I know this has been talked about a million times but I thought that I would ask personally because I didn't see to much follow ups. I like many of you, am on the quest for better fuel economy. I am currently am getting 14.5-15 mpg and want more. I was thinking of getting a true CAI, a new exhaust, and depending on the price maybe lowering it a little bit. I may be nuts but I want to try and get 20ish mpg. I've heard very little about programmers so I'm not to sure about those and I can't send out my pcm because this is my daily.

any help would be great.

thanks
Bob

 

CAI prolly zip, exaust maybe. Fuel economy comes from efficiency. O2 maf coolant temp are the big players. Make sure your tps voltage stays at 1.6v at all times. Use the torque that you do have wisely. Lowered for aero( no night suns or roof baskets), less mass for better accel, skinny bald hi pressure tires for less roll resistance. Remember high skool fisics. Ya got ya some forces Ya gots ya sum masses Ya wants ya sum accleratuns.

This was SUPPOSE to be funny.

 

S10 Blazer 4dr/4wd and 20mpg are not terms that can be used together...LOL.

I do not know if there is one particular reason why our Blazers get the mpg that they do.

My '02 has the "upgraded" fuel injector system which is far better than the system in my old '95...which always leaked.
And since I currently have the intake off, I can see that carbon build-up in the intake runners of cylinders 1 & 2....much heavier than the other cylinders. Perhaps it is due to air flow within the intake with the throttle body sitting above the front two cylinders causing turblence and restricting air flow to these cylinders....do not know...and not something easily deteremined.

Could it be the restrictive exhaust system? I would think a much less restrictive system would help, but this would be a completly custom design....lots of "things" in the way under there, requiring lots of pipe bending...which reduces flow. And trying to get both sides equal length....good luck with that one.

Cold Air Intake (CAI)...the stock sytem already provides that.

Higher spark voltage, larger spark plug gap....slightly more efficient fuel burn.....perhaps.

Maybe better head design is needed. As far as I know there are no aftermarket heads available for the 4.3L engine with an improved swirl, larger valves, different spark plug angle, etc, etc.

Bottom line: use good grade of fuel, regular oil/filter changes, good quality spark plugs, Delco cap and rotor, no oversize tires, proper air pressure in tires, clean air filter....and the Blazer will get as good as it is going to get MPG. Oh and keep the right foot off the floor!

Good Luck.

 

My 98 4X4 with 212K miles is bone stock, except for the injector upgrade, and it consistently gets 21+ mpg on the highway, always has, since it was new.

In addition to the basic AC Delco tune up stuff like plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel & air filters, and fuel pump, there are some other things to consider:
Wheel alignment
Proper tire size & inflation
Brake drag
No vacuum leaks, don't forget HVAC & 4X4 systems
Camshaft retard set to zero degrees
Check engine light is off
Regular oil & filter changes using good oil & filter
Use cruise control whenever possible & safe
Cooling system properly maintained
You lose MPG when RPM exceeds 1500
Around town, keep it under 2500 RPM
It's easy to keep the vehicle maintained,
it's a little tougher to re-program the driver

 

Dont know if you do alot of city driving or not but take it out on the freeway and blow some carbon out that might help.For some reason the new blazers dont have a very high mpg rating.
Mine is a 96 its rated at 19mph freeway and 14 city
Maybe try changing tire size the bigger the tires the worst mpg you will get.

 

alright thanks for all the input. I'm actually down a size from stock (225-75) I do a lot of city driving witch I guess I shouldn't expect to much. I just wish I could change my shift points a little bit because I don't have a heavy foot at all (besides coming from a stop) I never go above 2k rpm maybe 3k when getting onto the highway.

oh random question but I noticed on cold mornings if I don't let it warm up I don't have a 5th gear...overdrive whatever you want to call it. it seems like it wont kick in until it's at least 100 degrees. is this normal?

 

Normal.

 

TCC? that will definatly kill milage. Closed loop wont close until about 96f I think the book said. Raise your coolant percentage. That will lower your heat rejection rate, make the block warm up faster, go in closed loop quicker, allow tcc lickup sooner. Check engine temp with scan tool not dashboard.

 

1 thing that can cause either poor mpg or better mpg is the gear ratio`s in the differentials.Dont quote me on this but I think GM used these on the Jimmys/Blazers 342`s and 373`s.Im not sure if they went any higher like 308`s or lower 410`s or not?I know on the chevy trucks you can have anywhere from a 273 highest gear ratio,308 high geared ratio,323 not so high,342 which is good.373`s which is real good depending on engine size and weight.

 

I've found I can get 30+ if I leave the Blazer at home and drive the wife's Cobalt. Of course, she doesn't like this, so it opens up a whole new set of problems...

I've found city driving to really kill the MPG's. At least for my 4x4, anyway. I can get really close, if not to, 20 mpg on the highway. Throw in a weekend of city driving, and it starts to plummet!