Any way to get 25-27 MPG with a SS?

[xinthenight]

Well as I said in my other thread about buying my brothers civic with a h22 swap for a DD since it got about 28 MPG I've grown tired of it quickly. I mean, I've been eating up most cars, wrxs and even v8 mustangs, but the low torque just isn't any fun. I prefer torque over HP any day.

So I had a 94 z28. Still have it, but up for sale. It was stock and I got about 17 MPG when taking it easy.

So I was wondering if it would be possible to hit 25-27 MPG with a 00-02 SS with a LS1. I seen that their engines get about 3 more MPG than a stock LT1 which is about 20 MPG. I was thinking about the following for MPG:

300 lbs weight reduction: 1 MPG
Cold Air Intake or Ram Air: 1 MPG
Headers: 1 MPG
Exhaust: 1 MPG
Tune: 1 MPG? How much?

So would I end up with about 25 MPG if I got a good SS with that done to it?

I know I know. Why get these cars if I have to worry about gas. Well, I'm a full time student and go from 7:40-5 on most days, so that gives me VERY little time to actually work and I don't live off of my parents. It took me 2 gallons a day just to get to school and back then another 2 to get to work and back, I was literally working half of my time just to pay to get to school and work.

[Bigdeezs]

I've heard of stock 6spd LS1s getting close to 30 highway pretty easily...long as your not in it.

[tonyjnjz]

doing 60-65mph w the cruise control on on the highway should net u 28-30 mpg but around the city i dont think its possible to do better than 18 or 19 bro...goodluck

[blue02Z]

when i went to yellowstone in august i averaged 32mpg. i usuall get mid-high 20's on hiway

[Fran D]

My relatively stock '00 SS easily hits 30 MPG on the highway. But, as stated, stop & go is the real killer to mileage. That being said, weight (or, rather, the lack of it) is really your best friend when it comes to MPG. I don't know how easy it is to take 300 lbs. out of these cars without them becoming strippers. But, if you can do it, report back so that I can do the same!

[Firebirdjones]

Well as I said in my other thread about buying my brothers civic with a h22 swap for a DD since it got about 28 MPG I've grown tired of it quickly. I mean, I've been eating up most cars, wrxs and even v8 mustangs, but the low torque just isn't any fun. I prefer torque over HP any day.

So I had a 94 z28. Still have it, but up for sale. It was stock and I got about 17 MPG when taking it easy.

So I was wondering if it would be possible to hit 25-27 MPG with a 00-02 SS with a LS1. I seen that their engines get about 3 more MPG than a stock LT1 which is about 20 MPG. I was thinking about the following for MPG:

300 lbs weight reduction: 1 MPG
Cold Air Intake or Ram Air: 1 MPG
Headers: 1 MPG
Exhaust: 1 MPG
Tune: 1 MPG? How much?

So would I end up with about 25 MPG if I got a good SS with that done to it?

I know I know. Why get these cars if I have to worry about gas. Well, I'm a full time student and go from 7:40-5 on most days, so that gives me VERY little time to actually work and I don't live off of my parents. It took me 2 gallons a day just to get to school and back then another 2 to get to work and back, I was literally working half of my time just to pay to get to school and work.

You should be getting mid 20's at least,,,for MPG without doing any of that stuff you have listed.

If you had a 94 Z28 getting 17 MPG taking it easy,,,,it had some issues you weren't aware of. I have both an LT1 and LS1,,,they are both right on par with each other when it comes to gas mileage.

My wifes 97 Z28 Convertable is her daily driver,,,,all stock with 102,000 miles now,,,and it still knocks down 21 MPG easily in traffic. I drove it to Michigan last fall and never went below 75 MPH and still knocked off 26 MPG!!! With everything working properly these cars are very respectable when it comes to mileage.

My 02 SS convertable also gets 20 MPG driving around town here consistently,,,no long highway trips with this car yet,,,but since it is on par with my wifes LT1 with around town mileage,,,it's safe to say this car will knock off mid to high 20's on the highway.....

[Bigdeezs]

My Blazer with stall and cam gets maybe 14mpg in Los Angeles traffic...and just got 19mpg on a long trip holding 75-80 in heavy rain...she weighs about 4000 with me in it

[rc74racer]

Well as I said in my other thread about buying my brothers civic with a h22 swap for a DD since it got about 28 MPG I've grown tired of it quickly. I mean, I've been eating up most cars, wrxs and even v8 mustangs, but the low torque just isn't any fun. I prefer torque over HP any day.

So I had a 94 z28. Still have it, but up for sale. It was stock and I got about 17 MPG when taking it easy.

So I was wondering if it would be possible to hit 25-27 MPG with a 00-02 SS with a LS1. I seen that their engines get about 3 more MPG than a stock LT1 which is about 20 MPG. I was thinking about the following for MPG:

300 lbs weight reduction: 1 MPG
Cold Air Intake or Ram Air: 1 MPG
Headers: 1 MPG
Exhaust: 1 MPG
Tune: 1 MPG? How much?

So would I end up with about 25 MPG if I got a good SS with that done to it?

I know I know. Why get these cars if I have to worry about gas. Well, I'm a full time student and go from 7:40-5 on most days, so that gives me VERY little time to actually work and I don't live off of my parents. It took me 2 gallons a day just to get to school and back then another 2 to get to work and back, I was literally working half of my time just to pay to get to school and work.

