Can my gas hog go on a diet?

etex211 · July 30, 2006

I've got a '96 crew cab dually with a vortec 454. This truck is only used for pulling my race car trailer. I only drive this truck a few thousand miles per year now, but the gas bills are killing me. I got my gas mileage up to around 8 miles per gallon (from 6-6.5) by reconfiguring my trailer a bit (to reduce wind drag) and by slowing down on the highway from 75 to 65.

I'd like to get even better mileage from it if I can. 10 miles per gallon would be wonderful. The truck is bone stock and has about 135,000 miles.

What can I do to help the mileage on this thing? Exhaust upgrade? Air intake? Reprogrammer?

All ideas appreciated.

Daubs · July 30, 2006

First off, 8 MPG from a crew cab dually with the great 454 ain't bad at all! My Dad's 76 K-20HD 4x4, standard cab, long box with only a 350 / 4 speed got a whopping...are you ready for this...6 MPG! I'm talking city/highway, uphill/downhill, wind at back/wind in face, full moon/new moon...you name it...SIX STINKING MPG!

That said, I'm thinking 8 is pretty darn good, especially when towing.

You are on right track in my book. Decrease drag, lighten up on pedal and you are going to see improvements. As far as other things to add / change (exhaust, intake, programmer, etc.) you have to get out the calculator (or excel in my case) and put numbers to work. If you spend say $1,000 on some "fuel savings" items, how much better MPG will you get...and how much $$$ will you save at pump to offset the initial investment?

Here are some calculations based on 10,000 miles per year and $3.00 per gallon fuel.

8 MPG x 10,000 miles = 1250 gallons @ $3.00/gal = $3,750

10 MPG x 10,000 miles = 1250 gallons @ $3.00/gal = $3,000

So you basically save $750 for the year on fuel. Not bad. But how many miles per year are you going to drive this truck? You have to work out the numbers.

I'd start with air filter (K&N) or low restriction intake & filter. See where that gets you on MPG, then work from there.

etex211 · July 30, 2006

That's kind of what I was thinking.

I drive this truck fewer than 5,000 miles per year now. I'm not taking the long racing trips that I was taking a few years ago.

Any improvement that I make would have to significant in order to justify the expense of the improvement. I had a budget limit of $500 in mind for anything that I do, and the improvement would have to be noticeable.

Do you know anything about the mufflers that came on these trucks? The muffler on this thing is huge, but I have no idea how restrictive it is.

Thanks for the input.

dewfpo · July 30, 2006

Run your air pressure as high as you are comforatable with (but NEVER exceed the max. psi on the tire) both on the truck and the trailer. And tire pressure goes up as the tires get hotter.

If it's a throttle body unit you may want to consider a throttle body spacer.

DEWFPO

dizzy · August 1, 2006

yep, K&N Filter and glasspacks on the exhaust would help.

It becomes so noisy afterward you don't want to drive it fast

etex211 · August 27, 2006

I tried slowing down even further, to 60 mph, but the mileage was still around 8.

65 mph seems to be the threshold.

95Sierra2500 · August 28, 2006

A question: Are you running a topper on that truck? If not, try getting an aluminum one (cheaper and they actually warrenty them on 1-tons, unlike the fiberglass ones), maybe even with a kick-up roof of 4-6 inches. My dad's '94 gets about 10 mpg (non-Vortec, 5-speed w/OD, 4x4) just normal driving, but when towing a tag trailer would drop to 8. Once he put that topper on, the mileage went back up to 10.

Otherwise, increase your tire pressure close to the max (reduces rolling resistance) and perhaps switch engine, tranny, and diff. fluid to synthetic, as this reduces friction and can also extend the life of your moving parts (provided nothing leaks already).

KICK · September 1, 2006

good luck getting a boat anchor like a 454 to get much better fuel mileage than yer already getting.

96chevy7.4L · May 14, 2008

Hi you can get better mileage. I have a 96 chevrolet crew cab dually with the 7.4L vortec (aka 454) to do it you need a hypertec or someones programmer and buy a granatelli mass air sensor. you will need the air intake but you can get to 10 no prob. I pull a 30 foot gooseneck with a t300 bobcat and get 10 no prob. I have added a lil bit bigger throttle body also but to get started go with what I but earlier. Any questions feel free to contact me

96chevy7.4L · May 14, 2008

Oh almost forgot if you go with the hypertech it will give you the option of a low temp thermostat go with it. I have the 160 in mine and it works great no check engine no computer issues.