easy mpg increase?

[razr_88]

have a 1992 olds 88 royale, and since gas prices are on the rise, i have been looking to dramaticaly increase the gas mileage with an easy fix.

i have been reading around and came across some home made water injection sites. then i got a really crazy idea. is it possible to increase my mpg, by taking a wet rag or something and placing it in the intake just before the air filter?

Or maybe run some kind of drip system onto the air filter itself? and then if anybody has any ideas on how to increase the mileage, i would greatly appreciate it. thanks for caring

[olds8894]

I feel ya man, I really do. I just filled my '94 up and checked the MPG, its 15.84. My dad's F-150 4.6 liter V8 gets almost 18, so I'm pissed. later Duder.

[Alibi]

Umm...yeah...you should be getting closer to 25mpg, more or less depending on how/where you drive. New, the 3.8 is rated around 20 city and 28 highway. When was the last time you did any serious maintenace (plugs, wires, filters, o2 sensor, properly inflated tires)??

As for non-maintenance upgrades, I've been planning a ram-air duct w/ K&N filter enclosed in a cold air induction box...more, cleaner, and colder air to engine means more oxygen for a fuller combustion of fuel and therefore an HP gain of 10-20.

You could always try a weight reduction, if your'e really desperate. Pull the extra seats, dashpad, carpet, headliner, spare tire, tools, grille, hubcaps (if not alloys), door panels (leave switches)... J/K tho

Umm...you could run basically anything made by Lucas or SeaFoam (both company's products acutally do what they say) to help get some gunk out of your engine. Or a bottle of chevron techron fuel system cleaner, it does what it says also.

One more thing, don't run gas from no-name stations or just crappy quality fuel in general--poor quality fuel won't burn as well as cleaner, better gas.

[razr_88]

wouldn't a cold air system would decrease the mpg? that's what i heard.

[tri-power]

Start with the basics. Plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter, pcv valve, crankcase filter if your application has one. This will get you a noticeable mileage increase.

[olds8894]

I changed the plugs two weeks ago. Umm, air filter is new, and the engine is running pretty good, a little slugish off the start but its what the 3800's do. Basically, I'm lost. The air pressure in the tires is good, probably a little over inflated even. I might have to go with Alibi's idea of weight reduction...jk. Though it would be kind of neat. lol. If anyone has any more suggestions I'll take them. My car doesn't have a catalytic converter, could that be it?

[razr_88]

yes free flowing pipes would decrease your mpg.

by the way im trying something. i got the idea off some other websites, but what i did is i took a soup can, hooked a wire to it from an old fog lamp harness that isn't really being used, and suspended a wire from the top just so it wasn't touching anything. the i filled the can up with an electrolyte solution of water and salt. made a lid out of an old tuna can by cuting a slit out of the side. now when i turn on the wire harness, instant hydrogen on command. I don't have a way to feed it into the engine, so i just pointed the hole in the lid towards the intake.

i started her up, turned on the electrolyzer, she, did a lot of stuttering but eventually she settled down... i'll keep you guys updated on how well it works. oh and it gets really hot. so i actually put the electrolyzer can inside a larger can...

[olds8894]

Seems like a lot of work. Good luck though.

[Alibi]

Originally Posted by razr_88

wouldn't a cold air system would decrease the mpg? that's what i heard.

Hmm... Extra horses would prolly eat more gas so yeah, it probably would reduce fuel economy...but it would go faster

You didn't replace the plugs with Bosch, did you??? ACDelco's are 3800's friend. Also, it may be a good idea to replace your plug wires if they haven't been replaced in a while (don't buy cheapies, get at least midrange priced).

Anyway, have you checked for a vacuum leak? If you hear a whistling noise it is possibly a leak...spend two or three dollars on a foot or two of rubber hose suitable for vacuum lines and replace every bit of hose you can (don't worry about the plastic lines), especially if the old hoses are cracking.

Also, get a can or two of throttle body cleaner, remove the MAF screen, clean the throttle plate, remove IAC valve and clean that too. The build-up of carbon deposits would gum up those parts pretty bad if they haven't been cleaned in a while.

[olds8894]

Vacuum lines have all beed replaced. The car wasn't in the best of shape when I purchased it. Put lots of money into it. The engine has had almost all the small parts changed out and what not. I'll have to try some of the Lucas or SeaFoam stuff mentionted above.

[Alibi]

How many miles does the engine have? Has the timing chain ever been replaced? I believe 75-100k miles is the safe lifetime of the timing chain assembly.

A stretched timing chain would reduce MGP and would also cause hesitation and slow acceleration. If you do replace the timing chain and gears, replace the damper as well. One other thing to do while the front cover is off would be to replace and glue in (Jb weld or 2 part epoxy) the cam interruptor magnet to avoid a future code 41....

[olds8894]

I'll give it some thought.

[razr_88]

i've only run the electrolysis unit for less than 2 hours, and the electrodes have corroded away...

there's got to be a better way of doing this... seriously

[acidcrashdburnd]

heh when my tps was bad i got around 9 mpg right now i get 18 with the k&n i got from my moms gtp she did a cold air out of pvc cone filter im gona steal her car she pulls mid 13' s

[dmanlyr]

I have found in the case of my 1992 98 (supercharged) and the galfriends 93 98 (naturaly asperated) , simular in the drivetrain to the 88, that too slow of acceleration hurt over all mileage. It seems that a bit more throttle than you would use with a carb'd car works the best. Weird I know but it shows up as about a two mpg difference (depends upon percent of city / steady state freeway driving) according to the computer.

These cars already have a cold air intake from the factory. Maybe not one of those polished units with a K&N, but it is a cold air intake in the simplest terms.

A full 3'' Flowmaster system on my 92 supercharged car DECREASED my overall mileage by about 1 mpg. Guess the factory knew pretty well what they were doing. Of course the flow master does sound a bit nicer

I agree on the timing chain, that will affect performance as well as mpg, especialy in city driving.

TPS starting voltages can also be tailored within a slight range which affects overall driveability more than mileage, unless the TPS is bad.

I average low 20's on both car in mixed driving, both cars will run 27+ on the highway. (previous owner of my 98 averaged 11 mpg, I changed NOTHING other than driving styles, the previous owner would idle the car for prolonged periods!?!)

As mentioned, plugs, Ox2 sensor, and checing for small vaccume leaks will probably do the most to increase your mileage as well as different driving habits.

My 2 cents David