where to begin

[stranger ranger]

Hello,
I apologize if not in correct forum.
I'm new to owning a full size pu and I absolutely love it.
However, I know it comes with the territory, but lets talk fuel mileage for a moment.

I recently bought a 2006 silverado LT ext cab short bed 2500 hd 6.0L and nv4500, bone stock and a buddy of mine has a 2005 sierra sle ext cab short bed 2500 hd 6.0L and nv4500, with magnaflow ss cat back, spectre cai, hypertech pp III, msd super conductor plug wires with the NGK plugs and ported and polished intake with the coolant line removed from the TB and a tonneau cover on the bed

With all that into consideration, the trucks are identical when it comes to body style, drive train and weight. The last difference is on the 2006 (mine) it has stock 245 tires and he is running 33x12.50.17's with aftermarket wheels.

I'm getting 12 mpg right now. Maybe its because I'm not driving it correctly yet, i don't know, i sorta pap drive it 90% of the time, but regardless, that's what I'm getting. My buddy on the other hand is getting right around 18 20 mpg and he's got a heavy foot. Now i've borrowed this truck before and drove it to work and that's what the truck gets on average, and he pulls this thing a lot and when he pulls, cars, jeep, w/e he get about 12 mpg pulling. Why is this? Do all those mods really help or am I missing something here. Bigger tire better for the highway? I cant even imagine what I will get if I hook up the trailer to it and start pulling some weight around, gosh. If all these mods help, well, i'm calling summit tomorrow.

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

[phantom405]

Do not follow his modding lead. Look around on this site for more advice. First off...DO NOT get a hypertech! Get ahold of Nelson or blackbear for a good mail order tune. A good free flowing exhaust. Really no need to get mad wires unless you just want to spend the money. You can make your own cai. And of course the tb coolant bypass is a good free mod to help keep iat's down. Do some searching before you start buyin mods. You'll save yourself alot of money and self asskickings in the future

[txarkitekt]

Good advice Dan. Yeah--what he said is pretty much correct.

The Spectre CAI is a good piece priced correctly.
The Magnaflow exhaust is also a recommended addition.
The plug wires and tonneau cover will not make a difference.
Do the free mod of bypassing the TB.
Replace the stock TB with a polished and ported unit like your friend has or simply buy a larger diameter unit.
And make sure to get a custom tune. Nelson, Blackbear, Wheatley, etc. Do not use a plug-and-play programmer. Waste of money.
And yes--all of these easy mods WILL allow your truck to have more power and better gas mileage.

[stranger ranger]

i'm a newb so i have to ask, whats wrong with the hypertech? or any other plug and play?

[txarkitekt]

They only alter a few different functions and have standard, preset modified tables. Sure, it is better than stock, but you can buy a custom tune for the same $$$ and get waaaaaay more out of it.

For example--would you wanna spend $100 and get a massage or spend $100 and get a massage WITH a happy ending?

[phantom405]

^^^nice analogy

I started with a hpp3 on my last truck. I lost gas mileage and it made less power. The only thing I noticed was the firmer shifts. Waste of $300. We seen predator programmer make 2hp less than stock on the dyno. Don't make the mistake of buying one.

[stranger ranger]

not that i'm arguing with any of you, i'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row here.

his pp III is unlocked with some "hot unlock" code, which gives it more timing and junk i guess. Do you really get that much more out of a custom tune? I do not know of anyone who has it but everyone on all the message boards suggests it.

just being a newb, sorry.

[phantom405]

Do not get a hypertech. Period. The cannot even come close to what a custom tune will give you

[stranger ranger]

good enough for me. thanks guys.

[randomhero]

Hello,
and ported and polished intake

Hmm I'd be curious to know how you polish a plastic intake.