Do It Yourself CAI <= Here it is!

[BlazerBoyLT98]

Great post!!! More options for some summer projects! Watch I will do all kinds of cheap mods this summer and the damn thing will blow up, or get stolen, or struck by lighting! I have awfully luck, my last nake should be Murphy!

[wolfox]

This just in:

I have my month's worth of fuel consumption data in, and it's a doozy...

Guys, I kid you not - mixed driving around the neighborhood, highway, and a little light offroading (cannot be avoided living in Arkansas - them back country dirt and gravel roads) I am belting out a considerable and very flat... *drumroll*

30 MPG average. Not bad for an 11 year old girl that's a litte overweight, huh? I show a dip to about 25 MPG at one point when I was running a bottle of SUV sized Techron through the tank (before an oil change) but when I weaned her back onto regular 87 pump gas, picked right back up and held steady at 30 MPG.

Guess what, BlazerLT was right, our trucks were meant to run on regular gas!

EDIT: I will be taking an 800+ mile road trip not this, but next weekend with the beast, loaded with equipment, luggage and 3 friends. I will release more conclusive numbers with the nearly all 70 MPH highway trek. Other modification under the hood include:

AC-Delco Rapidfire #1 plugs (gapped .045)
Accel 8mm, dual spiral core "Do it yourself" spark wires.
OEM style Borg Warner Ignition coil pack (Soon to be upgraded to something else once I settle my mind on either an Accel or MSD product)
"High performance" Borg-Warner brass contact Cap and Rotor bug.
AC-Delco oil filter running Mobil-1 (SL) 5w-30 synthetic oil
Redline Dextron-III type H ATF synthetic in Tranny and Transfer Case.
Valvoline 70w-90 w/4 Oz. Friction modifier added to rear differential, straight Valvoline 70w-90 in front differential.
Mandrel bent aluminized cat-back exhaust with FloPro 750 muffler. (Chrome tip for looks - as stated earlier)
And because of the usual carting about of tools and equipment in the back, the tires are mildly over-inflated to 35 PSI cold.

It all seems to add up!

[blazee]

Method of computing:

Miles/gallons X 2 =

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by wolfox

This just in:

I have my month's worth of fuel consumption data in, and it's a doozy...

Guys, I kid you not - mixed driving around the neighborhood, highway, and a little light offroading (cannot be avoided living in Arkansas - them back country dirt and gravel roads) I am belting out a considerable and very flat... *drumroll*

30 MPG average. Not bad for an 11 year old girl that's a litte overweight, huh? I show a dip to about 25 MPG at one point when I was running a bottle of SUV sized Techron through the tank (before an oil change) but when I weaned her back onto regular 87 pump gas, picked right back up and held steady at 30 MPG.

Guess what, BlazerLT was right, our trucks were meant to run on regular gas!

EDIT: I will be taking an 800+ mile road trip not this, but next weekend with the beast, loaded with equipment, luggage and 3 friends. I will release more conclusive numbers with the nearly all 70 MPH highway trek. Other modification under the hood include:

AC-Delco Rapidfire #1 plugs (gapped .045)
Accel 8mm, dual spiral core "Do it yourself" spark wires.
OEM style Borg Warner Ignition coil pack (Soon to be upgraded to something else once I settle my mind on either an Accel or MSD product)
"High performance" Borg-Warner brass contact Cap and Rotor bug.
AC-Delco oil filter running Mobil-1 (SL) 5w-30 synthetic oil
Redline Dextron-III type H ATF synthetic in Tranny and Transfer Case.
Valvoline 70w-90 w/4 Oz. Friction modifier added to rear differential, straight Valvoline 70w-90 in front differential.
Mandrel bent aluminized cat-back exhaust with FloPro 750 muffler. (Chrome tip for looks - as stated earlier)
And because of the usual carting about of tools and equipment in the back, the tires are mildly over-inflated to 35 PSI cold.

It all seems to add up!

How are you calculating these economy figures?

[wolfox]

Simple really. Fill the tank. Zero the trip odometer. When tank drops to 1/4, fill up again, record the trip odometer readout before zeroing the odometer again. Record how many gallons to top off tank. (When the pump shuts off with a click in the handle)

Repeated over a one month period every time I fill up when I get to 1/4 tank. Always recording trip odometer and gallons to fill up on the pumps. Then, I just sum up all miles, all gallons, average them,( anything below a .5 gets rounded down, anything over .6 gets rounded up) then apply the final formula of miles/gallons.

