new guy with a silverado

[boostalot717]

Originally Posted by darcane

See my earlier post. I did exactly this with almost exactly the same truck.

And I didn't spend $787 on upgrades either.

seen and glanced through your post. Maybe you can answer this question, since you have played the same game.

From what i seen you used aero mods to get you mpg's up. Does your truck have any changes in the engine performance category? (intake, exhaust, tune, etc.)

I guess my big question for myself and maybe you too is; is a higher mpg attainablewith our trucks by throwing the whole shebang at it? ( aero and engine performance)

the highway i drive is constantley large rolling ridges so i believe that i would benefit from some extra hp/tq. Just my thoughts

[sheepdog 44]

Try carpooling? If you're doing 65 miles round trip by yourself chances are someone may be doing the same. It's worth a shot, maybe you take the same classes with a person who lives in your town. Then you'll both be saving money. If the person drives a 35mpg car, both of you will be paying the gas equivalent of driving a 70mpg vehicle!

Put a carpool note on the bulletin board at school, craigslist, or a carpooling website. The only way to save money with zero investment. If anybody on here has a long commute i suggest you try the same. Maybe you'll save money driving your own car and half, triple, quadruple your cost per mile driven.

[Frank Lee]

I'm still trying to reconcile "starving student" with "race car" and pickup commuting, both of which consume enormous amounts of money, right?

What is this crappe about an economical car costing $5000? I can find cheap and even literally FREE eco-cars all day long, and I have, and I will continue to do so. They pay for themselves practically from the first mile!

Re: carpooling: absolutely! I did it when I was in school back in the day and the concept is probably still valid.

[boostalot717]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I'm still trying to reconcile "starving student" with "race car" and pickup commuting, both of which consume enormous amounts of money, right?

What is this crappe about an economical car costing $5000? I can find cheap and even literally FREE eco-cars all day long, and I have, and I will continue to do so. They pay for themselves practically from the first mile!

Re: carpooling: absolutely! I did it when I was in school back in the day and the concept is probably still valid.

So you dont have to rack your brain to hard, yes the truck uses quite a large chunk of $$$ the race car doesnt. now you can concentrate on other things such as; that you didnt find and drive any eco cars for free and they didnt pay for themselves in the first mile or even the first hundred miles.

Carpooling, thought of it just havent found anyone that lives reasonably close.

[Frank Lee]

now you can concentrate on other things such as; that you didnt find and drive any eco cars for free and they didnt pay for themselves in the first mile or even the first hundred miles.

The hell I didn't!

Blue = FREE.

Sport Coupe = FREE.

VW Bug = FREE. Ha Ha, drove that one for several years then sold it for $300!

And they weren't even family hand-me-downs, of which I have several as well!

[sheepdog 44]

Originally Posted by boostalot717

Carpooling, thought of it just havent found anyone that lives reasonably close.

Reasonably close is relative when you're doing 65 miles. If you can make arrangements to drive 5 miles to a spot on the same route as another person that would be good. Still do ecomodding though. I guess it's to late in the year to buy a cheap bike that gets 80+mpg and impress some girls along the way? Glad to have you here!

@Frank always wondered how you have a endless rotating list of cars in your garage!

[darcane]

Originally Posted by boostalot717

seen and glanced through your post. Maybe you can answer this question, since you have played the same game.

From what i seen you used aero mods to get you mpg's up. Does your truck have any changes in the engine performance category? (intake, exhaust, tune, etc.)

I guess my big question for myself and maybe you too is; is a higher mpg attainablewith our trucks by throwing the whole shebang at it? ( aero and engine performance)

the highway i drive is constantley large rolling ridges so i believe that i would benefit from some extra hp/tq. Just my thoughts

No engine mods, that's all stock.

I had planned a BlackBear tune and e-fan conversion, but never got there. "Extra hp/torque" is hardly needed for highway commuting, any engine tuning/mods should be leaning out cruise mixtures and reducing parasitic drag. Modifying your intake and exhaust is all well and good for auditory satisfaction, but neither is causing a meaningful restriction at cruising RPMs and will likely have no positive effect on mpgs.

Also, my commute is about half highway and half city. I could probably do a little better with just highway driving, but I only did that when I pulled a trailer. The only highway data I have is the highway leg of my commute, and it's a little hard to be accurately determine mileage with such a short distance.

The best bang for the buck was the Ultragauge. Instant feedback really improves your driving habits if you pay attention to it.

[GRU]

honestly, look for a cheap car...not 5000, look for a $500 civic from early 90's...you probably drive your truck more than 240 miles per week so the truth is you spend more money on gas and would save more if you switched cars...

the answer is you probably don't want to driver a POS car that looks like crap but if you are looking to save money then you don't have much of an option...it's a tough choice but you have to make the decision....$5000 per year in fuel with this truck, or around $2000 per year in some other 35mpg car

[boostalot717]

Yes i actually was looking and would still like to find a 95-99 dodge neon 5 speed, dont care what it looks like. Problem i have with switching is one i cant find one and two i am looking at a 150 raise on my insurance and yes thats basic coverage.

[Gealii]

when do you race if its only part of the year why not take the truck off and put the new car on? I know on my car zx2 on basic coverage my dads on the insurance for it so it is cheaper than an 18 yr old on it i pay $40 and on an $800 car that's had basic maintenance, a battery, and brake lines replaced since we got it in the family. I say just keep looking you mite find 1 for cheap and in decent mechanical condition just don't let the amount of miles on them fool you if there well maintained they last forever.