Ecomodder fuel tip site

[Brody]

This site has some good ideas and the links look like they would be worth checking out. Not really for 4x4s, but many people on the site have something else to drive, too. I actually found this looking for 'flapper' door hinges for a $5k door Bren and I are working on ...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php

[Funrover]

Interesting.

[Roostercruiser]

my rolling brick (burb) would need a lot of help for better fuel, if im lucky i might get 9 miles to gallon on the highway, weighing 9000 lbs dont help either

[Brody]

Yup, you got one of those 'uphill, downhill, tow 10klbs, tail wind or not' 9-10 mph rigs. Better pipes, better intake, maybe a chip if it is new enough, an after market coil and wires...still will only get you another 2 or so mph and and cost you grand to get there.

Give me the size of the engine and the year and i'll try to turn up something for you when I should be sleeping...Glad to help, too, so it isn't a problem...

[Roostercruiser]

brody i have a 350 fuel injected that turns 230 massive ground pounding horsepower. a new tacoma has more horsepower than i do. and also a muncie 4 speed tranny with such a wide gap inbetween gears that when going up even fall river rd up to alice im in first gear most of the way because 2nd gear is to tall. sometimes when going up hill i try to change gears to the next up that it boggs way down and i have to go back down a gear. the plus side is that when im in 4 lo and granny gear this thing will crawl up and down any hill with no brakes going down or gas going up. i pretty happy with it ive learned how to deal with it. just wished i had lockers it would open more trails up for me. ive gotten to the point where i know what it can and cant do.
thanks for the links
:drive:

[Brody]

There is so much that you can do to a 350 and so many cheap used parts around, getting the engine to pump out a bunch more horses wouldn't be the problem. Even if you did it on the cheap and with used stuff, Sounds like the biggest problem is the gears...more specifically, the tranny gears. Do you have any idea what tranny it has? You can regear a lot of transmissions...

Fill me in on this and I'll try to find some stuff out for you. I'll do some research into building a 350 for off road, which I should actually know, but have forgotten.

[Roostercruiser]

There is so much that you can do to a 350 and so many cheap used parts around, getting the engine to pump out a bunch more horses wouldn't be the problem. Even if you did it on the cheap and with used stuff, Sounds like the biggest problem is the gears...more specifically, the tranny gears. Do you have any idea what tranny it has? You can regear a lot of transmissions...

Fill me in on this and I'll try to find some stuff out for you. I'll do some research into building a 350 for off road, which I should actually know, but have forgotten.



its a muchie 4 speed rock crusher tranny other than that i dont know what the gears are. as far as the motor goes i know i can go dual exhaust, a apacer between the TBI and headers and a chip if they make it. I know i have a 14 bolt rear with a 10.5 ring gear but not sure the other half i think its 4.11 but not sure never cracked it open. Pulling a hill like Floyd hill with a small trailer i cant do more than 40 mph because i have to stay in 2 nd gear because 3rd is too high. my wife and i have been working on building it for 4 years now a small piece at a time. its tough on a single income with a house and kids. we just do a little at a time. we just got that scout for 300 dollars and it been sitting since july and all it needs is a new rag joint. the funds usaully go else where. thats why we dont do much hard core off roading. thats why i want to weld up the rear because at 4 wheel parts even a spool is around 400 dollars. i work almost 7 days a week so i never really have time to hit a junk yard. so any advise you can give would be very helpfull. thanks Roland

[Brody]

Roland

Jeff (Patrolman) and I are in and out of Colorado Auto Parts a fair amount...Jeff more than I. You need a rag joint for the steering on the Scout? I bet we can find a decent used one there for you..

Having done the 7 days a week thing...without kids...I can imagine how little time you have! We will keep our eyes open for any real deals we find.. I have a friend that got a set of redone fuelie heads for a 350 for nothing off of craigslist because the recently divorced lady just wanted them out of the gargage, so stuff is out there. I'll do some research into the tranny regearing...there has to be a good work around..

[HuricaneWillys]

Where is Colorado Auto Parts? are they like pullnsave or UpullnPay? where it is 1 price for the part regardless of the the condition? What vehicles do they specialize in?

[Patrolman]

Colorado Auto Parts is off Santa Fe in Englewood/Littleton area. They do some stuff for flat rate prices. I usually ask before I pull. If you bring it up to the counter and ask, sometimes they say "wow, that is cool and valuable" and quote a higher rate. In any case, they don't have any Willy's right now. No Scout's either as I was looking for some parts for mine. Also, Pull-n-Save or whatever it is at Peoria and I-70 didn't have Willy's or Scouts either. I walked that entire place looking for a Scout.

Back to the 'burban, I would be willing to bet that the diff dears are to high. No way they would be 4.10. Maybe 3.20 or something? Even 2.73? Sounds like you got a rig with highway cruising gears. Even my little 4 cyl Toyota can do better than they on I-70 with a little trailer. The downfall is that if you gear lower for hills, you will lose that highway cruising gearing and be forking out even more gas $ on I-25.

One thing to keep in mind too is that not all engines are built with HP in mind. My 345 in my Scout has something like 145hp. The torque is where it is at! It was built to pull, and pull hard. Your 350 could be rated at a lower hp because it was given more torque. Obviously, in either case, it wasn't enough power to get itself out of the way!

[Brody]

I don't think Colorado Auto specializes in any vehicle. They just have a bunch. All the trucks, vans, 4xs and SUVs are pretty much on the SW side of the lot. They are another 'pick and pull' salvage yard. You can walk out of there with a 5 gallon bucket of bolts, relays, etc, etc, for $10 or so...