I've read a good bit about this on some other forums and I just wondered if anyone had any luck here. I've got a Chevy 5.3L V8 in a Silverado 4x4, and was wondering if putting a better air intake and a flowmaster exhaust on it would actually buy me anything. Not too concerned about improved HP or anything, but wouldn't mind it.I've never really had a reason to care about engine performance before now, as all I've had previously were 4 bangers, and I'm certainly a neophyte when it comes to these things. I think this is my first garage post.And I'm not complaining about the gas mileage I'm getting - I knew what it was before buying it, but if I can improve it, I would like to.[Edited on July 4, 2012 at 7:11 PM. Reason : asdfa]
7/4/2012 7:10:36 PM
let's say these mods get you 1mpglet's say you get 15mpg currentlylet's say they cost ~$500it would take you 533 gallons of fuel, or 21.33 25gal tanks to break even, before it became a positive[Edited on July 4, 2012 at 7:25 PM. Reason : assuming regular gas at $3.30/gal]
7/4/2012 7:25:19 PM
wouldn't even take 6 mos. for me to break evenbut my 5.3L Z71 chevy gets 17-18 mpg with a mix of highway and country roads[Edited on July 4, 2012 at 7:50 PM. Reason : adv]
7/4/2012 7:48:12 PM
EFI Live is going to be your best possibility for fuel economy, apparrently guys with 6.0 chevy's are getting +2 or so mpg with nothing but a change of tune. Add some 'worthy' bolt-on mods and you may gain 1-2mpg more.as far as I am concerned the standard bolt-on intake/exhaust do nothing for 'felt' performance and mpg'snoteworthy enough, the cost of owning my honda civic in addition to my dakota (15mpg avg) saves me money over actually selling civic and driving dakota alone.
7/5/2012 8:11:11 AM
http://ststurbo.com/gm_trucksBahahhahaha
7/5/2012 9:21:37 AM
I gained a few mpg when I gave the Integra an aftermarket cold air intake, header and exhaust system. Granted those parts cost around $1000 altogether but I wasn't doing the mods for a fuel mileage gain, so it was really just icing on the cake.So I would say it's possible. Whether it's a good move from a financial standpoint isn't as clear.
7/5/2012 10:13:25 AM
If the truck is your only vehicle then go for it. If not, then only drive it when you actually NEED to drive a truck. (just make sure that you drive it often enough to keep the battery up)
7/5/2012 10:26:27 AM
i seriously gained 4mpg mixed use on the roo with the hta 20g... (bigger turbo) mostly because it's possible to keep her out of boost now if i want to.[Edited on July 5, 2012 at 10:44 AM. Reason : .]
7/5/2012 10:44:14 AM
i still like the civic mod....you know... buy a civic & drive it 80% of the time
7/5/2012 11:39:07 AM
^ I installed that mod a few years ago. Works pretty well until you have to pull a boat.
7/5/2012 12:32:49 PM
^hence why i said 80% of the time (assumed truck ownership there)
7/5/2012 1:22:22 PM
Changing the way you drive costs no money, saves on wear and tear, keeps tickets away, makes you more safe, and will get more mpg improvement than any parts out there.[Edited on July 6, 2012 at 8:18 PM. Reason : a]
7/6/2012 8:18:24 PM
Doubling the VWs HP gave me 5-8 mpg, while not changing the way I drove.
7/6/2012 9:06:16 PM
You'll notice that doesn't contradict what I said.
7/6/2012 9:12:57 PM
For a truck, would a bed cover or camper shell help any? I would think improving the aerodynamics on a vehicle that large could increase the mpg. Also, I noticed a difference when I cleaned out the tool box in my truck. I probably took out 300lbs of tools I never used.
7/6/2012 10:09:55 PM
your driving technique and tire pressure would make a bigger difference than bolt on mods and are free
7/7/2012 10:38:19 AM
7/7/2012 1:40:34 PM
7/7/2012 2:52:28 PM
+1 for the civic mod
7/7/2012 4:51:08 PM
^^
7/7/2012 6:31:37 PM
+1 for the Civic mod
7/7/2012 9:10:51 PM
7/7/2012 10:26:41 PM
ok... close enough to diesel torque for your average Joe customer (middle class family) and small business owner.
7/8/2012 10:00:34 AM
haha, twas just trying to make a funnay.Thought on EFI live, anyone?
7/8/2012 3:24:41 PM
my 5.3L z71 gets 19-20 mpg
7/8/2012 3:39:47 PM
^well, go on....
7/8/2012 8:10:38 PM
I swapped my v8 SS Camaro for my wife's civic becuse drive a lot more than here at work. Best thing we could have done, saving 50+ bucks a month.
7/8/2012 8:46:27 PM
+1 for the Civic modHell, get a used one from the 90's for $2500. It'll still get double your current MPG, and at that price the insurance will be $Rhode Island and you can keep the truck for weekend/hauling duty without paying a huge extra penalty.
7/9/2012 12:12:28 PM
7/9/2012 2:22:31 PM
then you must have some magic smurfs in that shit kicking in a few extra mpg.
7/9/2012 3:42:40 PM
probably going by the MPG reading on the dash, which is about 1.5 mpg high on my truck. his claims are still reasonable for highway mpg. my dad's '05 2wd silverado gets 20-21 on the highway.man told me once that a man will lie about 3 things: money, pussy, and gas mileage[Edited on July 9, 2012 at 8:32 PM. Reason : adf]
7/9/2012 8:28:25 PM