Im just curious...what kind of mpg are you somewhat built N/A guys getting? I know there is a point where efficiency and performance start splitting 2 different directions as far as mpgs. im looking to get a beater that I can make a fun DD but best mpgs possible. not talking about driving styles like keeping off of it or not going above 60....just setups. Ive heard of some ln2s with a little work getting 40mpg...is that even possible with an ld9? An eco is probably too new for my beater budget. I know itll be a 5spd and I want a cavy or sunfire.
Thats what I was thinking.
Thanks for the input
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Sunday, February 07, 2010 6:59 PM
My 01 Z24 I was getting around 35mpg N/A, before I went charger.
FU Tuning
If you're looking for a fun DD, I find the best money is spent in suspension mods. I/H/E will take care of your power needs for the most part (Iirc, Project Car magazine got just over 100 WHP with a full set of bolt ons, but you rarely need a lot of power in a DD, so getting up to 100-105 WHP is just fine.) Js are pretty sloppy handlers out of the box, so a little bit goes a long way. A decent strut bar, Eibachs, and some sway bars Will put a bigger smile on your face going to and from work. All for around $500. So with $1000 + the car (which would be fairly cheap because of resale value)
Realistically, you could have a great DD for under $4000. Hell, looking at the auto trader I found 3 cars in the first page of cavaliers under $3000. And that's in overpriced Alberta. That means everywhere else, you could get these cars for $2000.
2010 Honda Fit LX
NY Tort Scam wrote:If you're looking for a fun DD, I find the best money is spent in suspension mods. I/H/E will take care of your power needs for the most part (Iirc, Project Car magazine got just over 100 WHP with a full set of bolt ons, but you rarely need a lot of power in a DD, so getting up to 100-105 WHP is just fine.) Js are pretty sloppy handlers out of the box, so a little bit goes a long way. A decent strut bar, Eibachs, and some sway bars Will put a bigger smile on your face going to and from work. All for around $500. So with $1000 + the car (which would be fairly cheap because of resale value)
Realistically, you could have a great DD for under $4000. Hell, looking at the auto trader I found 3 cars in the first page of cavaliers under $3000. And that's in overpriced Alberta. That means everywhere else, you could get these cars for $2000.
oh i agree....im doing all those fun suspension mods on my Z. the daily would get them as time goes. My daily driver vert currently gets about 25mpg. During the semster I drive 300 plus miles a week and its killing my wallet and postponing my build lol. So im want to throw some money on somthing else so in the long run i hav emoney in the wallet. plus the vert needs retiring from DD.
I love the ld9 and umph for a daily driver but rarely see one getting 40 mpg.
I got 43mpg in my sunfire on a 6 hour road trip before, but that was 90% highway.
Lowered, stock wheels and tires, intake and downpipe back exhaust.
With the 4 speed auto or 5 speed manual the 2.2 can probably EASILY do high 30s, low 40s. But with the 3 speed, don't expect much better than 29, 30. Highway I think the highest I've ever recorded was 31 driving from Ohio to New York at 72MPH.
thatd make me happy but i think an eco is too new for my price range...im talkin like a 1000 dollar beater needs a bit of work but has potential in the long run.
best ive ever gotten out of my white 98 (2.4 auto) with all the mods i had done to it was 32mpg.
i know paul's with the brown tops, ho cams, high compression, etc gets around 30.
Daily drivers are for pussy's
But seriously, most of my driving is highway and I usualy get around 28-30 depending how much of a hurry Im in. Thats on a stock 104k turbo daily driven car
my old setup i was seeing 30ish interstate and 25ish city
My 3spd w/ all the CNG crap gets low-mid 20's mixed driving lol. The same as my built AWD DSM...
Generally, bolt-ons will always improve mileage (assuming they fit the car, i.e. header primaries that are sized correctly, intake pipe that's the proper diameter), as will anything lightweight or raising compression. Mileage starts going down with either longer duration cams, superchargers, or sticky tires
fortune cookie say: better a delay than a disaster
OHV notec wrote:My 3spd w/ all the CNG crap gets low-mid 20's mixed driving lol. The same as my built AWD DSM...
Generally, bolt-ons will always improve mileage (assuming they fit the car, i.e. header primaries that are sized correctly, intake pipe that's the proper diameter), as will anything lightweight or raising compression. Mileage starts going down with either longer duration cams, superchargers, or sticky tires
Same here. Especially in winter. Combined, my best tank since october was 23 mpg. Winter sucks for mileage.
my 2200 with intake, exhaust and header got 40.6 on the way to Florida. Maybe port work if you have a friend who knows what he's doing?
