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Increase Gas Mileage

I've recently installed a FuellMax Chip that connects to the MAF Sensor and installed a new Cold Air Intake. I drive almost a total of 70 miles every other day from school home home school. I unfortunately could not tell a difference with the chip, and as i said before i just installed the Cold Air Intake, it made my engine sound so good, that i havent been able to lay off the pedal, but I've been getting 17mpg. When I fill up again I will take it easy and hopefully that will show me some changes, although before those changes my record has been 500miles on a 32gal tank..didnt think that was too bad for a "big truck"! I have an 03 AV 1500 RWD. Ill let you all know if the Intake helped or not!
 
Blemos- take a 20 bill go outside and light it. It does the same thing as that chip. They are junk and snake oil. A Hypertech programmer will do more and they cost more.

Avalon
 
Well I've cleaned the MAF, used the seafoam, basically totally eliminated warming up, and have toned down my lead foot even more (I do my best to keep under 45mph and even on highway I set my cruise to 65 instead of my usual 75). I randomly check the mpg read out on the dash and it's staying pretty consistent at 11.9, which means I'm up almost 1.5 from where I started. I'd like to still try to get a little more, but it's an increase so I'm happy.  :D

I'm going to do a cold air intake and new muffler (I'm thinking flow master super 50) simply because I'd like a little more power when I do need it, and I'd like a little rumble.  I've heard these may or may not give me a little extra mpg. My main reason for getting them is not to increase the mpg, just as long as they don't decrease it. However, with added power and rumble, I know it's gonna be tempting to jump on the gas a lot more  >:D
 
Just got back from Sunny England and Scotland.  I rented a Volkswagon Passat while there.  (Nice car!)

Gas was at around $10.00 per gallon.  :eek:

Diesel wasn't that much different. One of my friends there buys his diesel by the barrel from a farm co-op and pays only around $5.00 per gallon for his Mitsubishi Outlander 4x4.  (Just try driving a stick shift on the wrong side of the road!!)

I'm back in my AV now and do not even worry about gas prices. 
 
avalonandl said:
Blemos- take a 20 bill go outside and light it. It does the same thing as that chip. They are junk and snake oil. A Hypertech programmer will do more and they cost more.

Avalon
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I have a HyperTech ECO programmer in my Av. Don't waste your money, it did nothing. I'm just glad I got it for free.
 
05snopro440 said:
I have a HyperTech ECO programmer in my Av. Don't waste your money, it did nothing. I'm just glad I got it for free.
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The hypertech has helped me about .5-.7 mpg over stock. On a 12 mpg vehicle that is huge. I am getting 13.2 over the last tank.

Compared to 11.7 over the earlier part of its life that saves me about $ 466 a year.

Avalon
 
avalonandl said:
The hypertech has helped me about .5-.7 mpg over stock. On a 12 mpg vehicle that is huge. I am getting 13.2 over the last tank.

Compared to 11.7 over the earlier part of its life that saves me about $ 466 a year.

Avalon
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I'm glad you noticed a difference with your 8.1. However, I commented because I have the exact same year and model as the guy who started this thread (same engine), and the ECO programmer made absolutely no difference in my mileage, better or worse. While I'm sure everyone has different experiences, that was mine.
 
Well it seems I've topped out at 12 mpg.  Although I'm not necessarily disappointed with that, I'd love to get more like 13. However, considering all conditions (the area I live in has tons of hills, mostly stop and go driving, I'm also running General Tire Grabber AT2 Load range E tires) I think 12 is going to be my max.  Still better than the 10.5 I was getting so I'm happy!   (y)
 
Gitano: I am confused because you should be getting at least 14 mpg. I would suggest only a 30 second warm up. Also, check your brakes that they are not dragging- including the emergency brakes. I get 12 mpg and I have a 2500 with a 4.10 axle.

