Improving Gas Mileage!

[chausse420]

If anybody out there has any ideas on how to get better fuel economy with the V8, I would love to hear. Most people on here say that they get about 15-18 on average in the city. I drive to and from school for the most part and its about a 6-7 mile drive and only stop and go like 3 times and I average 14 and I'm pretty easy on her. If anybody has ideas of how to get better gas mileage out of a LSV8 that is stock, I would love what people have to say! State gas mileage and what your running with input, I'm sure other members would love to hear it as well!

 

[LS4me]

If anybody out there has any ideas on how to get better fuel economy with the V8, I would love to hear. Most people on here say that they get about 15-18 on average in the city. I drive to and from school for the most part and its about a 6-7 mile drive and only stop and go like 3 times and I average 14 and I'm pretty easy on her. If anybody has ideas of how to get better gas mileage out of a LSV8 that is stock, I would love what people have to say! State gas mileage and what your running with input, I'm sure other members would love to hear it as well!

Sell the LS and buy a Prius or Volt.


You're mileage is about right for the type of driving you do. The engine barely gets warmed-up. Driving a cold engine uses the most gas.

 

[05 LS8]

Instead of us stating gas mileages, just put the memory of this forum to a test.

As far as improvements, tune up is the only step you can take to make better.

 

[1LoudLS]

to get better MPG's i use less right foot, to get more smiles per gallon, i use more right foot.


if you want to get good gas millage, then a heavy V8 car is probably the worse choice you could make.

 

[dNyce LS]

Ride on 49psi cold. I see 24 city this way :shifty:

 

[chausse420]

Sell the LS and buy a Prius or Volt.


You're mileage is about right for the type of driving you do. The engine barely gets warmed-up. Driving a cold engine uses the most gas.

Just as an FYI, I warm my car up for about two minutes before I drive it, its warmed up to operating temp by the time I hit the end of my road, which is about a mile. I will never get rid of my LS I love my car, just curious if anybody had any input on improving it.

 

[MOSES]

Have 2000 im 3.9 cold air intake new injectors
and a few more mods..and im getting 22 to 24 city and just came back from st louis and got between 26 and 28 on high way.
What kinda of gass u using?
Also i have knoticed mpg verries depending where i get gass.

 

[chausse420]

I use only premium, never used anything less, and I never get gas at ARCO, that stuff is crap! Usually Shell, Cheveron, etc...

I buy nothing but the best of everything for my car. I love my LS!!!! She has treated me well, therefore to keep her happy, I treat her the best I can as well! Happy car=Happy driver.

 

[prophaci]

Add into that a Fitch Fuel System. May be a bit of a premium but it helps to filter your gas so you don't end up slowly clogging the injectors at the same time allowing you to get regular unleaded instead of premium saving you a few bucks there as well. If you get a cold air... Look up Hite, hes got just what you need to keep that air frosty.

 

[02LSE96LSC91SE84TC]

A performance tune is the only thing that seemed to definitely improve the mileage for my 02 V8. I did do alot of highway miles with the car a few years back and gained a solid 2mpg if not more. I saw averages around 24-26 steady highway and 18-19 average for a equal mixed tank. Now that the car sees more fun drivin than highway I see 13-15. But a tune definitely improved mileage.

 

[MOSES]

Dang wondering why im getting better milage than most
its not like i keep my foot out of it.
I drive her

 

[chausse420]

A performance tune is the only thing that seemed to definitely improve the mileage for my 02 V8. I did do alot of highway miles with the car a few years back and gained a solid 2mpg if not more. I saw averages around 24-26 steady highway and 18-19 average for a equal mixed tank. Now that the car sees more fun drivin than highway I see 13-15. But a tune definitely improved mileage.

Nice mileage, what did you do to her when you did your "performance" tune??

 

[MOSES]

Ihave rebuilt from ground up,
new over sized 4 hole injectors,custom cold air intake,new cats and ex.all new sen,o2 fule pressure ect.
new tires that are checked daily. new ft end and rear end,ect
all the rest is just looks.
but i lov my old sle looks and rides better than anything new around here.
and befor wife hit deer last week,i was working on a turbo.. was going to plumb it under the ft right bumper. but now having to run body parts down.

 

[02LSE96LSC91SE84TC]

Nice mileage, what did you do to her when you did your "performance" tune??

Performance tune meaning a SCT2 tune from Torrie at Fast Parts I believe. Been so long now.

I have a intake and exhaust but gains in mileage were never really noticed till the tune.

 

[LS4me]

Add into that a Fitch Fuel System. May be a bit of a premium but it helps to filter your gas so you don't end up slowly clogging the injectors at the same time allowing you to get regular unleaded instead of premium saving you a few bucks there as well. If you get a cold air... Look up Hite, hes got just what you need to keep that air frosty.

Do you also have a Tornado? Or those magnets on the fuel line?

As hard as manufacturers try to eek out every 1/10 of a mile per gallon don't you think they would be all over these types of devices if they really worked? Filtering fuel has nothing to do with octane. I burn only quality fuel so my injectors don't get clogged.


I smell Snake Oil.......

 

[chausse420]

Ihave rebuilt from ground up,
new over sized 4 hole injectors,custom cold air intake,new cats and ex.all new sen,o2 fule pressure ect.
new tires that are checked daily. new ft end and rear end,ect
all the rest is just looks.
but i lov my old sle looks and rides better than anything new around here.
and befor wife hit deer last week,i was working on a turbo.. was going to plumb it under the ft right bumper. but now having to run body parts down.

