hmm thats odd, i was getting 20-22 from my 83.

 

One time I was bored.

When you shift from 4th to 5th at 7000rpm, the revs drop to about 5600. Then I kept going until 5800 before backing off.

This is approximately 120ish MPH.

 

hey, peejay. I was thinking wrong.I go like 90 in 4TH at 6000

I go alot faster in 5th.

 

But peejay...

Why is motor oil still $4.17/gallon at Wal-Mart? I swear it was $4.17 more than 2 years ago.

 

Dayum, dropping from 22 to 16mpg? Seriously?

Not knowing the history of my car, it has 225,000 miles on the odometer. The trailing plugs don't fire (still working this out) and I'm getting 23-24 mpg doing highway driving. And I'm no saint, but being that it's almost exclusively to and from work, I don't rev up much either. An hour drive tends to wring any joy you get from driving out of you.

And as for the accessories...I wouldn't bother turning off the radio (though I don't have one) it just doesn't use enough to bother. The A/C, yeah. But mine doesn't blow enough. It seems cold, just I think the ducts are mostly missing.

So I ride with the windows all the way down, slouched in the seat so I can see out the mirrors, and roar down the road with my leaky exhaust.

Funny thing...my temp gauge creeps up past 1/2 when I turn on my headlights. And it's not the drag they cause because I've tried just popping the lights up, and no change in temp. I think my fan clutch is going...time to replace it. (No, not going electric yet...I have enough problems, not gonna create a new one.)

 

Still not possible with stock gearing.

 

I got an idea, telecommute at least one day a week. And that's precisely what I'm gonna do tomorrrow

 

Like i said, i almost never drive on the highway, so i was trying to remember.

 

i'm reaching with these, but here's my contribution:

- get a better exhaust system (for those that don't have one)
- coat or wrap the exhaust system
- change old, sagging mounts (engine, tranny, rear suspension, etc.)
- K&N air filters

what do you think?

EDIT: also, what about converting to direct fire ignition?

 

Great idea, but does nothing to increase gas mileage. Reduces fuel consumption, though.

Along the same lines, I picked up a Piaggio BV200 this spring. It's a big scooter, not like a Vespa but more like a small motorcycle without the center fuel tank. Much better fuel economy than my Explorer. Just not too practical when it's raining.

 

OK, I realize that I'm going off topic again here, but...

Does anyone else find it the least bit suspicious that the oil companies keep saying that the increase is due to supply, or increased cost of refining, etc. and yet Chevron/Texaco posted a 33% increase in 1st quarter profits this year? Sounds to me like about the same amount that the end user's price has increased.

 

My OT contribution.

I have to admit I have not looked at the quarterly reports from any of the oil companies. So I'm not certain to what they attribute the increase in profits. I'm guessing, though, that you'd find it hard to believe it's solely due to an increase in operating efficiencies.

 

My best ever was 22mpg on the freeway at a steady 60-70 mph. My problem with the freeway is that nobody drives at 60 mph anymore! Everyone is doing at least 80 mph and if I keep up with the flow of traffic, i'm doing about 5000 rpms. The damn noise can get annoying, not to mention it eats gas. Before I start driving her again, I'm going to get a new 02 sensor and probably send the injectors off to be cleaned. From what I've read, these can help a lot.

 

I love cruising at 80, worth the loss in gass mileage. Still I'm getting 23-24 mpg in my stock (all most) 85 GSL. Can't complain. Now Bush, that's another matter.

Ray

 

Makes huge difference.



Won't do anything except destroy the exhaust system in a short time (if you wrap).



Probably no difference, but a good idea anyway.

No meaningful difference, although some people have conclusively proven that they don't filter worth a crap.

 

Air filters would follow the same principle of tune-up (already mentioned).

A good thing to try is to avoid congestion at all costs, especially if you commute into a city. Leave an hour early or later to avoid traffic. I used to do this all the time when I worked in Bethesda MD and Baltimore MD. Take some stuff that you would normally do at home (reading, bills, grocery list or go to a bar to have a non-alcoholic brew etc) and try to accomplish this while every other poor bastard is stuck in traffic. Commute with someone if possible.

(BTW- for those curious about oil co. profits- they are reaping some serious cash but a lot of it is demand driven).

Oh and one last thing- cancel any high performance mod's to your seven! (Ducks from hail of rotten tomatoes hurled at my direction!! )

 

My '80 when bone stock got 20mpg highway,

Street ported engine and freer flowing exhaust, it got 25+mpg.

'85 has stock port, no MSD, just a Pacesetter exhaust system. 26+mpg (I swear I saw 30mpg one time but I was unable to confirm).

Many high performance mods make more power by making the engine more efficient, which also increases fuel economy.

 

So have them bring the planes to me? Hmmmmmm, my yard aint quite big enough.

 

this is soooo true ... (contrary to popular belief)

 

Many high performance mods make more power by making the engine more efficient, which also increases fuel economy.

excellent. now I can almost justify shelling out about $900 for the RB dual primary system!

 

Just remember if you abuse them you will get less then 20mpg

 

I dunno- I once had a SP 13B with a Mikuni..Gas mileage? I'll put it this way- I got Christmas cards from Exxon for a few years

(and I was only joking about the mods BTW- but I am surprised at some of the comments of increased MPG!)

 

Part of the trick is to jet it so that under cruise conditions an O2 sensor reads zero. Basically lean enough that it's a bit above the lean-misfire threshold. Then when you need to accelerate it needs to go back to normal power ratios. (About 13:1 for an N/A)

I dunno if the Mikuni has that kind of sophistication. Every report I've seen of it is that it is utter crap.

 

I've not had much luck with tuning sidedrafts to cruise well. WOT they are great, but general cruising there's always a stumble (too rich more than likely).

That's why my next mod is a modded Nikki .

 

my suggestion is not to do any transmission barking (downshifting to slow down) because then all your doing is burning gas to slow down.