Air Intake/Aftermarket Exhaust (Any Mileage Gain?)

[swshawaii]

I'm finished with suspension mods, aesthetics, and "fluff". (As Eddie says)

Need honest opinions regarding these two performance add ons.

My number one objective is any appreciable mileage gain.Sound effects not important.

87 octane is $3.50 per gallon in Hawaii, the highest in the nation.

I have not attained better than a 17.3 MPG highway average. (1200 foot climb and descent)

Only perf mods are a Zabteck TB, and a K & N drop in filter. I use Amsoil full synthetic fluids throughout.

Four new Michelin Latitude Tour tires inflated at 32 PSI. No A/C, cruise control, accelerate slowly,

no excess weight, or ever exceed 60 MPH on my workday commute.

Also, is the XCAL3 (3000) octane (performance) tune beneficial in terms of mileage gain?

Not interested in the economy tunes, based on MySt feedback. Thanks in advance.

 

[Matthew Pickwell]

I did all of the perform upgrades in the last two months. I will give you the order that I saw the best improvement. All of them combined is getting me about an extra 30 miles per tank.

I am getting 19-21 MPG



SCT XCAL3 :love:

K&N Intake

Z-throttle body

Magnaflow Catback

and last of all I did the Demon coil with no noticed change.

 

[TrainTrac]

My number one objective is any appreciable mileage gain.

If that's the case, then I'd suggest you forego the intake & exhaust mods and just buy a ScanGauge II to help you monitor the weight of your right foot.:driving:



Seeing real time MPG via the SG II will help you adjust your driving habits to attain the optimal MPG.

 

[sam ferrell]

matt did you try gapping your plugs to 0.65 and use large spark plug wires?

 

[Lance Cann]

How about Tonneau cover on/off? anyone tried this? The Tonneau is so heavy, it must have an impact.

 

[swshawaii]

Thanks Lance. I've read numerous online discussions regarding bed covers.

Bottom line shows inconclusive mileage gains. (Except for those selling them) LOL

Many claim an actual loss of fuel mileage. (Added weight)

Would have bought one, just don't have a need for it, other than aesthetics.

 

[Jim parnell]

you don't have to get the heavy fiberglass ones, I have an "Undercover" tonneau cover on mine, weighs about 40 lbs I think, its abs plastic which matches the black wheel well moulding on my G2. I didn't buy it for the increase in mpg as all manufacturers claim, I got it for the lockable storage, looks and don't have to wash the bed of truck anywhere near as much. Does it improve mpg's, yeah, but it would take years to recove the cost of it based on mpg's. It can be removed in 5 minutes, really it takes 10 minutes, and can hang it on the wall if needed out of the way. Wife can help hang it on the wall, its that light, just bulkly.

 

[Johnny O]

I picked up a solid 3 mpg on the highway after installing a Gibson cat-back exhaust. City mpg is no different. Truck is rated at 19 hwy, I routinely see 22 if the road is level and I set the cruise on 65.

I have a K&N replacement filter also but I've never seen an mpg increase from that alone on any of the vehicles I put them in. It's more of a "what the hell, Pep Boys had a $10 coupon" thing that will save money over repeatedly buying new paper filters.

 

[Tom Culbertson]

I put a K&N cold air filter package on my 2004 ST when I bought it in 2005 with 19070 miles on it. It gets about 20MPG on the highway and about 17MPG overall. It now has 95K miles on it and still running strong and getting about the same gas mileage, although we live in Colorado now. I have used Mobil 1 since I bought it and changed it every 5000 miles. I also clean and "refresh" the filter regularly. I would recommend the cold air package......not just the filter. It's a pretty easy install and it works, in my opinon.

 

[swshawaii]

Have to follow Andy's (TrainTrac) advice, and consider the ScanGuage.

On the fence regarding the benefit, my tach rarely exceeds 3K, at any time.

Believe it's more about smooth and steady acceleration.

I would have it mounted under my single DIN Alpine deck, with an ABS filler plate,

or use the BlendMount rear view mirror setup. Will display pics, should I decide.



Thanks all.

 

[Carey Frennier]

The most gainful mods I did were the SCT Xcal3 and the exhaust. The Xcal produces amazing gains in power and fuel economy. That being said, it will take years for the device to pay for itself in fuel economy return. The exhaust is the most fun mod and I enjoy my truck sounding absolutely badass at any rpm or gear. Those are by far the two best mods I've done.



I also did an intake but even after two years with it on the truck, I'm not really convinced there is much of a benifit in HP or MPG. I did notice that the exhaust note sounds deeper with the intake on as opposed to the OEM airbox. The throttle response is also a good bit better than OEM. Not sure how much more you could improve the vehicle other than a supercharger.

 

[Richard L]

None of the mileage gains from adding a lot of expensive equipment are significant gains, and so I would say that none are really worth the extra expense. Most of the equipement expensive equipment will take years to payback and think of how much interest you could get if you put that money in a bank...I think the interest alone would pay for the extra gas you will burn without buying the equipement. Unless you plan on keeping the vehicle for a very long time, you will probably never really get the full payback on your investment for gas saving modifications.



The best thing you can buy to save gas, is something like a Scan-Gage, or similar trip computer that will accuarately provide you with real-time, instantaneous MPG read outs. This is an excellent too to teach you exactly what driving habits you have that burn extra fuel, and what things you can do to save fuel. The good part is that these computers are not vehicle specific and can be easlily transfrered over to your new vehicle at no additional charge.



Many of the new vehicle have these trip computers and it is amazing to see how much extra fuel you burn just pulling away from a traffic light a little bit faster and how the stop and go patterns of driving in heavy traffic eat up your gas if you continue to drive like you always did. I find that if I get in the right lane on the interstate and adjust me speed so I don't have to keep passing vehilcles I can get increadable mileage. Yes I am traveling a little slower, but it's not the speed that is eating the gas, it's the slow down speed up action of negotiating your way through traffic that is really taking it's toll on your gas mileage.



Something like the Scan Gauge is a great learning tool to teach you how to drive and save fuel. Once you learn the techniques of driving to save fuel, you have gained knowledge that is more valuable than all the equipment you can buy to save gas.



...Rich

 

[Dreman]

Why 32 psi? I typically run 35-40 most of the time. I think my tires top out at either 44 or 50 psi.

 

[swshawaii]

dreman- I've never gone over 32 PSI. I'd try higher pressure for any mileage gain.



Always thought it would greatly affect the ride, especially being dropped 3 inches.



Thanks, I won't ever know without trying.