AUTigers

Miss-spelled Thread Title sorry....

Ok, I'm in High School so I don't have a big budget but I want to fix up my truck and need some ideas. I already have to get the headliner redone, but I can get that really cheap since my girls daddy owns a car shop. My main question is what can I do by myself for free to fix it up a little or can get for cheep? Also what would be the best sounding exhaust for very little?

I cant get a Picture of my truck up till latter, but its stock everything and everything is pretty decent looking. Its an extended cab with a 5.7L V-8 automatic.
The paint job and body is exactly like this


Any suggestions at all are appreciated.

Also any ideas on ways to get better MPG is always welcome, I get 15 in city right now

therewolf

The standard 1500 Silverado series is a classic BAMF in it's own right. Wash & wax it, keep it nice. Clean the windows, inside and out. Wipe dry with newspaper.(Dealership trick.)

Scout around, these trucks are numerically popular. You may find any number of good used custom rims, chrome bumpers,etc for sale cheap by Silverado owners.

Go to ecomodders.com for gas mileage suggestions. see "100 TIPS for hyper-miling"

If it's 342 differential gears, that's as good as it gets for economy, gear-wise. Your "Service Parts Identification" sticker in your glove box tells the tale.

Do something about tailgate drag, either a tonneau cover , a cap, or lower it or remove it.
This alone will add @3MPG.

Slightly(1 or 2 lbs.) overinflate your tires. Gives you 1-2 MPG. Better shocks.(gas) @.5 MPG.
Tune-up-@.75MPG. It all adds up...

in2pro

Good write up rivereye, I think the myth-busters did a bit on the tail gate drag and found that it is actually better to leave the gate up because the air build up on the gate creates a area of low pressure that over all helps with MPG and removing the gate made the over all MPG worse...
Anyone else remember that episode?

in2pro

Here it is...

Tailgate Up vs. Tailgate Down
This was revisited in More Myths Revisited.
Myth statement Status Notes
It is more fuel efficient to drive a pick-up truck with its tailgate down, rather than up. Busted
Driving with the tailgate down actually increased drag on the pick-up and caused it to consume fuel faster than the identical truck driven with the tailgate up. It was later revealed that the closed tailgate creates a locked vortex flow that created a smoother flow of air over the truck. With the tailgate down, the trapped vortex was dissipated and the drag increased.

therewolf

Well, I don't know about the tailgate up/down theory from personal experience, but I do know that when I added my rather heavy, but aerodynamic Century fiberglass cap to the back of my 2500HD CCLB, it improved my gas mileage by 3MPG.

Blindsight

I'm not so sure I believe your numbers, but that's from my experience. I've done everything I can [afford] to improve my gas mileage, and have only improved it 2MPG.

Also; mythbusters also showed that adding a 'tailgate net' and removing your tailgate was the most efficient way to improve your gas mileage. It still locks in enough of the 'low pressure vortex' to keep the vehicle aerodynamic as if the tailgate were still there, and the weight loss of taking the tailgate off was what really showed results.

therewolf

A tailgate net's going to save you a potload of money right out the door compared to the alternatives, also.