The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 292 Owners - What's your gas mileage?

What kinda gas mileage are you other 292 owners getting with your particular setup? Stock, modded, rebuilt, or otherwise. I keep hearing that 292's are gas hogs.
-David
Kustoms-and-Sleds

Mine is absolutely pathetic, but it's mostly because I haven't done any fine tuning since finishing my engine.

On the interstates I do good to get 14-15 mpg if I stay at around 70 mph (which is only 2300 rpms in overdrive). I have headers, HEI, mild cam and an Edelbrock 500 cfm 4 barrel (which hasn't been changed out of the box). I imagine that if I were to tune the carb couple of stages leaner then I'd see an improvement in gas mileage. But I drive the truck so little that I haven't been very enthusiastic about breaking the carb apart and changing the jets and metering rods. I just deal with the dismal gas mileage the 2 or 3 times a month that I drive it.

-ftyler

What means mileage? My fuel gauge has only worked for a short period of time that I've had the truck...so I fill up at odd intervals...and with the 4.10 gears, the Carter 625 carb (which works great), split headers and glasspacks...well, I don't even think about mileage. I put gas in it when I start worrying about the tank gettin low. I've gotta fix that gauge someday.

You could carry a stick.

So Ray, you've never been curious what mileage your gettin'? Maybe it's 'cause I live where gas is just about the most expensive in the nation that I'm worrying about it. And my truck is my primary driver.
You don't need no stinking gas gauge to figure your mileage. Fill her up. Write down your odometer reading. Drive 150 miles. Fill your tank again. Divide 150 by the gallons of gas you just put in. It's more accurate the closer to "E" you get but, you probably don't want to run out of gas. Or, that's where Bill's stick idea comes in.
-David

When I was driving the truck few months ago it was horrid. I would have to fill the truck 2 or 3 times a week depending if I went to college that day. I would say around 8-10 on the streets . This truck has not been driven any faster then 55mph cuz well it cant without screaming to death. It has 3.73 gears and a SM465 tranny, the predessor to the SM420. So yah it sucks and it has the 1brl rochester carb all stock engine.

Other way around. The SM-420 pre-dated the SM-465

I meant to say that

I know we don't need no steekin gas gauges to figger mileage. I just tossed that in there to illustrate that I just put gas in it whenever I figger I need to...and I don't make the effort to measure the consumption. The stick ain't a bad idea, tho,

What I can tell ya is that the last time I did any consistent driving with it was from my home to the Bonneville Salt Flats. That's almost exactly 120 miles. The tank was full when I left and I put $20+ of gas in it at the truck stop at the salt flats exit. Gas was a little over #2 a gallon, so I figger I got somewhere around 10-12 mpg.

This is my daily driver, too...at least during the winter. I've got a 406-motored El Camino that's my driver in the summer and it gets worse mileage cuz of the 3.73 gears..and no OD (yet.)

However, if I start worrying about mileage, I might as well (in my own mind) stop enjoying my old cars and trucks. Now this is just my own opinion...and your mileage my vary considerably...literally and figuratively. But if I was all that concerned about mileage and the cost of gas (I don't smoke or drink, so I figger that might cover some of the gas cost) then I'd probably go buy me a little jellybean car and sell my Chevys. But that's not the important thing to me. The important thng is enjoying what I drive. Even if it does have a busted gas gauge. I'll fix it when I get healed up from the bypass surgery.

Again...this isn't meant as any sort of flame, just my opinion...and they're like proctologists....right?

I completely dig where you're comin' from Ray. I'm not about to give up my truck or Poncho in favor of economy. It's a trade off. I'd rather be happy driving my truck and turning wrenches than saving on gas and having extra money for more expensive beer or a pair of new jeans or whatever. But, since I'm not giving the truck up, I'm trying to get better milage and thought I'd compare with others, see if I could come up with an average.
I dig what you're sayin' about the gas gauge too. The gas gauge on my Pontiac crapped out again a couple months ago :mad: so I've just been fillin' her up every 150 miles or so.
-David

Well, my first gas mileage check after the T5 swap has me at 11.5 mpg. Kinda sucks. I was hoping for 13 or 14. Beats the 8.5-9 mpg I was getting but, I'm disappointed anyway.

Don't be. I do about the same with my setup (which is far from optimally tuned). Good tuning could pull you up 5 to 7 mpg, depending on your driving habits. That'll put you where you want to be.

-ftyler

Yeah, that's what I need to figure out, how to really tune this thing. I understand the basic concepts but, I'm lacking the know-how to really fine tune to get a couple more mpg.
Supposedly there's a dyno shop in Santee (near San Diego) that's pretty good. I hate taking my truck anywhere but, if they can help me get a few more mpg, wonder if it would be worth the cost?

Vacuum guage?

Yes, I usually use a vacuum gauge. Seems there's too many other variables regarding gas mileage and I don't know how to make 'em all sing and be one, happy harmonius six cylinder.