Gas savers

[Jeremy airjer W]

AHA! I'm not going crazy!!

K&N filters good idea except very few people take the time to clean/maintain them . Figure out the cost of the k&n plus the mileage gain you may get. And then see how many airfilters you can buy for that money.

[Valv]

Quote:

---

Oops, my bad, they are actually load range C.

Now to get back to what Valv suggested.

---

I didn't suggest this. Airjer did, he's the gurus in automotive, I just drive them and...kill them here and there

The K&N filter only is approx $ 50 at Autozone, it will replace your existing.

A K&N Cold Air Intake (as Airjer again suggested) will cost approx $ 250/350 depending where you buy it.

I have a BHAF in my truck and it's much better than the K&N kit, cost $ 50 but I don't know if it will fit in your Suburban, it's HUGE

[mnrstrider]

Really I think if anyone wanted to know specfics on this I'll bet you could email your tire manufacturer tire size and car/truck and they could tell you for sure.

[M.T. Bucket]

There have to be more gas saving ideas than the ones mentioned so far, right?

- Try to anticipate your needs and combine trips into town. Might even have to communicate with the wife and see if she needs anything while you're in town, rather than her running as soon as you get home.

- If you live out of town and are friendly with the neighbors, run small errands for each other when you go to town.

- Even if you can't carpool all week, carpool on the days it makes sense. If you feel you must always have your vehicle at work with you, perhaps there's someone out there you can help to save on gas by giving them a ride.

There is a guy who works across town from me and we've worked it out so that he picks me up on the way to his work. I keep a bike at the shop he works out of and pedal from there to my work. I don't drive my vehicle all week, I get some decent conversation on the way to work, and I get 3.7 miles of pedaling in round trip each day. If you're creative enough, people in many professions can carpool as long as they're willing to accept a little inconvenience.

-Learn more about the area closer to home. There are little fishing holes near where you live, hiking trails, mines to ride in--whatever you're into, there's probably somewhere closer to home to do it than you are now. Do a little research. Talk to private landowners about accessing land or waterways closer to home.

(Of course, if this works for you, make sure to support public land aquisition and conservation so those opportunities remain statewide.)

[The Grebe]

I got another truck tonight with a V-6 in it, that should save some gas? Tommarrow I'm going to try to get another one!

[wolfwood]

you will not always save money with a snaller engine the smaller engine has to work harder on some vehicles to do the same thing as a bigger motor like if your pulling a boat or some times just driving down the road normally

[eelpout#1]

You guys seem to know what your talking about, so... I have a 94 chev ext cab 4 x 4 with auto transmission and a 350 engine. I get 12 miles a gallon. What would you suggest me to do to get better gas mileage. And don't say buy a new pick-up!!!!

[Valv]

Don't drive past 45mph, thet's the only you can do. A good tune up will help also.

[Bobby Bass]

If you have some big rubber on it get rid of them and get some street tires.When you are on the freeway that humm you hear is dollars coming off them fat boys..

[federline]

Hanson's right, leave your tailgate attached and up, it makes your pickup more aerodynamic. Here's a well worded article to ponder:

-----

TAILGATE CONTROVERSY RESOLVED!

UP or DOWN? Which position actually produces the least aerodynamic drag?

In the last 15-20 years, Lockhead Aircraft has been using it's low-speed wind tunnel to test the aerodynamics of automobiles. The following was taken from an article in the San Diego Union/Tribune Oct 25 1997:

"...they actually performed drag tests on pickups with the tailgate both up and down and found that drag was actually lower with the tailgate closed! This ran counter to their intuition....

The reason is that a closed tailgate sets up a large "bubble" of stagnant air that slowly circulates around the bed of the truck (we aero types call this a "separated bubble").

When air approaches the truck, it "sees" the bubble as part of the truck. So to the air, the truck looks like it has a nice, flat covering over the bed, and the air doesn't "slam" into the vertical tailgate.

If the tailgate is open, or replaced by one of those "air gate" nets, however, that nice, separate bubble in the truck does not form (it "bursts"). Then the air approaching the truck "sees" a truck with a flat bed on the back of a tall cab. This is a very non-aerodynamic shape with a very large drag.

So, believe it or not, it's best for gas mileage to keep the tailgate closed. Hope this information is helpful."

E.F., Department of Aero/Mechanical Engineering, U. of Notre Dame

-----

[rundrave]

I also have to agree with keeping the tailgate up not only for mpg but for safety.

Driving with the tailgate down or removing it, causes a major weak point the the structure of your vehicle. A pickup truck is structurally much SAFER with the tailgate up.

[Bobby Bass]

Air bubble makes sense Tailgate will remain on and upright