Ray Romano

... to get better MPG with the high price of gas? I pumped up my tires to 32psi on each corner. Screw better handling! lol

sunflower 1972

Nothing.

Rescue Rogers

I drive my Prius...when I want to have fun I drive my big block 12 mpg tri power dinosaur killing fun machine, Screw Greta Thunberg, Joe Biden and all the tree huggers that think a coal fired power plant making electricity for their electric car that has battery ingredients from all over the world is clean or carbon friendly. My 54 year old monster is probably carbon nuetral by now. Do I feel the pain, sure I do, then I just spin the tires say, screw it and go have fun. Just dont care. It wont change until FJB is gone and someone with some sense gets in and gets the pipelines and oil leases openned back up

4-vettes

Been running 32PSI for years. Added EFI a couple years ago.
That did help.
That's about all.

Ray Romano

You mates have been dealing w/ high petrol prices for decades!

Gold Dragon

Moved to an area where gas is less expensive.

4-vettes

And it's only going up and up over here!

Richard454

I figured if 8 cylinders would burn a lot of gas...Why not add 4 more? And added a bumper sticker-

grady white

I have a 75 L48 and it still hurts 😡

bluthundr

Try a smaller carb -

Pale Roader

You know... everyone jokes, everyone goes on and on about 'smiles per gallon', and then ov course there are always my absolute favorites... the rich guys that tell the poor that they simply dont get to play... but the fact is, almost EVERYONE in here could benefit from a more efficient car. Perhaps its the wording that gets the sledgehammer types upset, but the word 'efficient' isn't a bad word, no... not even for Corvette guys. Many Corvette guys seem to actually take pride in how inefficient their prized cars are, and i just dont understand that. Thats like bragging about being 50lbs overweight, having smokers lungs, and ED. 4mpg might be fun for shocking the Prius crowd back onto the heels ov their hemp Chucks... but here? No, man. No.

In the last few months, in an attempt to decide which way to go with my car (454, aluminum top-end 350, or all aluminum modern V8), i have done more exhaustive, till my eyes bleed research on fuel efficiency, especially with big blocks (yeah yeah... laugh it up...), and i have absolutely concluded you can have your cake and eat it too. Hell, even the big block guys can play this game. No... you'll never match a 4.6DOHC/5-speed for mph AND power... but you could absolutely match one with a bad driver (which most have).

I've seen 427/454 guys report anywhere from 19mpg CITY... and 25mpg hwy to guys (more than a few guys...) reporting 3-4mpg. The majority report single digits. This is from stripped early C3's with OD sticks all the way up to 3+3 crew cab 4x4 dualies with automatics. These are real numbers, extrapolated from hundreds and hundreds ov posts, and they do not include the outliers (which may or may not have been honest). About the only place big block guys truly suffer, is in city driving, as it seems the big block Chev gets about 20mpg just idling... but i have found dozens ov examples ov guys getting 13-16 MPG in town, more than enough to introduce a pattern. As for small block Chevy... the undisputed King ov the hypermilers is now getting FIFTY MPG in a massive 94 Caprice wagon... with a 350TBI... so while that is rather... EXTREME (Gilbert Godfreid voice)... it suddenly makes even 30MPG seem like cake. So the guys getting single digit MPG in your 350 Corvettes... listen up.

Now... ov course we didn't buy these cars to hypermile; pulse and go, kill the engine on hills, and drive under the speed limit everywhere we go. I dont know about you, but i bought a Corvette to drive FAST. ALL the time. Myself, i'm building a daily driven (4 season) road racer. Basically... i enjoyed the living **** out ov my 2000 Celica GTS (a 2500lb 180HP i4/6-speed go cart) that i want to basically build a C3 Vette to do the same thing... or get as close to as possible (just a LOT faster). I think i can. In that car, driving faster than most here drive, i got about 30mpg mixed... which for me is about 50/50 even. In a C3, with some modern tech and a lot ov money, i think i can match that. But thats later, for now? I'm shooting for a mixed 20mpg... even if i end up with a 427/454. There you go laughing again... well read on...


So, now that the very few still reading this are rolling their eyes... i'll get to it. Just off the top o' me 'ead... here are a few things you can do that absolutely do not affect performance or fun in your hotrod. In fact, they'll probably improve it.

1, TUNE TUNE TUNE. I find it interesting that both the most successful hypermilers, AND racers, both use a wideband O2 sensor and other very cheap, basic tools to tune. Even guys running big Holley double pumpers on big strokers can put out decent numbers... but you have to learn to really tune it. I dont mean tune for emissions or mileage, i just mean that a LOT ov guys think they can 'eyeball' it (eardrum it?). Some get close, most dont, very few get it perfect. Learn about vacuum advance and timing. Obviously, EFI is even better, but we dont even need to go to that extreme. I wont pretend to be anything near an expert on this, but its the one thing thats been driven into me, reading about hypermilers and winning racers alike.