"In Oldskool we trust"
OHV notec wrote:My 3spd w/ all the CNG crap gets low-mid 20's mixed driving lol. The same as my built AWD DSM...
Generally, bolt-ons will always improve mileage (assuming they fit the car, i.e. header primaries that are sized correctly, intake pipe that's the proper diameter), as will anything lightweight or raising compression. Mileage starts going down with either longer duration cams, superchargers, or sticky tires
Don't forget cams with tight LDAs, like the 2200 has compared to the 2.2L. I say that because of the following:
'94 S-10 std. cab srt-bed auto: 23.5avg.mpg.
'99 Sonoma, same steup, but with the supposedly "better" designed engine & management: 17.99avg.mpg@last fill-up.
They're both properly maintained & I drive 'em both the same way. What's wrong here!?
Go beyond the "bolt-on".
NY Tort Scam wrote:If you're looking for a fun DD, I find the best money is spent in suspension mods. I/H/E will take care of your power needs for the most part (Iirc, Project Car magazine got just over 100 WHP with a full set of bolt ons, but you rarely need a lot of power in a DD, so getting up to 100-105 WHP is just fine.) Js are pretty sloppy handlers out of the box, so a little bit goes a long way. A decent strut bar, Eibachs, and some sway bars Will put a bigger smile on your face going to and from work. All for around $500. So with $1000 + the car (which would be fairly cheap because of resale value)
Realistically, you could have a great DD for under $4000. Hell, looking at the auto trader I found 3 cars in the first page of cavaliers under $3000. And that's in overpriced Alberta. That means everywhere else, you could get these cars for $2000.
I disagree.
It comes down to what each person considers fun. Not everyone thinks handling is fun. To others it is power.
Also alot of time lowering causes the ride to suffer.
My DD will stay on stock suspension as far as springs go. Maybe a intake and a tune, that is it.
FU Tuning
the most i've gotten was around 35/36mpg on my LD9, all highway miles doing a pretty consistant 75mph. intake, full 2.25 header back exhaust, engine mounts and i had the back seat out (not counting suspension mods). haven't really been keeping track of the '95 2.2. i love the way my Z is setup. plenty of power for my own personal preference of a DD, and the work i have done to the suspension makes it a blast to drive around some of the twisties.
Ram intake and full exhaust and a lot of homemade suspension componets have made my car a lot of fun to use as a Daily Driver, plus some good bass makes the 15-18 minute drive into town easy.
One thing I can say is that having a wide open loud ace exhaust system like I used to have on my ride made driving a pain in the ace!!
It was so loud in the cabin that I didn't want to give it any gas, so I just piped it all the way back and installed a high flow muffler.
I used to think the louder the better but no, I'm happy with a mildly loud exhaust and no headaches.
But I agree with the guy who said handling componets first then add the power. You will feel the difrence taking corners when your car is not rocking back and forth.
http//www.umods.org/drift.html
umods@live.com/ddiaz@umods.org
My MPG has been a sore subject for me. Too many factors to analyze in trying to figure it out.
The norm seems to be, you save fuel with bolt-ons as long as you drive normally.
The bolt-ons allow you to have a higher ceiling of performance though, and as such, it can consume more fuel.
Bolt-ons will give the motor less pedal effort required to obtain the same affect as a stock motor, and as such it saves on fuel.
I used to get 30MPG average with the 2.2 Ecotec Sunfire with automatic tranny.
When I got the catback, it seemed to be more like 28-29MPG.
I then upgraded the cat and got an AEM CAI, and that seemed to give me 25-27MPG average. The big fluctuation from 25-27MPG is not from racing the car to driving it Granny-style. It 'might' be the gas station's fault. I say this because I have filled up when I was at an 8th of a tank and it filled up to 13.4 gallons. That makes no sense to me. I called the Dept. of Weights and Measures a few times about this gas station. A few weeks after, my mileage magically went up. You may ask why I go there, its because I am out in the boon-docks and all the other stations sell Mo-Gas.
So assume I now get 27MPG average and 25MPG is because the crooks at the gas station messing with their equipment to line their pockets with gold. This is with a from the Cat all the way back 2.25" exhaust, an AEM cold air intake, and ground wire kit.
I did take on a trip recently that was 70% freeway miles with the above mods and got 30MPG.
I also took on a trip that was 100% freeway miles when the car was stock and got a hair over 37MPG.
I am guessing if I did that same trip with the mods, I would be getting 33MPG instead.
Factors:
-Bolt-ons
-Dishonest gas stations
-I need a fuel system service on the TB, Plenum and Injectors.
-I need a new fuel filter next oil change which is in 1500 miles.
