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Gas Mileage?

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primalzer1998

CEG'er
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Messages
145
Location
Macomb, IL
So for the past couple of months my gas mileage has steadily been declining. I've gone through all the steps I can think of to try to get it back up. I've got all the tires properly inflated (front ones are brand new), took all the excess garbage and crap out of my truck (about 50 pounds of crap), drive at a decent speed on the highway (70 mph max), and I try to run without the defogger and defroster whenever possible. Now I just did the throttle hang fix, and I did a search and found one other guy that had a drop in gas mileage after doing it also. I really don't think this would have any effect however. I've done nearly everything short of taking off and cleaning the intake manifolds or taking out the plugs and testing the wires. Oh and when I got the car I would get about 27 on the highways and no less than 20 in the city. Now I'm lucky to get 24 on the highway and 17 in the city. Could this also just be the winter gas? Any ideas would be appreciated!:shrug:

-Jon
 
ive noticed a decrease in mpg with my svt too
only thing ive done was put 225 50 tires on it instead of 205 55
and the throttle hang fix im getting 4 less mpg
 
I'd say it's probably the weather . When it's cold , you've got the engine pumping in more gas till it warms up (old-school stuff used a manual choke) . Give it till warmer weather to see what's up .

My "around the town" mileage on my SVT sucks - always has , always will . Highway mileage is usually 30mpg - as high as 32 ... all with the T.H. fix in place . No mileage drop for me on any of my family's Contours .
 
I'm going to try pulling my TH fix after my next fill up and see how it affects my mileage. I get 16-18 around town and 19-22 highway. I've already replaced the plugs, wires, coil, and o2's... which did increase my around town mileage from 14-16mpg to 16-18. I haven't had any CELs for about 2 years, and that CEL was because of Magnacores.
 
14? dang my worst gas mileage was 18.7 and i was floored like 30 percent of the time running anywhere from 85 to 120 mph on the highway
even in the city ive never got that bad
 
Next try a fresh Purolator or other name brand PCV valve. My gas mileage went from around 18.5 mixed to just under 24 mixed driving. I got 27 mpg last week with my ATX in a mostly highway stint. Only mod was the PCV valve. Mine was stuck open, it appeared.

Now I'm getting a fuel odor under the hood. I've got to do my UIM/LIM rebuild and get some fresh rings on my injectors.... :help:
 
yeah my 3L is getting worse gas milage than my 2.5, i could be because i need a tune still or that i am not over mashing the gas everytime i get in it:laugh:
 
A good tune will help the 3L swap in a big way, the comp.thinks there is a 2.5 under the hood still.lol
After my 3L hybrid swap(untuned)I noticed a huge difference in gas,but new plugs,wires,fuel filter should all make a difference in improving gas mileage-Good Luck
 
Ethanol makes about 2/3 the power of gasoline, so it will send your mileage right down the chute. Back a couple years ago, when we had MTBE gasoline instead of the current ethanol-infused recipe, I pulled 28.3 on the highway in a '94 Taurus SHO. Ran from Arlington, VA to northern Mass without stopping to refuel, eat, use the john, or anything. Had 481 miles on the clock when I got home, with 1.3 gallons in the tank. Sure as hell couldn't do that now. In mixed driving, my SVT gets about 20 flat if you don't have your boot in it the entire time. Add a good snort of highway driving, and the number goes up, but not as much as it used to.

Blame the corn. At least its grown here in America.
 
LauraSVT said:
Ethanol makes about 2/3 the power of gasoline, so it will send your mileage right down the chute. Back a couple years ago, when we had MTBE gasoline instead of the current ethanol-infused recipe, I pulled 28.3 on the highway in a '94 Taurus SHO. Ran from Arlington, VA to northern Mass without stopping to refuel, eat, use the john, or anything. Had 481 miles on the clock when I got home, with 1.3 gallons in the tank. Sure as hell couldn't do that now. In mixed driving, my SVT gets about 20 flat if you don't have your boot in it the entire time. Add a good snort of highway driving, and the number goes up, but not as much as it used to.

Blame the corn. At least its grown here in America.
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Ehh, not quite.
It's not EtOH. Small amounts are used in base stock. Nothing has changed.

1.) Either, you're using E85, and SHOULDN'T BE.

2.) Or your car is in need of a tune-up.

3.) You're driving w/a lead foot and a large amount of that being w/in the city.
 
There is some variance nationally as to how fuel is oxygenated, what additives it gets, etc. Massachusetts is to the point now where they more or less mimic California's standards. All of our pumps read 10% ethanol -- as for the exact chemistry, I'm sure I don't know. Ironically E85 isn't for sale at all, despite the occasional leaf emblem on the fender of a Vulcan V-6 Taurus.

Another downside is that ethanol is hygroscopic. Having water in your fuel system is no good for anybody, so grab a bottle of drygas and run that through if your fuel contains ethanol. Not that it will have any impact on your fuel economy, necessarily. Keep the rust at bay, though.
 
Best gas mileage I've seen from a Contour was when I borrowed my dad's 98 2.5L SE ATX for about a month. I drove no faster then 55mph on the highways and got 29.8mpg.

My CSVT on the other hand... the best I've gotten was 25mpg mixed driving, mostly highway. Never seen anything better. Lowest I've ever gotten was 18mpg, but that was with my foot to the floor most of the time too.

I wish I could see the 30mpg mark with this car. I wonder what putting a turbo on the thing is going to do. I don't need another car like my Camaro that gets 9mpg.
 
i'd have to say mine averages anywhere from 17-23... not too good. but 18's and alot of audio equipment doesn't help either.
 
morbid said:
I'm still trying to figure out why mine only gets 15-18mpg, with a rare 20 on the freeway.
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That is pretty dismal. Is your foot heavier than you realize? :cool:

Seems to me that fuel economy concerns are more often than not caused by cheap stuff. I assume your filters are ok -- and if your EGR were acting up (not that the mileage effect would be large), you'd probably kick a light. When was the last time that you replaced your thermostat? A t-stat that isn't opening properly can cause a rich running condition and will sink your fuel economy. If you've exhausted all the normal avenues, I'd check that.
 
I never got below 25mpg. Easy driving was 30mpg+, average was 28mpg. Look at sensors, thermostat, cats, spark plugs, etc. to make sure it's all running right.

Well, track use was just under 10mpg. :laugh:
 
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