Chevy Silverado - Continued VII

mgdvhman

I don't experience any Ping with lower octane in my 6.0....but I do notice it Idles better with 93 Octane....so that's what I use....$1.76 a gallon though!

Quad,
.........................................
(I don't know what to say??)
(I think it's YOU that wants the Tundra...Not Ryan!)
- Tim

swobig

(a little to the right) too. Nothing too major, but will stop and have it looked at...

dberry

9.5 to 1 compression is about as high as 87 octane will support without consistently pinging. I put that ratio in a car engine one time and found 87 to ping occassionally when the engine was set for the best performance. 89 solved this.

After buying a couple of new vehicles, I also found that after 2 years, 87 would ping occasionally. I have heard others make the same comment. Probably has something to do with the ever changing EPA requirements gasoline.

wallifishrmn

Has anyone purchased the chevy factory fiberglass running boards. I order san extended cab 4 door 2000. What's your opinion of them or comments????
Thanks Paul

26andrew1

I would suggest not to wait until the gas light comes on. The fuel pumps don't much care to suck up crap and air, tends to shorten there life.

swobig

are pretty hard to change too. Just changed one on a 94' F-250 and it took all day cause I had to remove the gas tank. Not a fun job...

rwagoner

The gas light comes on when there are at least 3-4 gallons left in the tank. I doubt that waiting for the light will damage anything. I used to let my S-10 go down as low as the gauge would read ... also never had a problem in 120,000 miles.

One problem when you DON'T go down is that all the muck builds up over the years when you fill the tank too early, so the one time later when you DO go low, the pump stops not from air (which does kill it but not as fast as you think) but from crap clogging it up, making it run slow and burning it out. I would bet that the crap kills more fuel pumps than pumping air does.

My S-10 fuel pump sucked air many times. First when it was new and I was testing to see exactly how far the gauge reads when the tank is absolutely empty and another time when the gauge read wrong and I got almost stranded on a highway from low fuel. The splashing got me to a station, but the pump ran dry many many times during that drive.

I run my Silverado a few days past the "light."

Richard

In So. Cal, where Costco gas was $1.29 at last fill (about a week ago).

narg

I just got my 2000 LS Ext cab 5.3L. Traded in a 96 5.0L Ext cab. I was able to show enough difference in the old 5.0L (and in a new Malibu too) that anything above 87 Octane lowered my MPG. I'm wondering if the 5.3L will do the same. And, just recently GM put out a bulletin that using the wrong Octane will do this. And, I never noticed any power difference or pinging with either. My dad drives a 5.7L Camero, and his car requires 91 octane. If he burns 87, he gets bad MPG. Great MPG with 91 though. The Malibu mentioned earlier is a '99 with the 3.4 L V6. With 91 Octane we got only 14 MPG! With 87 Octane, we get around 20 MPG (in city). Engines are so finitely tuned these days...

wilmac

www.wheels.com/reference/assembly/html/index.htm

dmr3

Walli wrote:Has anyone purchased the chevy factory fiberglass
running boards. I order san extended cab 4 door
2000. What's your opinion of them or comments????----------------------------
they were very pricey..we went with another company..although when I called Chevy to price them, he didn't mention they were fiberglass, he mentioned a high tech plastic type material, like the liner. Just to paint them was way over what we wanted to pay (we are paying $175 for the painting of the ones we ordered)

werking

any engineers out there can back me up/shoot me down on this one? i had intro to thermodynamics about 5 years ago while in school. we studied spark ignition engines with respect to octane levels and engine efficiency. from what i remember, the rule of thumb to use is this: run as LOW an octane as you can WITHOUT making the engine ping. that is where your engine will be most efficient. (efficient being defined as best mpg and smallest amount of deposits left by combustion of fuel) that's what i've lived by since, and it's given me no problems. granted, i was driving a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder for the last five years. i've just upgraded to the 5.3L 8 cyl on my '00 silverado and have run 87 octane in it for the first 1700+ miles. i've had no pings, no rough idles, no halting accelerations, or anything else noticibly wrong. i have NOT yet hauled or towed anything significant. though i've heard higher octane gas is better for those situations. having said all that, is there anyone with an engineering (or automotive)background out there who can confirm or deny all the mumbo-jumbo i just threw out there? mostly i don't want to pay extra for higher octane, but if someone can give me reletively solid scientific reason that it will help my truck last longer, i'll do it. note: stories about, "my dad's buddy's son had a 67 ford that..." are not scientific. thanks for any input.