I will have more definitive numbers after I return from my 800 mile roadtrip and see how much she eats. I am expecting a serious drop because I will be moving 700 pounds of passenger (two of my friends are REALLY big - the other guy could sit in the center console drink holder) and I guesstimate to be an additional 160 pounds of luggage at least. There is going to be a slow, sloping incline to climb to get out of the Ozark/river valley here so I think I will get more realistic numbers there over a broader range of terrain. Mostly, I have been sticking to town where there is mostly 45~50 MPH back-roads, flat as a board. Getting her up to speed on a 70 MPH highway may totally kill previous calculations, but would be IMO, more realistic.

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by wolfox

Simple really. Fill the tank. Zero the trip odometer. When tank drops to 1/4, fill up again, record the trip odometer readout before zeroing the odometer again. Record how many gallons to top off tank. (When the pump shuts off with a click in the handle)

Repeated over a one month period every time I fill up when I get to 1/4 tank. Always recording trip odometer and gallons to fill up on the pumps. Then, I just sum up all miles, all gallons, average them,( anything below a .5 gets rounded down, anything over .6 gets rounded up) then apply the final formula of miles/gallons.

I will have more definitive numbers after I return from my 800 mile roadtrip and see how much she eats. I am expecting a serious drop because I will be moving 700 pounds of passenger (two of my friends are REALLY big - the other guy could sit in the center console drink holder) and I guesstimate to be an additional 160 pounds of luggage at least. There is going to be a slow, sloping incline to climb to get out of the Ozark/river valley here so I think I will get more realistic numbers there over a broader range of terrain. Mostly, I have been sticking to town where there is mostly 45~50 MPH back-roads, flat as a board. Getting her up to speed on a 70 MPH highway may totally kill previous calculations, but would be IMO, more realistic.

You probably do have an increase, but an air intake will not gain 8mpg bro, you know this.

Are you filling up at the same station. Some stations pumps kick off a lot earlier than others seeing they are more sensitive which could give you a false gallon reading.

[wolfox]

No, I know that the CAI alone is not doing it. I had squeezed in under the hood, all of the other goodies i had mentioned. It's cumulative I'd wager. I was getting roughly 23~25 MPG before in mixed driving, again, mostly flat, semi-highway conditions. I fill up at the same station every time (A local Shell station) and avoid the knock off brands found at your usual Qwick-E Mart fill station. (In my area, Dupree Petroleum fills the ground tanks on nearly every one of them, even a "Shell" branded Stop-n-Rob here in the center of town - not a good gas, IMO)

Combination of synthetics wherever I could pour it in, cleaning everything in the emmissions controls (IAC, IAT, Exhaust recirc, etc.) Upgrading a tad where stock replacement was needed in tune-up intervals, yadda-yadda. I bet we are looking at cumulative results from these light modifications and maintenance schedules. As I said, I bet more realistic numbers will come out of the whole thing when I take that roadtrip in a week with moderate loads and sustained highway speeds, much of it on an incline. I bet they will level off to something much more down to earth when this experiment breaks out of the laboratory and onto the open highway for a good stretch. (With the cruise control on of course) I am predicting MPG to drop off to something like 27~28 MPG at the very most - time and testing will tell. And knowing one of my passengers, he is going to insist that the A/C's turned up to blizzard and directed at his face, further chewing off efficiency. I expect 23~25 MPG in that case. Which IMO, would not be terrible - the truck comes back down to it's factory EPA sticker mileage with the A/C running. They usually test/grade these things on a closed loop with no accessories running. (I think)

[BlazerLT]

EPA is 18city/21hwy with completely ideal situations.

Unless you have a special truck, no offense, but 30 mpg out of a 4x4 blazer is just not doable.

Lighter two wheel drive s10 trucks and Blazers don't get that economy.

[blazer94]

I'm gonna have to raise the BS flag on this one, too. 30MPG??? C'mon, my wifes 2003 6 cyl. Olds Alero doesn't get that. All hiway driving, lighter car, she has no lead foot, and drives very restrained. I know that that is apples to oranges, but c'mon... a 94 Blazer (4200 + lbs), SOME 4wd, etc...my head is spinning...

