Chevy & GMC Vans

To be fair, you have a RWD. Were you on the highway? But yes mine is bad.
I am a bit of "brisk" driver, but puttering along in rush hour traffic doesn't exactly give me the opportunity to go fast.

So, what are the most significant factors in fuel economy and what are the most effective ways I can improve it?

I would be interested in hearing what other people get with the same engine/drivetrain and type of driving.

timelessbeing wrote:I am a bit of "brisk" driver, but puttering along in rush hour traffic doesn't exactly give me the opportunity to go fast.

As I recall, You could burn up a lot of gas and get 0 miles, in Vancouver Rush Hour Traffic.
on highway 7 in Burnaby, When I lived there, It took over an hour to drive home from work at 5pm, but only 5 minutes to drive there at say 8pm.

One more reason I moved to the country.

timelessbeing wrote:To be fair, you have a RWD. Were you on the highway? But yes mine is bad.
I am a bit of "brisk" driver, but puttering along in rush hour traffic doesn't exactly give me the opportunity to go fast.

So, what are the most significant factors in fuel economy and what are the most effective ways I can improve it?

I would be interested in hearing what other people get with the same engine/drivetrain and type of driving.

the engine is designed for best emissions not best fuel economy, cheapest things are put in a 165 degree thermostat, reroute the upper rad hose away from the air intake, open up the air box to get cooler air in, this makes measurable differences, about 4 mpg.

brokenwrench wrote:put in a 165 degree thermostat.

Doesn't a hotter engine run more efficiently?

timelessbeing wrote: So, what are the most significant factors in fuel economy and what are the most effective ways I can improve it?

What about electric fans? I read on here somewhere a claim of +2 mpg.

My vans with an automatic transmission tended to use significantly more fuel than my similarly equipped vans with a 5 speed.
I've had 2wd auto & 2wd 5 speed + AWD auto & 4wd 5 speed.

i've heard that many many times before that manual cars get better mileage. an electric fan will take some of the load off the engine just remember if you load your alternator too much it'll kick the bucket sooner then it should i don't know what else you maybe be running in your van while driving but it should be fine if its just stock stuff. Lifted had the Taurus electric fan in his old van don't know if it improved his mileage at all but i'm sure it didn't hurt it

I just signed up for gasbuddy.com and started to log my fuel consumption. It's a bit depressing.
20L/100km mixed. Oh well, at least it isn't changing much.

With 4" lift and LT235/75 15 tires I'm getting about 12.5 mpg around town and 13.5 mpg on the highway.
This seems low to me. My van's not running rough or anything. Could the O2 sensor or cat converter be
going bad? I've been holding off on buying bigger tires until I get this resolved (in my mind).
Anyone have suggestions?

I think it's the nature of the beast. With the added height and wind resistance, I don't know that you can see much better mileage. You would need to swap gears or just drop the van into 3rd so the tranny doesn't downshift to 2nd on up hills.

Four tanks of gas on the new 4:10 gears: 15 mpg country driving, 17 - 18 mpg freeway. Tires inflated to 50 lb, 60 mph and x.9 conversion factor.

Thanks for the info!

Cherie and I just finished up our annual trip to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. I've kept a fuel log on the "Smilie Van" since I bought it in 2003. It still gets about the same mileage as when I bought it. This trip we did 5259 miles and averaged 16.659 mpg. I'm pleased. It now has 245,000 miles on the odometer. This trip includes highway driving, city driving, high altitude, low altitude, mountains, flat land, and an occaisional off road trip.