Cam gears for V6. Add power AND mpg

Man its looking SPARSE up there from that view on chair 2. Knowing the area up there... miiiight want to have a look here https://monocounty.ca.gov/sheriff/page/no-shooting-zones about shooting at that spot. Would hate for someone to get popped on a technicality.

 

Vehicles model year 2000 or later do not get put on rollers / get a tailpipe sniffer. Its simply a visual inspection by the tech and an OBD plug in that checks reports back from the ecu (and as of this summer verifies that the software on the ECU has not been changed from the factory). As long as various emissions things are reporting back good from the ecu, you are good. A visual inspection has NO WAY of showing you have different cam gears as the technician is not allowed to remove or disassemble anything more than the air intake to inspect the intake.

Take the above as you wish. ;-)

I have purchased cam gears, and I have passed smog.

 

Are you running the stock intake?

 

Thats crazy, I didn't know that. I've been shooting at that spot for years, everyone shoots there. We have even had the sheriffs roll by and they have never said anything.

 

No, I run the AFE stage 2.

 

subbed... I will eventually do this... Just need to convince the wife the extra MPG's are what I'm chasing... not the extra ponies...

I'm rolling up on 100k on mine, thinking of also using that as an excuse for spending "a bit extra" when it's time to do a bunch of other work on the ol' girl

I might solicit some of the PNW guys that have installed this themselves just so I have an experienced set of eyes holding the flashlight for me... Hopefully they like beer

 

I’ve got a question for the longer term cam gear runners. It seems after 9 months of running these, my mpg has gradually gone back to pre install levels. I’m feeling a bit of that compression braking sensation when letting of the gas that disappeared after install.
Is my ecu trying to compensate back to pre install metrics?
I don’t have a tune, but have been planning on doing it. Haven’t gotten around to it yet. This will be motivation.
What do you all think?

 

Maybe some logging is in order. I wonder who is near PDX with a MPVI2.

 

I’ll probably buy one in the next week. The MPVI2 is on sale since they came out with the Plus version.
I have an UltraGauge. Nothing out of order on that.

 

Winter gas?

 

If it was sudden I’d think that was the cause. Seems like it has been a slow decline. I’m right around 15.5 mpg currently. That’s what I got before the install.

 

To my understanding- winter gas is titrated in- it isn't a winter/summer only thing but is blended in over the course of X amount of time. Your drop in mpg is probably a combination of this and many other factors such as: tire wear, tire pressure, driving habits, letting truck heat up on cold days, dirtier maf sensor/throttle body, the list goes on...
The gears themselves aren't going to wear in a way that causes less mpg and your ecm has really learned the new timing in the 1st couple tanks of gas.

 

I hope I didn’t imply that the gears are wearing in some way. Mostly I aussimed the ecu was on a long term adjustment. No regrets on the install either! I was hoping you all, with more knowledge on this, had ideas about why this was happening. Hoping that it’s something that can be worked on or adjusted.
I installed in April and saw great improvement immediately. That held for a bit, and then seemed to decline slowly through summer and into fall.
Pre install my mpg was consistently averaged at 15.5. And I’m right back there again. Same commute and running errands that I usually do.
Recently checked my air filter to make sure leaves hadn’t got in there. I could give the maf and throttle body a clean again (I did that at install). Plugs are new from install. Tire pressure was checked recently. Tires are about a year old. What else should I check?

 

I would think that is most of it. Some oils are thicker than others (and have variation in slip modifiers like Moly) at the same weight which in theory COULD cause a slight mpg variation (negligible at best though) I'm out of other ideas that could cause the drop though.

 

I have one, I'm willing to lend out so long as I get it back in one, working piece lol

 

Borrowing that would be great if you’re up for it. Not only would it come back in one piece, it would be accompanied by beer.

 

I appreciate all the help, Kel.
My truck is at 142k miles. Maybe something else is going on? Dirty injectors?

 

I'd lean more towards a crusty O2 sensor. I also have an HPTuner in PDX area btw.

 

I'll PM you! I do enjoy a beer, maybe I'll convince you to hold the flashlight for me when I eventually do my gears

 

The O2 sensors PhoS mentioned makes sense too.