OK performance nuts. If a person didn’t want to get super fancy or put a hole lot of money into an 04’ Armada 4x4…What would be the best and/or simplest way to increase horsepower and gas mileage? All without shorting the life of the expected engine life and staying California emissions compliant. What are the costs? Thanks for your input and knowlege. :cool:

Try this:

http://www.ekeystone.com/images/00/PartImages/T57/product_shot.jpg

:schla24: :schla24: :schla24:

Honestly, the only way to get better mileage is to have different driving style. Maintain the truck regularly, drive like a grandma and go easy on the gas pedal.

Cheers !!!

My take is anytime you increase horsepower, it's hard to increase gas milage. I mean if I got an extra say 15-20 HP, I'll be flooring it all day long, can't be good for gas milage. :D

:rolleyes: The Tornado? fuel additives? blue blockers? late night tv. that crap will never work. I mean like adding a new air intake or exhaust system. Which could be recommened? :teeth:

Neither will get you any gas mileage increases. Exhaust will get you some extra top end HP at the cost of low end torque. This means you'll have higher top end potental but might loose some low end pull 0-60. When they start coming out with promised parts, Heads, cams, etc. then you can add power. Exhaust is only good for adding power if it is restricting the system but this isn't a problem with most modern cars. In fact, Civics and other rice rockets actually loose a lot of power when someone bolts on a fart pipe because they don't have the backpressure necessary to make the engine work optimaly. If you want a good note or look, get the exhaust. Intake is worthless untess you like the look. If you add a supercharger and heads, the story changes. ;)

If you want to save gas, accelerate slowly from stop and use cruise control as much as possible. Keep the speed under 74 and you'll save a lot. I improved mine by 4 mpg doing this, vs. fast starts and cruising at 80-85. :excellent

Agree w/ tripleblack. Another simple (and cheap) thing to do is to make sure your tires are inflated properly (this alone saved me 1 1/2 mpg) and also run synthetic oil versus the conventional that comes w/ the vehicle.

If you want to save gas, accelerate slowly from stop and use cruise control as much as possible. Keep the speed under 74 and you'll save a lot. I improved mine by 4 mpg doing this, vs. fast starts and cruising at 80-85. :excellent

If you are not in a hurry I find that the Mada gets great mileage between 60-65 mph. I was traveling down I-4 from Orlando to Tampa and reset the computer just to see what I would get. No load except for me 1/2 tank of gas (87) cruise set at about 62ish. The computer said I was getting 21.4 mpg. Strictly highway miles. Not bad for a 5600 lb BEAST. :amazing:

If you are not in a hurry I find that the Mada gets great mileage between 60-65 mph. I was traveling down I-4 from Orlando to Tampa and reset the computer just to see what I would get. No load except for me 1/2 tank of gas (87) cruise set at about 62ish. The computer said I was getting 21.4 mpg. Strictly highway miles. Not bad for a 5600 lb BEAST. :amazing:
You go 65 on I-4? I didn't know someone could drive that slow. ;)

You go 65 on I-4? I didn't know someone could drive that slow. ;)

I didn't either. I thought 60 was just something you tested your acceleration to. Just crusin though (slow lane of course). Only guy I passed was some beater pulling a trailer. Not the norm for me, just testing the possible mileage of the truck. Couldn't stand to go any slower (wouldn't be safe either). About got run over at 60. I feel more comfortable at 80 but gas prices discourage me from this behavior... 'sometimes'.

Agree w/ tripleblack. Another simple (and cheap) thing to do is to make sure your tires are inflated properly (this alone saved me 1 1/2 mpg) and also run synthetic oil versus the conventional that comes w/ the vehicle.

Sorry but I don't bye it. Not only have I recently changed to synthetic with no difference in mpg it really doesn't make much sense. How is a different oil going to give better mpg? There is such a small change in the amount of friction and weight in the oil that on modern engines I don't see how there would be any noticable change. If someone has a good explanation please elaborate, I would like to know.

I don't buy either but the arguement is that less friction burns up less hp. So engine load is slightly less. THus, better mpg.
I'd buy like 1% better, maybe.

