKeeper]

I've learned a bit about hypermiling from driving a Prius. Use the throttle like you have an egg between your foot and the accelerator pedal. Is your air dam installed below the bumper? I've read that this will actually give you an extra mile or two

[bluto1all]

Geez... if mine got what yours is getting I'd praising the Good Lord!  Not sure what else you are going to do other than just keep on keeping on.

What rear end ratio do you have?  I have an 88 Corvette with and L98-350 (multi-port injection) with (believe it or not) 2.59 rear gears.  I have thought about swapping them out for something stouter many times, but I gotta admit, the 20mpg I get around town (driving it however I dang well please) and the 25 or so I get on the open road is pretty dang nice... especially nowadays.

Anyway, that would probably be the next step, but it won't be cheap.

[slammed79]

You're doin better than a lot of new trucks. Just go with it man.

[Edahall]

There's probably not much you can do engine wise with the 350 to increase your fuel economy.  So at this point, your best bet would be to work on the aerodynamics.  These trucks are super boxy so there's actually a lot to be gained there.  I would first start off with extending the front bumper down to almost the ground and installing a cover that angles downward from the cab down to the tail gate.  You can use thick rubber to bring that bumper down.  There are a bunch of other things you can do such as using pizza pans as hub caps or rear fender skirts but then the truck starts to look silly.

[jdhall144]

Impressve mileage for a tough truck.

[daschlag]

I don't know what I'm getting out of my '77 3/4 ton full-time 4x4 but I KNOW it's a LOT worse than that!  18.5 is decent.

[big bear]

yes, very impressive numbers

[Stewart G Griffin]

i spent $468 on food last month and about $128 in gas.

Track how much you spend in food vs. gas, then report back.

My point is look at the big picture----- 17-18 is pretty good for a pickup.  i assume it's paid for?   So, you're total cash output for this truck is not as high as you might think.

We all do want to get better mpg though;  You may want to check out my in depth mpg thread, which i admit i have updated in a while.


P.S. i think if your total transportation costs anually exceed 5% of your gross income you have a problem.  Obviously you want to get this cost as low as possible, but i think 5% is a reasonable number.

[big bear]

very well said