Ultimate Fuel Efficiency Thread

Blaze One · Post by **Blaze One** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 1:54 pm

I have been looking around trying to find all the little "tricks" , mods and/or adjustments to get the best fuel economy out of the 4.3 V6.

There were a few threads scattered through out the web , each with some good and bad ideas .

I thought that it may be a good idea ( with rising fuel prices ) that we have a thread dedicated to all things fuel saving .

So post up what mods you know of , tuning tricks , performance products that helped or whatever you think helped your fuel milliage .

jeff024 · Post by **jeff024** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:03 pm

keep your tires inflated
do the speed limit

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:07 pm

I get 17-18 mpg average.

I have never got less than 15 mpg, and my best was 20mpg. Mods are in my sig line. I also use synthetic gear oil in the diffs and synthetic motor oil. My tire pressures are 38 psi front, and 35 psi rear. When I remove my tailgate I always gain another 1 mpg. That's all I can think of right now!

Steve

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:11 pm

jeff024 wrote:do the speed limit

If I do the speed limit I will get run off the road! Nobody in CA does the speed limit.

If it says 65, you had better go 80!

Steve

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:13 pm

Driving the speed limit and doing my best impersonation of a little ol' blue haired lady (while being passed by overloaded coal trucks on the parkway) took me from 11mph (city) to over 20 mph with the combination of 2 lane rural roads, 55 mph parkways and 65 mph interstates. The mod is the best, let alone, cheapest, That I have had experience with!

BTW, I performed the same "mod" in a "for real fire breathing solid lifter '69 302CI Z-28" and got better results but, not by much

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:20 pm

f9k9 wrote:BTW, I performed the same "mod" in a "for real fire breathing solid lifter '69 302CI Z-28" and got better results but, not by much

You got better gas mileage in your Z-28 than you do in your CC?

Reed, there you go talking about that Z-28 again!

If they weren't so outrageously priced would you get one again?

You know you want another one!

Steve

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:32 pm

killian96ss wrote:
f9k9 wrote:BTW, I performed the same "mod" in a "for real fire breathing solid lifter '69 302CI Z-28" and got better results but, not by much
You got better gas mileage in your Z-28 than you do in your CC? Reed, there you go talking about that Z-28 again! If they weren't so outrageously priced would you get one again? You know you want another one!

Steve

Need you ask?

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:33 pm

I have noticed that my CC gets better mileage if I try to keep the revs at or below 2K. May not be practical for all, but it works for short trips through town.

Blaze One · Post by **Blaze One** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:36 pm

I try to keep the RPMs below 2000 when acelerating too .
I still seem to only get about 186 miles to a tank , with about 4 gallons left in the tank when I go to refill .
I just had a tune up , but I don' think stuff like the PCV valve has been looked at , where is it ?

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:42 pm

Blaze One wrote:I don' think stuff like the PCV valve has been looked at , where is it ?

Drivers side valve cover!

Pull it out and shoot some carb cleaner into it. It should rattle when you shake it. If it's really gummed up just get a new one.

Steve

Blaze One · Post by **Blaze One** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 4:55 pm

Alrighty , checked the PCV valve , it rattles and I sprayed it out with some carb cleaner , also double checked the throttle body blades for carbon build up . And there was lots . I sprayed it out as good I could , but some would not come off the walls of the opening.

Maybe time to try that Seafoam stuff .

What about those plugs that are in the air intake tube going from the Throttle body to the air cleaner box ? Anything that should be checked with those.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:39 pm

Blaze One wrote:What about those plugs that are in the air intake tube going from the Throttle body to the air cleaner box ? Anything that should be checked with those.

Steve

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:02 pm

I think it is the IAT sensor , to which he is referring. Lightly cleaning it with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab as with the MAF sensors would be a good idea.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 4:34 pm

HenryJ wrote:I think it is the IAT sensor , to which he is referring. Lightly cleaning it with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab as with the MAF sensors would be a good idea.

I thought that's what he meant!

The best cleaner I have used for cleaning the MAF and IAT sensors is CRC Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner!

Even with Q-tips you can make a mistake and break one of those small wires. You can't mess anything up with a spray cleaner, and this stuff is specifically formulated to clean MAF's unlike rubbing alcohol.

Steve