When is 15 MPG hypermiling???
Friday I set a record for my 1997 Chevy 2 WD extended cab full size pickup with a 4.3 V6 and 4L60E automatic............. 15 MPG!!
Are you underwhelmed??? Well........ The rest of the story is that I was pulling a loaded tandem axle trailer with 8000 lbs from Billings, Montana to just south of Harlowton, Montana....... at 60 mph, up grade most of the way. Ranging as low as 50 occasionally on steep hills...........
Who ever heard of hypermileing pulling a trailer??? Two lane highway, lightly traveled, I used every down grade to advantage, and kept the speed down. Two lanes in Montana are posted 70. I like to pull a trailer at about 55-60 for safety reasons........ and economy. I have a scan gauge, and was burning ethanol free gas........I won't buy E10 if there is any alternative at all as I lose in excess of 10% mileage by burning it........ a total waste. My 4L60E transmission is heavily modified (by me) and has a torque converter lock up switch and 'lectronics to fool the ECM, and the PWM valve that allows clutches to slip for that smooth shift...... disabled. I anticipate the hills far in advance, and allow speed to build ahead of the grades, and fall as I go up them......... shifting well before the automatic would shift so that I remain in my power band. If you do like most folks and simply put your foot on the gas and go, the 4.3 seems wimpy....... at a rated 200 HP it is anything but wimpy, but you have to DRIVE. This pickup gets an over all average (tank average) of slightly over 20, and will do 22 on a trip. It has 3.07:1 gears, so it's geared too high for a puller really, but I've pulled over 10K behind it. I've had a scan gauge on it for years, and hypermile without even thinking about it.......using Georgia Overdrive when I can, and using what amounts to "pulse and glide" when it's appropriate.
Howard
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