maximizing MPG!

[Tyler1]

My truck has as much power..... well WAYYY more then i should be alloud to drive... i have many many balled tires n driving awards to prove it! So now im on a quest to get as much MPG as i can out of it!

I drive from Ga no NY allot and could use as much MPG as i could get.

My truck is an auto with 411 gears..... bad place to start lol

Iv installed a 5" exhaust, full smaty wich i keep on #1 for best MPG, AMSOIL oil, planning on getting a cold air intake , possible changing the exhaust manifold ( mostly cuz i want the 12v sound back ) and possible a aftermarket turbo.



What have u guys dont that worked?

should i go get 3:55 gears put in or a GV under over drive?

What MPG r u getting ANNNNDD with what kinda driving conditions and habbits. IE hills flat land towing lead foot etc etc etc

 

[Prairie Dog]

Some have said they get the best mileage with the Smarty (Jr. ) on 3.
You might try that on one of your trips and if you do, please let us know how it works.

Cheers,
Scotty

 

[steved]

Try keeping it under 60mph... I have a similar truck, and routinely get 20+mpg hand calculated. Your 4. 10s are your main limiting factor for mileage at highway speeds.

 

[rscurtis]

My signature truck will do 24 MPG at 65 MPH. It has no fueling enhancements of any kind, just the Dynatrac kit and the Super B turbo. The MPG improvement came from reducing drivetrain drag and turbo drive pressure. The Rokktech may be worth something but I never measured it by itself. It also has an ARE cab height cap, which helps mileage, as I noticed a 1-2 MPG drop when I made a trip without it.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Mine used to get 24 at 55 mph but the new ULSD knocked a good 2 mpg of that. Towing I lost about 1. 5.

 

[scootergmc]

I've found the best mod for mpg to be the Lightfoot throttle applicator.

 

[BGlidewell]

I got about 1-2 gallons *per tank* keeping it under 2kRPM. Not worth the aggravation, mine or the guy behind me. Driving style accounts for very little IMO in fuel economy with these kinds of trucks or most trucks in my experience. YMMV

Tires and drivetrain is another story.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

My friend, the previous owner of my truck, consistently got 2-3 MPG better than I do. Driving style matters!



A GV will cost more than switching to 3. 55s. Either one will cost more than you'll ever save in fuel, but that's not always the point, is it?

 

[Jim Ross]

I had a gear vendor in my '86 GMC K3500 SRW 4WD w/ 454cid 4spd + 4. 10's. It got me 14-15mpg and was fun to have and use. Without it the truck got around 10-11. So, the Gear Vendor did help, but it never paid for itself in fuel costs over the 90,000 miles I had it.
My current '07 Dually gets 10-14 mpg and I do notice a difference if I stay under 70mph. When I start running over 70, the mileage drops off... ... down to like 8-9.

 

[rbattelle]

Try keeping it under 60mph... I have a similar truck, and routinely get 20+mpg hand calculated.

I've found the best mod for mpg to be the Lightfoot throttle applicator.

Amen. The driver is the single biggest factor in fuel mileage. Just look at all the guys adding 2 oz. of acetone to their gas tanks and then magically getting 30% better fuel economy! It's all psychological.

Driving style accounts for very little IMO in fuel economy with these kinds of trucks or most trucks in my experience.

I respectfully disagree. But I have no objective numbers to disprove you.



-Ryan

 

[Prairie Dog]

Driving style made a huge difference with my truck. When I worked, I could change my mileage by 3 to 4 mpg with the mixed driving I did.

 

[AMcCormick]

of course driving style matters. seems pretty simple to me. 2 trucks drive ten miles one guy is mashing along at wot and the other guy is cruising at 1500 rpm who is going to burn less fuel in those ten miles? worst tank i have gotten is 13 best is 19. driving style matters.

 

[DaveHess]

Driving style big time. I may get my doors blown off but driving 55 MPH with the cruise on nets me high 23's hand calculated. Running with traffic at 75MPH gets me low to mid 16's with the cruise. I don't drive over the legal limit. In town with a light foot gets me low 14's. Towing at 17,080 GCWR will net me between 9 (high winds) and 12. I tow no faster than 65 mph. Smarty Jr set to all default setting on Tow. Smarty Jr set to performance did nothing for me MPG wise. Never tried the economy setting. I am happy with the Tow setting. Just my two cents worth... .

 

[Jim Ross]

From reading what others have written and having spoken to friends who have 2003/2004 trucks, I have pretty much decided that the earlier trucks (mine is an '07) get better mileage, no matter what. One friend has an '03 dually 2WD and he get 20-22 mpg---I wouldn't get that with my truck falling off a cliff with a down draft.
I have the Smarty Jr. and I am still trying different settings with it, but after having tried several different variations of SW1,2,+3... . it seems that, IN MY TRUCK, the SW3 is going to give the best mileage. The SW 1 and 2 yielded almost identical economy and the SW3 (so far) has shown a bit better..... still not great, but 12 is better than 10 when towing and 14 is better than 12 running empty. I miss my '01!

 

[steved]

From reading what others have written and having spoken to friends who have 2003/2004 trucks, I have pretty much decided that the earlier trucks (mine is an '07) get better mileage, no matter what. One friend has an '03 dually 2WD and he get 20-22 mpg---I wouldn't get that with my truck falling off a cliff with a down draft.

I have the Smarty Jr. and I am still trying different settings with it, but after having tried several different variations of SW1,2,+3... . it seems that, IN MY TRUCK, the SW3 is going to give the best mileage. The SW 1 and 2 yielded almost identical economy and the SW3 (so far) has shown a bit better..... still not great, but 12 is better than 10 when towing and 14 is better than 12 running empty. I miss my '01!

I found the SmartyJR does nothing to "improve" you actual mpg over what you currently obtain... but it does make that number easier to reach (more consistent mpg). I have played with the towing and 100hp settings (never tried the economy setting) and found no difference in mpg. If anything, the 100hp is slightly worse in my case as I tend to do WOT runs during passing/merging.

 

[AMcCormick]

My 03 did average much better than the current truck, but it was much lighter(reg cab) and and a lots less bombed. Also had the freespin hubs, which will be going on this truck soon

 

[Jim Ross]

Interesting you should mention the free spin hubs... . I have wondered if putting those on would help.
Did they help you and if so, do you have any idea how much they helped?
Also, how much did it cost to put them on and do they work OK in 4 wheel drive off-road driving?

 

[ENafziger]

Interesting you should mention the free spin hubs... . I have wondered if putting those on would help.
Did they help you and if so, do you have any idea how much they helped?
Also, how much did it cost to put them on and do they work OK in 4 wheel drive off-road driving?<!-- google_ad_section_end --> <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

They work extremely well in offroad driving. There's nothing tougher on the market. I noticed no noticeable effects on fuel economy.

--Eric

 

[AMcCormick]

I put them on just after I got the truck so no real data as far as mpg numbers. I did wheel the truck very hard a few times with toyo 35 mt and they worked well. i did have a hard time getting the driver side to unlock once. I will be putting this system on the current truck. I did the install my self and will again this time and ball joints at the same time.

 

[BGlidewell]

...

I respectfully disagree. But I have no objective numbers to disprove you.



-Ryan

I respect your respect and raise you 2mpg! Best wishes sir!