Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - 2007 GMC Canyon - It begins ;-)

Longsnowsm · 07-21-2015, 08:12 PM

I am one of those guys that needs a truck. I actually use my truck as a truck, but don't drive it unless I "need" the truck. It is amazing the amount of stuff I can shove in a Honda Insight! LOL

Well my old truck has been a long time source of issues. I keep pouring money into it seems like every time I turn around. Now is not an exception. It once again thinks it needs to see my mechanic. Well I have decided that it's gas guzzling days are numbered here after a long run and a lot of work done together.

So I am going to be flying out to WI this weekend to look at and probably pick up a 2007 GMC Canyon. I am stepping down from the full size Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 Crew Cab to a 2 wheel drive, 4 cylinder, 5 speed extended cab small/mid size truck.

So I wanted to post here and track my economy and the improvements to the truck over the next month or so. I am a modest hypermiler, and haven't done much in the way of Ecomod's, but have followed here on the forum for a long time. Trucks are a tough cookie to crack to get good economy from them, but as witnessed by some amazing drivers here on this forum it can be done. I don't plan any extreme mods for this truck, but will do some of the basics and try to track what each change does to the economy.

I will start off by picking up the truck in WI and driving it back to CO. I will track the economy of that trip. Only mods will be to air the tires up to max sidewall pressure, connect up the Ultragauge, and then hit the road looking to see where the maximum speed for the best MPG is found. I will try to log and keep track of the various road cases on the Interstate and log the fuel economy for a baseline for when I get it back home.

From there the planned changes immediately will be a new set of tires, and tonneau cover. I will try to make a few runs to log the differences between the mods over a known distance and route to see what the impact of the changes might be. From there I am considering a grill block and lower air dam extension and will track those changes. The rest of the changes will be adjusting the LOOSE NUT between the seat and the truck controls. The objective is to show that a small/mid size truck can be tuned to get decent mileage without having to do anything too extreme and keep the truck looking fairly stock. I am hoping I can squeak out 30mpg on the highway at a reasonable speed, and keep it near the mid 20's in town. That would be the goal here. Trying to keep the goals modest and within reach and hope for something better as we go. :-)

So wish me luck. I will keep posting here to let everyone know how it goes with the truck.

UPDATE: Here are some pictures of the changes as they are progressing. I cannot get them to post on this site for some reason, but here are the URL's. Please let me know if you cannot get to the pics.

So far tonneau cover on, and air dam built and installed:
Let's try it below by URL link:
https://goo.gl/photos/aajygtsdBRskQwmVA
https://goo.gl/photos/PxAgzACiHXXB7TPx7
https://goo.gl/photos/8z759aBbZ64ZsA2V8
https://goo.gl/photos/PsSzGJXQNBkeMDmA9
https://goo.gl/photos/E4DDmpsWJNZGm2YD9

Longsnowsm

07-21-2015, 08:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Longsnowsm EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: US Posts: 70 Peaty - '03 Honda Insight Jimmy - '07 GMC Canyon 2wd, Extended Cab, SL Thanks: 22 Thanked 12 Times in 9 Posts	2007 GMC Canyon - It begins ;-) I am one of those guys that needs a truck. I actually use my truck as a truck, but don't drive it unless I "need" the truck. It is amazing the amount of stuff I can shove in a Honda Insight! LOL Well my old truck has been a long time source of issues. I keep pouring money into it seems like every time I turn around. Now is not an exception. It once again thinks it needs to see my mechanic. Well I have decided that it's gas guzzling days are numbered here after a long run and a lot of work done together. So I am going to be flying out to WI this weekend to look at and probably pick up a 2007 GMC Canyon. I am stepping down from the full size Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 Crew Cab to a 2 wheel drive, 4 cylinder, 5 speed extended cab small/mid size truck. So I wanted to post here and track my economy and the improvements to the truck over the next month or so. I am a modest hypermiler, and haven't done much in the way of Ecomod's, but have followed here on the forum for a long time. Trucks are a tough cookie to crack to get good economy from them, but as witnessed by some amazing drivers here on this forum it can be done. I don't plan any extreme mods for this truck, but will do some of the basics and try to track what each change does to the economy. I will start off by picking up the truck in WI and driving it back to CO. I will track the economy of that trip. Only mods will be to air the tires up to max sidewall pressure, connect up the Ultragauge, and then hit the road looking to see where the maximum speed for the best MPG is found. I will try to log and keep track of the various road cases on the Interstate and log the fuel economy for a baseline for when I get it back home. From there the planned changes immediately will be a new set of tires, and tonneau cover. I will try to make a few runs to log the differences between the mods over a known distance and route to see what the impact of the changes might be. From there I am considering a grill block and lower air dam extension and will track those changes. The rest of the changes will be adjusting the LOOSE NUT between the seat and the truck controls. The objective is to show that a small/mid size truck can be tuned to get decent mileage without having to do anything too extreme and keep the truck looking fairly stock. I am hoping I can squeak out 30mpg on the highway at a reasonable speed, and keep it near the mid 20's in town. That would be the goal here. Trying to keep the goals modest and within reach and hope for something better as we go. :-) So wish me luck. I will keep posting here to let everyone know how it goes with the truck. UPDATE: Here are some pictures of the changes as they are progressing. I cannot get them to post on this site for some reason, but here are the URL's. Please let me know if you cannot get to the pics. So far tonneau cover on, and air dam built and installed: Let's try it below by URL link: https://goo.gl/photos/aajygtsdBRskQwmVA https://goo.gl/photos/PxAgzACiHXXB7TPx7 https://goo.gl/photos/8z759aBbZ64ZsA2V8 https://goo.gl/photos/PsSzGJXQNBkeMDmA9 https://goo.gl/photos/E4DDmpsWJNZGm2YD9 Longsnowsm Last edited by Longsnowsm; 09-03-2015 at 01:21 PM.. Reason: Added links for pictures.