S-10 efficiency

[GasGuage]

Hello all, this week I acquired my '97 S-10 back from my better half. It has a 2.2 5-speed with 86K on the clock. I checked her mileage & she was getting 22.5mpg in mostly hwy (rural) driving. About a year ago I was hitting close to 27mpg. I have yet to run thru a tank to see what I can get now, but I would imagine a tad more since I drive quite a bit different then her. In going thru it yesterday, I noticed the tires were down to the tread bars & it was a quart low on oil. I took care of the oil & need to buy some new treads now. I'd like to hear from other S-10 owners similar to mine to see what kind of efficient tires they are using. I seen some BFG traction control tires for a very reasonably price at Tire Rack. They're about a 1/2" smaller in diameter then the Dunlops that are presently on the truck. These are 15" aluminum factory wheels. I'm shooting for 30mpg, even more in the future after a few more mods. what's a good tire to put on this truck? and do they make a high effiency cam shaft for the 2.2? thanks.

[SVOboy]

Sounds like someone needs and aero cap,

Welcome to ecomodder!

[IheartGeos]

I have a 94 GMC Sonoma, shich is practically the same thing as an S-10, and I got 22mpg pretty easy. I just today broke the water pump, so I am not getting any mpg, or infinite mpg, depending on your point of view.

Anyway, mine had: Rough mudding type tires, leaky egr, low compression, poor fuel/air mix (computer is off a bit), leaks oil bad, leaks coolant (now I know why!), has roof fog lights, etc, etc. I think if it was kept in good repair I could get 25 easy, and if modified it by removing fog lights and etc., I think 30 should be obtainable. I don't know, really, but they are pretty light trucks. I will probably not worry about modding this one, and sink my effort into my Geo.

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with the S-10!

[Coyote X]

Toss the belt driven fan and put an electric on it. They are cheap at junkyards so the only thing you would have to buy is a temperature sensor to turn it on when needed. That gave me 3mpg in my 4.3L vortec.

A TBI spacer is good for a bit of bottom end power so that gives you better mileage since you don't have to give it as much gas to get going. Also look up the 'ultimate TBI' porting mods for a bit more responsiveness from the engine which will also get you a bit of mileage. The OBD1 computers most of the time get better mileage with a cold air intake so maybe if you can make one cheap enough it would be worth trying.

When looking for tires it is normally hard to find actual rolling resistance numbers so if you can't find them look up the tire specs. 51psi tires are best, 44psi is good, 36psi sucks. Also the lighter the tire the better.