V8 Lover looking for better MPG's

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Nonhog

a shame the little engine gets worse MPG's than the V8's

Is this a fact? EPA ratings?

Welcome to the site. There's lots you can do to the truck & your driving to improve.

[Domman56]

Originally Posted by RH77

Agreed. A carefully tuned supercharger or turbo might help, but forced induction + larger displacement (with "fun" added to the equation) only spells more fuel.

The WT has the most potential of the Chevy lineup with stripped-down options (less weight), V-6, and I'm guessing a manual trans.

Modding and driving efficiently for highway speeds and using momentum to your advantage could yield results.

Stick with it and see what happens

RH77

That's what i meant a tuned turbo setup running between 3-6 Psi might help

Something like an STS rear turbo mount or another brand if it would work better . Don't really know the difference between them

By fun u just meant a little more power when you really wanted to open it up sorry if i was unclear about that

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Is this a fact? EPA ratings?

Usually the bigger engine in trucks are geared lower and allow the big torquey engine to turn slower and makes for better MPG than a slighter lower geared smaller engine.

[Daox]

Originally Posted by RH77

Agreed. A carefully tuned supercharger or turbo might help, but forced induction + larger displacement (with "fun" added to the equation) only spells more fuel.

RH77

Care to explain how this would work? I've never heard of a supercharger especially increasing FE.

[ex-x-fire]

Get the biggest block heater you can find, this helps in faster warm ups. Make sure the tune-up parts are good. Make sure the thermostat is the correct temp. You can loose 2 mpg or more if your eng. is running 175* instead of 195* oem range. I run a 205* t-stat year round, there not avaliable for all engines though. Remove unnesesary weight, I see alot of people haulling a bunch of stuff around thats usless. When the engine is cool take it easy on the gas, efi engines dont have chokes so the injectors flow alot more fuel durning cold operation. Hope this helps ya.

[SentraSE-R]

Slow down. I had an Astro van with the 4.3 V-6. It got 15-17 mpg at 70 mph, but 22 mpg at 62 mph.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by Daox

Care to explain how this would work? I've never heard of a supercharger especially increasing FE.

Thinking out loud...

In theory it might work like a mild turbo, by offering additional power at lower RPMs. In this case, taller gearing / final drive would be required (and some sort of ability to regulate the boost). The thought of a supercharger for engines of higher displacement comes to mind instead of a turbo (except for Diesels). I recall hearing of a zero-boost CRX a few years ago that yielded exceptional FE. The SC could be flawed logic...

Thinking more about it, the parasitic drag of a belt-driven device may not offset the gains. Luckily, easier methods are available to start with first

RH77

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Nonhog

We'll its true I am a V8 lover, gotta love that big block torque !
My DD is a pick up. Its an 08 Silverado 4.3 WT. Pretty happy with it but its a shame the little engine gets worse MPG's than the V8's I understand lots of factors involved. Couldn't afford the LS V8's so moot point.
I have yet (but I will !) get 20 MPG in the silly thing.
I am sure your web site will help ! Not interested in driving in any way that may upset or endanger anyone else.

So my first step is;
* Synthetic oil and I hope it helps but wont be upset if it does'nt.

*Looking at my mirrors and thinking

*Thinking about a bed cover/canopy mod (went through 27 pages of that canopy thread *awesome*)

My truck sits azz high and have heard that lowering it to level has helped
others?

Wouldn't mind turbocharging someday, have heard the fuel economy is there
if you can keep your foot out of it.

Have lots of questions but I'll save them till I've searched more.

Dang, those trucks sit high... looks 4-6 inches taller than my '03.

When you wear down your tires, look at ditching the steelies and getting some smoother, lighter, aluminum wheels. Lots of stock take offs that you can find on craigslist cheap, usually with tires.

Slow down. Buy an Ultragauge.

I also coast in Neutral which seems to help.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Is this a fact? EPA ratings?

Welcome to the site. There's lots you can do to the truck & your driving to improve.

for '08, the EPA rates the 4.3L V6 the same as the 5.3L V8 (15/20) which is slightly better than the middle choice of a 4.8L V8 (14/19). These trucks are pretty heavy though... 4400+ for the lightest version.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by RH77

The WT has the most potential of the Chevy lineup with stripped-down options (less weight), V-6, and I'm guessing a manual trans.

GM (Ford and Dodge too) no longer offers manuals in their 1500 series trucks. I think '06 was the last year it was available, and even then they were rare. I searched for months trying to find one before I gave up.

Mike