nervousminis FSP Blazer

[nervousmini]

Well I had a new update and was going to add it to an existing thread or just post a new one in daily grind or something - but though maybe I'd try it blog style ala MT bucket courier and slow ride.

I came to the end of my tires this weekend. They were shot - all almost to wear bars, getting a bit dry rotted and horrible in the rain. There wasn't the budget yet for new tires, but I needed to do something. Then I remembered that BMW and Chevy have the same wheel bolt pattern , so I did a little more research and discovered that my stock tire size of 235/75r15 when you do a +2 sizing comes out to be a 235/65r17 - the same size as the first generation BMW X5. I think I'm onto something here....

So after a little digging around the shop I came across a set of 17" wheels from a winter and tire set for a BMW 5 series that were left in the shop after a customer traded the car in last year. I scavenged a bit more and found a set of Michelin cross terrain tires from an X5 that was traded in and turned into a certified CPO used car. The tires are in great shape, but were 1mm to thin on tread to make the cut for CPO - so the X5 got new tires and I got these off of the scrap heap.

Mounted and balanced them, bolted them up and took them for a spin. The only issue I discovered was that BMW wheels have about 10mm more positive offset than the Chevy wheels and on VERY hard bumps or corners the tires rub on the fender edges. An easy fix for me



I took the tool we have in the shop for the race cars that rolls the lip of the fender up and into the outside edge of the sheet metal - in essence it folds the lip of the fender flat and then pushes the whole fender edge of the wheel opening out like a flare. Then I adjusted the torsion bars in the fron to raise it back up 1", after I lowered it 2" early in my MPG modding quest.



So here it sits all ready to roll. I have no idea what this is going to do to my MPG but it didn't cost me a dime and I can always put it back when I can budget for new 15" tires on the stock wheels.

Let me know what you all think.

[msirach]

Good fix for a potential immediate risk. As you mentioned, if it hits you too hard, you can always go back. You might check Craigslist for your area also. I've got some good deals there before and I see take offs quite often.

[MT bucket]

Cool, another ride blog! glad I inspired you
it will be interesting seeing all the things you do to this beast to get better FE
but one thing, it is not officially an FSP unless you get under 20 mpg!

[nervousmini]

Originally Posted by msirach

Good fix for a potential immediate risk. As you mentioned, if it hits you too hard, you can always go back. You might check Craigslist for your area also. I've got some good deals there before and I see take offs quite often.

Thanks. It was just one of those half baked ideas getting thrown around that actually worked out. I've been keeping an eye on craigs, ebay and even a few friends at other shops - but it seems if the right size comes along it's usually in about as bad of shape as what I was trying to get rid of myself.

Originally Posted by MT bucket

Cool, another ride blog! glad I inspired you
it will be interesting seeing all the things you do to this beast to get better FE
but one thing, it is not officially an FSP unless you get under 20 mpg!

You bet, thanks for the idea. I think the mods are pretty much done with the exception of maybe completing an underbody cover to fill the gaps in what I've done already.

Yea, I suppose I can stop calling it a FSP now - if the new tire and wheel setup doesn't hit me too hard I might break 25mpg this tank, we'll see.

Other than that I have a bunch more maintinence coming up:

1. oil and filter change - about 1000 miles to go on this, though I would try some mobil1 in 0w30 and see if it makes a difference vs my regular royal purple 5w30.
2. Upper front control arm bushings - getting pretty loose and noisy, not looking forward to doing these as they basically are frozen in place. But I get to do another alignment
3. remote oil filter lines - been leaking a bit and starting to gain momentum, not a bad job just messy.
4. front brakes - probably have until the spring for these. I'm going all out for this - new calipers, pads, rotors and lines(if the aren't siezed). Nothing like fresh brakes to make me feel safe on the road.

[nervousmini]

Well, another week and another tank added to the mileage log.

While I didn't break 25mpg avg for the tank, I did get 24.733 WITH the new wheels and tires! So I didn't take a hit for the wheel/tire setup - even though they were much heavier and my sidewall max pressure is only 35 psi

In addition to that good news, even though I didn;t break 25mpg, it was enough to bring my epa combined avg to 125.08%, so I got my EXPERT status on the mileage log

[Brian Fantana]

pretty nice truck...what year is that?

[nervousmini]

Originally Posted by Brian Fantana

pretty nice truck...what year is that?

It's a 1997 Blazer 4.3l v6, AT, 4 door, 4x4, with about 159,000 miles on it now.

Alright, time for another entry into the blog.

First and most importantly - - - - I GOT AN SG II
Many thanks to msirach and Wayne who coordinated the whole deal. I can't wait to get a few tanks in with it and really start to learn my truck and its engine with real time data.

Next, I got another set of tires. I know I just put the Michelin Cross Terrains a week or so ago, but I couldn't wait to get them off today when another BMW X5 was traded in and went through the CPO certification process. The tires on it missed the minimum tread depth by 1mm, but this time I snagged a great set of Michelin MXV4s They still have 3mm of tread left before they hit the wear bars, so they should be more than fine for the rest of the summer and fall. The MXV4s have the advantage of much better lrr and I now have a sidewall max psi of 51 vs the 35 of the cross terrains. When the snow hits in November or so, I'll put the cross terrains back on as they look like they would be much better in the snow anyway.

That's all for now - just looking forward to the next few weeks/tanks to see what difference the SG and the MXV4s make.

[MT bucket]

sweet! I remember last year when I got my sg, my mpg went up by 2 or 3 mpg on my old minivan! have fun

[msirach]

Between the Michelin MXV4's and the SGII, I think you will top 30mpg very soon!

[nervousmini]

Originally Posted by MT bucket

sweet! I remember last year when I got my sg, my mpg went up by 2 or 3 mpg on my old minivan! have fun

Originally Posted by msirach

Between the Michelin MXV4's and the SGII, I think you will top 30mpg very soon!

Thanks guys! I am hoping for the 2 or 3 mpg improvement, I'm not as optimistic about a 30 mpg avg tank - that would be incredible

The Mxv4s are nice and smooth - I can notice the difference in rolling resistance between them and the Michelin cross terrains and certainly a huge change from the old goodyear wranglers that were on it originally, we'll see what they do for mileage. I almost guilty, I get the best part of the tire wear - less tread = less weight, lots of heat cycles so the rubber compound is harder and more stable, and so on .......

Anyway I did my first complete commute with the sg installed. I switched a couple of the x gauges around from what Wayne selected initially. One that I chose to watch was the fuel consumption in Gal per hour. Holy cow, I had no idea how bad this thing was just at idle - the picture speaks for itself



The blazer is sucking down 0.45 gal per hour AT IDLE! I may have to reconsider my threshold for fasing at stoplights and do it more often. But I have concerns about the effects on the life expectancy of the starter - and it's located in such a horrible spot that I REALLY don't want to have to replace it EVER!

---back to the regularly scheduled show