Fuel Economy

[studdyhalllooser]

when i bought mine it had a cracked cat and a small glasspack looking muffler. i put a straight pipe in place of the cat and got my best mpg, which was a steady 40-45 depending on my driving. i got tired of it being loud so i had a 1 1/2" system put on (dont know the mufler but its quiet) and my mpg went down 3 or 4...lost a little low end power...not enough to make me want it loud again.

[WmWatt]

If the vacuum guage needle is vibrating I'd definitely clean off the ignition wires, cap, rotor, and spark plugs. That does it on mine.

Otherwise, the smoother the ride, the better the gas milage. Gradual acceleration and deceleration, gentle gear shifting. I go so far as to avoid hills and uphill grades.

I plan my gas purchases to minimize cost as well. When prices are up I put in $5 just to keep going. When the price dips I fill the tank. It's small change but over a lifetime of driving I think I've saved quite a bit.

[darkdan]

Mine only shakes under light partial throttle.

[Gro Harlem]

driving habits are IMO most important when it comes to fuel economy.

When I drive..i try to preserve as much kinetic energy as possible.

Example:

I'm coming up on a stoplight (little-no traffic) that is turning red about 1/4 mile down the road.

Depending on how many people are turning at the light or whatever I might slow down gradually and preserve as much forward-motion as possible. Sometimes i get lucky & the light will turn green again while i'm still rolling 10-20mph's.


It takes 600% more fuel to get a car to speed from a standstill than at 5mph. If you are driving lots of stop & go..keeping the forward-motion as much as possible will help your fuel econ immensely.



Another thing I see a lot, people say "Don't use your air conditioning". While most festiva owners don't even have a/c..i think this is a croc of shit. Having ur windows open on a hot day VS a/c i'd pick AC any day. On a highway you are causing so much drag with the windows wide open VS windows closed with a/c on & at cruising speed, the a/c doesn't bog the engine down nearly as much since the condenser works better with air flowing through it.

Another tip...keep your tires INFLATED. Some people overinflate to preserve fuel but taht also wears your tires out quicker, so you aren't going to save any money doing this. I keep my tires at 35psi on my car, which seems high, but the car has different width wheels & performance tires that IMO work better with higher pressure. Regular use..i'd say 30psi for the stock 12's

[muscle_Car1]

I remember someone on TV doing a comparison between A/c vs windows down. A/c uses more energy till around 45mph then the drag from windows being open is greater.


Momentum driving helps the most

[festivareal]

replace the spark plugs w/ NEW COPPER type (i prefer AC Delco) DON"T USE PLATINUM!!!! Advance the timing 3* from stock if you want to run 87 oct., more if you run a higher oct.

What did you find out about the Platinum plugs? I heard platinum doesnt spark as hot as copper and couldnt be used in some turbos for example as it gets too hot in there and they can melt. Is it anything to do with that? How do you advance the timing on the festiva?

[ramichael]

My '93 gets 50 mpg but im driving about 100 miles per day to go to work and back.