I don't buy either but the arguement is that less friction burns up less hp. So engine load is slightly less. THus, better mpg.
I'd buy like 1% better, maybe.
I'd say it was negligable on average. After a fresh change, probably no difference. 3000 miles later, maybe some but not signifigant. However,the wear long term on the motor is worth the use of synthetic. ;)

OK performance nuts. If a person didn’t want to get super fancy or put a hole lot of money into an 04’ Armada 4x4…What would be the best and/or simplest way to increase horsepower and gas mileage? All without shorting the life of the expected engine life and staying California emissions compliant. What are the costs? Thanks for your input and knowlege. :cool:
Drive downhill.... :)

Drive downhill.... :)

Never drive into the wind......

Never drive into the wind......
That goes for spittin' and pissin' also. Good advise. ;)
If you have to drive into the wind, try tacking back and forth.

Better keep it really clean and waxed too. I'm sure that dirt and dead bugs increase the amount of drag. :itsfriday

That goes for spittin' and pissin' also. Good advise. ;)
If you have to drive into the wind, try tacking back and forth.

But, then you'd wear out your tires.........

Mileage is a product of how much power is required to overcome drag. Drag is dependent on a few items, none of which you can really effect:

drag coefficient - result of vehicle design (and your most recent wax job)
denisty of air - move to some place less humid
area - basically the dimensions of the front of the truck

But drag is also dependent on your velocity squared. So the biggest adjustment you can make to increase your mileage is to drive slower. From another website...

"A car cruising on a highway at 50 mph (80 km/h) may require only 10 horsepower (7 kW) to overcome air drag, but that same car at 100 mph (160 km/h) requires 80 hp (60 kW). This is because the force exerted by drag quadruples (2² = 4), and the power required equals force times velocity."

Mileage is a product of how much power is required to overcome drag. Drag is dependent on a few items, none of which you can really effect:

drag coefficient - result of vehicle design (and your most recent wax job)
denisty of air - move to some place less humid
area - basically the dimensions of the front of the truck

But drag is also dependent on your velocity squared. So the biggest adjustment you can make to increase your mileage is to drive slower. From another website...

"A car cruising on a highway at 50 mph (80 km/h) may require only 10 horsepower (7 kW) to overcome air drag, but that same car at 100 mph (160 km/h) requires 80 hp (60 kW). This is because the force exerted by drag quadruples (2² = 4), and the power required equals force times velocity."
That's not funny. :crikey: ;)

Mileage is a product of how much power is required to overcome drag. Drag is dependent on a few items, none of which you can really effect:

drag coefficient - result of vehicle design (and your most recent wax job)
denisty of air - move to some place less humid
area - basically the dimensions of the front of the truck

But drag is also dependent on your velocity squared. So the biggest adjustment you can make to increase your mileage is to drive slower. From another website...

"A car cruising on a highway at 50 mph (80 km/h) may require only 10 horsepower (7 kW) to overcome air drag, but that same car at 100 mph (160 km/h) requires 80 hp (60 kW). This is because the force exerted by drag quadruples (2² = 4), and the power required equals force times velocity."

Chop the top
Remove the side mirrors
Ace the roof rack
Lower the beast
Record your trip mileage wrong (this is the easiest way to increase MPG)
Only drive somewhere if there is a tailwind
Those will all increase your MPG!

Being towed or driving off a cliff also improves your economy. :schla24:

There are other things that can effect horse power and mileage that are staight physics. 1) Weight is a big one and 2) Resistance another. 1) Unsprung weight in the form of wheels and tires. Most of us don't have the time or inclination to find things that we can re-engineer on our vehicles (ie frames, large heavy members of the stucture of the truck) that would make them lighter and therefore easier to push down the road for the engine but you can effect things that most of us upgrade and don't think about. If you are going to jump into the upgrade arena, lighter wheels can make a differance one way or the other. Instead of just looking for appearance, pay attention to the weight of the wheels. If you upgrade to a plus 2 or 4 wheel and its heavier than stock, it will effectively steal horse power and gas milage. If you can afford the more expensive and exotic wheels that are much lighter. Go for them as the will help fight the gas monster. 2) Resistance- most of us also have no way to affect the design of the vehicle on the outside but you can effect direct resistance on the motor. Most would say that the exhaust is a big resistance path a motor has to over come.. True. Another is intake... True. But one most don't think about is the clutch fan that the Armada has. This is a direct link to the motor that is robbing horse power and mileage. Most, depending on the design steal upwards of 2- 10% of the power your motor makes before it gets to the rear wheels . It takes power to move a fan through the air and that power is supplied by the motor. One area i am looking into for upgrading on my mada is the clutch fan. Several companies make replacement electric fans that will not directly place drag on the motor. I checked with Flex-a-lite who is one of the biggest makers of replacement fans and accessories and they have the 04 Armada on their web site but not the 05. It takes some time to develop these things so I'm hoping that will come soon. Maybe if enough of us inquire they will move faster, but who knows. Hope this helps/intregs someone for future thoughts about mods to the Mada... :teeth:

