• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

Improving MPG for the AV

aetatis

Full Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2003
Messages
911
Location
Metro Atlanta
Hey everyone!

I just bought an AV today and I had been anticipating MPG
issues with the 5.3. Anyway I was just wondering if there
are any bolt ons that I could do that may improve MPG.

My last truck was a Chevy Blazer and I got it to be about
24 MPG. ;D This was done with a variety of things that I bolted
on: MSD ignition system, K+N air intake, and a couple of other
things.

I saw that JC whitney sells this thing that attaches to the fuel
line it looks pretty silly but its supposed to improve mileage a bit.

Also I took a 1,200 mile trip recently in my old blazer and let me
tell everyone that Shell gas really does improve mileage. I really did
get a bit better gas with it. Just wanted to mention that.

thanks!
 
I'd take most of the advertised items that are supposed to improve mileage with more than just a grain of salt. If they all worked we'd all be getting 25mpg out of our AV's ;D

You could try custom exhaust, K/N, and a host of other things, but in my experience, the bottom line is probably that you'll be lucky to see a 10-15% increase in mpg. Other opinions may vary ;)

I'm with you on the Shell gas. When on a trip it's all I'll use.
 
If you find something that works, Please share it with the rest of us. I think we all could use a little better MPG. I have the K&N FIPK and true dual flowmaster 40 exhaust. I think my MPG went down, because now I like to hear it rumble. :cautious: I will have to test it on my next long road trip.

:B:Les :B:
 
The only thing that seems to work is the flex-a-lite electric fans. It also frees up some horespower - actually seems to be equal or greater than any other mod - except for the pro cold intake. But users do not seem to be getting any more than a few miles per gallon - if that.
 
Castle_Rock_AV said:
The only thing that seems to work is the flex-a-lite electric fans. It also frees up some horespower - actually seems to be equal or greater than any other mod - except for the pro cold intake. But users do not seem to be getting any more than a few miles per gallon - if that.

Enlighten me as to what a flex-a-lite electric fan is. ???
 
midlifecrisis:
A Flex-a-lite fan is a a fan that replaces the factory fan (which is clutch driven) the flex-a-lite is an electronic fan that runs independently thus freeing up a bit of H/P and improving MPG.

I am thinking I noticed a bigger increase with the aftermarket
pipes I put on my old truck than my intake. Boy carriles
your pipes must be LOUD!

Flex-a-lites an idea though..maybe I'll get one of those along with
some aftermarket pipes. (I like the wuba-wuba ;D)

 
Read though this perfomance section....some of the threads will have posts about mileage in creases and how....but the electric fan by far is the best I have read about...
 
Castle_Rock_AV said:
The only thing that seems to work is the flex-a-lite electric fans. It also frees up some horespower - actually seems to be equal or greater than any other mod - except for the pro cold intake. But users do not seem to be getting any more than a few miles per gallon - if that.

I agree. I think the Flex A lite is one of the best MPG increasers out there. It takes a serious amount of stress off the Engine but adds stress to your Alternator. That is the draw back and a lot of members who have this mod have also beefed up theri alternators and gone with a deep cycle battery.

The Pro Cold Air Intake is great for Quick Bolted on HP. I do not know what it's expected MPG impact is. I woulds suspect it will help. Another benifit of this device is that it's gains do not negativelly effect another aspect of your truck. THis may be the better option to choose if you have no plans of beefing up your alternator.

I have installed a Thottle Body Spacer. This seems to have given me a little extra MPG. It's a PITA to install but I feel it has paid for itself already in saved gas.
 
Thats interesting I didn't even think of that (The alternator question)

Did you notice any HP increase in the Throttle Spacer? I have heard at best a mixed bag with the mod. One of the things is the install
(As you have figured out!)

 
aetatis said:
Thats interesting I didn't even think of that (The alternator question)

Did you notice any HP increase in the Throttle Spacer? I have heard at best a mixed bag with the mod. One of the things is the install
(As you have figured out!)

Overall I am glad I did the Throttle Body Spacer Mod. I estimate that I am getting about 1 mpg better. Such Small gains are hard to substantiate but my feeling is that the gains are extremely small. My ulta-scientific method used to determine this >:D was just on how far I could go in a week based upon another very simalr week. (Not that scientific at all.) It appears that some people have more of a problem installing this than others. Getting the hoses off the throttle body is almost impossible. Getting them back on is even more difficult. The throttle body does not have that much room once unscrewed from the engine block to even fit the TBS inbetween the two. I did it on Easter Sunday when Fanily was on their way over. I was cold, had to take a leak and nothing was working. Finally with a little push here, elbow greese there, it all came together. If you do go with this mod Please dont make the same mistake I did by forgetting to hook up the throttle cable extenders. If you do you'll have a heart attack whe you start your Ave up (Imagine starting your ave up at full throttle)!!!
 