2, Tune the CAR. The number one trick all those "cheaters" out there that run a full second (or three) faster than their combo should know... is that the tuning does not stop with the carb and timing, or even the whole engine. There is a LOT ov speed in that car. Far as i'm concerned, unless you're running with the (top 10) F.A.S.T. Pure Stock crowd, you've got work to do. There is NOTHING in those cars that isn't addressed.

3, Check your driving. This is where most people just fail. Maybe you had to spend the last 30 years driving an old big block while on a Honda scooter budget like me, because i find the ones with all the money are usually THE worst drivers on the road. The starving artist life isn't for everyone, but man, you LEARN SKILLS... Again, i'm not talking about hypermiling... and driving like that guy that has a line-up behind him 10 cars long, all waiting for him to pull over so they can tool him... just understanding when you are using gas to move the car (either slow or fast), and when you're just wasting it. There is a LOT ov MPG in this... and again, it does NOT affect fun. In fact, it'll make you a far better, smoother, more slick racer. Which do you want to be? The spaz that drifts around the track, burning tires, stomping the gas, stomping the brakes... or the smooth, no-drama guy that laps him?

4, MAKE THE CAR FASTER. Wait, what? Thats counter-intuitive, right? Nope. Dont think like the racers. Think like the winner. Think like the wizards that have waiting lists a year long for engine builds or chassis work. Most guys lose a lot ov HP in the exhaust. That is 'free' power that helps MPG... as opposed to say, adding a big cam, or bigger carb, or more cubes). Optimize the air induction SYSTEM. Optimize the ignition. Quit buying 30 year old cams (and heads). Quit thinking about intake cc's and flow numbers when buying heads and start thinking about combustion chamber design. Quit thinking big piston domes, massive ports, massive cams, and that you "need" a stroker to win races/do better burnouts. I have a bone stock N/A 4.6L 2004 Mach 1 engine on a stand in my shop that makes more power AND torque than the mighty L89 427. Its 281 cubic inches, thats almost 150 cid less... It has less compression, FAR smaller head ports, and cams that look like pushrods compared to the 427's. Now, thats an extreme comparison... apple to watermelon... but it makes a point (its also 20 year old technology now). There is a LOT ov nice, juicy modern tech out there for the almost 70 year old SBC. Look into it.

5, MAKE THE CAR FASTER. How's your alignment? Do the brakes drag? How's your aero? And the most important one... How's your diet? What does it weigh? Light makes might, and it also makes efficiency. One thing that continues to astound me about these C3's, is how light they can be made. You can save hundreds ov pounds... hundreds... without using a single aftermarket part (some years more than others). Ever notice how your ride changes (in 4-seat muscle cars obviously), when two big friends get in? What if you could drive alone in your C3 and 'lose' those two friends? Permanently? And not that it needs to be said, but dropping a pile ov weight will not only make you faster, but it'll make life easier for all the moving parts on the car.


So thats just the overview. I'm sick ov typing. I'll leave this with some sage words from some anonymous sage on the H.A.M.B.

"NASCAR 358's get up to 5mpg averaging speed over 190mph. If you are getting similar mileage on the street, you are either dumping fuel into the crankcase, or onto the ground."

(i googled this, and it said 2-5mpg, depending on track (but still race speeds), but crazy enough, it also said an estimated 14-18mpg when driving under caution... 50ish MPH!).

SEVNT6

I've been driving the Vette's little Asian step-brother more...


STA71120

67:72

Only agreeable to me if all oil companies sign a non-export restriction. But even then, prices will always be driven by profit potential and what the market will bear.

skb40466

As long as there is fuel, I will be driving my Vette. Plain and simple.

Ray Romano

AKjeff

clipped...
I've decided we're doing mother earth a favor by keeping the plastic non-biodegradable bodies out of the land fill as well.

Mr D.

If I'm concerned about the cost of gas for my 73 I just drive my 2019 3500HD Dulley D'Max.

lowbuck72

My Honda Monkey is supposed to get 156 miles per gallon. I must ride it too fast cause I only got 131 mpg on my last tank. But in all honesty is it worth 50 cents a mile to drive my C3? For a short cruise, hell yeah, but I'm not gonna do a 100 mile day.

wwiiavfan

I have a Ford Edge with the twin turbo v6, a half-ton GMC, my '71 Vette, and a 2017 Camaro SS with the 455 hp LT1. The Camaro far and away gets the best mileage (30+ on the hiway), if I can keep my foot out of it. But I can't keep my foot out of it, it's too much fun.
The Vette is for sure lighter, and probably more areodynamic, so if I could lift the drivetrain from the Camaro and slip it into the Vette, hmmm....

71 Green 454

Saw this '79 for sale on craigslist this morning. Greta sticker 'How Dare You' above the side pipe exhaust.