Want to improve gas mileage

[conozo]

As the title says, i want to improve my gas mileage. What i want is not typical, i am not talking about just exhaust, plugs, wires, intake, coil. I am looking to get at least 10 more miles per gallon average. I currently get 26/33. I am willing to do modifications to the engine, carb, anything. My first question is would it be easier to accomplish this by a carb such as a webber or convert to FI.

A couple years ago a had a few vacuum leaks causing my carb to run very poorly. I lost a ton a power and it idled like crap but i was getting around 55 mpg. So this is my basis of being able to get much better gas mileage. The car can do it, but i would prefer not to loose a lot of power, i would like to keep it the same if possible.

I currently have a 88 DX Auto with a very good engine. So please list anything and everything that i could do to get better gas mileage without loosing a lot of power. I am not swapping engines, will possibly swap a tranny if i need to. This is a project that i am willing to put a lot of time and money into.

Thanks

[Civic Accord Honda]

my 82 accord used to get 28-35 MPG then the carb took a crap we got it rebuilt but guy who did the rebuild did a crapy job lol the car would stink really bad of gas on start up and stink on idil but it got 45-50MPG spo the stink was worth it haha

[russiankid]

Hm...i don't see how you could improve that mileage. To me that seems good.

[labeledsk8r]

10 extra mpgs for city is gona be very hard and unlikely, as the car does need fuel to run, a 5 speed swap might get you 2-3 extra mpg if your lucky, plugs wires coil, normal tune up, a good intake or K&N filter helps, but at a sertain point you top out what milage you can get, fuel injection would help aswell but only 2-3 again. id say mayby add some easy performance parts, should bump it up a few mph's and still keep cost down

[cubert]

buy a civic vx....47/56 MPG

[MessyHonda]

im getting 30mpg highway. and like 23 city. and you want to improve.....for my car i think its good since i do rev it alot to like 4k RPM.

[Vanilla Sky]

5 speed swap, good tune up, exhaust, header, cool air intake, and a weber swap would possibly put you in that region with proper weber tuning.

[1ajs]

in 5th gear at 55mph you can get 40mpg

[conozo]

buy a civic vx....47/56 MPG

this is a car that is inspiring me. Its just a regular gasoline car with about the same weight as ours, but it has a 1.5 liter engine running at 90hp

[snoopyloopy]

yes, you're on the right track, especially since i think we'll see gas at somewhere between $4 and $5 by xmas time this year....

[2oodoor]

get the most advance adjustment out of your ign timiing without pinging, You can usually go up to 4-6 degrees over factory spec in some cars.
tire pressure and alignment, drive like you got an egg between your foot and the gas pedal, anticipate how much power you need well before you need it, basically drive like you are hauling nitro glycerine. lol
If you automatic, make sure your cable is adjusted so that you are not staying in low gear too long and the converter can lockup once you get to highway speed (feels like fifth gear comes in)
change out fuel filters, clean filters for some reason improve gas mileage pretty considerably.


on a side note, I just got a truck that has drive by wire... it is really amazing how little throttle you need to give it to produce acceptable motion, but at the same time it will let you give it more throttle to accomplish the same thing... kind of wierd.

dirve by wire= your foot, the gas pedal is not mechancally connected to the engine whatsoever.

[DBMaster]

Yeah, as sad as it is to say, the best way to improve mileage is keep your foot out of it. When I can control myself and drive 60 I can get up to five mpg more than when I drive 75. Unfortunately, this is Texas and driving 60 on the highway can get you run over. Plus, I like putting my foot in it.

Air resistance increases exponentially with speed rather than directly. So, the difference between 60 and 80mph can make a big difference in fuel economy.

There are lots of other little things. Tire pressure is important. Keep it a little on the high side and check it once or twice a month. Low tires are not only dangerous and expensive (tires ain't cheap). They also increase rolling resistance and hurt gas mileage.

This could be a really long thread if everybody weighs in.

[Demon1024]

Everything they said plus look into reducing the overall weight.

[AccordB20A]

some driving tips to increase fuel economy.. with a carb try to not move your foot when ur on the throttle as this will make the accelerator pump squirt gas into the carb. with EFI basically the more ur foots down the more gas u will use so select the appropriate gear, if u have to put ur foot down quite a bit and the motor isnt doing anything change up a gear.. engine rpms dont matter.

swapping to a 5 speed is the way to go. the slush in the auto with steal all your horseies before they get to the wheels.

