Alright guys,

I just did a calculation (not-so-precise) of my gas mileage by figuring I get about 400 miles per tank (assuming that the last half would deplete equally with the first half) at 18.5 gallons. That puts me at 21. Not TERRIBLE, but damn near it.

So the makeover begins. I would like to preface this by saying I am not necessarily asking for instructions, just the general idea of what you would suggest doing. Here is my list thus far. Please feel free to chime in with as much info/ideas/suggestions as you wish.

1. Short ram intake.
2. Intake spacers.
3. Delete cat (?).
4. Lighten foot a bit.
5. Seafoam vacuum and gas tank.

Now, if anyone would like to post links to a DIY SRI, you get mad props. No big deal if not, I can Google with the best of them.

Intake spacer idea/method same as 5th gen Max? I'm assuming so.

Deleting cat? I am not so sure about this one, but I do not have the funds to do headers/exhaust right now. I figure this would atleast give her a little more flow?

My foot is ALOT lighter than normal since this car has to last me and already shifts hard when I put the pedal down. I will be doing trans service on it to hopefully rectify this.

I figure it can't hurt to clean her out with some Seafoam.

Anyone care to add to this list without throwing it into off topic oblivion? Have at it!

I have done some searching and what-not, and will continue to do so. But, I came here to get some expert first hand knowledge on the issue because I am new to these cars. Thanks in advance!

Cason


EDIT: I am sure most of this has been covered, but I don't think it would be a bad idea to have a thread about this. I think it is a growing concern for all given the price of oil/gas/breathing/crapping/etc nowadays. I will be glad to update this original post as ideas are given and make this as usable as possible for people.

 

I didn't need to read the rest of your post since it wasn't necessary for me. Combined city/highway driving ratio?

If you do a mix of city/highway driving, 21 is right on par, especially if most of that is city/commuting traffic.

 

Was it pure hwy or mix? The biggest killer of mileage is stop-n-go traffic. If it was mix your numbers are pretty normal, not much you can do about it. In fact, I think items on your list either won't affect it or will make it worse. I'd check tire pressure, O2 sensor and turn off AC if you're concerned about mileage. If you stuck in the traffic most of the time even those won't save much as your precious kinetic energy is wasted by the brakes the moment you stop so subsequent acceleration will eat a lot of gas.

 

Well Id say 3/4-5/8 of the 200 I measured at was highway and the rest city.

I am not throwing any codes right now. How would I check the O2? My compressor took a crap so I don't have AC right now, just a loud pulley and screaming belt (I will be fixing all of that by the end of the week).

Thanks for the replies.

 

21mpg sounds typical.

 

Alright, so you don't think removing the airbox and doing an SRI and some light exhaust mods would help with light-foot driving?

 

Maybe, maybe not. At low engine speeds, exhaust isn't being forced through the piping and mufflers as if you were running it hard. At cruising speeds with a low load on the engine, an increase in fuel economy with a freer flowing exhaust and intake would probably be minimal. Having properly inflated tires would probably be more beneficial.

Also, the 3.0 doesn't benefit much from a SRI anyways due to the small plenum volume of the UIM.

 

Easiest way to get better MPG is with the wheel/tire combo. Get something lightweight and narrow.

 

Don't pull numbers out of your @ss when figuring MPG. Do it the right way. Tull tank to full ltank. Divide miled driven by gallons in. By hand. It's not that hard...make it a habit every time you gas up to gas up all the way and always reset your trip odometer.

Give yourself some proper numbers to calculate...not this crap:
Don't assume anything. And YES, be precise when dealing with MPG.


And for the record, my 99 gets just a hair under 20 in the city when I don't whomp on it...and about 22-23 in 50/50 combined city / highway...will be taking her out this weekend on a road trip so will expect damn near 25-28 MPG highway only. Stock.