Good Evening All,
I am completing the following modifications to my Tahoe Hybrid:
1.) Pulstar Plugs
2.) New spark plug leads
3.) Volant Air Box System
4.) HID 8000K headlights Low Beam
I will let all know what performance and MPG increase I see. I am looking (Hoping) for 35HP and 4 MPG.
Kind Regards Ken

 

Bad news on the plugs:
http://www.offroaders.com/reviewbox/...hp?product=779

 

Remember with every bit of good news there is bad. We are going to conduct our tests and see what happens. i will be keeping the stock plugs just in case, however the Pulstar Plugs operate a lot like a ignitor in a turbine engine. Lets see. I will keep you posted on the installation and failures.

 

Just completed the Pulstar modification. dropped one plug and destroyed it. Engine operation seems to be a little smoother. I have a long trip on friday and will see if there is any MPG differance. I did notice that on the original GM plugs for 5000 miles there was a fair bit of wear. Next modification planned is the Volant air filter system with the blue power core filter.

 

After a 600 mile trip it looks like the Pulstar plugs give me a 1.5-2.0 MPG increase. Not sure about any horsepower gains as I would have to dyno the engine. I am planning on installing the Volant Air Filter System this week with the blue power core filter.

 

I am going to install the Volant Air Box and HID 8000K low Beam headlights tomorrow. I am planning on another long trip on the weekend to see how things work and will keep you posted,

 

Modification update:
The Pulstar plugs increase the milage by 2 MPG
The Volant Air Box increased the MPG by 3 MPG
I like the HID 8000K Low Beam Headlights they were a good addition to see the Deer.
The above data is based on 1400 miles.
The Volant air box looks great under the hood.

 

Ken,
I'm suspect of your numbers. Can you post more details on the before and after for each mod, the mileage each was tested over and the methodology? 5MPG is a 25% increase in performance, and a bit hard to swallow.
Thanks!

 

Hi Fjungman,
When I first received the Tahoe Hybrid I wanted to see what was the maximum MPG I could get. I posted one of these tests which acheived 30.1MPG. This and one other long trip which achieved 28MPG was completed over 600miles driving with the ECO meter always dead center in the green even when braking average speed was 50 to 55MPG. The trip was on several roads that have very little traffic. I find it very hard to keep the ECO meter dead center in the green when driving and braking with normal traffic. I had only myself in the vehical with a small bag.
Over 4,500 miles I have averaged 23MPG.
After I installed the Pulstar Plugs I completed another 600 mile trip trying to keep the ECO meter dead center which was hard and achieved an increase of almost 2 MPG the actual number was 1.8 MPG. This gave me an average MPG of 24.8.
I then installed the Volant Air Box System with the Power Core Blue Filter, the system is a work of art Volant does a first class job and it looks as well as performs great under the hood. This time my data was collected over 1400miles agian trying to keep the ECO meter dead center in the green. This gave me a 3MPG increase bring my average to 27.8MPG. All data is collected using the DIC data and refueling the aircraft and recording the exact gallons used and the distance traveled. I hope this helps, I am an engineer and enjoy see what is the maximum performance/MPG I can get out of the vehical under ideal conditions. I also use synthetic oil castoroil and high octane fuel.
I am installing the MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Plugs wires to achieve two objectives: Transfer the spark energuy and suppress the EMI that exists with high energy ignition systems. Too high of resistance decreases the spark energy, yet too low of a resistance will not suppress electric noise which will interfere with the other sensitive electronics on the vehicle.

 

Thanks for clearing that up, Ken.
I would expect the Volant and the resonator removal to both have a measurable effect. Not so much for the pulsars.
By the way, switch to low-octane and you will improve your gas mileage and reduce your fuel costs. The hybrid does not require premium and can't really even use it the way you drive. You are using mostly electric power and the engine doesn't need the knock-suppression of high-octane to charge the battery and provide the small amounts of power you use. Maybe if you were pulling loads, in the mountains, or drag racing...
Highest fuel mileage is always attained with the lowest octane rating the engine can tolerate.