Newcomer to ecomodding
 

So I've recently purchased an 04 Tahoe with the unfortunate AWD system which kills gas mileage for me. I have already done a few things to work towards achieving over 20mpg per tank.
So far I've done
-clutch fan to OEM electric fans
-Roof rack delete
-75% grill block
-Blackbear performance tune (power and MPG gain)
-Full synthetic in the Front/Center/Rear Diffs, the transfer case, the engine and the transmission.

On the very near horizon
-05-06 Tahoe/Suburban lower Air Dam
-3/5 drop from Norcal SS

Thinking about doing
-Extend the lower air dam a little more
-Belly pan in areas that don't need access often
-Switch the lower bumper to the no towhook, no foglight version

Also changed how I drive quite a lot. I accelerate quicker and try and keep the engine under higher load lower RPM during accel, I keep speeds low and consistant and I throw it in neutral as Im approaching a stop light.

I've seen how extreme people get modding their cars for this stuff. I've basically reached my visual limit for mods.

Andrewhans

Welcome to the site Andrewhans.

Sounds like you've done a good job.

What kind of mileage gain have you seen with doing all the mods and changing your driving?

I'm currently averageing 16-17mpg per tank. My average speed over each tank has been 36-37mph. The AWD 2004 5.3 Flex Fuel version is rated 13/14/17. I'm currently running e10-e15.

I drive mainly highway roads on my way to work. 20mi one way drive to work. Highest speedlimit I encounter is 55mph. I very rarely go over 57. Usually the cruise control is set to 55.

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Increase tire pressure to the max indicated on sidewall.

Purchase a Ultragauge or Scangauge for real time mpg feedback.

Welcome aboard...


:)


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yeah this!:thumbup:

I already have a cellphone mount and am running an ELM bluetooth adapter and the Torque Pro app. I have Instant mpg, engine load and commanded AFR displayed. I accelerate as quickly as possible while keeping RPMs below 3k, load around 40%(thats the highest I can go before it downshifts back to the previous gear), and commanded AFR at 14.1 which is as lean as it goes according to the ECU.

Tire pressure is around 38psi and I keep a close eye on the pressures. I could go higher but the ride quality sufffers quickly after 35psi.

This is still my daily driver and I'm worried about tire wear down the middle and it rains a lot here as well and don't want to comprimise traction for a few percent of mpg.

It was raining hard on the way to work today so even though I slowed down to 50 the entire trip I didn't see a gain. I'll post picture of the Tahoe once I get the wheels and tires on and lower it in the next few months.

Love the site and hope I can break the 20mpg per tank mark!

I'm still very much a performance minded person but I enjoy not spending all of my money on fuel.

Also I updated my log with all of my Fuelly fuel information. Still surprised to see how well I'm already doing above the EPA rating for my vehicle! Very happy to see that. End goal is still going to be 20mpg per tank on a day to day basis. I occasionally make trips up to Philly and that is when I have gotten my best mileage so far, around 18.8mpg over the entire tank.

Belated welcome.

Yeah, whatever you gained from reducing wind load, you probably lost due to the increased rolling resistance of a lot of water on the road to displace.

Something else to keep in mind about a thirsty vehicle: your "MPG" improvements may appear small by that yard stick. Don't forget a 1 mpg improvement on a 17 mpg vehicle is proportionately a large change in volume of fuel used. So don't get discouraged by numerically "small" improvements.

This becomes apparent if you flip the measurement to L/100 km or gal/100 miles.

I definitely think you're right with the rain and wind.

I know the last bit of my journey will be the hardest!

On my TorquePro app I actually just switched to l/100km to give me a better display of improvements. Thanks for the heads up on that!