Gas Mileage Help

[overpar83]

Hi all,
I am a Tahoe newbee as I just purchased an 04 LT with close to 100K on it. Good deal for pulling the camper. Anyway several people I talk to who drive there Tahoe/Yukons/Suburbans in a similar fashion are getting around 14-15 MPG in town while I am getting 10-11. Even on the highway i am only getting 15 or so. I have new tires on it and have them inflated to around 36 psi, I have changed the oil and fuel filter, changed the air filter and am going to have a 4 wheel drive service done just for my own benefit. Are there any tips or items to check to improve my mileage?

Thanks

Happy New Year.

 

[Grocery Getter]

Overpar,

I get around 16 in the city and 19-20 highway in my 04' LT. I would get a good CAI and ease off the pedal. All the mods in the world don't matter if you are a lead foot. I try and keep my RPMs under 2K at all times(if possible) and around 1500 in the city. My hoe seems to get the best MPGs if I cruise around 60mph once you get over 75 in a Tahoe your milage goes to crap it's like a giant refrigerator going down the highway. You can also get an electric cooling fan and dual cat back exhaust would help a lot along with a good PCm tune. My truck is still a work in progress but I figure by the time I am done I can expect 17-18 city and 21-22 highway easily.......just slow it down and drive more with your RPMs than your MPH. Of course this is all regarding normal driving I don't tow anything so I can't comment on that aspect of fuel economy....hope I was helpful

Oh yeah.... throw a new set of plugs in there........

 

[2004TAHOEZ71]

i am also in the same boat. i get maybe 12-13 city / 15-16 hwy. i have new tires also. but mine is a z71 package, not sure if that makes it burn up more gas.

 

[overpar83]

Thanks Grocery Getter. I am not a leadfoot I have been keeping a close eye on the RPM and very rarely go over 2200. Can you tell me what a CAI is as well as a PCm tune?
I will probably throw some plugs in but it runs pretty well and idles at about 450 RPM.

Thanks again for the info.

Patrick

 

[Grocery Getter]

Sure. A CAI is a cold air intake it replaces the factory air intake. I use the K&N FIPK(Fuel Injection Performance Kit). It is an easy install maybe 45min tops and it is supposed to give you 15-20hp gain which equates roughly to 1mpg. A PCM tune is a custom tune of your engine via the on board computer, Black Bear is a sponsor of this forum and from what I have read has a great PCM tune. I plan on getting one in the near future. He has several options as to how you can get the tune all of which include swapping out your PCM cards with a tuned one. Essentially the more horse power you have the less effort your engine has to put into regular driving therefore the less gas it needs to run in the 1500-2000rpm range, at least that is my take on it. I am by no means an expert and I am just learning all of this myself. Where you get into trouble is once you get all the mods on it gets harder to stay of the pedal......for some folks.

 

[wmgood64]

are you going by what the dic says or figuring your gas mileage the oil fashion way?? If your using the dic (on board computer) You have to reset the mileage and the fuel used or it will average it out through the last time it was reset! When i first got my silverado i hadnt reset it and it was avg. from day one?? Reset it each time i fill up and it's better
now!

 

[Grocery Getter]

I use two programs on my iphone Gashog and Accufuel. Each time you fill up you ender the odometer reading, fuel added, and cost of fuel and it calculates your MPG for the that fill up gives all kinds of related stats and graphs usage/mpgs over time. Great little apps.......

 

[bahollis]

I have an 04 Z71, and I was getting 11-12 when I first got it. I have since added a K&N intake, and I use Royal Purple 5W30. I really can't not go over 2000 RPMs here in Dallas, or I'd get run over. I now get about 14 mpg city and anywhere from 18-21 highway, depending on the wind. With 100K on it you might consider doing the basic 100K maintenance like some of the other guys have said here. It could not hurt.
Also, I use Berryman's ChemTool about every other tank to keep things on the inside from gumming up. I did that on my 94 CK1500, and it had 150K on it when I sold it and never had engine issues.

These Hoes like the gas... just be happy it's not $4 a gallon anymore.


Oh yeah and if you have a FlexFuel engine, don't bother with Ethanol (E85).
It's not cheap enough to offset the loss in MPG compared to Regular Gas.
I filled up a tank with Ethanol a while back for about 40 cents a gallon cheaper than Reg. Sounds pretty good right? Well, my highway mileage dropped to 11-13, and my city was 8-9 MPG. From 325 miles a tank, to 225. That's at almost a 30% decrease in MPG. So when Ethanol is half the cost of Regular I'll consider using it.

