how much mileage does your car get?

[2fast2serious]

i got a 95 civic and only getting about 230 miles on 12 gallons.yes thats a little.what's wrong?timing off?how much does your car pull in?list some ways where you can improve your mileage.help me out.

[sageuvagony]

Well I used to get about 160 untill everyone here told me to change my oxygen sensor and now I get a lil over 250 and thats with flooring the engine alot... if 230 is little then what the hell am I missing out on? That means that what im getting is still shit? what else can I do for better mileage?

[RedBetta]

Hey Fellas, I've just updated a thread I have going and you can check out all my threads because all I've been concerned about for the past 6 months is increasing my gas mileage. Well I swapped heads on my VX about a month ago and mileage went down to 200 miles per tank (about 20mpg) and it got me started on getting things in order. First thing I did was put in a 170 degree thermostat and bumped up timing from 16 to 18 BTDC and mileage went to 265 miles per tank (about 25mpg). Then I bumped up the timing a bit more to about 19 - 20 BTDC and this last tank I got 315 miles (about 32 mpgs). All this with a sort of heavy right foot!

Yeah, getting a new O2 sensor helps a lot but you really have to explore all other aspects of your engine. Have your injectors as clean as possible and keep up with your maintenance work. All these cntribute to gas mileage.

[Miataracer]

lower temp thermostat will give more power but will actually slightly reduce mpg

i usually get a little over 310 miles per tank in my ol' car and its got 164K on it... how about that???

[sageuvagony]

How do I adjust timing? is it something hard to do? Seriosly I would change my timing just for gas mileage! The gas prices here in FL keep going up non stop so I REALLY need better mileage. Can anyone tell me how I can do this?

[RedBetta]

Hey Sageuvagony,

You adjust timing by loosening the distributor bolts and rotating the distributor back towards the rear of the car to advance and towards the front of the car to retard timing. You also need a timing light too. But setting the timing alone will not improve your gas mileage a lot. Make sure you have a clean air filter, good plugs and wires, correct tire pressure, clean injectors (put some Techron through your gas tank), etc. And of course, the way you drive has alot to do with your gas mileage.

The reason why I got such a huge gain is because I swapped in a 1.6L V-tec head instead of the 1.5L head that I had. This changed the whole combustion environment so much that my timing was off by a whole lot and I saw a bug improvement by advancing the timing.

I can't stress this enough : STAY ON TOP OF YOUR MAINTENANCE.

[smoothee5]

oh wow, i must consider myself lucky then. i usually can get anywhere from 350-380 miles to the tank on my '97 EX. however, i usually don't let my RPMs get above 3000 till i get to 4th and 5th gear.

[sageuvagony]

I really wanna do this to see if it helps. Im still a lil lost on how to do this.. ok so... Im guessing I remove the distributer cap then what do I do from there? what do I expect to see? Please, your info so far helps me SO much so far and im very currious on how this is done.

[RedBetta]

It is a little hard to explain on the forum, but you don't need to take off the distributor. The best thing for you to do is get a repair manual like a Haynes or Chilton, or get the best you can buy which is the Helms Service Manual.

http://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp?r=

It is very easy to do, and like I said get a timing light.

Good luck.

[Gerbilo]

I got the 1.6l SOHC vtec, when i floor it alot i get about 150miles to the tank, when i'm doing all hiway i can get around 300, when i do normal driving now that i've calmed down a bit i can get around 220 or so. I always thought i got bad mileage, but always just thought it was cause it's a lotta stop and go plus it's me driving heh.

[mtdxx]

i got a 94 DX 16V with 157K on it. if I get under 400 per tank I am disapointed. I usually run it down until it has about a gallon left in it.

[sageuvagony]

People PLEASE STOP! :-( I swear you are all going to make me cry. I am like always kicking my stupid car for the mileage its getting! The damn prices in gas going up isnt helping any! and I drive alot! I have added bout 21,000 miles in 8 months! You tell me if I drive alot! I live in tampa though, not too much stop and go. Honestly now Im getting about 220 again IF I AM LUCKY! I noticed I only get better mileage when I buy Cheveron 93 octane. Weird.... and when I buy el-cheap-o gas the engine drinks it like water. Why dopes this happen? Ive lost hope for ANY horespower in this engine so Im going to do whatever I can to get more mileage. Remember, I have a D15B7 (ewwwwwww) is it even worth changing the internals on this engine? How BAD is this engine with upgrades powerwise? I understand the debate is ALWAYS about D SOHC VTEC engines not D SOHC VTEC-LESS engines. I still like my explorer better than my civic. More comfortable, quiet, smooth, but a gas guzzler and not as fast or sporty, but with a shit load of torque. I could step on the brake and at the same time floor it and the back wheels just spin Waste of tire though.

[i_a_n112784]

I used to have a 94 cx with a dx engine in it, it would consistantly get 44mpg, then i got my 2000 dx, and it gets crap compared to the 94 civic.