What's The Best Way To Increase Fuel Economy?

cajuncraig · March 9, 2011

I have a 2005 Chevy Silverado with a 5.3 liter engine, 2-wheel drive. I was considering purchasing a programmer to try to increase my fuel economy. Any ideas on the BEST route I can take to accomplish this task?

[email protected] · March 9, 2011

Pump up the tires and be really easy on the GAS, remove any excess weight also. But other than that, I've never experienced any REAL gains from anything else. save the money on the stuff that doesn't work and put it towards gas.

cghbuilder86 · March 9, 2011

just leave the house earlier and drive slower ;) That works better than anything I've tried. Also keep the tires properly inflated.

old-chevy-dude · March 9, 2011

Pump up the tires and be really easy on the GAS, remove any excess weight also. But other than that, I've never experienced any REAL gains from anything else. save the money on the stuff that doesn't work and put it towards gas.

just leave the house earlier and drive slower ;) That works better than anything I've tried. Also keep the tires properly inflated.

+2

drive slower, accelerate slower, watch your high horizon so you can coast when you see a stale green light or slowing traffic, keep your speed and rpms low..

CAI, Aftermarket Exhaust, Tuners, etc won't help with MPG, proper tire pressure, well maintained vehicle, driving slower and not jack rabbiting from light to light is all that will really help..

think about it like this, the US Gov't regulates the car industry pushing for the best MPG and lowest pollution possible for production vehicles, the car manufacturers employ highly educated engineers and spend 10s of millions of dollar researching and developing their vehicles to meet these regulations.. So do you really think a $399 tuner is going to improve a stock motor that much to make it worth the money?

Tuners are for vehicles/owners that have aftermarket motor work (heads, cams, turbos, superchargers, etc) without that stuff a tuner isn't much more than a placebo..

[email protected] · March 9, 2011

I agree with everything except the tuner part, while it WON'T give any mileage increases, it WILL give power to a stock vehicle by doing many things to make the vehicle more aggressive, the so called mileage increases that are claimed, I've never seen any.

Superperv23 · March 9, 2011

The problem with most mpg increasing things is that once you buy it or try it you subconsciously change your driving style trying to be more fuel efficient so it seems like the thing has worked when it probably has not. There are a few things though that will help you increase mileage that actually work.

Using the instant economy feature on the trucks dic or a scan gauge to monitor the current fuel consumption will make you change your driving style so one that consumes less gas. You will find you accelerate slower and smoother and drive at slower speeds.

If you are only after a higher mpg number than the easiest way to do this is just to cut out the idling, when you idle you use gas but do not move so it lowers the miles you travel per gallon of gas. So therefore cutting out using gas and not moving you will only use gas when you are moving and have a higher mpg number even though the engines fuel consumption at speed does not change.

Weight can have an impact too but more so with a smaller car not a truck because they weigh so much to begin with but if you have a few hundred pounds of junk in the box you should ditch it.

If you do mainly highway miles a cap or tonneau will reduce the drag of your truck at higher speeds but the cost of buying one just for gas saving will take you a while to recover. In the same line of thought though you can travel closely behind 18 wheelers and see reduce fuel consumption because there is less win resistance.

The engine maintenance itself can play a big factor, you want to make sure you are running quality engine oil and filter that you change at the recommended intervals. For older vehicles you want to make sure that you have the tranny fluid changed when it needs to be as well. The injectors also need to be cleaned and can really hurt fuel economy and also you have to make sure you are running a clean air filter and good spark plugs. I have seen great increases from people doing the seafoam 1/3 1/3 1/3 treatment on vehicles also. It is just basic maintenance stuff that makes sense when you think about it.

Tires are one of the biggest problems for truck fuel mileage, they are large, heavy, and the aggressive treads have a lot of rolling resistance. So unless you want to go to a suv style highway tire there is not much gain to be made here other than monitoring correct tire pressure. Over inflating tires for gas mileage isn’t a great idea, it makes the ride harsher and can cause uneven and premature tire wear so the negatives are going to outweigh the benefits.

