36.8 mpg in a 96 Saturn SL2!

[The Critic]

96 Saturn SL2, Automatic, EPA rated 24/34
99,700 miles
3,600 miles on Maxlife 5W30 (1/2 qt Quaker State 10w30 top-up @ 3k)
Michelin Hydroedge Tires, 2k? miles, 40F/36R.
Arco 87 fuel
700 pounds of cargo (includes passengers)

368 total miles. 60 miles were city driving (normally 25 mpg), rest was highway driving to Santa Cruz averaging 60 mph due to traffic and hill climbing.

Filled up with 10.1 gallons!

 

[rpn453]

Keep the highway speeds down and you'll often see that kind of mileage!

 

[Anduril]

I got 42 driving a constant 75 for 400 miles in my Corolla. Previous best was 37, achieved multiple times.

Odd how when my mom drove this car, she claimed to "never be able to break 30." Then again, she always ran it on the worst (cheapest) gas she could find, claiming the pinging was "normal because it's unleaded fuel" and when she gave it to me it had been about a quart low on oil for 7,000 miles. I now know for a fact that the engine does not burn or leak oil, so I can only assume that the guy at Wal-Mart (yes, she took it there for oil changes) didn't fill it all the way full and she never bothered to even check the level when the engine began clicking on start-up. Yes, I also mean to say that for the first 96k of this car's life, it regularly ran 6-7k miles on Supertech dino, apparently not even the correct amount of Supertech dino half the time.

I've been running Redline SI-L and premium gas to try and clean out all the deposits that have undoubtedly formed in the engine (still pings a bit, but not as much), and as soon as my shipment of ARX gets here, I'll be putting that in the crankcase as well.

 

[oilyriser]

Covering the rear wheel wells might get that up to 38 mpg.

 

[cousincletus]

My Cavalier got 40 mpg once on a trip, but normally gets about what you're getting (2200 OHV, 5 speed). Have heard of Saturns getting 40+ mpg, but those were 5 speeds. Pretty good for an automatic! BTW I checked the mileage on my 2004 Impala 3.4 and it got 30.1 mpg. Pretty good for a fullsize car.

 

[ALS]

I get 31 mpg plus with my 97 Volvo 960 at 65 mph. 3600 lbs with a Cd of .36 with a 2.9L 24 valve motor.

 

[cousincletus]

^^^ But what do you get as a combined mileage? Pure highway driving @ 65 mph just about anything does well.

 

[The Critic]

Quote:

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My Cavalier got 40 mpg once on a trip, but normally gets about what you're getting (2200 OHV, 5 speed). Have heard of Saturns getting 40+ mpg, but those were 5 speeds. Pretty good for an automatic! BTW I checked the mileage on my 2004 Impala 3.4 and it got 30.1 mpg. Pretty good for a fullsize car.

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What happened to your Cobalt?

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

YES! Keep the speed to under 65mph on flat roads, you will see near 40MPG every time. My recent trip shows 42.5MPG on my 96 SL2, even sitting in Atlanta traffic.

The best single take I recorded was back in '91 on my '91 SL base model with 4 guys in the car travelling through flat Wisconsin: Constant 68mph = 44MPG. It's amazing at how efficient these engines can be.

 

[T-Keith]

Doesn't seem that impressive for a four banger. Our 98 Lesabre gets 32+ fully loaded with people at 70+.

-T

 

[ALS]

Quote:

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^^^ But what do you get as a combined mileage? Pure highway driving @ 65 mph just about anything does well.

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Around town it is horrible on gas. I get somewhere around 16 mpg when I do drive it. Most trips consist of distances of 3 miles or less and speeds that are under 35 mph with lots of stop and go. I didn't buy the car for around town driving I bought it for highway use. The 6K-8K miles I put on the car each year is 95 percent interstate.
I have a daily driver a I4 Turbo wagon with a 5sp that gets me 20-21 in the same trips that the 960 gets me 16-17 mpg.
The big increase in the gas mileage with the 960 was the belly pan mods under the car. Those modifications got me a solid 2.5 to 3.0 mpg. The best I could do before this modification was around 28 mpg. As the the saying goes "Speed Kills" Gas mileage that is.
Belly pan mods

 

[cousincletus]

^^^That's kinda what I figured. The Impala gets a lot worse just driving around town. Best I can tell it's around 23 mpg. The 30.1 figure I got was driving like granny (67 mph on the interstate and normal acceleration at the lights). I would say 1/3 stop and go and 2/3 interstate. Don't know what highway only mpg will be but some of the times I'm afraid to go just the speed limit for fear of getting run over. Folks drive like they're insane here. I agree with the speed kills the mileage, but I feel safer keeping with the flow of traffic. I won't go over 10 over the limit regardless cause I drive for a living and can't afford to get a ticket.

 

[ALS]

When gas FIRST hit $3.00 a gallon just after Katrina I was headed down to FL and set the cruise at 65 mph. I was passing more people than were passing me in the 70 mph zones. Almost all the SUV's were running under 65 and the commercial vehicles were all running 60-62 mph. Jump ahead 1.5 years and that isn't happening any more. Like you said you have to make sure you don't get run over in the slow lane.

 

[Auto-Union]

I'm happy with 32.3 in the RSX. (mixed secondary)

 

[cousincletus]

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My Cavalier got 40 mpg once on a trip, but normally gets about what you're getting (2200 OHV, 5 speed). Have heard of Saturns getting 40+ mpg, but those were 5 speeds. Pretty good for an automatic! BTW I checked the mileage on my 2004 Impala 3.4 and it got 30.1 mpg. Pretty good for a fullsize car.

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What happened to your Cobalt?

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The Cobalt got traded for the Impala. It was an OK car, I didn't have any problems with it but to be honest I liked my Cavalier better. I gave the Cav to my stepson. The Cobalt had less headroom, my knee hit the center console, I had to reach too far for the steering wheel, and the gas mileage wasn't that great for a small car (30.5 was my long term average). Of course, I didn't notice any of this on the 15 minute test drive before I bought it. I figured I would trade it while it was still worth something, as I just couldn't see myself in it for the next 5 or so years. BTW Impala (3.4) gets similar mileage, believe it or not. I double checked on www.fueleconomy.gov. and it's not just me who's getting just so-so mileage from their Cobalt. EPA highway mileage is actually the same for both cars, although the Cobalt is smaller. It seems like the old Saturns get better mileage than the new ones too, though they aren't that much bigger.