Hello from Rochester!

[RealZ28]

Been studying some of the guides and threads here for a while and decided to join up. I recently picked up a little 1999 S10 Xtreme std. cab 4cyl 5spd to convert to a nice efficient runabout. It had a little over 220,000mi on it when I bought it. Original motor and runs extremely tight and quiet (to my surprise!). It's a pretty basic truck with rubber floor and no power windows and no tilt steering wheel and an uncomfortable base bench seat. The truck does have AC, though. I'll be keeping that intact since I can't handle the summer heat. I've been spoiled with "luxury" vehicles ever since I could afford them but I really like this basic little truck.

So far I've changed to synthetic oil and plan on running synthetic everywhere else. The clutch fan was bad and stuck almost full on (sounded like a dump truck) so an electric fan with adjustable thermostat went in (just finished the thermostat/relay tonight). Wheel bearings and calipers were done last weekend along with a leaky valve cover gasket. Have a few LEDs and will add more as I acquire them. Running the tires at 42psi. Looking forward to reading up on more tips 'n tricks here to squeeze some MPGs out of this little truck. I just filled the tank for the first time tonight since I bought the truck and calculated out to about 24mpg. Not too bad considering my 2011 GMC Sierra Crew Cab "All Terrain" is getting me 15mpg. That beast was giving me 13.6mpg before I swapped out a Flowmaster dual exhaust and Airaid intake tube/K&N drop-in filter/TB spacer (which is poor considering the sticker advertises 15/21). I actually brought this truck back to the dealer twice for poor gas mileage and poor performance. No surprise, "we didn't find anything wrong". BS, I had a 2011 GMC Sierra Extended Cab (same 5.3L/6spd auto traded in at 2900mi...that's another story) and that truck was giving me over 18mpg average. This truck currently has about 4500mi on it. I'm not going to dig too deep into it while it's under factory warranty...as useless as that is.

Let's see what else is in the stable....The 1995 Z28...forget it! About 12mpg but that's a toy. Also have a 1999 Buick Park Avenue ULTRA. I built the engine in this car a few years ago but it's all stock (bought it with a blown engine). I can get into the mid-20's with that car but the wife manages about 18mpg average. Never getting her a supercharged car again! Her Suzuki GZ250 gets much better mileage but I don't have any figures on it. The Harley Dyna Lowrider...no idea...maybe 40 or so mpg. The 883 Sportster I think is hitting about 60mpg. I don't know what any of my bikes get actually...we don't really care much when riding! And the ultimate in fuel saving; 1976 PUCH MAXI 2hp (I had 2, a 1977 was stolen many years ago). Mainly used for tooling around the neighborhood and campgrounds and race track. I've had this moped for about 20 years and it's still one of my favorite vehicles. Well...I guess you'd have to really like something if you've had it over 20 years...and I fill the tank about once a year!

I've been messing with cars since I was 14 years old (37 now). Drag racing on and off since I was 16. Went to automotive and machining school for a few years and even took some technical drawing. Built quite a few high performance engines and a couple hot rods and muscle cars and even a monster truck. Things have slowed down a bit and I'm liking this new hobby of saving gas. I'm a little ADD/OCD and go a bit crazy if I have nothing to do in the shop (you can only rearrange your tools or fix the neighborhood kid's bikes and lawnmowers so many times before your right eye begins to twitch). Everything is made worse since I live on "Hot Rod Corner". My immediate neighbors are all car people. '70 Monte Carlo big block currently being prepped for LSX. Buick Regal GS tuned. Subaru WRX tuned. Nissan Altima tuned. An old Morgan/VW replica. (70?) Dodge Charger .The following are currently racing; '69 Road Runner 440. '70 Dart 318. This seems like natural progression...and affordable! My 5 year old son is even getting into rearranging my tools...er...working on this "Little Truck" (which he named).

You're still reading this? Oh wow....LOL

[gone-ot]

"Welcome aboard," fuel economy is not fool economy!

