dippy

ok so heres the deal i want better gas mileage since its hitting $3 per gallon here in the bay area. i have a del sol and it has a d15b7 now im tryin to get the best mileage out of this car and i have stripped a lot of weight out of it now im seeing what else i could do. i am planning on doing the next oil change with full synthetic but i am wondering if changing spark plugs would help too.


one small question totally off topic will the window motors for the del sol work on an ef?

TOO MUCH TORQUE

alignment, proper tire pressure, do a tune up, make sure fuel injectors are good, fuel filter shouldnt be clogged, and mainly your driving habits should be adjusted if you tend to have a heavy foot. someone add to this because there are a lot of variables to good gas mileage.

FearTheH

iTrader: (5)

Cut holes in the floor boards and Flintstone it! I'm going to 2nd what TOO MUCH TORQUE said...especially your driving habits, your foot determines most how much fuel is going to be used.

tw1tch

Check tire pressures, and shift lower in the rpm range.

hmtcrxsir

man... why are you complaining. you have a 1.5 L motor. Other people got it worst. A buddy of mine has a 2003 Jeep Cherokee. And he gets 12 mpg. Be happy what you got. haha. And you can only do so much to improve gas mileage.

Former User

Is the CEL ON?

Tuning up the ignition system is the place to start. Replace the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor and then adjust the ignition timing to spec.

yoontim23

kulo

keep rpms below 3000rpm and 65mph

thumper64

Swap the D15B8 head on? Make sure your valve lash is set right. New air filter. Check your fuel pressure, I picked up about 4 or 5 mpg by adjusting mine back down to where it should be since the adjustable regulator was set wrong (prior owner did it).

p nut

Trying to keep the RPM's too low will put unnecessary strain on your drivetrain and won't necessarily help MPG's (especially at higher speed where aerodynamics come into play). Just keep your foot out of it and keep up on maintenance. Please don't do any extreme hypermiling stuff that's dangerous, especially for everyone else around. Even the basic pulse and glide just pisses others off and causes OTHERS to either slam on the brakes or use up more gas. Just drive normally and you'll be a lot better off.

To add to TMT's list, make sure to keep the air filter clean, check exhaust/piping, and keep a record of your MPG. I just write down what the mileage travelled was on all of my gas receipts and enter that into a spreadsheet. If there is any deviation, then you know something's up. Just my 2 cents.

thi3v3z

your gonna have to spend $100 in parts to save a couple miles to the gallon AT MOST. and for the $100 you spend, u cud just be putting that in your gas tank. Also, the LARGEST factor for fuel mileage is not the mechanics, but your driving habits. Use your cruise control, accelerate slower, and brake easier. Those 3 things are the key to higher mileage. But if you feel like throwing money away, O2 sensor is a great place to start.

thumper64

O2 sensors are not a waste. If you are running closed loop then fine, but that can make a difference and it is important for the engine. That's just maintainance

thi3v3z

Buying new parts when they are not required, thats a waste. Its minimal mpg gains replacing parts. If you want better mileage, buy a moped.

hmtcrxsir

uhhh.... this is coming from a thief.

AP2FTW

lol

dippy

well im already working on my driving habits

i am thinking about putting in ngk iridium plugs but i didn't know if changing plugs would do anything

V8 Eater

things that will get you better mileage include less weight(get rid of that jack etc)

less drag=get rid of that super sized wing,get smaller(thinner actually) tires.

try avoiding to keep the engine in both high rpms and under load meaning not to under nor over rev it.basically the gear is not what matters here its the throttle position you want to use the least amount of throttle to keep the car running atb that certain speed. i.e my b20 used less throttle at 2nd at 20mph than 3rd get it?

you may upgrade your drivetrain a little i.e swap for a vx,hx,+96 jdm sohc zc(3 stage vtec),you can swap your 5th gear for a longer 5th even though some swear this doesnt help I dissagree as it clearly works for the vx,hx! you can get a tune for part throttle to run a little leaner(i.e an afr of 16.5 instead of 14.7,actually honda runs evan a little rich at like 13.5 usually).

my advice if your going to keep this car for very long(atleast 2 years) and its already at its best condition meaning its already maintained I would stay away from modifiying your car to run cheaper and start looking for a cheaper alternative in fuel as in lpg,ng(natural gas,propane) kits.

my colleague used to have an vx eg that had a natural gas kit(1800 bucks all set and done) an it ran just as fast,quite,smooth,healthy it consumed rather similiar mpg (40 vs 43) and used a gas that was less than half the price per gallon which saved him enough to profit alot after only 3 years,but also note that he did about 25k miles per year.

Former User

Don't underestimate the potentially large impact a basic ignition system tune up can have on improving gas mileage.

FearTheH

iTrader: (5)

X2.

pumafeet10

one of the biggest impacts on peoples mpg is speed

The faster you go the worse mpg's you will get, the amount of power that is needed to overcome drag is exponentially increased!

As some have said about hypermiling..well most likely they are to lazy or ignorant to slow down and save the gas, wear and tear on their car, and prevent more accidents. So slow down shift lower, about 2k rpms and you will be fine, take out any unnecessary weight out of your car. Keep your tires inflated over what the door placard says, that is there for comfort and noise level and nothing else.

If you don't believe me go to www.cleanmpg.com, ecomodder.com and so forth to see the real answers

p nut

I can't speak for others, but what was or should've been implied in my post is that IF the parts are older and would need changing in the near future anyway. I wouldn't change out spark plugs I just replaced 2 months ago. Same with a 10k mile old fuel filter. I think anyone with a half a brain would realize this.

But I know that there are lots of people that would do exactly that, so the previous posts should have clarified this.

HXor

+1 ... I believe

Using dfco is a great tool also . From the garage to the store...technique really works. 9.6 miles total trip. I think I'm getting it down

pumafeet10

/\ /\ /\
I am with you on that brother, the scangauge is one of the best things you can possibly do, dfco is a very helpful idea to easily slow down and use no fuel!

According to my tank and scangauge in at 66 mpg so hopefully it will keep going up as the summer progresses, i think i still have some ethanol fuel in my tank.

HXor

The SG II X-gauge has paid for itself already. The absolute best "mod" in the hypermiler arsenal right after TNBTW adjustment.

This was "one trip" ... a personal record . Due to all the maintainence I've been doing ...the tank is not setting so well at 46.2 mpg combined - which isn't all that shabby!
Now that I don't have to lift the hood 7 times a day the tank is picking up at a fairly rapid rate. My guess gauge is showing half tank with the odo reading 320+ miles - it should be in the mid 50's at fill up. We both know it can and will get better as the heat of summer rolls in. I'm thinking I can keep this FE number through a good portion of the winter.

dippy

with driving techniques being the biggest factor wouldnt getting up to speed at a decent rate be smarter than going slowly?