kyle

leavy

Kyle, that's 100% correct.
Octane rating is a way of measuring how much the fuel mixture can be compressed before it self ignites (pre-ignition). Pre-Ignition causes another flame front in the combustion chamber in the wrong place at the wrong time. When this unwanted flame front collides with the spark ignition flame front, you get a "ping". Over time, pinging can damage your engine.

Someone posted earlier that 9.5 : 1 compression ratio was the limit of 87 octane, and that's pretty accurate. The truck should run fine on that grade fuel, especially since it's still new.
If the owners manual says it shouldn't ping on 87 octane, then it really shouldn't.
If it ever does consistantly, I would have the dealership take a look at it, as a small amount of preignition is usually normal, and harmless.

joelis

If 87 seems to work ok in the 5.3L, is there any possibility of doing any harm to the engine putting in the higher Octane? If not, is there any benefit then? Thanks

joelis

I've seen these on a few trucks out there, and think they look cool from an oncoming view at least. Do they give you a better range of light? Also, where can you get them?

ryanbab

next yr i can back u up for sure ill have those classes. Mechanical engineer major havent got to those classes yet.

I DONT WANT A TOYOTA TIM. less that a week till the order goes in FOR A CHEVY

Ryan

ryanbab

They make full size trucks with a V-6? haha

Sorry but it just doesnt make sense to me to have a fullsize truck and have a V-6 (same things that are in the blazers and S-10's) unless you drive alot and need good mpg. Gotta get something big
Do whatcha gotta do

Ryan

please dont take this out of context i am not knocking anyone

rcoos

I was given a great deal on the Chevy Fibreglass boards (#10953583). My dealer sold me all the GM accessories that I wanted at their cost! I only ordered the bedliner/ tailgate liner, bed rail protector, front/ rear mud guards & fibreglass stepboards. My dealer throw in the paint job!

As far as the octane, is the a difference going from state to state (ex. Alaska, California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada)?

My brother travels a lot of the western states & parts of Canada. Is there a difference in the production of gasoline from difference areas???
rcoos

dropper

They are a much crisper white light, and appear to give a much better illumination of the road. I had one person flash their lights at me, imagine his surprise when I kicked on the high beams. They are completely street legal and I got them for $20 a pair at AutoZone, on sale (well worth it, IMHO).

I have seen an after market kit that will let you keep both the regular and high beams on at the same time, which would make up for the loss of short distance light when you kick the highs on.

Keith

vince4

Hey no one answered bob332's question about engine & axle choices (#634). You all should share some of your knowledge.

Bob, I have the 6.0 so can't give first hand info except to confirm that it isn't for anyone that wants good mpg. From what I've read here people with the 4.8 are happy with the power and love the mpg. Which transmission do you want and how heavy would your trailer be?

stevo

Have a rubber mat in the bed of my 2000 chevy. Works fine for me. Would like something for the tailgate. Don't really want to drill new holes for to screw it in place. Does anyone know of a tailgate liner/protector that uses holes/screws that are already on the tailgate to fasten it in place.

Thanks

meredith

For purposes of efficiency....

this topic is being "frozen." please continue these discussions in Topic 1661 Chevy Silverado - Continued VIII.

Front Porch Philosopher
SUV, Pickups, & Aftermarket and Accessories Host

crossfire1

How does that rubber mat work when you try and slice cargo in to the bed?

Chris