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Vacation to Canada

kjohnson

kjohnson

New member
Im going to Canada right arround the first of the mounth and I was wondering a few things.
Since gas is going to be arround 4$ a gallon(or so I hear) up there I would like to try and make my car more fuel efficiant/just all arround ready for a 2k round trip.
what Im thinking about doing but could use a little help indirections with is I think it is time to change my fuel filter. its an 03 and since it seems like no matenence has been done to the car prior to me it is probbly due(i think not sure)
other things that I am going to do right before I leave is check tire pressure and clean air filter
as well as take stuff out of the car that I dont need. Im even considering taking out my subs(dont think I want to though since my 6x9 amp is tied into it)
are there other things that you guys recommend me doing that I haven't thought of? I'm trying to do as many of the cheaper things that I can to try and save a little money without spending a bunch. thanks guys
 


Make sure you wax the hell out of it. Over the last 4 or 5 trips I've made from FL to NC I checked my MPG's under the same driving conditions.
My averages over the entire trip were:

Super dirty car-28.5MPG
Drive thru car wash -29.5MPG
Washed, with a quick wax-29.5MPG
Washed, Clay barred, and waxed-35MPG(trip back was 34MPG)

All trips were around the same temp (75-80) and same cruise speed 80MPH

So wax the hell outa it, clean the air filter, make sure your tires are aired up and balanced, and drop back about 5mph, and you'll be gold.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't put that in my car.....there are some chemicals that can boost octane, but just stick with plain old gasoline. The other thing you could do is change out your spark plugs, that'll typically help a little.

You could also Seafoam the car, that helped me some, and doesnt take much time.

I dont add anything to my oil, even though a few people swear by it.

I used 1/2 the bottle in my intake, and 1/2 in the gas.(It cleans the injectors when added to the fuel, and cleans out the intake when added to your vacuum line)
 
Run good gas, make sure the car is tuned up.

Perhaps invest in a new primary O2 sensor.

So new O2, new plugs (iridiums are fine), new wires, new air filter (consider making a FWI/Short ram intake), check the PCV valve, change the oil, drop the tranny pan and fill it with Dex VI.

That should take care of that.

Where exactly in canada are you going?

Oh and leave the subs in, what will make most of the difference is maintaining your speed and not slowing down or accelerating as much. Try to maintain a constant speed as much as possible.
 
matt5112 said:
Run good gas, make sure the car is tuned up.

Perhaps invest in a new primary O2 sensor.

So new O2, new plugs (iridiums are fine), new wires, new air filter (consider making a FWI/Short ram intake), check the PCV valve, change the oil, drop the tranny pan and fill it with Dex VI.

That should take care of that.

Where exactly in canada are you going?

Oh and leave the subs in, what will make most of the difference is maintaining your speed and not slowing down or accelerating as much. Try to maintain a constant speed as much as possible.
Click to expand...

hwo do i check the pcv? do i just put in plugs or do i have to worry about gap? I am going to wabagoon lake next to dryden ca
 


Meh, still hours away from me lol.

pop off the MAP sensor and there should be the PCV valve, just take it out and shake it. If it rattles, its good.

gap the plugs at 0.060" IIRC.

our cars only have two O2's. a primary and secondary.

The primary dictates fuel economy and the second makes sure your cat is working. change the first one.
 
pull the fuel pump relay then start the car, wait till it dies. then try to start it again for 2-4 seconds.

Maybe do that twice... the start for 2-4 second part. I did that once and it still pissed fuel everywhere....

Fuel filter might help, but i doubt it. its worth changing anyways. Its a quick job.
 
matt5112 said:
Meh, still hours away from me lol.

pop off the MAP sensor and there should be the PCV valve, just take it out and shake it. If it rattles, its good.

gap the plugs at 0.060" IIRC.

our cars only have two O2's. a primary and secondary.

The primary dictates fuel economy and the second makes sure your cat is working. change the first one.
Click to expand...

see my last truck an 96 s10 had four o2's so I was confused
 


thats because it was RWD and had the 4300 so it had two exhaust manis and two cats....

It monitored each bank separately and had two cats to monitor so it needed four O2's.

our cars are FWD so transverse mount, one primary and one secondary. Longitudinal mount typically have two cats and two O2's per bank for that same reason.
 
if it won't kill you, drive the speed limit. I'm one of those drivers that goes 5 over all the time, but just for fun i compared fuel mileage. at 70, i got 28 mpg, at 65, I got 32.
 
any other advise as to getting that filter out of that line? i've read of people having trouble getting it off or ruing the fuel line and I want no part of that
 
ZR1Vette09 said:
if it won't kill you, drive the speed limit. I'm one of those drivers that goes 5 over all the time, but just for fun i compared fuel mileage. at 70, i got 28 mpg, at 65, I got 32.
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hahaaha your funny......no I undersand what you are saying but idk if I will be able to talk myself into that. how much longer would it take me to drive 1400 miles if i drove 55 instead of 60 anyhow? just courious
 
matt5112 said:
Run good gas, make sure the car is tuned up.

Perhaps invest in a new primary O2 sensor.

So new O2, new plugs (iridiums are fine), new wires, new air filter (consider making a FWI/Short ram intake), check the PCV valve, change the oil, drop the tranny pan and fill it with Dex VI.

That should take care of that.

Where exactly in canada are you going?

Oh and leave the subs in, what will make most of the difference is maintaining your speed and not slowing down or accelerating as much. Try to maintain a constant speed as much as possible.
Click to expand...

what do you mean by a short ram intake?
 


unbolt the bracket for the filter, bend it so you can spin the filter instead of the fitting if the fitting is seized on the line. Undo the quick disconnect side first.

0611001909.jpg


Short ram like that.

I do 75 MPH because thats the fastest I can go without the cops bugging me around here.

You get the best fuel efficiency at 80 km/h or 50 mph.... But have fun doing that on a long trip and being passed like you're an idiot.
 
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Ok so what do you do with the little sensor that is inline with the filter. I could probably find it somewhere but I dont know what that sensor is called or what it does so I figured I'd just ask
 
kjohnson said:
Ok so what do you do with the little sensor that is inline with the filter. I could probably find it somewhere but I dont know what that sensor is called or what it does so I figured I'd just ask
Click to expand...

IAT sensor. See the How-To on the fenderwell intake and you'll see some talk about that. Oh, and it'll take about 2 hours longer at 55 vs. 60. But you'll save 7.75 gallons (according to my numbers) and at 4 bucks a gallon that's 31 bucks. Figure then that you make 15 bucks an hour to save that difference.
 
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