Now that is one hell of a rebuild, that must have been a pretty penny!! Sounds like you love your baby too!! I just don't have that kind of money or time to put her thru all that, or I definitely would!

And companies don't give a damn about fuel economy as much as they do to make money! They put the part they put in to hit the equilibrium between performance, economy, and cost. They don't give two ****s if it only gets 2 feet per gallon, as long as it sells, and it wont sell if they put the highest quality parts in their cars. If you want that, go get a Bentley! That's a company that cares about nothing but quality!

 

[Telco]

And companies don't give a damn about fuel economy as much as they do to make money! They put the part they put in to hit the equilibrium between performance, economy, and cost. They don't give two ****s if it only gets 2 feet per gallon, as long as it sells, and it wont sell if they put the highest quality parts in their cars. If you want that, go get a Bentley! That's a company that cares about nothing but quality!

He's right on this. For example, Chevy introduced electric fans to their full size trucks in 2007. Before that, it was all mechanical fans. The tech was there to put electrics on 20 years ago. When I converted my 96 Tahoe to electrics I saw no problems even on the hottest days, and would have had no problems with towing as the fans never ran more than half speed and that was only because the fan controller I used would automatically go to half speed minimum when the AC was on. With the electrics, I saw at least a 2MPG improvement and a huge increase in acceleration. A 305 with an electric fan would have given me identical performance to the 350 with the mechanical fan, but the smaller engine combined with the electric fan would likely have returned a 5MPG improvement over the mechanical fan 350. GM didn't bother with electrics because it would increase the cost and they didn't need them to meet EPA mileage targets. When the EPA caught up with them, they switched to the electrics. All of the OEMs are the same, they will not make upgrades or improvements until forced to do so either by EPA mandates, until it's required to remain competitive or until it would be cheaper to move to the new tech like a worn out manufacturing plant. For the most part, the OEMs don't do anything beyond what is required to meet their mileage, HP/LB and emissions targets and really I don't blame them as when they beat the targets, the government moves the targets on them.

 

[dunndarryn]

You get crappy mileage because you're barely driving so your computer hasn't even had the time to jump up.

When you press the fuel button to check the mileage you're getting, reset it. It should jump up really high (to like 30-35mpg) but it'll drop rapidly. When it's done dropping down, you'll see where you're really at.

-OR-

If you have an iPhone download this app called "VehiCal". Let your tank get to about a quarter, then fill her up all the way. There's a section in the app where you can log getting gas, how much it costs, and where your speed'o meter was at, at the time of fill up. Let it get down to a quarter again, fill up again, log it in the app again, and the app will calculate your actual miles per gallon.

-OR-

Leave 45 minutes early, hit the highway for about 20 minutes, then head back towards your school. Then your screen will show better mileage

 

[joegr]

Just as an FYI, I warm my car up for about two minutes before I drive it, its warmed up to operating temp by the time I hit the end of my road, which is about a mile. I will never get rid of my LS I love my car, just curious if anybody had any input on improving it.

Well, no wonder your mileage is so bad. If you would stop doing this, you would get slightly better mileage and probably slightly better engine and exhaust system life. Warming up a car by idling it is a bad practice.

 

[05 LS8]

+1 ^

You are actually damaging your engine letting the crap build up inside your cylinders. Start the car, let it idle down(takes 8 seconds), put it in drive and just drive easy until it warms up.

 

[Ben's LS]

+2

Always done it this way.

 

[LS4me]

You get crappy mileage because you're barely driving so your computer hasn't even had the time to jump up.

When you press the fuel button to check the mileage you're getting, reset it. It should jump up really high (to like 30-35mpg) but it'll drop rapidly. When it's done dropping down, you'll see where you're really at.

-OR-

If you have an iPhone download this app called "VehiCal". Let your tank get to about a quarter, then fill her up all the way. There's a section in the app where you can log getting gas, how much it costs, and where your speed'o meter was at, at the time of fill up. Let it get down to a quarter again, fill up again, log it in the app again, and the app will calculate your actual miles per gallon.

-OR-

Leave 45 minutes early, hit the highway for about 20 minutes, then head back towards your school. Then your screen will show better mileage

App this app that.

Do what I used (I really don't care about mpg anymore) to do when I started driving 40 years ago. Go to Staples/Office depot/Target/Wal-Mart etc. and buy a cheap calculator. Divide the miles driven by the gallons used and voilá, you have your miles per gallon! You will need to write down starting and ending mileage and do a little simple math; Which TOTALLY screws-up the cashier at the store when I give them the odd change to make my change even. That's a different rant.....

 

[dunndarryn]

App this app that.

Do what I used (I really don't care about mpg anymore) to do when I started driving 40 years ago. Go to Staples/Office depot/Target/Wal-Mart etc. and buy a cheap calculator. Divide the miles driven by the gallons used and voilá, you have your miles per gallon! You will need to write down starting and ending mileage and do a little simple math; Which TOTALLY screws-up the cashier at the store when I give them the odd change to make my change even. That's a different rant.....

The app is free, a calculator is not. And the app does it for you

Ahh, modern conveniences..

 

[Luk3]

Dividing miles driven by gallons used isn't hard. Just do it on a piece of paper

 

[dNyce LS]

Well, no wonder your mileage is so bad. If you would stop doing this, you would get slightly better mileage and probably slightly better engine and exhaust system life. Warming up a car by idling it is a bad practice.

+1 ^

You are actually damaging your engine letting the crap build up inside your cylinders. Start the car, let it idle down(takes 8 seconds), put it in drive and just drive easy until it warms up.

Learned something new today!