 

[667theneighbour]

I have an 04 Z71, and I was getting 11-12 when I first got it. I have since added a K&N intake, and I use Royal Purple 5W30. I really can't not go over 2000 RPMs here in Dallas, or I'd get run over. I now get about 14 mpg city and anywhere from 18-21 highway, depending on the wind. With 100K on it you might consider doing the basic 100K maintenance like some of the other guys have said here. It could not hurt.
Also, I use Berryman's ChemTool about every other tank to keep things on the inside from gumming up. I did that on my 94 CK1500, and it had 150K on it when I sold it and never had engine issues.

These Hoes like the gas... just be happy it's not $4 a gallon anymore.


Oh yeah and if you have a FlexFuel engine, don't bother with Ethanol (E85).
It's not cheap enough to offset the loss in MPG compared to Regular Gas.
I filled up a tank with Ethanol a while back for about 40 cents a gallon cheaper than Reg. Sounds pretty good right? Well, my highway mileage dropped to 11-13, and my city was 8-9 MPG. From 325 miles a tank, to 225. That's at almost a 30% decrease in MPG. So when Ethanol is half the cost of Regular I'll consider using it.

$4/gallon makes me sick!! Here it cost $5,54/gallon.Last summer it cost $7,3/gallon.

 

[2004TAHOEZ71]

wow gas is 5.54 a gallon in dallas. In ct i just paid 1.52 a gallon at the samsclub. but ct is trying to add more gas tax to our already high tax.

 

[thedude337]

i had an 04 and an 01 the 01 seemed to do much better than the 04 so i still have the 01
the 01 gets about 19-22 mixed driving. seems that between 02 and 03 the changes were subtle but the 04 was rated at 10 more hp and the steering was diff.

there are a lot of things that can make it variate. like hilly or curvy roads stop and go tire size. most of my 01 was in mild town driving and 55-60 on highway 52 in ohio so that might be why mine is so much better. other than that the tahoes seem to do better than the competitions offerings in its class.

rock on hoes!!!!!

 

[667theneighbour]

I used to have an 00 And it used 1,2liters/10km highway and 1,6-1,7l/10 km mixed. My 04 uses 1,1 or less on highway and the same mixed. The biggest difference is mixed/city during winter. The 00 used 0,5l/10 km more when it was really cold and I only drove the short trip to work without the engine getting really warm.

 

[rockman20]

I've noticed a varience in what other Yukon XL drivers get to mine. I get a steady 13 in town and anywhere between 11 to 15 on the highway. (I can't stay at 60, I usually have cruise set at 83 according to GPS. And 11 is with head winds. 15 is without wind) I know of other 5.3L Yukon XL drivers who can get around 15 in the city and around 18 to 20 on the highway. But I think I have narrowed it down a little. Those Yukons are 4WD units and mine has the stabilitrak on it. I believe the stabilitrak kills my mileage a bit because I can never take the dang thing out of 4WD. It is always sitting there, ready to go.

However, I love the stabilitrak compared to the A4WD. The transition is so much smoother that if it wasn't for the solenoids under the dash, I wouldn't even know it is happening. And I have a tough time getting the vehicle sideways. It does a decent job of brake applying and throttle control to keep the vehicle straight.

All in all, I am willing to take the cut in mileage. In fact, I am thrilled with my mileage! I came from a 04 Trailblazer with the I6. I was getting 13 in town and around 18 on the highway. Pathetic for that vehicle as far as I am concerned. Now I have bigger engine, bigger vehicle, and I can still hit the same city mileage. With a little work, I know I can hit the same highway to.

 

[jniolon]

I've noticed a varience in what other Yukon XL drivers get to mine. I get a steady 13 in town and anywhere between 11 to 15 on the highway. (I can't stay at 60, I usually have cruise set at 83 according to GPS. And 11 is with head winds. 15 is without wind) I know of other 5.3L Yukon XL drivers who can get around 15 in the city and around 18 to 20 on the highway. But I think I have narrowed it down a little. Those Yukons are 4WD units and mine has the stabilitrak on it. I believe the stabilitrak kills my mileage a bit because I can never take the dang thing out of 4WD. It is always sitting there, ready to go.