I am glad some of you think you get better mileage from Shell gas.

Fact is though, there is absolutely no difference between shell and the cheapest no-brand station you can find (except maybe the quality/newness of the underground storgage tank). It is all refined the exact same way, and all flows through the exact same gigantic pipes to various suppliers who tack on their name.

One thing though, If you ever go to fill up at your favorite station, never get gas when the station is receiving a delivery or within an hour after receipt. During the delivery the dirt, crud. settiment on the bottom of the tank is kicked up and some of it will end up in your tank. Yes, there are filters in the line, but they don't catch nearly everything. If you wait an hour or more, the junk settles back to the bottom of the storage tank and you will be much better off.

Sure do love that AV!
 
MacMan said:
I am glad some of you think you get better mileage from Shell gas.

Fact is though, there is absolutely no difference between shell and the cheapest no-brand station you can find (except maybe the quality/newness of the underground storgage tank). It is all refined the exact same way, and all flows through the exact same gigantic pipes to various suppliers who tack on their name.

One thing though, If you ever go to fill up at your favorite station, never get gas when the station is receiving a delivery or within an hour after receipt. During the delivery the dirt, crud. settiment on the bottom of the tank is kicked up and some of it will end up in your tank. Yes, there are filters in the line, but they don't catch nearly everything. If you wait an hour or more, the junk settles back to the bottom of the storage tank and you will be much better off.

Sure do love that AV!

Wow thats a good piece of advise. I never thought of that. One thing that really tickles me is when some one says, "Dont use their gas, they put water in it". I get a kick when I hear this because if this were true, you would either get a tank full of gas or a tank full of water. I hope that most of know Gas ans Water dont mix.
 
MacMan said:
I am glad some of you think you get better mileage from Shell gas.

Fact is though, there is absolutely no difference between shell and the cheapest no-brand station you can find (except maybe the quality/newness of the underground storgage tank). It is all refined the exact same way, and all flows through the exact same gigantic pipes to various suppliers who tack on their name.

One thing though, If you ever go to fill up at your favorite station, never get gas when the station is receiving a delivery or within an hour after receipt. During the delivery the dirt, crud. settiment on the bottom of the tank is kicked up and some of it will end up in your tank. Yes, there are filters in the line, but they don't catch nearly everything. If you wait an hour or more, the junk settles back to the bottom of the storage tank and you will be much better off.

Sure do love that AV!
YOU WIN!!!

ABSOLUTELY correct.....refineries just make gas and ship it to whomever.......sometimes it is good sometimes it is not.....

 
Yep

I see your point.

Oil companies use the same base gas and add their additives
to it.

I just notice that I've gotten MUCH better mileage with my old truck
than with any other type of gas.

Interesting thing too about the refilling periods I did not know that.

Okay but what is bad gas? What causes bad gas if it isn't condesation in the tank???

 
bad refining...water...dirt etc etc...is bad gas.....also old stale gas....
 
This gas thing is an interesting subject. I've heard 'the same pipeline" argument before. It would only take a big bubble of nitrogen to separate the shipments through the pipeline. I can't believe the majors don't run their own refineries their own way.

That's just my opinion. In reality I know absolutely nothing about this and would love the hear from a knowledgeable source.

kw
 
Good gas all seems to be about the same, though I like Shell a little better also. Bad gas is much worse than average and can harm the engine. Since a lot (most?, all?) stations are franchised, the name on the sign doesn't always mean much. I remember a Texaco getting busted a few years ago for dumping waste oil in the gas tanks. Others have mislabeled the octane or rigged the gallons to read more than was pumped. To me fraud is a bigger issue than subtle differences in additives.
 
MacMan said:
Fact is though, there is absolutely no difference between shell and the cheapest no-brand station you can find (except maybe the quality/newness of the underground storgage tank). It is all refined the exact same way, and all flows through the exact same gigantic pipes to various suppliers who tack on their name.
I am in no way an expert (I bet I know less than you about this topic Redshift :))... and I have heard that 'all gas is the same' story multiple times from various sources... if this is true, then how are the different octanes seperated ??? or does stating that 'all gas is the same' also mean that the different cost for different gas octanes is just a marketing ploy?

Any fuel expert around??
 
Redshift said:
This gas thing is an interesting subject. I've heard 'the same pipeline" argument before. It would only take a big bubble of nitrogen to separate the shipments through the pipeline. I can't believe the majors don't run their own refineries their own way.

