It was time to fix up the grocery getter a little bit. After all it got used the most and got the least attention. I figured a set of decent rims and tires
were in order. I got a decent deal on them so I went with it. Now this truck has been through thick and thin with me and there has been times where it has been on the back burner when it came time for maintenance. I've done the trial and error with car parts and tested some ideas to improve my fuel efficiency. And I'll tell you right now that the best fuel economy tricks were the ones I designed or re-designed my self. The are some "kits" out there that are supposed to give you gains of up to 20 horsepower and improve mileage by 10%. I'll tell you right now,there are no simple fixes like that. All those "kits" will do is separate you from your hard earned cash. They are promoted by marketing companies that probably have no idea what an internal combustion engine is. Their exec's get the mechanic to check the oil.
Anyway, there are little things you can do to keep the grocery getter together that are very economical. Instead of spending $80 for an interior door handle for your chevy truck, spend $14 or $15 on a Dorman Handle
. I've spent $240.00 on interior handles and none of them have lasted as long as the one I spend $14.00 on. Now,a cost effective way to eliminate most wear inside your engine is to use synthetic oil
. Most synthetic oils are actually made in the same place believe it or not. They all test virtually the same. Now,you might think the cost is too much but,think of it this way. When you use synthetic oil you can go twice as long between oil changes,sometimes longer depending on the brand. Synthetic also dissipates heat much better,doesn't break down like conventional oil does and it seals compression better. You will also notice that your engine will run better and your gas gauge will stay in one place longer.All for just under twice the price of conventional oil. And one other thing, less oil changes means less cash out of your pocket at mister lube or minute lube. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use synthetic in the transmission and differential as well if you are really interested in making your daily driver last.
Now this might sound a little nuts but,believe me it's the truth. I had a crate motor in one of my trucks and believe it or not when I used high octane fuel,the gas mileage improvement offset the extra cost because it was a higher compression engine and it ran more efficiently with the better quality fuel. Other things like having your tires filled to proper psi also helps,proper wheel alignment as well. Now,one thing to consider is when an engine is operating close to the begining of it's torque curve you get better mileage. When you use a spacer plate
it actually brings down the torque curve,as in brings it closer to the lower RPM range not lowering your overall torque.That means when you step on the gas,your not stepping on it as much as you would without the spacer plate. That translates into less fuel used to get the same job done and therefor better efficiency.
One final thought. Don't believe for a minute that you can just jump in,fire it up and go. Your engine needs a warn up period,more so for any modified or crate engine. Everything on the planet expands with heat so it would stand to reason that the internal parts would need that as well. Let's imagine metal on metal grinding .Nuff said. Any mechanic or so called "tech" that says other wise better get his butt back to school.
I remember watching a television show with my girlfriend and a "professional" mechanic stated that you do not need a warm up time. Needless to say,when the girlfriends small block spun a bearing I wasn't fixing it.
were in order. I got a decent deal on them so I went with it. Now this truck has been through thick and thin with me and there has been times where it has been on the back burner when it came time for maintenance. I've done the trial and error with car parts and tested some ideas to improve my fuel efficiency. And I'll tell you right now that the best fuel economy tricks were the ones I designed or re-designed my self. The are some "kits" out there that are supposed to give you gains of up to 20 horsepower and improve mileage by 10%. I'll tell you right now,there are no simple fixes like that. All those "kits" will do is separate you from your hard earned cash. They are promoted by marketing companies that probably have no idea what an internal combustion engine is. Their exec's get the mechanic to check the oil.Anyway, there are little things you can do to keep the grocery getter together that are very economical. Instead of spending $80 for an interior door handle for your chevy truck, spend $14 or $15 on a Dorman Handle
. I've spent $240.00 on interior handles and none of them have lasted as long as the one I spend $14.00 on. Now,a cost effective way to eliminate most wear inside your engine is to use synthetic oil. Most synthetic oils are actually made in the same place believe it or not. They all test virtually the same. Now,you might think the cost is too much but,think of it this way. When you use synthetic oil you can go twice as long between oil changes,sometimes longer depending on the brand. Synthetic also dissipates heat much better,doesn't break down like conventional oil does and it seals compression better. You will also notice that your engine will run better and your gas gauge will stay in one place longer.All for just under twice the price of conventional oil. And one other thing, less oil changes means less cash out of your pocket at mister lube or minute lube. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use synthetic in the transmission and differential as well if you are really interested in making your daily driver last.Now this might sound a little nuts but,believe me it's the truth. I had a crate motor in one of my trucks and believe it or not when I used high octane fuel,the gas mileage improvement offset the extra cost because it was a higher compression engine and it ran more efficiently with the better quality fuel. Other things like having your tires filled to proper psi also helps,proper wheel alignment as well. Now,one thing to consider is when an engine is operating close to the begining of it's torque curve you get better mileage. When you use a spacer plate
it actually brings down the torque curve,as in brings it closer to the lower RPM range not lowering your overall torque.That means when you step on the gas,your not stepping on it as much as you would without the spacer plate. That translates into less fuel used to get the same job done and therefor better efficiency.One final thought. Don't believe for a minute that you can just jump in,fire it up and go. Your engine needs a warn up period,more so for any modified or crate engine. Everything on the planet expands with heat so it would stand to reason that the internal parts would need that as well. Let's imagine metal on metal grinding .Nuff said. Any mechanic or so called "tech" that says other wise better get his butt back to school.
I remember watching a television show with my girlfriend and a "professional" mechanic stated that you do not need a warm up time. Needless to say,when the girlfriends small block spun a bearing I wasn't fixing it.
