Quote:
Originally Posted by WiMiMc
the truck? yes, however its not drivable till i get all of my parts for a good tuneup, which should be next week.
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just playing devils advocate here. i see guys making the mpg argument for putting ls motors in old cars, but they'll never save enough $$ from the increased mpg to offset the costs. a daily driver might if the mpg difference is enough.
if the goal is mpg & to save money, how long will it take to recoup the swap costs? swaps ring up incidental costs pretty fast - exhaust, mounts, harness/wiring costs, fuel system, tuning, etc., you can't just get a yard motor/trans for $1200 and that's it. I'd be curious see what kind of mpg you get out of the truck now (once tuned up). My quick calc is at $3.50 a gallon, if you go from 14 (what my 93 K1500 V6 gets) to 17.5 mpg (that is an impressive 25% increase) you need to drive 80,000 miles to recoup $4000 in total swap costs, or 50,000 miles to recoup $2500.
I expect the echotech option to cost more w/o a big lift in mpg. ROI gets worse I think. I also don't think it has the low end the small v8 does, so locally the v8 might win if you don't have a heavy foot.
If the goal is to say you did a swap and to have the experience, that is cool, by all means do it. But is mpg is the main driver I might think twice.
But that sounds like $$ more fun spent on the camaro.