That's just my opinion. In reality I know absolutely nothing about this and would love the hear from a knowledgeable source.

kw

REfineries are different division within the oil companies and must make their own PROFIT.....so they sell their stuff to whomever wants it......They are called DOWNSTREAM compaines where as the drilling and exploration is UPSTREAM....again different profit center....


EXAMPLE
SO SHELL offshore may get oil and sell it to EXXON refinery who may sell it to Unocal......when unocal buys the gas they will ask for a certain version and OCTANe etc etc...and EXXON makes it so.,.,....EXXON will ask SHELL for a certain grade of CRUDE and SHELL will supply...

Now the local yocal gas staion buys from the refinery with the best price or he may have a contract with some local refinery to supply all his stations....so when EXXON (above) refinery did its run of UNOCAL gas it ehn may make a bit more for the local guy and he may or may not change some stuff as long as the contract is met./.........

DOES that help?

If not check out www.API.ORG they explain how oil gets from the dead dinos to the tank of your car and into your engine for lube.....

American Petroleum Institute which is a group that makes standards for oils and other things dealing with getting oil from the earth and into the economy.......

HTH...........

PS good book to read is Daniel Yergin's THE PRIZE which explains OIL industry from beginnings in Pennsylvania to about just after first IRAQ war./.....IT will explain alot about USA foriegn policy, OPEC, how we get oil, what it is used for, monopolys etc etc etc...

A must read for any petroleum engineer......or person in the offshore oil industry..

Later
 
Have to add to the "Single Pipeline" theory. Here in the Phoenix area, this is in fact true. Recently, the pipeline that supplies 30% of the regular gas to the phx area, ruptured, sending 10k gallons into the dirt and shutting off a large a portion of the suppy to all stations here in the valley. The gas is sent up here via pipeline, where the individual distributers add their specific mix of additives then truck it (locally) to specific stations. In this way, Shell gas can in fact, to some extent, be different than brand "X". Anyone here in this area can attest to what happens when you lose this single source. Difficulty in finding a station, really long lines when you do and upwards of $4 per gal (regular) when you make it to the pump were all things that happend recently. Still feeling the crunch from this, which occured weeks ago. Avg gas here is still around $1.97 though the suppy was restored weeks ago. Don't seem to be quite as quick at dropping the price as they were at raising it when the pipeline ruptured. $58 to fill the av a few days ago, and the low fuel light wasn't even on. Sorry if I thread drifted - Just needed to vent. Thanks all!
 
if this is a major concern for some the best bet might be to trade it in for something smaller. i think the last thing i concern myself with when i buy a vehicle is the gas mileage. as long as it suits my needs i am happy. the AV suits me just fine.
 
02-Z66 said:
if this is a major concern for some the best bet might be to trade it in for something smaller. i think the last thing i concern myself with when i buy a vehicle is the gas mileage. as long as it suits my needs i am happy. the AV suits me just fine.

I think the majority of us mirror your feelings about being satisfied with our AVs. Nothing wrong with looking for tips and tricks to squeeze out a few more MPGs though. No different than looking for ways to increase power, appearance or utility of the vehicle. Overall, I'm satisfied with the gas mileage of my Av. Not jumping for joy over it though. And when price gouging oil companies, distributers and station owners factor in, it bumps the "concern meter" up a few notches. IMHO
-rb
 
rlbarkle said:
I think the majority of us mirror your feelings about being satisfied with our AVs. Nothing wrong with looking for tips and tricks to squeeze out a few more MPGs though. No different than looking for ways to increase power, appearance or utility of the vehicle. Overall, I'm satisfied with the gas mileage of my Av. Not jumping for joy over it though. And when price gouging oil companies, distributers and station owners factor in, it bumps the "concern meter" up a few notches. IMHO
-rb

i agree. i just have not been too concerned on MPG mods. just appearance/ performance mods. believe me, i cringe sometimes when the pump keeps going after $35.00.
 
I just did my first real fill-up of the gas tank. The AV was filled by the dealer when I bought it. The AV did 14.2 mpg with total city driving... although I drove it like a baby.

I'm a bit disappointed, since the sticker said 15 to 20. I've read through the threads and have read about the K&N drop-in filter, computer chip reprogramming/replacement, air-fan replacement.

I am using 87 octane in California with my 1500 Z66 wbh and am wondering if the chip might not be programmed correctly. Since I don't do any off-road, the drop-in filter looks like a possibility. How much is the fan replacement?

Hopefully with some fairly inexpensive mods, I can get the MPG increased. I didn't want to start a new thread with this, so I searched for the most relavent topic. What are your thoughts? ???
 
Back
Top