With gas fast approaching $2.00 per gallon for 87 octane my current
13mpg just won't cut it. How do I get better mileage from my Tahoe? I run Mobil 1 in the engine and a synthetic in the rear. I have thought about one of those FIPK kits from K&N and also a cat back system with a Flowmaster 50 series muffler. The Hypertech programmer also looks like a possibility. My wife uses the Tahoe to run around town and do typical soccer mom things so it doesn't see a lot of highway use. I use 87 octane gas.
You may get a bit better Mileage with a Flowmaster and K&N setup, but you end up gunning it all the time, and possibly loose mileage unless you can control yourself. A Programmer is not going to do a whole lot for better Mileage. For one thing if you want to run 87 octane gas, you can't really tune the engine, it'll mostly tune the transmission with different shift points and firmer shifts. If you want to use 91+ Octane gas then you can tune the engine for better performance also, but then your paying even more for gas! As for using Moble 1 or some other type of Synthetic, though you may get a minor performance ingress, you not going to get better gas mileage, at least not enough that your going to notice.
If you want better mileage, sell the Tahoe! Get yourself a little 4 cyl. car. Get one of them Hybrid cars that get 45 miles to the gallon. Hell the Auto manufactures try to get the best mileage out of the Cars they make. People want Large cars with Large Engines. You can only do so much to them, which was the whole point of going Fuel Injection and using Computers. There's no Magic Pill to make a car get better mileage.
Say you did All those things(Well except the programmer) and get 1 extra Mile per gallon, Really would that make a difference for you? After spending $800 or so you could get that extra mile, would it be worth it?
I say sell the Tahoe, get yourself one of them Toyota Scion's xB. They're pretty roomy inside. The Price is pretty good. Put some custom 17" wheels on it and they look kind of cool. Plus they get 30-35 miles per gallon. Plus Reliability I hear has been quite good. That's more then double the mileage that Tahoe of yours is getting. That's something that would really make a difference at the Pump. This is just a Example of course.
I have a 03 Extended Cab Silverado myself, with the K&N, and FLowmaster system, ect,. and while I was going for performance, Gas Mileage wasn't a thought. I only live about 2 miles from work, so my commute is short. I do mostly in town driving, though I use it to Tow once in a while also, mostly in the warmer times. If I had to commute, and gas prices were something to really worry about for me, I wouldn't have my truck, I would be going with something with far better mileage. Better Mileage=Smaller Engine and lighter Car.
If your wife drives like my wife, that is the biggest problem. Teach her to coast to red lights and stop signs and not to rocket away at the green. That will make the biggest difference.
Sell the Tahoe and buy a mini van. Seriously. First off K&N sells a lot of hype, there have been a bunch of real world studies that show they allow more dirt into the engine and wear out the rings/bores faster. The Flowmaster will increase the noise factor but noise doesn't increase the fuel mileage. Sorry but that's the way it is. If your planning to keep the Tahoe give it a good tune up, run some injector cleaner through it as well as some top end cleaner. Then live with it.
I spent about 2 weeks driving around like an old man in my truck, i.e. no jack rabbit starts or hot rodding... gained me about 1-2 mpg.. which wasn't worth it for me.. lol
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