Does my mpg sound right?

Nov 30, 2005 13 Replies

I just got this car and a couple tanks of gas shows im getting 21 mpg from a 1991 cutlass calais. (2.5l 3speed auto,85k miles)



I just did a basic tune up ,ox sensor,sparkplugs/wires,airfilter,oil/engine&trans.egr valve, 195f to pass emissions and it passed.



I use about 30% flat highway- 30% in the city-40% on the highway going up a mid sized mountain for 4 miles then down for 3. But when im going down i almost never use the brake just coast the way down. fueleconomy.gov reports 22mpg city 31 highway. Im always under 60mph,i dont jump off the line, ect.



Does this sound right? I got this car hoping to get better mileage than my old junker(78 lebaron) with a v8 (got 13-14mpg).



Could be. I dont know exactly the configuration of your engine, but I used to have an 84 Fiero with the 2.5 Iron Joke engine, throttle body injector, and it didnt really get any better than that.

Father in law has a 4 cylinder in his little GM picku (2-3 years old, I guess), and it doesnt get any better than that either.

Now, I had an 89 Buick Regal with the 2.8 litre TPI V6, and that sucker easily got 33-35 mpg on the highway.

I had a 1985 Celebrity with the 2.6L "Iron Duke" (and the automatic tranny with overdrive) and I loved it. The only problem was the V belts slipping (need adjusting on a regular basis). I used to get in the mid

20's around town and in the low to mid 30's on the highway. The big problem I found was that on these engies, they had a channel on the intake manifold that was used for the EGR valve and it carboned up regularly. You have to unbolt and lift the TBI unit to clean the carbon out of the passageway. In 15 years and just under 200,000 miles, I never had to do any major work on the engine and it still ran great when I replaced it in 2001.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% There are two classes of pedestrians in these days of reckless motor traffic - the quick and the dead. ~ Lord Dewar 1933 ~

Climbing into a hot car is like buckling on a pistol. It is the great equalizer. ~ Henry G. Felsen 1964 ~

You're lucky. There was the big problem with cracking blocks in that engine. (I think you mean 2.5, not 2.6) I checked the situation on the Fiero with GM and they swore that my block was not affected.. BS. It cracked, like the vast majority of them did, above the lifter gallery into the water jacket. I went through

4-5 junk yard cores before I finally found the accidental good block that was rebuildable.

GM, as usual, did nothing.

Thank you everyone I guess i will just keep watching it and if it goes down more i will start looking into it ,until than i will just be happy :)

Thanks again

Look at it this way. You moved up 13 years and 50% in mileage from the LaBaron. You can go over 30 m.p.g. with your next move to a 2004 Sunfire in 2018!

I find Duralube helps a bit for MPG; certainly pays for itself and significantly reduces wear. This is in 4 cars over 17 yrs.

Consumer Guide Auto' 91 book says a 91 Old Calais with 2.5 4cylinder with 3 speed auto trans is rated at 22 city 31 hwy.

Harryface

05 Park Avenue, 32,672 91 Bonneville LE 304,656

If Duralube does so dam much for you how come you had to buy four cars in 17 years? I've got the same car for way over 17 years.

I drove a 1988 Chevy Celebrity sedan for 5 years in the late 90s for 5 years with the same engine and transmission configuration.. It was easily getting

35 mpg on the highway..I loved the fuel economy but acceleration was a joke! too heavy car and only 98 or 100 hp engine! It killed me on the ramps..Also, lots of carbon built up occurred..

ahmet

Do you mean their engineering or appearances? I think most of the new Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, Mitsubishis are all real ugly. They aren't clean designs. Whereas, check out the new Chevy Malibu, Pontiac G6, Dodge Stratus, etc.. Much better in my opinion, but you know what they say about opinions. I actually also like the Korean designs like the Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata, Santa Fe, etc.. cleaner designs than the current crop of Japanese cars.

I've got a 1988 Pontiac 6000 with the same config. The 2.5 stalls a lot. Watch the timing gears on them. Mine easily gets the 30's on the highway, but in the city, the fuel economy isn't any better than an SUV in the city. Oh yes, and I have to almost floor it to make it up an incline going 65mph without losing speed. The Celebrity we had before this car stalled also. We got rid of it when the head cracked. I don't know how many miles it had on it. Both cars do/did well in the winter weather provided it would start. Both cars are still running today, but the 6000 is in trouble with a tranny leak @ 124k. We'll have to see what the outcome is. The Celeb I assume was worked on.

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