Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance Improving fuel economy

I am starting this here only because of the vast discussion of Octane ( that seems to be in the wrong place, but was left alone ) So if the thread gets moved, so be it.



First thing I'll say, if you want mileage and lots of it buy a diesel VW. But here, that's not the case. We have our contiques and love them, so we will suffer with the price of gas as it is.

Is there anything that WE can do to help our cars? Experimenting with tire pressures, smaller tire sizes ( widths ), shifting at a lower RPM anything real that someone has experimented with. Anyone do any real world experimenting ? I will say one thing for me, shifting at 3k made the biggest difference in mileage so far. I won't even start with tornado's

Biggest thing for me was cleaning out the intake manifolds.

drafting.......i have noticed when i tailgate people i gain 2mpg.....although i wouldnt recomend it.....

-lots of really good and disciplined maintenance
-keep you right foot light and easy on the throttle
-coast when you can
-no on ramp romps

Driving habits have a big role.

The Number 1 way to improve your MPG is to change your driving habits.

Best mods for it. Exhaust, Y-pipe, custom chip.

Best maintenance: UIM/LIM cleaning, fuel filter, spark plugs.

Dont forget to run a injector cleaner every 3 or 4k, and shift before the secondaires open up. The cleaning the UIM/LIM (manually) is a HUGE improvement. As already stated!

Pretty much the better you keep the car, especially the often overlooked tires, the better it will run in general.

Shifting before secondaries open is going to help MPG, but I imagine that your secondaries would become gunked very quickly as compared to shifting often in higher rpms.

Exhaust definitely made a huge difference on my old mystique. I straight away went from averaging 480km/tank to 580km/tank. It did seem a little high, so I imagine there was something a little freaky, but you can't dispute a solid fact!

Increasing MPG isn't the only issue though, consider walking/cycling places too. Before I moved to Canada I used to walk everywhere. If the store where I wanted a packet of smokes from was 1-2 miles away, I would be happy to walk there and back (usually stop in at the pub though). Here I've found that my walking habits are changing as the general populace tend to like to drive to their mailboxes (some 100 yards away). Remember the average human's pace is something like 4mph, so a one mile walk will only take you 15minutes. Obviously it's not always practical, but every little helps.

I strongly agree with Christian! Even make sure your tire pressure is correct all of the time on all four tires. O yea, do not forget that our cars eat fuel filters! So, keep a nice fresh fuel filter on your car! Walking is a excellent way to get better fuel economy haha! And its really good for you, not just for your car and wallet!

If you NEVER run the engine past 4000 you will get the most HORRIBLE carbon build-up in your secondary ports which is NOT fun to clean out later. Run it into the powerband regularly for short bursts or shift at 5K sometimes and skip gears

On the freeway, keep your speed below 80 if you can

Maintenance items of course (fresh filters, good plugs, manifold cleaning, etc)

Intake, exhaust, headers and chip will all increase mileage and performance.