Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix'97
I appreciate the thought, on top of suggestions for swapping in a diesel motor! However, the goal is to overhaul my V8 LT1 engine and improve it in terms of power production and fuel efficiency, which is a tough act to balance, not spend additional money to swap in something new.
Besides, I enjoy having a moment once in awhile to let loose and floor the gas pedal! Then, the beautiful idle from my LT1 and then hearing the growls and snarls from acceleration and engine braking are what really make the experience rewarding.
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I'm also not reading thru the 20+ previous pages so I apologize if anything below has already been suggested.
I had recommended the engine swap as a cheaper easier alternative than monkeying too much with your thirsty V8. From what I know about late 90's engine technology, it's fuel injected and has a computer managing the ignition timing and fuel injection. This is probably both a blessing and a curse. I'm not sure what is available in the aftermarket that allows tweaking of the base engine map. I'm going to assume there isn't much (probably wrong) but the first thing I would do is get some cams that are optimized for fuel economy. Sure you'll take a hit in max HP but like you said you're not racing it. Further you could also see what pistons are available to change the compression ratio to work best with the new cams. Beyond that there' isn't much you can do and even monkeying with the cams and pistons probably won't get you more than 1-2mpgs since the factory ECU will try and compensate for the changes you make.
Taking things to the next step you can "delete" your cars ECU and put in something like a Megasquirt or microsquirt controller. This will give you complete control of the engine map (ignition timing and fuel) and you can really tune it for efficiency. I would guess this might yield +5mpg maybe as much as +10mpg if your factory engine is really inefficiently setup and you drive very efficiently. I'll repeat that is just a guess but it's about the only way I see of making the engine more efficient.
I am doing this with a 2 cyl motorcycle that is optimized for HP and is also carbureted. Since the ignition control is so crude and you can't lean out a carburetor for low load cruising conditions as well as you can with EFI I should see some significant improvements. That's kind of the beauty of having computer engine management. Tweak for max fuel economy at light load and then switch to max power when floored. It's kind of like cheating having the best of both.
I'm sure this one has probably already been thrown out there but you could find a way to "deactivate" 4 cylinders under cruising conditions.
Anyway good luck and don't let the know it alls who think anything but what they suggest is wrong, discourage you. Keep us updated on what you do and how it works out. Some people just don't understand that sometimes we like to do things because we can, not because it makes any sort of economic sense.