Mileage

----------------------------------------------------- users trucks from this group listed below

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Nice to hear your truck is still running strong,but yours is a whole lot different from mine. Engine,transmission,everything.

Also,whatelse could I do to increase performance and or mileage? Just wondering!

Unfortunately, the combination of a heavy truck, 4wd, the 6.0L motor and

4.10 gears will conspire to keep your mileage in the low teens at best. Everything about this combination says "work" or "hauling" or "towing", and nothing about it says "economy". My truck isn't set up like yours, but I have friends with similar and when we get together to swap lies they say "around 14" for mileage, which I guess isn't too bad. Depending on your type of commute and the weight of your right foot, I think you can expect around 12-14 empty, and maybe 8-10 with your trailer.

Don't bother with a high-flow air filter - save your money. A chip and larger exhaust might help a few MPG but they are mostly geared toward adding power than mileage. The only thing I can really think of that may help the most would be to drop down to a 3.73 rear end, but since yours is 4wd that may not be the best, plus you may (I don't really know) have to change out your front gears also and that's going to get into some serious $$$.

Good regular maintenance and a light foot will help you stretch out your mileage more than anything else for the money.

Cheers - Jonathan

Typical hot-rod tricks will increase performance & mileage on most any late model engine.........cat-back free-flow exhaust, un-cork air-box assy. full length hedders, PROM chip, etc etc etc As i have said b4, internal combustion engines are nothing but oversize air-pumps. The easier it is for them to inhale /exhale the more efficient they will run.

I have the same truck. Bought new in Mar 04. The DIC says 12.7 mpg. That's the average for it's first 10Kmiles. This truck is set up for work and has side mount tool boxes, and racks so it weighs 1K lbs more than an empty truck. It also pulls a dump trailer quite a bit. Don't waste your money on any bolt on so called mileage increasing stuff. You bought a heavy truck to do heavy work it costs in gas.

Reprogram the computer after installing a high quality, high flow exhaust and headers. A bolt on supercharger would really give you a BIG kick in the pants...if you can swing the money!

I am getting 13 mpg average , same rig you have. There are GM forums that have tons of info. I use this one a lot.

Mpg for first tank 10.33 80% freeway. I knew this would bad on fuel,but not that bad.I have a friend with the

496 with about the same miles,and he is getting better than I am. I tried to find one with the 3.73`s,but no success.Swapping gears would be to money and time. Maybe it`ll get better when I have a few more miles on it. Just have to wait and see.

Does any make a cat back system for this,or would it be custom made?

A Superchager would be the shit,but then my foot would always be in it.

Everyone I talk to prefers the 4.10's because of the overdrive. I am putting 4.10's in place of the 3.73's in my Suburban with an OD. Running too low of RPM's will make the engine lug and overwork!

I'm sure everybody and their brother makes a cat-back system for your truck up to and including Edelbrock, Gibson and others.

A neighbor has the same setup, and was singing the blues about 10-12mpg when he stopped by last fall. But you should have seen the smile when I asked him how well it pulled his big ol' boat. Couldn't shut him up fer chit after that.

May as well face it-it's gonna cost you every time you crank it. But then so will any motorhome or any other rig that'll easily pull-and better yet-easily stop that 6000 lbs.

Snuffy '91 Sierra SLT-know anybody that needs a good truck? '04 Z-71 -will be here soon!

Screw efficiency...go for the gusto!!!

In my opinion if you can swing the payments on what hast to be a 35K dollar truck or more than you can swing more for gas. I am of the mind set to find what I can afford to buy, insure, and keep gas in. Want is one of the last things I put into the equation. You bought a Heavy duty truck. your going to get the kind of mileage a HD truck gets. If you wanted economy and power you should have spend more for the diesel or bought a smaller truck.

Just a few words of wisdom.

Screw efficiency...go for the gusto!!!

hehehe

I`ve had trucks with 3.73`s and 4.10`s. Don`t notice very much. Once your moving,you could use 3.42`s.

I can swing the gas bill,but this is ridiculous. 10.5 from a 366 c.i.