Gas Mileage for a Festiva?

[litesong]

Is there any chance that high altitudes help increase fuel economy? I don't believe that the thinner air would be a benefit. Karl

In the 1970's when I knew I would be going thru Rocky Mountain passes(12,000ft) & to Mt. Evans(14,000+feet), with all my cars I'd have my mechanic lean out my air-fuel ratio. I would avoid the black smoke & sputtering engines running on too rich a mixture while at quadruple digit altitudes. Sometimes I would get 40MPG running thru up & down 7 to 9000 foot passes. When I would come down off the Rockies into the plains east of the Rockies, both my Plymouth Champ & Ford Festiva gave me their best MPG. I figured the engine was well tuned plus there would be considerably lower air drag.

[JPT]

Higher altitude also requires less octane.

[milehighbear]

i have a 93 festy with 5 sp and i get 45-50 all the time with mine

[Ogrestiva]

I get about 35 city, 42 highway.

[litesong]

litesong......you are actually doing the math when figuring out the milage right? Not just saying that at half a tank I have 250 miles so I am getting 50 miles per gallon...right? I am sorry but I am really amazed at the milage.

Hi GenevaDirt....After the 51.8MPG tank going over 5500 foot Chinook Pass & a 45MPG tank, today a tank with 3 days of driving with an ascent to ~ 2800 feet came in at 52.0MPG! That timing belt is working wonders.

Wonder how long the topnotch tuning will last. All 3 tanks were using Costco gas, here in Washington state. Maybe it'll last pretty good since the car is 20 years old.

[litesong]

Up up & away...to high MPG

After the 51.8MPG tank going over 5500 foot Chinook Pass

Well...another 50+MPG Festiva tank came in for my carbureted 4 speed 1988 Festiva. That makes 3 out of the last 4 tanks that exceeded 50MPG! This tank is the lowest so far, being 'only' 50.8MPG. But here are the particulars...

The tank included 2 warmups over 3 days, NOT a 'travel gas stop & continue'. The tank also included a roundtrip from near sea level, over 4059 foot Stevens Pass, descent to 600 foot elevation Columbia River, 5500 foot North Cascades Nat'l Park's Washington Pass, an 800+ foot rise & fall to Chelan, Washington, six hundred feet of rise & fall around Ross Lake & a number of rises & falls in the North Cascades loop. All totaled, the 50.8MPG tank included a calculated gain & loss of 10,300 feet(11,000+ feet in reality?)!

All three tanks were on Costco gas.

Again, if your Festiva is giving low MPG, try new sparkplug wires & a new timing belt. My Festiva is performing better than when it was new...& it was great when it was new.

[gotrootdude]

I'm with you on the new wires and timing belt. I'm getting 50+ out of mine as well after a timing belt change, new wires, points and coil. (old coil wire actually rusted through and left me stranded several weeks ago.) (Timing belt was replaced when a new water pump was put in about a month ago.)

It's an automatic w/air.

It's all flat here. No hills. Very little braking. Gas was from wherever was convenient.

[litesong]

[QUOTE=gotrootdude;160391]Timing belt was replaced when a new water pump was put in about a month ago.[QUOTE]

I had my waterpump changed with the timing belt too. Even tho the waterpump was 20 years old, it looked to be in nice condition at 80,000 miles.