Hey guys!

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by skyrine

Hey,
I came across this forum a few minutes ago when I was looking up tips to get better mpg. This seems like a pretty awesome forum. Its amazing how people are getting 60+mpg in regular cars. Would anyone be able to point me in the direction of a list of simple things to do to your car to get better mpg? I get 12-14mpg in the city and 21 on the highway if I'm lucky :/

Welcome! And check out the lists recommended by others already. That's where I started nearly three years ago. Keep a fuel log here at EM too. (Get a gauge... they pay for themselves quickly... you'll be amazed how much they help).

Originally Posted by skyrine

Was thinking about picking up a completely stock early 90s nissan 240sx. They come with a naturally aspirated 2.4 inline 4. They get 30s in the city from what Ive heard. I think Im going to try and get the best mpg possible with that car.

The numbers on that Nissan are a lot lower than you're thinking:
1992 Nissan 240SX

An early 1990s plain jane Civic will do better for you... even a 1992 Miata will have ratings more like what you're looking for... Fuel Economy of the 1992 Mazda MX-5 Miata

[skyrine]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

The numbers on that Nissan are a lot lower than you're thinking:
An early 1990s plain jane Civic will do better for you... even a 1992 Miata will have ratings more like what you're looking for...

A stock KA doesnt get that great of gas mileage so I was wrong about that. Ive heard of guys getting close to 30s around town in them though. I think that was probably with the Japanese turbo motor (sr20det). You can tune them to run a little more lean and they get great mpg. I owned a miata a few years ago. Im sure it would have got great gas mileage had it been stock. It had an aftermarket turbo kit and tune. It got around 16mpg city and 24 on the highway :/
A lot of that probably had to do with my driving style though

[oldtamiyaphile]

SR and RB series Nissans run very rich, a remap will pay dividends and stop your car turning black around the exhaust every week.

I get around 24MPG average out of my near stock R32, will remap someday.

[UltArc]

So much great info packed into this thread, already!

As it was mentioned, driving style is very important, but it's not all sadness and being a lame duck, as I drive with others and think about my driving 5+ years ago, we as a people waste fuel for no reason.

Racing to red lights, not paying attention to traffic, sticking in one lane while the next has zero traffic- the best thing to think about is keeping momentum. Even if you don't EOC, just coasting will be better than using extra fuel so you have to use more brakes later

I drive on a higher speed road sometimes, and at one point it goes from two lanes to one- and I drive 55-60 in the 55, while cars fly past me. 95% of the time, I blow past them and get ahead of them while they wait (IN ONE LANE, IN A ROW!) at the red light they raced to, or see them waiting at the next light that I EOC up to, and then bump start to go up the next hill.

Moral of the story, not wasting fuel often is faster than mindlessly accelerating (not saying you, but compared to the usual driver who doesn't think about driving).