MPG & Power Increase? 2001 model

[ChazLS]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

You are already receiving sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this Forum.

Absolutely. I have definitely got some good tips already.

I've only had this truck for 3 days so I haven't done anything but clean it & give it a good physical.

However, I did tow a GMC Acadia for 70 miles as soon as I bought it & it did great.

Looking forward to sharing & learning going forward.

 

[S33k3r]

Some basic things to check, all of which might improve MPGs; also, keep in mind that this is an iterative process. Each of these modifications will do a little, but doing them all will head you in the correct direction.

01) The number one thing that will guarantee the best miles per gallon is how heavy your foot is. Now, having said that, I know *I* do not have that discipline.
02) As someone else suggested, converting from mechanical fans to electric fans will increase your MPGs and reduce a little bit of power drain.
03) Checking your alternator, water pump, oil pump, AC system, and your belt tensioners can insure that nothing is causing drag on the engine. This, too, will potentially increase MPGs and decrease parasitic drain on your engine.
04) Making sure your engine is tuned, not just in the sense of a professional tuner, but in terms of sparkplugs, sparkplug wires, ignition coils, etc. This will increase your MPDs and decrease parasitic engine loss if any of these are out of factory spec.
05) Check all your grounds. This may seem like a silly one, but if your grounds are bad, it requires more energy to push electricity to your systems. Having to produce more electricity than spec from the factor can decrease MPGs/increase parasitic power loss.
06) Make sure your differentials are properly maintained/lubed. If they aren't properly maintained/lube, it requires more power to spin your axles, and the differentials will fail sooner. Same for your transfer case and your transmission.
07) A catch can. By filtering the exhaust gasses pumped back into your engine, you can help keep it from getting smothered by crap going back into your engine.
08) You could remove your roof rack. That will reduce your wind drag a bit.
09) Remove unneeded seating from the inside of the Tahoe. Making your Tahoe lighter will help MPG & power.
10) As someone else suggested, a custom tune to change the way the engine runs and the transmission shift can help.
11) Boost. A Turbo charger will often increase MPG and power.
12) You could always convert to a diesel...

Good luck!

 

[ChazLS]

Some basic things to check, all of which might improve MPGs; also, keep in mind that this is an iterative process. Each of these modifications will do a little, but doing them all will head you in the correct direction.

01) The number one thing that will guarantee the best miles per gallon is how heavy your foot is. Now, having said that, I know *I* do not have that discipline.
02) As someone else suggested, converting from mechanical fans to electric fans will increase your MPGs and reduce a little bit of power drain.
03) Checking your alternator, water pump, oil pump, AC system, and your belt tensioners can insure that nothing is causing drag on the engine. This, too, will potentially increase MPGs and decrease parasitic drain on your engine.
04) Making sure your engine is tuned, not just in the sense of a professional tuner, but in terms of sparkplugs, sparkplug wires, ignition coils, etc. This will increase your MPDs and decrease parasitic engine loss if any of these are out of factory spec.
05) Check all your grounds. This may seem like a silly one, but if your grounds are bad, it requires more energy to push electricity to your systems. Having to produce more electricity than spec from the factor can decrease MPGs/increase parasitic power loss.
06) Make sure your differentials are properly maintained/lubed. If they aren't properly maintained/lube, it requires more power to spin your axles, and the differentials will fail sooner. Same for your transfer case and your transmission.
07) A catch can. By filtering the exhaust gasses pumped back into your engine, you can help keep it from getting smothered by crap going back into your engine.
08) You could remove your roof rack. That will reduce your wind drag a bit.
09) Remove unneeded seating from the inside of the Tahoe. Making your Tahoe lighter will help MPG & power.
10) As someone else suggested, a custom tune to change the way the engine runs and the transmission shift can help.
11) Boost. A Turbo charger will often increase MPG and power.
12) You could always convert to a diesel...

Good luck!

Killer Tips. Thanks for taking the time to present such an exhaustive list. Very thorough indeed. Much appreciated.

 

[555hp]

Do you know what gear your axle(s) has / have?
If your miles are mostly highway miles, 3.73.
(If your miles are ALL highway, 3.42, but then you're not interested in 'more pep'.)
If your miles are mostly metro / urban, or you plan on some towing, 4.10.

Since yours is an '01, it likely has a mechanical fan.
Swapping it out for a pair of electrical fans will improve MpG, power, AND AC behavior at idle.
(I just did this a week ago, should've done it a year ago.)

Even if you do NO engine mods, get your pcm tuned. You'll wonder why you didn't do this one sooner too.
I recommend the one in my sig. Black Bear Performance has a solid reputation as well.
Mention that you want improved highway MpG, and that you have 2 electrical fans (even if you don't yet).

How much was the tune? I want to add Evans though the tune seems to be more expensive than the fans.. .

 

[Marky Dissod]

How much was the tune? I want to add Evans, though the tune seems to be more expensive than the fans ...

PCMPerformance.com
charges $250 to tune Gen3 LS-type pcms.

 

[BlackBearPerf]

Everyone mentioned great stuff here! The foot on the pedal has the biggest effect on mpg's along with vehicle usage. With a tune for your vehicle we typically see a 1-2mpg improvement along hp tq gains, shifting and throttle response improvements as well, all depending on fuel quality, octane, and condition of the vehicle prior to the tune.

Someone said this a long time ago, you get smiles per gallon! The tune makes the vehcile more responsive and improves drivabilty.

 

[ChazLS]

Everyone mentioned great stuff here! The foot on the pedal has the biggest effect on mpg's along with vehicle usage. With a tune for your vehicle we typically see a 1-2mpg improvement along hp tq gains, shifting and throttle response improvements as well, all depending on fuel quality, octane, and condition of the vehicle prior to the tune.

Someone said this a long time ago, you get smiles per gallon! The tune makes the vehcile more responsive and improves drivabilty.

Indeed! Well put. ;o)