[wolfox]

Actually, a 3500 pound 4-door '95. Let me see what she does on the road trip before I post anything final.

[DINO55]

Originally Posted by wolfox

No, I know that the CAI alone is not doing it. I had squeezed in under the hood, all of the other goodies i had mentioned. It's cumulative I'd wager. I was getting roughly 23~25 MPG before in mixed driving, again, mostly flat, semi-highway conditions. I fill up at the same station every time (A local Shell station) and avoid the knock off brands found at your usual Qwick-E Mart fill station. (In my area, Dupree Petroleum fills the ground tanks on nearly every one of them, even a "Shell" branded Stop-n-Rob here in the center of town - not a good gas, IMO)

Combination of synthetics wherever I could pour it in, cleaning everything in the emmissions controls (IAC, IAT, Exhaust recirc, etc.) Upgrading a tad where stock replacement was needed in tune-up intervals, yadda-yadda. I bet we are looking at cumulative results from these light modifications and maintenance schedules. As I said, I bet more realistic numbers will come out of the whole thing when I take that roadtrip in a week with moderate loads and sustained highway speeds, much of it on an incline. I bet they will level off to something much more down to earth when this experiment breaks out of the laboratory and onto the open highway for a good stretch. (With the cruise control on of course) I am predicting MPG to drop off to something like 27~28 MPG at the very most - time and testing will tell. And knowing one of my passengers, he is going to insist that the A/C's turned up to blizzard and directed at his face, further chewing off efficiency. I expect 23~25 MPG in that case. Which IMO, would not be terrible - the truck comes back down to it's factory EPA sticker mileage with the A/C running. They usually test/grade these things on a closed loop with no accessories running. (I think)

Let Me Know your Secret, I have a 1998 2WL 4.3 81,000 miles on it, April 2005 I did a full tune up, Plat plugs, rotor, cap, wires, fuel filter, air filter, PCV, new tires...I drive it like an old lady, 14.8 city 17.3 highway...
What's wrong with my truck???

[blazee]

Originally Posted by wolfox

Actually, a 3500 pound 4-door '95. Let me see what she does on the road trip before I post anything final.

Actually a 1995 Blazer LS 4dr 4wd is 4052lbs:

Technical SpecificationsSpecificationsMileage (City / Hwy)
16/21

Curb Weight
4052 lbs

Seating Capacity
5 passengers

Towing Capacity
5000.0 lbs

DimensionsWheelbase
107.0 inches

Overall Length
181.2 inches

Vehicle Height
63.5 inches

Vehicle Width
67.8 inches

Front Headroom
39.5 inches

Front Legroom
42.4 inches

Rear Headroom
38.8 inches

Rear Legroom
36.1 inches

PerformanceEngine Size
4.3L

Number of Cylinders
V6

Engine Type
Gas

Camshaft
Overhead valves (OHV)

Horsepower
200 hp @ 4500 rpm

Torque
260 ft-lbs @ 3600 rpm

Fuel Capacity
19.0

Transmission
4-speed automatic

Drive
4WD

[blazee]

Originally Posted by DINO55

Let Me Know your Secret, I have a 1998 2WL 4.3 81,000 miles on it, April 2005 I did a full tune up, Plat plugs, rotor, cap, wires, fuel filter, air filter, PCV, new tires...I drive it like an old lady, 14.8 city 17.3 highway...
What's wrong with my truck???

Where does your temperature gauge read when you are completely warmed up?

Probably best to start a thread and we'll go over a few things.

[DINO55]

Blazee, it runs around 190 ish warmed up..
I do let it warm up before driving it, I live in the Chicago area, the colder it is the longer i let it warm up. I read a post about LAZY 02 SENSORS causing poor milage? I don't have any code's or SES lights showing. I get 215 miles to the three quater mark on the fuel guage, I don't want to go below that for fuel pump reasons. I had an 94 Astro 4.3 which got 17mpg city all day long. I am lost...

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by wolfox

Actually, a 3500 pound 4-door '95. Let me see what she does on the road trip before I post anything final.

I would appreciate it.

If your numbers are correct, you will have the record setting fuel economy with a 4x4 Blazer.

If you are not getting these number, please tell us.