I use fuel treatment here and there, and honestly, two work and the rest are Key-rap.
-Earnhardt's Fuel System Treatment
-Lucas Fuel System Treatment.
Lucas actually is the best. In fact I just put this in my Cobalt 2.2 and was at 30.1 MPG on the Economy computer, and it has been going up ever since I used this stuff. It currently is at 31.6MPG now. 1.5MPG and climbing is very good. Understand, I used to get 32.4 MPG average, and after it got close to time for an oil change the mileage dropped understandably to the lower viscosity and also they did this Winter blend Key-rap fuel. It dropped to nearly 29MPG. I got the oil change, it went up to 30.1 and floated around there. I got the Lucas fuel treatment and then it climbed back up to 31.6MPG and I expect it to hit its former glory of 32.4MPG.
The Cobalt is bone stock... I am getting an Injen CAI and a Racing Solutions header with my tax refund.
Everyone on the CobaltSS.net is raving about this header. Not for its power adder, but for the boost in miles per gallon.
I am having a hard time believing it, but at least 4 people have said their Economy has gone up 4-5MPG with this header alone.
It is a shorty 4:1 stainless header, and people like how it does not lose any lows, but mids and highs get a considerable boost.
I am thinking on the Sunfire, when the tax money comes in, the 4:2:1 stainless header will be getting installed along with a fuel system treatment and I may have the bearings checked too. Something is making the efficiency drop, and I think it is just age and need for maintanence. The header may give it another 1 MPG, hopefully. I was tempted to sell the 4:2:1 header, and get a Racing Solutions 4:1 stainless header for the Sunfire too. All it needs is a custom flange to attach to the stock downpipe. I may or may not upgrade the downpipe right off.
Anyways, there you have it, lots of factors here to consider when expecting a level of efficiency.
Make sure your car gets everything it needs at all the service intervals, or you will end up like me, losing 3MPG.
Everything is getting fixed on the Sunfire very soon.
My wife's 2003 Ecotec 2.2 liter Sunfire:
* 2 1/4 inch in and dual 2 inch out muffler Trans Am muffler
* 2 1/4 piping to a very long 2 1/4 inch resonator
* 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter
* an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition
* 8 gauge ground wire kit
* Toyz front strut brace
* Russell stainless steel brake lines all around.
I also want to mention this even though the subject is about NA cars.
I had an old, beaten down Dodge Daytona Shelby. Chalked full of neglect from the previous owner, shaft play in the turbo which gave me lag and many components needing replaced where I just let them go.
The motor was a 2.2 8 valve SOHC turbocharged, and I LOVED it.
Why?
It was not the fastest car on the road, but with very little upgrading it could have had over 300hp with the Super 60 system.
Anyways, the reason I loved it was this... I would fill my car every time it had 370 miles on the trip, and I could not get it to take more than 10 gallons of gas into the tank.
I never raced the car, it was not set up optimally as it needed a new turbo and other components, I ran half the times 87 octane in it (yes I was a total noobster for doing that, didn't know about the need for 91 for turbos but it never pinged) and it was not the lightest car on the road. Why I kept getting 37MPG constantly, is beyond me. No matter what gas station I pulled into, 37MPG is what I got. The trip and the odometer ran perfectly too.
This 37MPG was half freeway and half inner city. An entire trip on one tank would land me 45MPG!!! This was not even the CS model, and yes there is a CS (Carrol Shelby) lightened model and a Shelby model.
The point is, a 2.2 liter DOHC with a turbo in a lighter car should do even better.
I am tempted if I ever have the money and find an affordable proven kit, to turbo the Sunfire.
Everyone needs to turbo their car... NOW- it is the 'green' thing to do.
My wife's 2003 Ecotec 2.2 liter Sunfire:
* 2 1/4 inch in and dual 2 inch out muffler Trans Am muffler
* 2 1/4 piping to a very long 2 1/4 inch resonator
* 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter
* an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition
* 8 gauge ground wire kit
* Toyz front strut brace
* Russell stainless steel brake lines all around.
For a comparison, I bought the wife (girlfriend at the time) a 1989 Dodge Daytona ES with a 2.5 TBI motor. It was always getting 27-29MPG. It never had anywhere near the MPG as the turbo 2.2 and it was the same motor except stroked.
My wife's 2003 Ecotec 2.2 liter Sunfire:
* 2 1/4 inch in and dual 2 inch out muffler Trans Am muffler
* 2 1/4 piping to a very long 2 1/4 inch resonator
* 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter
* an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition
* 8 gauge ground wire kit
* Toyz front strut brace
* Russell stainless steel brake lines all around.