However, I love the stabilitrak compared to the A4WD. The transition is so much smoother that if it wasn't for the solenoids under the dash, I wouldn't even know it is happening. And I have a tough time getting the vehicle sideways. It does a decent job of brake applying and throttle control to keep the vehicle straight.

All in all, I am willing to take the cut in mileage. In fact, I am thrilled with my mileage! I came from a 04 Trailblazer with the I6. I was getting 13 in town and around 18 on the highway. Pathetic for that vehicle as far as I am concerned. Now I have bigger engine, bigger vehicle, and I can still hit the same city mileage. With a little work, I know I can hit the same highway to.

With 4WD and cruise at 83 ???? and you want better mileage ??? get out of 4WD and keep your highway speed less than 2000 rpm and you'll see an improvement... I can see a difference on highway between 70 and 75 mph
john

 

[667theneighbour]

With 4WD and cruise at 83 ???? and you want better mileage ??? get out of 4WD and keep your highway speed less than 2000 rpm and you'll see an improvement... I can see a difference on highway between 70 and 75 mph
john

I believe his car has got the AWD with no 2wd option.

But I notice that as soon as I drive faster than ca 55 the mpg drops significantly.

 

[withac]

I bought my 4X4 2000 'Ho a year ago, it had around 92K miles on it. About three months after purchasing it I replaced the plugs and wires. A lot of folks say not to worry about replacing the wires, but I've never been able to pull wires without ruining at least one or two. Most folks also say to use the OEM but they were too pricy for my pocket at that time. I used Bosch wires and NGK Power Plats TR5GP gapped at .040 as per NGK recommendation. I saw an immediate bump of about 2 mpg. In addition, I also use the ChemTool about once a month, have an AEM Brute Force CAI (it's a dry element as opposed to the K&N's which are oiled, makes cleaning easier) and have my custom tuned PCM sitting in my bedroom waiting to install.

 

[rockman20]

I believe his car has got the AWD with no 2wd option.

But I notice that as soon as I drive faster than ca 55 the mpg drops significantly.

You are close theneighbour, I have the Stabilitrak in my Yukon. This prevents any 2WD option. I wasn't complaining about the mileage either (to the previous poster) , in fact, I am happy with it compared to my Trailblazer I had.

My Yukon can easily hit 17 to 18 if I keep it around 55, but I can't drive that slow. I live in ND where the speed limit is 75 and I take full advantage of it. To me, the drop in MPG is worth the time I save driving.

The Stabilitrak is nice for a family vehicle. Very smooth transition and it does a great job of keeping the vehicle in a straight line. But it sucks when you want to play.

My Yukon is also a flex fuel. I haven't had the truck long enough to do some tests with the E85. I know that my mileage will drop, but I want to do some real world tests to see if the drop in mileage/cost of fuel is any benefit to what I am getting now. I expect it to be a wash, but I want to get a time where I can run a few tanks of E85 through to get a good feel for it.

 

[667theneighbour]

You are close theneighbour, I have the Stabilitrak in my Yukon. This prevents any 2WD option. I wasn't complaining about the mileage either (to the previous poster) , in fact, I am happy with it compared to my Trailblazer I had.

My Yukon can easily hit 17 to 18 if I keep it around 55, but I can't drive that slow. I live in ND where the speed limit is 75 and I take full advantage of it. To me, the drop in MPG is worth the time I save driving.

The Stabilitrak is nice for a family vehicle. Very smooth transition and it does a great job of keeping the vehicle in a straight line. But it sucks when you want to play.

My Yukon is also a flex fuel. I haven't had the truck long enough to do some tests with the E85. I know that my mileage will drop, but I want to do some real world tests to see if the drop in mileage/cost of fuel is any benefit to what I am getting now. I expect it to be a wash, but I want to get a time where I can run a few tanks of E85 through to get a good feel for it.

With the E85 vs gas prices we've got it's a no win. 25-30% higher fuelconsumption eats up the price difference.

 

[rockman20]

With the E85 vs gas prices we've got it's a no win. 25-30% higher fuelconsumption eats up the price difference.

That's what I am guessing I am going to find as well. I don't think I am going to do this test in the winter though. This is going to be a summertime test. Winter blended fuel sucks for mileage in the first place, I think it would be unfair for the E85.

 

[2004TAHOEZ71]

has anyone tried the gas magnet gimmic? like the as seen on tv?? i think its BS but they say 3-5 mpg gain. anyone try it?