Hello Need Help

[roger2010]

I own a s-10 with the 4.3 liter in it. I know the thing is a gas hog. If I drive as well as possible I can get in the 20 mpg range. I wondering if anyone has any ideas to bump that up a few mpg. I am a college student and don't have alot of money to spend on a different vehicle. I like my s10 because I have to haul things most weekends? thank you.

[FrugalFloyd]

Hi,

Is yours AT or MT? Air your tires to maximum sidewall pressure, keep your speeds down, and coast as much as possible. I had an AT Chevy Astro with the 4.3, and the best I could do on long trips was 22 mpg.

If yours is an MT, and you're comfortable EOCing, you can gain a lot by doing that. In any case, coasting to stops from 3-4 blocks away wastes a lot less gas than having your foot on the gas half a block from the stop, and then throwing your momentum away by jamming on the brakes.

Your truck will get its best mpg going slow in top gear. 65 mph is better than 70, 60 is better than 65, 55 is better than 60, 45 is better than 55, and 35 or 40 is better than 45.

[bowtieguy]

are you able to sell your truck, and buy a more efficient car or truck?

if hauling is an absolute must, you could buy a hatch back car or 4 cyl truck(preferably a 5 speed). i've bought "project" vehicles before pretty cheap. are you able to buy cheap vehicles that need TLC and do repairs yourself?

no mods will really yield you much in mpg except those related to the driver.

good luck!

[theholycow]

^Good posts.

The S10 is easy and nearly free to lower the rear, although the only near-free way to lower the front is cutting the coil springs (assuming it's 2WD) which stinks. Lowering may help a little on the highway.

Don't forget to coast more and accelerate/brake less, and not just approaching stop signs/red lights; do it at turns too. Keep a long following distance from the car in front of you so you don't have to constantly adjust your speed by braking and accelerating.

[IndyFetch]

The 4.3L V6 is tough to get good mileage out of. If I remember correctly, the 4.3L S10 was rated at 15-16 city and 21-22 highway. The torquey V6 may be able to compensate for a taller final drive ratio, if that is available to you. If you have a 3.73, for example, you may be able to swap to a 3.23 for better fuel economy. However, if the transmission gearing is really tall, you may end up spending a lot of time in gears 1-3 and less time in overdrive, which will contradict the benefits.

[VetteOwner]

Alright as a owner of a 4.3L blazer 5 speed and a 4 banger 5 speed s10, things ive heard to try are putting an electric fan on it, get rid of that clutch fan.

bump tire psi up to 35psi, since yours is a pickup getting or making a cheap toneau cover helps, drive around 65mph and float behind trucks and busses on the interstate.

you wont see anything from a grille block, lowering really didnt help me too much (not for the cost anyways)

coasting helps alot, if its manual shift every 10 mph if its auto learn to accelerate so it shifts at 2Krpm

the 2.2L 4 banger s10 isnt bad, alot more mods you can do to it to improve fuel economy especially if its a 98+ my 95 with underdrive pullies, efan, lowered 2" toneau cover, drafting, shifting low, exhaust header, no cat, windows up at interstate speed, would routenely get 27, insterstate to get to school and back (4.5 hrs each way) got low 30's if by myself, if i drafted hardcore i saw low 40's(wouldn't recommend drafting the way i did haha)

oh another thing dont leave the truck on defrost because it cycles the AC compressor to dry out the air (you can actually unplug the compressor wires, should be just a 2 wire plug really close to the pulley) and everything will work just fine , just not AC of course haha)

[CHVYPWR]

I've had an S10 4x4, 4.4/auto for 3 years now. I had a square body Blazer up until January, noe a '95 ext cab. With the Blazer, I aired up the tires to 38psi, dropped the front one inch by loosening the torsion bars, removed the roof rack, and the biggest thing was changing my driving habits. I went from 15mpg to low 18's. My '95 ext cab gets only slightly better mpg than the blazer, but I havn't done much to it other than air pressure and letting the auto trans shift at 2k. Electric fan and front lowering are coming as soon as it warms up.
The best S10 for milage I had was an '83 2wd with a 2.0 and 4-spd manual. Got 22mpg beating the snot out of it!