Im lookin to get better fuel mileage out of my 12v anyone got any ideas or know any tricks?

 

"black smoke belchin' head turner". not the best way to get good mileage.

 

Small world. I pass your truck every day of the week going to sam houston.

4.10's aren't known to be good mileage gears. Have you tried bumping your timing up?

 

I know your driving a 12 valve, but have you ever tried biodiesel or soydiesel? i used 10% biodiesel on my last fill up and got a mile to gallon better which it went from 15.6ish to 16.7ish. I have to round on my milage cause my tires throw everything off, but i didn't change my same factors.

 

Yeah I know but it sure is a load of fun!!! I figured i would get that kind of reply. But surely there's some way to get a little improvement.

 

Dude, black smoke is unburned fuel with zero mileage on it - keep it in the cylinders where it belongs =

Check this out, from another post -

I have to agree with rj - bought my truck used, drove it like a 3500 Cummins heavy truck, 1st tank, mostly hiway, 26mpg, give or take, 20-21 back and forth to work, daily.

Jacked it up, #10 plate full forward, diddled the AFC, 6-speed, 13" clutch and flywheel, started keeping up with or ahead of traffic, occasional full-throttle runs to get the plaque off my teeth, heavy black smoke at full-throttle, not to my liking, but the power was breath-taking at 30psi - mileage dropped to 14-15, rat real quick-like - sometimes low as 10mpg, but my teeth stayed real clean, then.

Recently went back in, tweaked the plate and AFC, no more smoke but with reduced power, lightened up on my style, and mileage is back up to 19-21, depending on if I just hang with traffic, or break ahead on occasion.

Oh, yeah - and now I start in 3rd, rather than 2nd, a little iffy with the 3.54's, but the increased fuel mileage is good - real good.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it..............
=

 

SAME question - hubby just got like 11 mpg on a round trip to Spokane and back, over the mountains, bringing back a piece of equipment. I told him to keep his foot out of it and let her roll at 55 or wherever the governor wanted to put him for hill pulling. He looks at me doubtfully....

So, on this pretty doggone stock truck, what's the best rpm/power curve? What can we expect if we do that throttle plate thing I'm reading about? AND which profile should be gotten to give decent pulling power and still get decent fuel economy? Or, should I just get another baseball bat and re-educate spouse and his heavy gasser dad-gum Chevy driver's right foot?

 

For towing, on mine its somewhere around 2100-2250 no lugging at that point. what ever plate you throw in will be better than stock, leave it in stock position. youll have to do alot of tweeking to get it right and let the aneroid do its job. pull a good size load up a hill at 2200, put it to the floor if your truck is loosing speed slide your housing all the way forward. if still not enough turn your starwheel forward. try to set it to where you dont have that dead pedel feeling. same hill same load to the floor, if you get a cloud of smoke back out on the starwheel. if you need a finer adjustment then you go to the screw on the back of the afc housing, in is more pre-boost out is less.
you should end up with no dead pedel, a very slight haze while pulling the hill, be able to hold speed or gradually gain speed up the same hill if you need.

 

11avg sounds fairly good pulling a load thru mountains - 3.54's, manual trans are way to go, but less load-capable than 4.10's - ~1700-2000rpm in the torque range will give best mileage - clean air filter is a must - correct tire-pressure all 6 tires - 2-stroke oil and cetane booster additives may help mileage, will help Inj Pump - flat-land helps tremendously, of course

 

Can't believe the mileage posts in this thread. We have a 97 2500 auto andhave ALWAYS got at least 24 MPG. Most of the time, its over 25. On a recent trip from Florida to California, our best was 26.78.

Course I try to keep the speed at 65mph. Once I got 16.5 pulling a 9500 lb Avion travel trailer from Cloudcroft, NM to Phoenix, AZ.

Mine is stock from factory with no mods.

Also have a 2004 GMC Safari mini van, but I only get 19-20 from that.

 

glad to see someone else get good mileage, i got alot of nay-sayers on my mileage, which is why i dont show it in my sig. anymore.

 

In this months diesel mag they show a 97 3500 getting 28-29 and what they did to accomplish that. 1/2 throttle, 55 mph, no air, and various cardboard air flow improvements. and DUCT TAPE.

 

i have no problem believing that, others may not though.

 

Do you have a link to Diesel mag. article?? Or is that the name of said magazine? Sounds like some interesting reading......

 

August "diesel power" magazine check the website. WWW.dieselpower.com