The last thing is the trick of buying your gas either during the night or first thing in the morning, the colder gas is the denser it is so you get more fuel during times it is colder outside. How much is kind of a guess are you would have to know what temp the pump is calibrated at and what temp the fuel is, it is not going to be a big difference but if you want every last benefit give it a try.

jro909 · March 9, 2011

drive like a granny, slow take offs and take your time building up speed...i can get about 20 mpg on the highway if i keep it right at 55

Wolfmansbrudda · March 9, 2011

Share a ride with someone at work who lives near you if you have a decent-size commute. By splitting the driving with a buddy who works in my department, I'll be saving about 5,000 miles and close to $1200 per year in fuel costs.

kawtoy_77 · March 9, 2011

I have a 2005 Chevy Silverado with a 5.3 liter engine, 2-wheel drive. I was considering purchasing a programmer to try to increase my fuel economy. Any ideas on the BEST route I can take to accomplish this task?

BlackBear tune, have Justin tune it for mileage. Buy light P-rated tires, don't haul stuff around, use the cruise control, coast to stop signs/lights, leave the tailgate up, leave the air dam on the front, and buy much lighter rims. Do not upsize your stock tires. Get a K&N air filter, and open the exhaust up a little if you can. Really, the IC engine is a giant air compressor; the better it breathes, the better it performs. Use synthetic oils, and keep the truck (particularly the transmission fluid) as close to 72 degrees as possible. My trucks OD doesn't seem to kick in until the trans temp is at 72 degrees, so the less the tranny has to warm up, the less fuel you will burn.

You could ride a bicycle... J/K

cajuncraig · March 9, 2011

Thanks a lot, guys. I was about to spend the doe to get a programmer, but I see now that all I really need it to watch my take-offs and keep the speed as low as possible. The departing early for work idea also seems like a good idea. I'm going to check my air filter today, and I already made sure my tires were inflated to the proper pressure. I appreciate all the help. THANKS!

jtramsey · March 10, 2011

Park it and get a Moped til gas goes back down.LOL

miltoney · March 10, 2011

I'm having some fun on the highway seeing what I can get out of this thing...I thought I was best off setting the cruise at 65 and just riding-not so. I have found that leaving cc off and trying to maintain a constant steady pressure on the gas pedal, regardless of the terrain, is the way to go. Meaning, hold the pedal wherever it needs to be to maintain a speed of say 60 to 65 mph on a flat, and when approaching a hill, don't give it more gas trying to maintain your speed up the hill, but instead let the vehicle slow down going up the hill, and get your speed back going down the other side. Cruise control is trying to maintain a certain speed, which can really hurt you on the hills. Don't use it....instead, let your foot maintain a certain throttle position. I am finding that I can maintain V4 mode for very long distances, even going over small hills. In two days of doing this my average mpg has gone from 16.8 to 18.7, and still climbing. I have no doubt that in the summer I can get 20+ mpg doing this.

old-chevy-dude · March 10, 2011

I'm having some fun on the highway seeing what I can get out of this thing...I thought I was best off setting the cruise at 65 and just riding-not so. I have found that leaving cc off and trying to maintain a constant steady pressure on the gas pedal, regardless of the terrain, is the way to go. Meaning, hold the pedal wherever it needs to be to maintain a speed of say 60 to 65 mph on a flat, and when approaching a hill, don't give it more gas trying to maintain your speed up the hill, but instead let the vehicle slow down going up the hill, and get your speed back going down the other side. Cruise control is trying to maintain a certain speed, which can really hurt you on the hills. Don't use it....instead, let your foot maintain a certain throttle position. I am finding that I can maintain V4 mode for very long distances, even going over small hills. In two days of doing this my average mpg has gone from 16.8 to 18.7, and still climbing. I have no doubt that in the summer I can get 20+ mpg doing this.

I get 19.4 in my Avalanche driving in this manner.. only time I use cruise is on a level flat surface, and I cancel it if the vehicle wants to accelerate.