Everybody always assumes a smaller engine will get better gas mileage. That is not true. When the V6 is not strong enough to push a 4,000lb truck around, it will waste more fuel than a larger engine which will work much less to push the same weight.
the proof was an 87 Chevy shorty I had that came with a straight 6. The 6 got 10 MPG in city driving, stop and go. It worked very hard to push this van. I dropped in a 350 from a Camaro, with headers, 4 barrel and 3/4 race cam (not a known great MPG setup). I got 15 MPG in the same city traffic and the highway mileage nearly doubled from 11 MPG to 19 MPG.
Last edited by Ripper; October 02nd 2013 1:06 pm.