MPG Pt.1

[ccz145a]

$46.80 per gallon

kind of expensive

[Stewart G Griffin]

$2.799 per gallon

i work odd hours, hence the flub.

[Stewart G Griffin]

261.9 miles,  17.153 gallons = 15.27mpg

$64.48 to fill up. Sign price was $3.75 for regular. After i got my .15 per gal discount because i have the exxon credit card, it was $61.90


i am going to get serious about aerodynamics.  Stay tuned.

[eventhorizon66]

You know the slower you drive the less influence aerodynamics have.  Have you tried out the "driver mod" yet?  Are you practicing some "hypermiling" techniques?

http://www.cleanmpg.com/cmps_index.php?page=hypermiling

[Stewart G Griffin]

Um.. not really into hypermiling;  Really my whole goal with mpg is to be able to drive without worrying about mpg.   In other words, for example, i never worry and have never worried about mpg when i'm driving my cavalier even though it still takes gas and money to operate one of these or any honda or similar mpg vehicle.   But it gets 28-32 mpg so i don't worry about it even though this still does cost money, but not enough money to point where i'm worrying about it.

Regarding speed, right now i don't go faster than 65 mostly for mpg reasons but also because it's easier on the engines.   i want to be able to cruise at 70-75 and again not have to worry.

i think 20 mpg, which i feel is actually a realistic number for these trucks, would get me to not worry anymore.  24 is a stretch but technically possible.   Actually psychologically, which is what it's really about for me, diesel would be the best/easiest solution, but at $8000 entry fee it does not pencil out for me---it would take 100,000 miles just to break even before seeing any savings.   This is not taking into account if we put the 8K into a conservative CD at 3-5% instead of buying the diesel engine, it will take maybe 150,000 miles to catch up or we may never catch up...
i will probably start a thread concerning mathematical calculations concerning this very topic.  Gas vs. diesel vs. 6 cyl etc.

P.S. The short term thing i'm going to do is advance the timing a little before getting into aero.   i don't know exactly how much i'm going to advance it because i can't find the timing tab.

[Grim 82]

Really my whole goal with mpg is to be able to drive without worrying about mpg.

Like any relationship, if you can't control the parameters, you can usually at least control your mind. Yes there are things that can be done to improve mpg's with these pigs, but they will still be a pig when you are finished. In the time they were made, with the technology that was available, and the speed limits that were enforced, these trucks did just fine. Compared to new technology vehicles and their fuel economy, current gas prices, expansion of cities and the city traffic, and higher speed limits on interstate highways, a vehicle with the ballistic coefficient of a box of potato chips will never compete with what is now considered the 'norm'. All that's left is to wrap your mind around the fact that these trucks are cheap on parts and easy on labor, so go ahead and drive without worrying about mpg, because you will still most likely be saving money in the long run compared to buying a new vehicle or swapping everything under the hood to try to gain .08976 mpg.
If you're running a 305 it should be up at the 12 o'clock position. You can always advance it til it pings and back it off til it's right.

[bobcooter]

Are you practicing some "hypermiling" techniques?

I just drive slower and try not hyperventalate when I pay for the gas.

[Edahall]

Regarding aerodynamic mods, here are some ideas.

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.  Also, make sure you are using low resistant tall and skinny tires.  If your truck is 1/2 ton, go with a 30x9.50 and if it's 3/4 ton, go with a 215/85/16.

Here are several truck that were ecomodded to the extreme to give you an idea what I was explaining.  Pay particular attention to the slopping canopy and the front bumper.  These guys also smooth out the bottom of their trucks with a pan so they don't need to extend the bumper so far down.

--And oh by the way, that 1994 Toyota T-100 went from 23.3 mpg to 32 mpg at 75 mph.  And that truck was a lot more aerodynamic than our trucks so there's even more gain to be had on our square bodied trucks.

