I just bought an 07 1500, and am new to the whole 4 wheeling thing.  I am looking for some ideas to beef this thing up a little.  It is my everyday driver, so i need to be a little careful about gas milage.  any ideas?    

Leave it stock and use 89 octane or better fuel if you want best performance and best MPG. Lift and big knobby tires will cut into MPG. No air cleaner or exhaust is going to fix that. Run tires with fairly smooth tread and run them at or near max pressure too to reduce rolling resistance.  

Will installing an intake, and exhaust inprove milage at all?  What about a chip?  

Leveling kit, 33" AT's, intake, exhaust, buy a beater to wheel, be happy.  

FourWheeler Web Editor:
Leveling kit, 33" AT's, intake, exhaust, buy a beater to wheel, be happy.

This will reduce MPG, reduce power because it will make effective gear ratio taller and ad more drag which take "gas" to overcome and duals reduce lower RPM torque which can hit MPG too. Those engines are well tuned from intake to exhaust but there are those that think chopping up a SS factory exhaust system is answer and air cleaner will not help on bit because fuel/air mixture is controlled all the time. This air cleaner MPG increase myth started in carb days when in theory a less restrictive air cleaner could lean mixture out because the pressure differential between air pressure inside air cleaner and out side had some effect on mixture. This is NOT the case with FI at all. On the chip, unless you are willing to run 89 of better you are wasting your efforts. GM has a knock sensor so good that it retards timing to make you feel all is well on 87 (you cannot run 87 in a 9.5 to 1 CR engine without spark/knock management and it is the only reason it has one) The bad thing about all of this is that it steal power and MPG. Consider this, all EPA MPG tests have been conducted with 93 octane since 80's. Why, because it improves MPG in a modern hi compression motor by allowing better timing curves. (the fuel requirement is in EPA MPG test regs) Funny thing is the "law" did not require them to tell you this on MPG sticker. (I have no doubt that Detroit lobbied for that rule). If better fuel truly made no difference, they would not have been using it for over 20 years in MPG tests. You cannot have your cake and eat it too if MPG is important to you (as it should be with rising fuel costs)  

Yea... I wasn't posting telling him how to get better fuel economy, he posted the same time as I. My recommendation is at the original question on how to make it more of an off-road vehicle.

You want to play this game then fine, to get better fuel economy lower it, put smaller tires on it, street tires, fill them to 60psi and be ready to replace them often, install a large front air dam, and while you're at it may as well trade it in for a civic because last time I checked at Chevy 1500 was still a Truck and the last time I checked Truck's didn't get great fuel economy to begin with. I sure as heck know I didn't buy my truck because of it's monster fuel economy numbers I got it because it is a truck and should be made to look like a Truck not a bloody car.

Oh, and show of hands... who here has ever put an intake/exhaust/chip on your truck/car/whatever and NOT seen an increase in fuel economy? Every one I've ever seen has... And just about ever test we have done here has. It may be as little as 1mpg, but if that counters the 1mpg loss from some decent tires then you are good to go.

Thats the end of my rant for the day...  

thanks for the replies, didnt mean to start a war.  I bouht the truck because it is a truck, and i want it to look like a truck, but i don't want to go from 19 mpg to 6...... Mileage is a concernbut not if it's one or 2.....  

clap clap clap, LOL

hey jordi, thats just part of the daily bs. think nothing of it,LOL

what's another inch? throw on those 285x75-16 a/t's or m/t's whatever your pleasure and step back and enjoy the look. along with a new chip, exhaust for some dronning noise and a cold air intake. your mileage will reflect more from how you drive than a slightly larger tire,  

Thanks That helps out .. What about a body lift?  Is that a good Idea, or a waste of time?  

My personal feelings on a body lift are they can stay in the box, they can be troublesome to install, otherwise they do exactly as they are supposed to do. some vehicles just don't even look good with a body lift, the bumpers have to be raised, linkage added to and adjusted, the fan shroud modified, well it's up to you, suspension is the best route, it just costs a bunch more, or does it in the long run?  

I'm glad i asked, i didn't know that you had to modify so much.... I think i will be going with a 3 or 4 inch suspension lift...  

my limited experience tells me that if you get a higher load range tire it is stiffer so it will not move round as much and get better miles cause rubber harder to a point durometer wise,Now in same thought line if you find a load range D or E and get a fairly mild tread you can have the tall tire look, ,yes i know it will kinda look cheesy,but using your tool wisely will let you get better milage,HIGH LR  tires really arnt that much heavier than comparable mudders look at the M/T radial ATZ? A K/N filter helps my nephew in his 05 4 by,oh dont forget just because the tire can withstand more abuse,dont exceed the MFG limits, that would be dangerous  

well since were talking about tires, i have a question.  I recently swapeed in 1 ton axles under my 1/2 ton k5 blazer, i got some used 16.5 inc weld racing rims for free so i got some 35x12.50x16.5 tires which are the size i wanted but all the tires for 16.5 inc rims in this size are e rated for a max psi of 65, my dilema is how much air to run in the tires since my truck is a bit light for these tires, before the axle swap i ran 35 psi in my c rated bfg mt tires, 35 was the max pressure, im looking for a good street pressure for best mpg, wear characteristics, and best ride.    

I run around 40 in my 35-16.5 BFG's on the 3/4t pu. you'll need to watch the wear to figure out what will be the best for your blazer,  

try painting a line across the tops of the tread blocks w/ a water based paint,dry then go down the road a bit. the wear pattern will tell you if you need to adjust air pressure. If you have coloring gone down the middle of the stripe you have to high a presssure, on the edges to low. when entire stripe gone ,jes right one thing i noticed,when driving down the hiway, on a hot day look and see the diferent shades of black on the truck in front of you, youll see where its tires are running hotter.