Ideas for my 06 saturn ion sedan?
 

Hello everyone. I think this is my first post. I have been lurking for a while.

Anyway. I bought my saturn ion because it was cheap and in good shape for used...but I've always been disappointed by the fuel economy. I don't consider 30 mpg out of such a small car as "good".

So we are going to get down to business here because I'm tired of spending so much on gas. Invention comes from necessity and its do or die time as far as im concerned.

My saturn has the 2.2 ecotec 4 cyl pared to a 5 speed manual transmission. Everything else is stock, aside form the scanguage e that I am using.

I am coming to you guys for ideas on what to do to the engine and drivetrain. What tuning modifications would be great on getting better fuel economy from this vehicle? I feel as if it could run more efficiently with an engine tune, perhaps some better headers and a warm/cold air intake? How would someone remap an ecu on this vehicle?

It needs a new clutch soon, so I will be pulling the transmission off at home. Are there gear swaps for these things?

Granted this vehicle is heavy and slow, and just from an engineering standpoint, not as good as a honda. But I assume that there can be some improvement here.


-Thanks!

-Joe

I've got nothing to add, except that I'm listening. There are a few Ions in my area.

I would highly recommend starting here:

100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com

Your greatest gains will come from tweaking your driving, not your car.

Maybe a cobolt xfe transmission has a better final drive ratio?

I've gotten a PM from another member with a saturn. He did full exhaust, which im sure helps out by far. And a free flow intake from K&N. Ill start there and see if I can get some used parts. Thanks Admin, I have read those tips. I'm maxing out my hypermiling skills at the current time.

The ecotec is a pretty popular engine, there may be tuners from diablo, superchips etc. that have economy tunes that can be loaded onto your computer. Its at least worth a quick internet search.

Have you done the simple tune-up things to make sure everything is running well? I don't know what it is but the 2.2s just don't seem to sip fuel like you'd think a 4cyl would....

I remember researching tuning chips a while back, but its seems that I couldn't find anything for the 2.2 ecotec. I would more likely re-flash my ECU for better fuel economy (if thats even possible with a stock ECU?), but coming up with a map by myself would be a daunting task. I don't want to brick my daily driver. Ill take a look at diablo or superchips.

Car is well maintained. Synthetic oil or conventional every 3000 miles, no noticeable difference in fuel economy. Plugs are new, timing chain is good, no check engine lights.

I think this car gets what it gets because...well its about 3000 lbs, and has a restrictive header setup and exhaust. and GM typically typically doesnt invest much in friction/efficiency research with their economy cars.

Thanks for the info though. Ill check it out.

I was looking at materials to make my rear wheel skirts out of. I checked out home depot, and its a toss up between the plastic "milkhouse" panel/bathroom panel and light weight aluminum house flashing. 12$ for a roll that is 20" x 10' . The car would look very goofy with diy rear wheel skirts, and Im not sure if I want to jump directly to that without first doing an under-bumper air damn/cover for the front and back. I would like to lower my car to take care of some wind resistance...add better(bigger!) wheels etc, but that would be big bucks for springs unless i could find them used.