Mileage increases are very tough to measure because there are so many factors involed. You miss a few lights and you will get worse mileage on that tank as compared to the last tank. You need a real time monitor to really compare and even then the conditions and road needs to be identical.

The point is there is no majic bullet. No one item that will work majic and get you 25mpg. That does not mean if something makes a small difference that it is bad. From the posts above I can tell people know what tends to work. If you ask me the more of these things you do can only help. Keep an eye on cost vs benefit, avoid technologies that overlap and you can decide how far you would like to go with it.

For me Synthetic is a given for many reasons. Better mileage is just one reason. Friction is reduced and is lower and more consistent during the entire time in your engine and you can extend the oil changes by more than double making it equal or less expensive to run. It burns off at a much higher temp for added protection if your cooling system lets you down.

I like those magnetic fuel savers that clamp on the fuel line. They seem to make more difference on smaler engines mileage wise especially if it has a manual trasmission (I get 2 mpg improvement in my BMW) but like on all cars I have installed them on idle is instatly smoothed out and low end power is increased a hair, midrange and top end are unaffected. Injectors stay like-new-clean and will clear out if they were dirty. On the stock Armada if you tend to lurch off the line and then back off the throttle (hard to controll if you are trying to have a light foot) it becomes velvet smooth off the line, extremely easy to contol like an electric motor (cost $15.00).

My next mod is a throttle body spacer. It should increase low end power and generally anything that increases low end will increase mileage in the city. I read some other posts and this mod alone gives you a 1/2 to 1 mpg increase with everything the same (using a Gtech).

For me, the combination of synthetic oil, magnetic gas saver and throttle body spacer will make it easier to get better mileage than without these changes.

Mileage increases are very tough to measure because there are so many factors involed. You miss a few lights and you will get worse mileage on that tank as compared to the last tank. You need a real time monitor to really compare and even then the conditions and road needs to be identical.

The point is there is no majic bullet. No one item that will work majic and get you 25mpg. That does not mean if something makes a small difference that it is bad. From the posts above I can tell people know what tends to work. If you ask me the more of these things you do can only help. Keep an eye on cost vs benefit, avoid technologies that overlap and you can decide how far you would like to go with it.

For me Synthetic is a given for many reasons. Better mileage is just one reason. Friction is reduced and is lower and more consistent during the entire time in your engine and you can extend the oil changes by more than double making it equal or less expensive to run. It burns off at a much higher temp for added protection if your cooling system lets you down.

I like those magnetic fuel savers that clamp on the fuel line. They seem to make more difference on smaler engines mileage wise especially if it has a manual trasmission (I get 2 mpg improvement in my BMW) but like on all cars I have installed them on idle is instatly smoothed out and low end power is increased a hair, midrange and top end are unaffected. Injectors stay like-new-clean and will clear out if they were dirty. On the stock Armada if you tend to lurch off the line and then back off the throttle (hard to controll if you are trying to have a light foot) it becomes velvet smooth off the line, extremely easy to contol like an electric motor (cost $15.00).

My next mod is a throttle body spacer. It should increase low end power and generally anything that increases low end will increase mileage in the city. I read some other posts and this mod alone gives you a 1/2 to 1 mpg increase with everything the same (using a Gtech).

For me, the combination of synthetic oil, magnetic gas saver and throttle body spacer will make it easier to get better mileage than without these changes.
Where do you get magnets for the fuel line from. I have never seen these before?

They are money magnets, they have an attraction to the money in your wallet. I will sell you a bridge in Iraq too.

The only magnet that could improve your gas mileage would be a powerful electromagnet mounted on the front of your Armada with which to grab onto the vehicle ahead of you. :rolleyes:

If you add the magnets, the electric blower, and the spinner tail pipes, you will have a machine that can't be matched in fuel economy and performance to boot.