VORTEC 350 chip and programs

[chris1]

I am looking for fuel economy out of a vortec 350 and i was wondering if a chip or efi live would help me achieve that. Thank you

I have a 98 chevy k2500 with a brand new 350 long block and rebuilt 4l80e with a shift kit. The truck is on a 6 inch lift and 35s.


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[michael hurd]

Fuel economy, 6" lift and 35 inch rubber don't go together in the same sentence. As soon as you bolt on bigger rubber and put it up in the air, your fuel economy will go for a tank.

Short trips, city driving, drive thru's and idling are the major culprits even if everything has been optimized. Do you have a MIL on?

What you can do: keep the tires properly inflated, if you haven't done an alignment, shell out a few bucks and do that. When the tires are scrubbing, it eats mileage.

Did you install a new cap/rotor, plug wires and plugs when the engine was installed? Air filter? If you haven't done so, remove the MAF sensor and clean it with a sensor cleaner. Remove and clean the throttle body. ( if it hasn't been done already )

Oxygen sensors: Hardly anyone changes these out, but they aren't terribly expensive. If in doubt, change them out, at least the pre-cat ones.

Are there cats on it? Are they plugged?

 

[SwampHound]

What's your definition of fuel economy? Like Michael said, lift and bigger tires are gonna tank your MPG. There are some things that can be done to get back the lost gas mileage. Have any more info on the truck? Other mods? What MPG are you getting currently?

 

[chris1]

Thanks for the response. The truck is already aligned and has a new cap, rotor, wires and plugs. I originally bought the truck without cats or 02 sensors but I bought new ones and installed them. Right now the truck is getting about 8 mpg. Like I said its a 3/4 ton on 35s with stock 3.73 gearing, had a new cold air intake 2 row radiator, engine has 9.5/1 compression, i rebuilt the trans this summer with a transco shift kit and just a regular converter it has stock catys and a 3inch dual exhaust from cats back. I am not looking to get great milage out of it, just more. Another thing I have been thinking of trying is running 4.10s but that may make the fuel economy worse.


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[oohunter04oo]

Thanks for the response. The truck is already aligned and has a new cap, rotor, wires and plugs. I originally bought the truck without cats or 02 sensors but I bought new ones and installed them. Right now the truck is getting about 8 mpg. Like I said its a 3/4 ton on 35s with stock 3.73 gearing, had a new cold air intake 2 row radiator, engine has 9.5/1 compression, i rebuilt the trans this summer with a transco shift kit and just a regular converter it has stock catys and a 3inch dual exhaust from cats back. I am not looking to get great milage out of it, just more. Another thing I have been thinking of trying is running 4.10s but that may make the fuel economy worse.


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You really can't expect any great fuel mileage with a lifted truck. Lower gears will save a bunch of strain on your trans though. I'd recommend 4.56's or at least 4.10's. And a tune. And the key is keep your foot out of it, but if u get lower gears and the tune you won't need to keep your foot in it as much for normal driving.

 

[chris1]

Thanks I'll look into gearing. But do you really think a tune is a good idea if so I have access to efi live which we run on our cummins, I am not familiar with its capabilities on a gas engine though


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[michael hurd]

3.73+ 35's.

Hmm. I have 30" tall tires with 3.73's and I would say that's a decent ratio, but I have a 305 and my expectations are a bit different. 2K rpm gets me rolling around 110km/hr IIRC. In the winter ( we get damn cold here ) I got around 10.5 MPG, but that's with a 15 minute warm up in the morning, a short commute, and another 15 minute warm up before going home. City driving is terrible on mileage. Haven't calculated mileage this summer yet, but the summer / fall before I was getting about 17 mpg prior to front end work, a front wheel bearing replacement and an alignment.

4.10 will make the truck a bit more responsive and less sluggish, but I don't think you will pick up any mileage.

You could swap out the ecm to a newer one, that requires re-pinning the wiring. Faster processor, more widespread support for tuning, and from anecdotal reports, a slight bump in mileage. Search out "0411 pcm swap". You will need to PM a member ( Lextech ) for the correct pin out / wiring info for your year of truck.

 

[chris1]

Alright I'll look into it thanks


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