FUEL ECONOMY whoes

[IanSzgatti]

oh yes... I am not a happy malibu owner. It bothers me that I had to get rid of my 1991 Olds Cutlass Ciera with that dynamite 90 degree 3.3. People, I was getting between 550 and 650 kilometers to a tank on the motor that had 310,000 kms on the clock.

i'll tell you this... I replaced 02 sensors often to maximize efficiency, new thermo, coolant sensor, plugs, wires, MAF, oil changed every 5 to 7 thousand, balanced and properly aligned wheels, made positive all injectors ohmed out to spec, kept that bi*ch so clean. I had to get rid of it because the body was sooo beat up, it was a real embaracment to continue driving... im tellin ya, people would literally give me dirty looks! if they only new it ran as good or better as theirs...haha

this car though... nice looking with the olive green and alloy wheels, brand new 215/60/16's with cool looking tread.. as cool as they look, thats a lot more meat on the road than my old 185/65/14's... pumped up to 35psi they were like little pizza cutters that most def helped the milage.

i'll be working on getting this maliboom up to par over the next while, but as it stands I'm getting like 400 to 450 kilometers to a tank... and I've only replaced to pre-cat 02 sensor so far... DAMN!!!

so, check out my vehical info... 1997 3100 SFI...

What kind of milage are YOU getting??? and if possible break it down in kilometers to save me from doing all the conversions... im canadian

[IsaacHayes]

Uhm, does the malibu have a smaller tank? You need to keep track in km/gal or m/g.

[geldartb]

http://www.internetautoguide.com/car-specifications/09-int/1997/chevrolet/malibu/index.html

heres some specs
and heres liter converted to gallons
58 liter = 15.321979 US gallons

the after cat o2 sensor wouldnt affect your mileage all it does is check to see if the cat is working.

from what i could find they both have 15 gallon tanks

heres a side by side of the cars
the ciera on the left has the 4speed auto and the on the right of the malibu has the 3 speed auto

[IsaacHayes]

My car I get ~21-22 in town while beating on it...

[IanSzgatti]

Uhm, does the malibu have a smaller tank? You need to keep track in km/gal or m/g.

nope... takes the same amount of gas... I have always kept track with a trip meter at every fill up...my driving style is light.

to reply to the other comment about the 02 sensor... i realize the role of that sensor, but i also know that they too can become ineffective a monitoring catalyst activity... I appreciate the specs posted, but the numbers there really don't change the fact that I'm at 217 kilometers and I'm down to just over a half tank already... it's laughable.

I've seen other posts... particularly in on sites like united malibus and on automotive forums (maliboom section) where other owners complain of poor milage... as soon as I get this solved though I'll definately mention it...

as of now Im getting 16 mpg... driving like miss daisy, sorry, but wider tires alone wont cause that... I think I need to take a look at my LTFT numbers, and look around for vac leak like Isacc Hayes suggests...
I like the way this 3100 sounds... but it's got a little ways to go before I'm a believer!!

[geldartb]

my grand am's like that. to me it seems like im getting way less gas mileage than everyone else. and thats driving like miss daisy too.

im at something like 220 miles at 3/4 of a tank. should be way more than that.
if i remember right i got way more with my beretta and that thing has 180k on it vs the 7k on the new motor in the grand am.
it always bugged me seemed like i was always filling up.

try an o2 sim for the 2nd o2 sensor i ran one for over a year with no problems then i got dhp.

[IsaacHayes]

What brand O2 sensors you running?

[PCGUY112887]

220 miles and you still have 3/4 of a tank left? Surely that is an error, that's VERY good MPG

[geldartb]

220 miles and you still have 3/4 of a tank left? Surely that is an error, that's VERY good MPG

sorry i meant i have a 1/4 left 3/4 gone

Issace i forget but i think its s bosch one from a-zone. prob gonna try a different brand or something directly from the dealership soon

[IanSzgatti]

I have an 02 made by the guys who make NGK plugs...

as for that Grand Am... I've driven a grand am before that I also thought was a little heavy on the fuel use... Combine that with the fact that a 7k motor is soooo new that there is a whole lot more internal resitance due to near prestine clearances.. I think your mileage should go up as the motor breaks in more... i mean like 20,000 or more... this is what i've heard and makes complete sence to me.

i've put my tires from the manufacturer recommended 28 psi/ 26 psi up to 40 all around... I really dont give a shite about suspension geometery or ride comfort... I want less rolling resistance... it's made a difference. The only thing with that is I gotta watch how my tires react, I dont want to run to high a pressure and cup the tires...

WHAT IS AN 02 SIM????

[geldartb]

http://www.afterthoughtsauto.com/o2sim.html

tells you more in the link.

The second oxygen sensor is located after the catalytic converter and is used only to detect the performance of the converter. The PCM does NOT use any data from the secondary O2 sensor for engine management. The PCM will set an SES (service engine soon) light (for DTC's P0140, P0141 and/or P0420) if the catalytic converter is removed, the sensor is removed, or the sensor goes bad.

[85_Olds_Ciera]

What kind of milage are YOU getting?

N14 Cummins Truck - 3 Kilometers Per Liter

82/86 Chevy Caprices - 8.49 to 11.04 Kilometers Per Liter

88 Beretta GT - 11.89 to 12.74 Kilometers Per Liter

85/87 Olds Ciera - Not running yet...but with Iron Duke motors (2.5), and a soft pedal in rural America...maybe 11.89 Kilometers Per Liter

[85_Olds_Ciera]

the ciera on the left has the 4speed auto and the on the right of the malibu has the 3 speed auto

You know anything about HP requirements for these trannies...like this below:

Just in case you're curious, power loss for various auto transmissions:
Please remember these are approximate values, and were provided by Car Craft Magazine.

Powerglide_____18 hp
TH-350________36 hp
TH-400________44 hp
Ford_C-6______55-60 hp
Ford_C-4______28 hp
Ford_FMX______25 hp
Chrysler_A904__25 hp
Chrysler_727___45 hp

[IanSzgatti]

4T60-E................2.921 1.568 1.000 0.705 2.385
4T65-E................2.921 1.568 1.000 0.705 2.385

I know my cutlass had the 4T60E... and in another thread I was told I had the ???...... cant remember... anyways, whats the difference with these two listed above?? One newer??

[IanSzgatti]

http://www.afterthoughtsauto.com/o2sim.html

tells you more in the link.

The second oxygen sensor is located after the catalytic converter and is used only to detect the performance of the converter. The PCM does NOT use any data from the secondary O2 sensor for engine management. The PCM will set an SES (service engine soon) light (for DTC's P0140, P0141 and/or P0420) if the catalytic converter is removed, the sensor is removed, or the sensor goes bad.

awsome... really specific and definately important info packed into one sweet to-the-point paragraph... this 02 sim seems pretty cool, but i'd like to know exactly how it emulates the readings of a sensor monitoring a healthy cat... I guess it wouldnt matter... it works so it works