Avalon
 
Maybe I have a wonder Avy. Brought the truck a year ago (used). It was not in great shape performance wise (previous owner dumped it on the market @100K and not wanting to spend $$ to keep it up). The Avy would not start, rough Idle or would stall after running a few minutes. Yeah I still brought it. Started with with cleaning the TB with Seafoam and the MAF. The smoke was horrible, but the the idle and thottle response was significantly improved. Placed 4oz in the oil and the rest in the tank. Ran the truck for 60 miles on the highway. Changed the oil and filter (it was really black). Changed the plugs and wires, new tires, added CAI, Edge Evolution CTS. Now the Avy is running 17 city and 21.5 Highway (averaged out over the year with 2 1200 mile road trips). I don't have a heavy right foot, so I keep it between 68-75 mph. My wife on the other hand likes to keep between 75-80 mph. But she loves the Avy's performance and throttle response. Recommend to any and all with vehicles over 40k. It does not take much $$ to keep your Avy in top performance, just a little time and effort.
 
My '12 gets 16-19 mpg in the Summer and loses 1 mpg in the Winter in a mix of small town mountain driving. My '07 got about mpg less overall. Couldn't ask for better.....wait until Big Brother starts to tax us on mileage instead of at thew pump, you know that's what's coming.

Want to increase fuel mileage?????? Here's a guaranteed way.......remove the roof rack cross bars to make it aerodynamic and you can gain an additional  1/4 to 1/2 mpg......whoo hoo!

Why even check your mpg every tankful anyway? Unless there is something wrong like a clogged air filter or misfire and the vehicle is driving like crap, there is not much you can do to get a significant mpg boost on a 7,000 lb vehicle anyway. This is not the vehicle to get if you are going to nitpick the mpg anyway. The comfort, power and versatility are why we buy Avys in the first place.

Besides all things considered, Avys are a real bargain fuelwise! Buy at a time when everyone is crying about gas prices and little 2,000- lb cracker boxes are going for close to MSRP and choose the Avy with the $4K rebate, $1K loyalty cash, $2K top off from the GM card, $1K customer cash and............ dealer discount because a savvy buyer can get a further discount off sticker and maybe even some of the hold back. Planning my buys I've routinely been getting $9 - $10 under sticker (that's before any trade is figured in).  Even at $4.50 a gallon that $10K buys a tanker load of over 2200 gallons of gas and at 17 mpg that's 37,400 miles.... with an ave. 12,000 miles a year on a 3 year trade means free gas!
 
If it is a 1500, dump the tires. They are excessively heavy in weight and in rolling resistance. No reason to have such a heavy tire on there unless you are packing 5k# in the bed everyday. I have regular 2600# max load (116S rating) Nitto Terra Grapplers on the wife's Z71 Av.

What is in the interior, sidepods, and bed driving around? I can nurse out a solid 17mpg all around or she can hammer down for 15.

If you really want more MPG, less weight, skinnier non-aggressive tread pattern tires, reduce aero drag, drive in a lower RPM range, etc....
 
These 7000 lb vehicles were not made for mileage and you can't squeeze gasoline out of a rock. I feel measuring the mileage frequently a waste of time because there is not much you can do about it anyway other than avoiding bad driving habits and if you try to squeeze out every drop by coasting as much as possible like those trying to get their 50 mpg out of battery powered glorified go-carts, you become a road hazard.

Had to prove a point last week.........No two drivers will get the same mileage out of the same vehicle. We went on a trip with friends in my '12 driving on flat roadway at 60 mph on US95 ...warmup wasn't a factor.......switched drivers every 100 miles and resetting the DIC after each driver on the same tankful of gas. Maybe I was a little more careful on the throttle because I knew I was testing but I averaged 17, my wife 15+ and my friend only 12+mpg........ actually my friend who got the worst mileage (always brags he gets 30+ on his Elantra) should have gotten the best because the gas tank was about 150 lbs lighter.

The whole concept of comparing gas mileages is too subjective, it appears pointless to compare different drivers, on different cars,on different roadways, under different driving conditions and burning different fuel blends.
 
I've got a question and a statement. Question: What is WBH? Statement: I haven't seen any recommendations on how you can increase the mileage.
 
kampforlife said:
I've got a question and a statement. Question: What is WBH? Statement: I haven't seen any recommendations on how you can increase the mileage.
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This thread will explain many abbreviations and acronyms used on this site;

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Here is a list of acronyms and abbreviations and their common meaning here. This list is by no means a complete list, but is a list of acronyms that are commonly used here at CAFCNA. Most of these are automotive specific and cannot be found elsewhere. I have included some of the more common...
www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com

There are also many older threads on efforts to improve gas mileage and you can see the conversation that comes up every time gas prices climb.
 
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