An ex-mopar man here, although today we have three GM (well, one GM-Korea and two re-badged Toyotas) in the garage. Your Z28 sounds like my ex-'AAR--a 12 mpg street machine that's all about FUN and not so much about FE (ha,ha).

[Daox]

Welcome to the site and good luck with the S10. That should fairly easily be able to get up near 30 mpg without much work.

[mcrews]

welcome!

I found that my IMPUL body kit on my 02Q45 helped w mpg because it lowered the profile.
I like those Extremes for the same reason.

[RealZ28]

Originally Posted by mcrews

welcome!

I found that my IMPUL body kit on my 02Q45 helped w mpg because it lowered the profile.
I like those Extremes for the same reason.

Yep. That's why I jumped at the opportunity to pick this one up (and I've wanted one of these since they came out...LOL). I stumbled upon ecomodder by accident and started reading through these forums before setting out to modify anything. A factory lowered, skirted, 4 cylinder 5 speed seemed like a pretty good start and saves me a ton of work to boot!

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

"Welcome aboard," fuel economy is not fool economy!

An ex-mopar man here, although today we have three GM (well, one GM-Korea and two re-badged Toyotas) in the garage. Your Z28 sounds like my ex-'AAR--a 12 mpg street machine that's all about FUN and not so much about FE (ha,ha).

Ya, gotta have SOME fun once in a while! I never drive the car, though. I bought it in my early 20's. It's kinda my trophy. Grew up poor and worked my ass off for what I have. No shame....I can fix just about anything! The Z28 can be seen at CarDomain if you search "RealZ28".
Currently has about 23,xxxmi.

Oh, and my mom has a 2009 (2010?) Chevy Aveo5 so we're in the same GM-Korea club...LOL. Not a bad little car but I'm surprised she's not getting well over 30mpg in that thing.


Thanks for the welcomes!

[RealZ28]

Originally Posted by Daox

Welcome to the site and good luck with the S10. That should fairly easily be able to get up near 30 mpg without much work.

Thanks for the welcome!
That's the current goal. If I can double the MPG of my full size GMC I'll be happy. If I can surpass that I'll have some good ammo against those who just love to say "Buying another vehicle to save on buying gas makes no sense!". Narrow minded people...using less fuel overall is much more than saving a few bucks. Plus, this is turning out to be a great hobby for my son and I and it's been getting my ass outta the house. Even lost a little weight!

[101Volts]

Welcome. I wish you well on achieving more miles per gallon.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by RealZ28

Everything is made worse since I live on "Hot Rod Corner". My immediate neighbors are all car people.

Filled them in on your MPG project truck? It would be fun to start a friendly competition for MPG bragging rights.

[RealZ28]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Filled them in on your MPG project truck? It would be fun to start a friendly competition for MPG bragging rights.

Sure did. Most just smile and nod...LOL. My neighbor directly across the street from me (70 Monte Carlo & 2001? Buick Regal supercharged) thinks it's cool. He's a younger guy and also wields a laptop tuner for his and his friends vehicles...mostly for performance but he's really OCD about getting everything running perfect. Of all the car people on our corner he's probably the most understanding of being efficient. He's looking into seeing if he can get a file for my little S10 so we can hook it up and check everything out.

My current issues are;
Check Engine light has recently come on due to (I forget the code but it's the downstream O2 sensor) catalytic efficiency. So, either the previous owner's crappy welds are showing or I have an O2 sensor going bad. The light has come and gone on it's own after I cleared it the first time.

Gauges are all off. I suspect the previous owner had one of those gauge overlays and just stuck the gauge needles back on relatively close. I have been able to set Speed by GPS, Fuel by simply filling the tank and Voltage by voltmeter. If my neighbor can hook up his laptop I'll be able to set Temp, Oil Pressure and Tachometer correctly.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by RealZ28

Check Engine light has recently come on ...The light has come and gone on it's own after I cleared it the first time.

How'd you clear it?

If you've read some of the other intro threads, you'll see one of the most common first bits of advice is to get MPG instrumentation. A ScanGauge or equivalent can also read/clear codes as well as provide the instant/resettable trip MPG readings to help you adjust the nut behind the wheel.