mileage plummeting

[SubaSteevo]

You do realize you are giving your engine a slow and tortureous death by running on fumes don't you?

[shelfy]

i refueled the claret today and here's my stats:

372.5 miles / 16.655 gallons = 22.366 mpg

i guess it isn't too bad. this is just under my lifetime mpg of 22.518 in the claret.

[NikFu S.]

Originally posted by BurgundyBeast
You do realize you are giving your engine a slow and tortureous death by running on fumes don't you?

ive never ran it this low before.
i dont intend to make it starve. just getting a benchmark.

[KennEls]

Originally posted by NikFu S.


ive never ran it this low before.
i dont intend to make it starve. just getting a benchmark.

Could be an expensive mark on the bench


Kenn

[blackbolt94red]

My 2 cents worth.
Whoever mentioned oxygenated winter blended fuel (sorry, I forgot who) must be on to something. I commute exactly 100 miles per day, 40 miles at 70 MPH on a state highway, and 60 miles on the interstate at 80 MPH. During the summer I regularly got 26 to 28 MPG. Without worry, I went four days between fillups. Now that winter is here (South Dakota), my stats have dropped to about 20 MPG. All this driving is on almost arrow staight roads, cruise control "on". Now I fill up every three days.
One major thing I noticed is the tranny refuses to shift from 3rd to 4th until about the first 10 miles of the interstate on the return trip. OAT is about 10 degrees usually. I'm guessing this burns it up in addition to the different blends. Hope its not the transmission.
Had this car almost 9 years. Original transmission. (knock wood)
Bruce

[SubaSteevo]

You sure it's not the torque converter that you're not feeling? The fluid needs to reach a certain temp before the torque converter will lock up, if it's especially cold, you might not be hitting that temp.

[blackbolt94red]

Burgundybeast, would that affect the RPM by about 250 r's or so?
Thanks

[immortal_suby]

250 rpm sounds about right for the TC.

[blackbolt94red]

Thanks for the answer on the torque converter gentlemen. When it holds like that, is it harmful to the transmission or is it protecting itself? Please forgive this if it is a dumb question.
Thanks
Bruce

[immortal_suby]

The tranny wont shift into 4th gear until it warms to a certain temp ( cant remember what - around 50F or so) And the torque converter wont lockup until around 150F. This won't harm the tranny, most auto trannys I have driven in other cars do the same thing.

[NikFu S.]

i noticed this as well and dismissed it as a temperature thing. filled up a full tank today. thought i might as well since prices are low. $1.889 at a particular pump in town while the others are at $1.939 and above.
17 miles so far and the needle dropped to the top line.

broke 90k today. woowee!

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by NikFu S.
ive looked at some reciepts and done some math and it seems ive averaged 17 mpg for the entire past year. what a waste. i will be going to napa to order me a tornado fuel saver very soon. if it makes any good results i will give everyone a heads up.

What is with you, man?

You know that your car's timing belt isn't installed right. You know that you have a device attached that tricks your car into adding more fuel than it probably needs. So what's your solution to your low mileage?

A snake-oil, waste of money, ripoff 'Tornado Fuel Saver.'

Nik, don't get me wrong, because I like you and I want to help, but...

...get a friggin' CLUE, man!

I have never seen an independent test which verified the claims made by any of these 'vortex' manufacturers. We've discussed them many times on this site already. They're crap. They're a waste of money. They don't do what they claim. 'nuff said.

I agree with BurgundyBeast. I cry myself to sleep thinking about how you treat your car.

[NikFu S.]

Originally posted by Mr. Pockets


What is with you, man?
...
I agree with BurgundyBeast. I cry myself to sleep thinking about how you treat your car.

werd to that. this is the kind of response i was looking for. i wont get it if you guys have already found it to be crap. ill just save some dough, fix the timing, exchange the 'chip' for one with the off switch, and get a tune-up.

dont worry so much about my car. it will be fine. its not like i drive it insanely like the woman who got stuck on a 5 foot snow berm when i was pulling out of work today, or leave everything dirty like the woman in the svx whom i parked next to and didnt even acknowledge my cars existence.

i may go fast and put things in that shouldnt be there but if i were to do something totally detrimental to my baby it would be in worse condition.

although, what is this "clue" i should be getting? im not sure what you want me to do or not do. just fix my vehicle or stop asking questions about stuff. i dunno.

[SubaSteevo]

Originally posted by NikFu S.

i may go fast and put things in that shouldnt be there but if i were to do something totally detrimental to my baby it would be in worse condition.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by NikFu S.
although, what is this "clue" i should be getting? im not sure what you want me to do or not do. just fix my vehicle or stop asking questions about stuff. i dunno.

I've said it so many times, I don't even know how I can say it any differently.

Fix your car. Just fix it.

Saying, 'I know my timing's off and I trick my ECU into adding more fuel than it needs, but why is my mileage so low,' is (to my ears) like saying, 'I know I intentionally hacked my own leg off at the knee, but why is it that I walk with a limp?'

It's not that I want you to stop asking questions. I just don't understand why you keep asking them when you've known what the answer is (to all of them) for so long already. Instead of fixing the core problem you know about, you're trying all these workarounds and cheap band-aid solutions.