I might be a little late on the subj. but what about reducing the weight of the car (about 200 lbs.)?

 

The difference is that the C5 actually achieves, and commonly exceeds (from what I've heard), the EPA estimated gas mileage, whereas the FD does not. 18 mpg in and FD in the city??? LMAO! 12 mpg is more like it. 24 mpg on the highway? Achievable, but not very common. Not to mention the C5 has 150 more HP and loads more torque.

 

Very true. I kinda forgot that when I said that the car gets bad gas mileage as it is. But usually my main reason is simply to make the shifts smoother. Shifting smoothly @ low rpm (below 4K - 4.5K) on my FD is a challenge (w/o riding the clutch a bit)

If it acheives that gas mileage, that's awesome. If it exceeds it, that's having your cake AND eating it too And I didn't mean to say the FD actually GETS 18/24. That's what they ADVERTISED. But my average city + highway = 12

 

There is only one way to make a FD get 30 MPG......Put a LS-1 in it.

 

Oh and that conversion is definitely cheaper than paying for the extra gas

 

Disconnect your secondary injectors and lean out your fuel maps on your powerfc. Consider popping an apex seal a small price for getting good mileage . Drafting semis Nascar-style doesn't hurt either.
Seriously, if you bought a 3rd gen thinking you could get mileage from it you need to step away from the crack pipe...

 

cruise downhill in neutral with engine off

 

Tow it with a honda

 

Well for the ability to make 450 rwhp on pump gas on motor without one worry of blowing a apex seal and still being able to get 30 mpg on the highway, is "definitely" worth the money to me. Not to turn this into another V8 Vs. Rotary thread, but with the LS-1 swap the car is more practical than it ever was. You don't have to worry about the aggravating problems that is associated with the rotary motor. With a LS-1 you can have a 500 RWHP daily driver FD that runs on pump gas worry free with no problems.

I had a 93 FD back a few years ago which is why I dislike the rotary engine today. The car had 90,000 miles on it and it was going on its 3rd engine, and 2nd set of turbos. Granted it was probably due to excessive abuse from the pervious owner but I think I should be able to drive my car without the worry of it blowing up everytime I decided to get on it. Which is why I bought another FD for the sole purpose of putting a LS-1 in it, so I can have a great car with a great engine.

 

yes also revving high would defeat the purpose of avoiding boost now wouldnt it? what the hell were you thinking

 

C5's have rated 30 to even ~35 MPG from many owners.

Why?

1. Not a Rotary

2. Gearing, Gearing Gearing...I think it's like 1k Rpm at 65 in 6th gear.

3. Old men who would rather do a 0-60 pull in 4 Minutes are a majority.

 

Absolutely not. The point of revving high w/o boosting is very valid IMO:
- No boost = safe when the roads are wet
- No boost = very important when the car's still cold (I start driving as soon as I start the car)
- No boost when traffic conditions aren't favoring fast acceleration, but you still want smooth, crisp shifts.
- No boost = lower drone of the exhaust, and is thus the way to go when cops are nearby (my exhaust actually has two very distinct tones for when I'm boosting and when I'm not...and when I'm boosting and drop to vaccum, the sound transition is very interesting lol...but that's a sidenote)

Now whether you'd WANT to do this is a totally diff story, cuz the ONLY thing in my mind when I get in the FD is "c'mon man...mash the gas pedal!" lol

 

I get around 25mpg if it's strictly highway driving and upper teens around town. I don't abuse my car but I definately use it. I think some of you have some serious problems. Whether it's your driving or your car, I don't know...but 12mpg?? come on...

I think I got about 8mpg the last time I was at the track...

 

Much of my driving is around town. You don't get good gas mileage while sitting at a stoplight.

9-10 mpg if I don't take it out of town

 

dont mod it

and dont boost

 

believe it or not, i have seen 32mpg on a FD (my brothers old one) but that was only once (it normally sucked up about 18mpg normally). We started by refilling the tank one night just cruised around with some light boost here and there and at the end of the night we refill the tank and it was amazingly reading 32mpg... in all realistic purposes though, you should do an engine swap with a hybrid or something. currently the only way i know to get 30mpg is to get up to a huge hill and just roll the car down while it is idling.

BTW: why do you want to get over 30mpg? if you are trying to just save gas, sell your current one and buy a hybrid as the hybrid is probally more comfortable and will get you more gas.

oh, did anyone see the top gear video of that twin turbo V8 getting over 50mpg? they say to save gas, you should keep it in gear while slowing down to a redlight as this does not use any gas compared to idling (this actually confuses the crap out of me but idk) and keep revs (for that paticular car) at about 1.6k, never use a/c but keep windows up and never stop to go to the bathroom (use a bottle )
the manufactor actually said it was not possible for them to get that mpg but they did

 

haha even then you will be getting only 15-17mpg

 

RX-8 gets just a little better gas mileage than an FD. I drove one around for a month and a half and put 3400 miles on it.

Now, if you want to improve mileage....

Get a new ignition system, cut boost down to 5 psi, pulleys, light flywheel, remove stuff, RX-8 6spd tranny might help (custom Install though), lean out your fuel mix safely, max cold tire pressure in all tires, wax car regularly, run lighter oils in the drivetrain. All this stuff will help overall, but some will be taking your chances on reliability. Most mods will help your acceleration, but some would be wasting money for better gas mileage.


I would say that it would be way hard to get 30mpg... even my 4-door 1.5 liter LX civic gets 25 mpg around town and maybe 32 mpg on the highway. I flog it like a beater though.

 

Did you adjust your speedometer after replacing the gears? The 4.77 ring and pinion is going to add mileage to your odometer quicker than the stock 4.10s because the driveline is turning faster at any given speed.

 

draft. 0 boost. coast when coming to stop or going down hill.

down pipe & cat back

tune up. ( not just plugs, make sure the car is running 100%. good sensors: 02,
iat, ect, etc... )

change the engine to oil 0-30w and thinner oils for transmission and rear end.

less rolling resistance tires. something like 185/60/16 pumped up to 50 psi. use
the same type/brand/model tire as Honda uses hybred cars.

deep front airdam. no wing for the rear.

drive with the windows rolled up no a/c of course.

change the rear end gears to something like 3:50 to 1


lighten the car: How much noise can you stand? How much do you want to spend. It might be years before for the gas savings pays for the cost
of your modification. (no power windows, no ps, no a/c, remove spare tire, jack,
since the car is no longer for fun remove sway bars, etc...)

If you lucky have a tail wind


I think it would be a waste of good car though.

 

Get a alignment optimized for good gas mileage instead of cornering.

0 toe front & rear
0 camber front & rear

 

I love the rotary engine, but the answer to this problem is the LS1. More hp, more tq, better gas milage.

You'll never break even on your own, but if you do WI stuff then putting in the LS1 may be a great idea, because you might be getting ready to lose your rotary.

I say if you do it all yourself with parts form someone else, expect to pay 6k-10k.

 

If what you wanted was as little tire drag as possible you'd go zero toe front and rear and run about 50 psi of tire pressure Camber isn't going to make a real difference.

 

From mazda: cruising in 5th gear at a constant 55 the rx7 gets 35mpg.

 

Bullshit.