[Edahall]

I'm sure no one on here is going to like to hear this but if you want better fuel economy get a truck with the 6.2 diesel in it. I have a 1984 K20 with the SM465 and 4.10 gears and it gets about 20-21 in town. Its slower than anything I have ever driven tough.  

Very true......Slower than Cold molasses running downhill, but, built for fuel economy.

Yup, they are very slow in stock form but can be woken up quite easily which usually ends up gaining some additional fuel economy.  The 6.2 diesel in my 1982 came with 135 hp from the factory and it was dangerously slow.  However, the engine would return mid 20's on the highway.  I later went in and installed headers and large free flowing pipes.  I also matched and ported the heads and turned up the fuel injection pump.  The thing now is fun to drive and has plenty of power.  I'm also able to tow my 26' Airstream travel trailer weighing approximately 5000 lbs. with ease.  And better yet, the fuel economy increased from the mid 20's before the mods to 30 mpg on the freeway driving between 55 and 60 mph.  The truck has a 3.08 rear end and a 700R4 transmission.

[eventhorizon66]

Um.. not really into hypermiling;  Really my whole goal with mpg is to be able to drive without worrying about mpg.  

Regarding speed, right now i don't go faster than 65 mostly for mpg reasons but also because it's easier on the engines.   i want to be able to cruise at 70-75 and again not have to worry.

i think 20 mpg, which i feel is actually a realistic number for these trucks, would get me to not worry anymore.

Well you are saying you are ready to perform extensive body mods for improved aerodynamics, but are unwilling to make slight adjustments to your driving style.  

It's not a "worry."  It's easy.  The single most important thing you can do is slow down on the highway.  I have found that not getting caught up in the stupid little daily rat race makes driving a little nicer too - just slow down, hang out in the right lane, turn on the tunes, and cruise.  As long as there isn't a big difference in speed between you and majority of traffic, it's safer too.  I feel that 5 mph slower than the flow of traffic is hunky dory (just stay out of the left lane), but 10 mph slower could be dangerous in anything more than very light traffic.

I think that's a realistic number too.  And I don't think any aero mods would be necessary to achieve it.

[Stewart G Griffin]

256.6 miles, 16.712 gallons = 15.35 mpg

$59.81 to fillup, after rebate = $57.31

$3.579 per gallon regular.

Advancing the timing did not seem to have any effect.

The situation will be dealt with.

[Edahall]

256.6 miles, 16.712 gallons = 15.35 mpg

$59.81 to fillup, after rebate = $57.31

$3.579 per gallon regular.

Advancing the timing did not seem to have any effect.

The situation will be dealt with.

At what speed was you driving?  If you were driving 65-70, that would not be too bad.  However at 55 mph, you should get somewhat better than that considering you've got a 2.73 rear end and a transmission with a lock up torque converter.  Have you looked into having the carb jets sized/tuned?

[Stewart G Griffin]

At what speed was you driving?  If you were driving 65-70, that would not be too bad.  However at 55 mph, you should get somewhat better than that considering you've got a 2.73 rear end and a transmission with a lock up torque converter.  Have you looked into having the carb jets sized/tuned?

i keep it at or below 65, it's got 2.56 rear, haven't gotten around to jet resizing yet.

255.1 miles, 16.167 gallons =  15.77 mpg

$56.89 to fillup at $3.519 per gallon

i also did some towing last week and here are the specs:

270.3 miles 17.452 gallons = 15.488 mpg partially with empty trailer  about 100 miles were regular unloaded, no trailer miles, and the other 170 were with unloaded trailer.
203.7 miles 14.646 gallons = 13.90 mpg 153 miles were loaded with car.
198.1 miles 14.975 gallons = 13.22 mpg all miles were loaded with car.


P.S. the other frightening thing as you look thru the thread is that gas has risen $1 since september!

[big bear]

yea,, that sucks so bad.  a whole dollar is insane. sadly, we more less have to accept it

[Stewart G Griffin]

tonneau  cover installed.   Will report back asap.


Grill dam is being worked on as we speak.