Chevy Blazer-How the he....

[ColonelPanic]

I drive a 95 chevy blazer. Nothing terribly special. I'm into the minitruckin scene so most mods it has are custom non-gas-mileage-related mods. I have a 4.3l central port injected V6, with an MSD coil, and a cone style oiled cotton filter on the end of a tube, connected to the stock intake tubes. Like I said, nothing special. I also have the roof rack shaved, and the suspension lowered 3/2. The trans is a standard 4 speed/OD 4L60E.
I decided to see what I can do on a 400 mile round trip. I should first note that the original EPA rating is 16/21mpg (this was 1995). 13 years later on the way from Willow Grove, PA to Williamsport, PA I simply stuck with the speed limit of 65 and ensured my torque converter was engaged during the entire drive (while on the highway at least) I pulled 22.15mpg. On the way home, I gave drafting a shot (while I would say its probably not the smartest thing to do) and pulled 25mpg on route 80, and approximately 23.5 overall. I was pretty surprised about this. Not sure if I can do much better than that, but I'll see what motor work I can do in the future. Likely nothing crazy, maybe some ac delco rapidfire(?) plugs, taylor wires, and a real cold air intake. Any suggestions and comments are appreciated.

[SVOboy]

Do you know what kind of revs you were pulling on the highway? For an SUV and the highway the most you can really do is slow down and throw on some aeromods.

Congrats on the good numbers,

[ColonelPanic]

At 60 i'm around 1900 rpms and at 65 around 2000. I also put it in neutral when going downhill and drafting, my idle is around 900-1100 rpms (depending if my motor is in closed ro open loop.)

[fshagan]

I read a forum post somewhere, possibly here, that drafting doesn't have to be done like the Nascar guys do it ... even if you are a safe distance behind a big truck, you get the benefit of the truck "splitting the air" in front of you.

That's what I've been doing and it does seem to give me a couple of extra MPG, while not jeopardizing my feeling of personal safety!

[johnboygo]

Let me know if you come up with anything ! I have a 2000 chevy Blazer 4.3, auto tranny, 3.08 rear end and the revs are close mine are just a little lower at 60 and 65 mph. The best I can do is 25 mpg with the tires I have on at this time , with the smaller stock tire I can get 2 mpg more and thats it . Currently I have 198,000 miles on the entire vehicle. Only mod I have is K&n filter . I did not notice ANY difference in mpg.

[shovel]

I've put vents in the hood of my 01 Blazer, and although their intended purpose was cooling safety margin when I'm in 4L in Arizona heat, they also happened to dramatically increase air conditioner effectiveness and have netted me a scangauge-verified 0.5-0.9mpg increase (across 3 tanks of fuel) - which I think is largely attributed to MUCH less frequent engagement of the fan clutch.

Cost:
Hood Vent Inserts from 80's turbo chrysler new yorker: $7.50 at Pick N Pull
Dremel Metal-Cutting Rotary Bit $10 (already owned b&d rotary tool)
Screws/washers/nylock nuts $3.75 at Ace





Placement was determined by 8" strips of yarn taped to hood, and by visualizing air flow under the hood (basically making sure with my eyes that there was a clear/easy path from rear of radiator to the vents, as a vent blocked by some part of the motor wouldn't do much good) - they ended up needing to be about a foot ahead of the windshield, and out to the sides. Farther forward the hood was too curved for the stiff magnesium vents, farther back the yarn snaked around on the hood at high speeds, telling me there's some pressure present. Closer to the middle there's engine parts right under the hood. (I guess they could have gone a bit closer to the middle...)