[2oodoor]

yep speaking of wind resistance, a good wax job and rain x on the winsheild , some of that nanobot wax lol...

[MIK3]

Looks like Conozo and I have the same set up, car wise. I have been getting about 26-28mpg fwy and I feel as if I should be getting more. This take, I'm taking it very easy and doing all the throttle techniques and speed limit obeying to maximize. We'll see how much of a difference.

I'm gonna try to find a thin piece of rubber gasket to go on my gas cap and replace my fuel filters...I can't remember the last time those were done.

Keep the tips coming, and Conozo, if you think of any carb-tweaking mods, let me know.

[A18A]

gut the car, get lighter everything (wheels, flywheel, body parts etc,.,,) that might help

[Hauntd ca3]

i'd would be thinkin that to get 50 mpg out of a us gallon you would be running way to lean to be any good for the motor
40 would be about it would think
i neva got more than 40 from my si 5spd on the old imperial gallon which is a full 700 cc more than the us gallon

[2oodoor]

50 mpg os a stretch
MIK3 you should be getting better mpg than that, try the timing tweak? Looks like you got sticky tires and some rims on your car, maybe try a good 4 wheel alignment by someone with a pc based rack and knows how to use it without going by factory specs.

[MIK3]

50 mpg os a stretch
MIK3 you should be getting better mpg than that, try the timing tweak? Looks like you got sticky tires and some rims on your car, maybe try a good 4 wheel alignment by someone with a pc based rack and knows how to use it without going by factory specs.

I am actually in need of an alignment...My camber is off and car leans to the right. I'll try it. I know a place that does alignment for after-market adjusted vehicles.

[MessyHonda]

gut the car, get lighter everything (wheels, flywheel, body parts etc,.,,) that might help



i need lighter rims

[conozo]

well im going to start working on my car.

These are the things i am replacing initially.

weber carb 32/36 DGEV
pacecetter header
flex pipe
2inch exhaust
new cat
new muffler
mandrel bends
new front lower ball joints (they need to be replaced) but i will get an alingment after those are installed which may help
remove air conditioning
slight weight reduction from removing
a/c
all the vacuum lines
spare tireAfter these are done, i will let you know where my gas mileage sits at.

[shepherd79]

when i had carbed accord i used to get 28 in the city all day long.
after i got efi my gas milage went up to 38-40 on highway and 28-32 in the city.

that is what i did to it:
engine was stock and very healthy. 180psi compression on all 4 cylinders.
i made sure my distributor vacuum and mechanical advance was working properly.
I used 5 speed out of dx/lx model. they have lower gear ratios. less rpm at highway speeds.
modified stock airbox so there were no more air restrictions.
pacessetter header, brand new cat, pacessetter catback.
tires and rims i kept it stock 86 lxi rims. they are 13 inch and light as hell. i kept tire pressure at 32-34 psi.
i still had my ac working and connected.

conozo, in your case i would start with the engine. make sure it is nice and healthy.
second i would get rid of those bulky rims and get stock ones. bigger the rims the more power it would require to accelerate and to stop.
if you do convert to weber, you can try tunning so it is on lean side a little.

alignment is very important.

[AccordB20A]

key to fuel milage is a well servied engine. stock air intake and new filters, and the stock exhaust system. i found out

[MessyHonda]

key to fuel milage is a well servied engine. stock air intake and new filters, and the stock exhaust system. i found out



thats weird because i gained MPG when i installed my headers.

[2oodoor]

key to fuel milage is a well servied engine. stock air intake and new filters, and the stock exhaust system. i found out

YOu are correct, but only because the buttdyno is working correctly. When you have those sounds you (I) find yourself (myself) pushing the limits to make those noises so the economic phase of volumeric efficiency is lost. Fair statement?

[AccordB20A]

YOu are correct, but only because the buttdyno is working correctly. When you have those sounds you (I) find yourself (myself) pushing the limits to make those noises so the economic phase of volumeric efficiency is lost. Fair statement?

i didnt understand a word you said lol

and messy.. thats interesting to know, But i suppose they would help get better mpg by making your engine more efficient, making more power without using more resources :D

[conozo]

I just ordered a Weber 32/36 DGEV and will have pics when i get it installed.

I will also be removing the air conditioning and most of the vacuume lines. I want to keep the cruise control so i will have to figure out what i need and dont need. Then after that in a few more weeks i will be installing a pacesetter header i already have along with an entire new exhaust system.

Monday i will be taking the car in to have the freon removed so i can remove the entire air conditioning system.