4bt in a 1500 4x4 ?

[MEby]

I was discussing what kind of fuel economy could be gotten out of a 1/2 ton pickup with a 4bt with a friend of mine. He thought the 4bt would be underpowered for the application. (define underpowered :-laf :-laf ) His idea was to put in a 6bt instead, but i'm wondering what fuel economy increase would you gain over a 3/4 ton with a cummins? How much difference would a thousand pounds make? Assuming thats how much weight you lose. What if you took a 4bt and cranked on it to produce somewhere in the vicinity of 200hp, would that be sufficient for a half ton? The reason for this discussion, I dont need the 1 ton truck I drive. I wouldnt even need a 3/4 ton, I could get by with a 1/2 ton. I am too hooked on diesels to give them up for a 1500 4x4 gasser and get worse fuel economy with it than on my 3500 4x4 cummins.

 

[JFlagg]

You would definitely need to beef up the front suspension, the 4bt is light for a diesel but still heavier than a gasser. I know a few guys that had 4bt's in their early 80's Chevy 1 tons that made 23-25 mpg. The 1/2 ton , as long as everything is tuned right and the right gears/transmission, should do just as well. I've even seen a company that does 4bt swaps into Jeep Wranglers. They put in Dana 44 front axles w/ a mild lift to clear the motor and they advertise around 24 mpg if I remember right. The only thing is cost. If you have a donor motor/truck already and a good shop, might be cost effective, but how many years will it take to pay for itself. Though, how can you put a price on cool factor?

 

[6BT-Dakota]

You can never put a price on the cool and different factor

 

[MEby]

what about a dakota? would you improve fuel economy with a 4bt in it, again i'm assuming you would lose some more weight comparing it to a 1/2 ton.

 

[6BT-Dakota]

I get 20-22 mpg in my 6bt dakota

 

[MEby]

I get 20-22 mpg in my 6bt dakota

would you mind filling in your sig, i'd like to see what youre running for trans, gears, tire size, and power.



only 20-22mpg? there are some full size 3/4 ton cummins getting that. no offense but I may as well drive a full size pickup. am I off base?

 

[outofcontrol]

I just read a thread about a guy that put a 4BT in a F150. He has it turned up to 165hp/400ft lbs and gets 30+mpg. I'll retrace my steps and see if I can find it.



-Kevin

 

[outofcontrol]

Here ya go:

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=54096&highlight=4bta

 

[6BT-Dakota]

would you mind filling in your sig, i'd like to see what youre running for trans, gears, tire size, and power.



only 20-22mpg? there are some full size 3/4 ton cummins getting that. no offense but I may as well drive a full size pickup. am I off base?

I have a myspace and other profiles that you can check out:



http://www.myspace.com/6BTDAKOTA



http://pavementsucks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=97673&forum=11



http://pavementsucks.com/gallery/viewride.php?ride_id=4665

 

[MEby]

thanks, i'll check those links

 

[MEby]

I think I understand were your fuel economy went, I looked at the picture of your dakota. nice truck.



Now for another question. What if I put a 4bt in my old 2wd 64 chevy? Fuel economy? I think it currently weighs approx 3500 pounds.

 

[driverswanted]

4BT mileage

My 85 RAM is getting 25 MPG right now. Towing a 5,000# boat behind drops it to around 17 mpg. The MPG numbers should be a little better if you have the P7100 pump. My numbers are verified with a GPS. These old trucks can have 5-10% odometer errors especially if we change the wheel sizes. I'd take some of these claims of 30 plus GPM after bombing with a grain of salt unless verified with a GPS. Still ya gotta do the drop in for the cool factor and to send the message that we want more efficient vehicles like diesels in dakotas and 1/2 ton trucks.

 

[6BT-Dakota]

If you look at the picture links that I have posted you will see why I only get 20-22 mpg. I think the 38's have a lot to do with it. BTW my Dakota has a 1-ton Ford Suspension.

 

[MEby]

Yeah, I looked at the size of those tires and lift and thought that your doing well to get the fuel economy that you do.





I got to thinking, I used to own a mercedes 300sd. the engine was a 5cly turbo inline that put out 120 hp stock (diesel of course). I got an average of 27mpg. the car weighed in at 3750 lb according to the owners manual. thats close to the chevy in weight. I have a place here were I likely could buy the engine and trans (auto ) for several hundred bucks. I dont know what kind of hp could be produced. I had my car tweaked to approx. 140hp and producing 22lb boost. no idea on egt. I did have a diesel shop tell me if I sent in the injectors, they could have them edmd to produce another 40-50hp. Unfortunatly the injection pump had no full fuel screw to mess with :{ the pump (bosch) would have to be taken apart to see if more fuel can be got. sorry for the long post. just some thoughts. matt

 

[6BT-Dakota]

BTW i forgot to tell you that my Dakota weighs almose 6000 lbs we weighed it last year in Reedsville, WV at the DHRA Pulls