You're not going to get that kind of mileage with an ls1 unless you are driving all highway miles. Most people are getting around 18-20 with a good mix. I have gears and get 19.

If I were you I'd just deal with the honda till you are done with school and save the $$$ for a better car and mods when you get finished.

[180ls1]

i do about 50/50 city and highway and i will het lucky to break 20mpg driving as conservative as you can with a 6 speed ls1 wich can not be so conservative at times. but all those mods you are going to do will cost you almost a years worth of gas.

[tpilews]

I used to be consistently around 24 mpg when I had my '98 TA. That was about a 75/25 mix city/highway. I didn't have very much traffic where I used to live.

I've gotten 29-30 mpg on 300 mile trips.

Oh yeah, M6 too.

[Tommycat]

I've found that if I keep the RPM's below 2000, I can generally get pretty good gas mileage. Even my Burb gets better than 18mpg. Granted I drive it slow, and lift way early. Every time you hit the brakes, all the fuel you used to get up to speed is basically wasted. So if you keep the revs down, and really ease into it, you should get pretty good gas mileage. If it's manual, short shifting helps a lot. Also make sure your tires are inflated to proper specs, give it a good tune up, replace the O2 sensors. I'm not sure why, but when I use mid grade fuel I always seem to get the best mileage as well. Maybe its just burning better....

[ss~zoso~ss]

i got 32 mpg on the highway once, was doin about 65 mph tho, you'll only get this mpg with an M6

[JL8Jeff]

My old supercharged 93 Indy Pace Car would get 24-28 mpg on the highway with the A4 and 3.23 gears. My 96SS with headers and A4/3.23 would get 23 mpg. My current 2000SS has also gotten 23 mpg with A4/3.23 gears. M6 can get 28-32. Put a low boost supercharger on(4-6 lbs) and you'll get 25-30 on the highway.

[Benner]

I pull 28 Highway regularly with the mods in my sig

[Firebirdjones]

I've found that if I keep the RPM's below 2000, I can generally get pretty good gas mileage. Even my Burb gets better than 18mpg. Granted I drive it slow, and lift way early. Every time you hit the brakes, all the fuel you used to get up to speed is basically wasted. So if you keep the revs down, and really ease into it, you should get pretty good gas mileage. If it's manual, short shifting helps a lot. Also make sure your tires are inflated to proper specs, give it a good tune up, replace the O2 sensors. I'm not sure why, but when I use mid grade fuel I always seem to get the best mileage as well. Maybe its just burning better....

You bring up good points,,,there is no reason an LS1/LT1 can't do over 20 mpg on a regular basis. My wife is even better at it than I am,,,,as she has stop and go traffic to and from work,,,and knocks down 22 mpg at times with the old LT1,,,I drive the same route and only do 20 mpg regularly,,,,strictly highway going 75-80 mph with cruise on we get mid 25-27 mpg pretty regular,,,,I am sure if I slowed down a bit it might pick up another mpg.

I can see plenty of people on here getting the same results, and some even better than mine,,,,it's all about maintainance and driving habbits.

[rc74racer]

All these high numbers are for highway driving. Who spends all their time on the highway? Also why own an ls1 if you are going to drive it like a complete pussy trying to get the best mileage. You may has well leave it in the driveway and buy some beater that gets 30mpg+. This guy misses the torque of a v8 surely he is not going to get an ls1 and drive it at less the 2k rpm all the time trying to get 2 more mpg.

[Sweet Chops]

These are some numbers I ran .
Intake-$100
Headers-$600
Cat Back Exhuast-$400-$600
Tune-$300
Now let me put this in perspective. You are a student (assuming) with little to no cash flow. You want to spend around $1400 on your car to gain 5 MPG. I could fill my 04 GMC Sierra DD up for a year on $1400.

Ryan

[Firebirdjones]

All these high numbers are for highway driving. Who spends all their time on the highway? Also why own an ls1 if you are going to drive it like a complete pussy trying to get the best mileage. You may has well leave it in the driveway and buy some beater that gets 30mpg+. This guy misses the torque of a v8 surely he is not going to get an ls1 and drive it at less the 2k rpm all the time trying to get 2 more mpg.

Mine are not all highway,,,,those 20-22 mpg numbers are stictly stop light driving,,,,only the 26 mpg numbers were a highway drive. Thats how cars are rated for mileage,,,,city/highway,,,,so I don't understand your point about all these high numbers being highway mileage???? Thats how it's done.

You don't have to drive it like a complete pussy as you put it,,,these are the numbers you get when driving (as I would say) civilized.....And I am honest when I say I don't really have to try hard at all to get 20 mpg driving around town. It's rather easy really.
We all still like to romp on our cars when the moment presents itself, but to do it all the time day in and day out would be silly to say the least, excessive abuse and unnecessary. For those of us like my wife and I who plan to own these cars for years to come,,,,need them to last and be dependable and daily abuse usually is not found in the same sentence as dependable. There's a fine line there,,,having some fun once and a while is not out of the question, and I have more than my share.


My wife and I drive our V8 cars daily,,,we love the power and being able to pass at will on these 2 lane country roads etc..I won't own anything less...but what also makes them attractive is also being able to pull down 25+ MPG while still being able to run mid to low 13's at the track,,,,it's like having your cake and eating it too. It's nothing to be ashamed of and surely doesn't make anyone a "pussy".

[Bigdeezs]

Mine are not all highway,,,,those 20-22 mpg numbers are stictly stop light driving,,,,only the 26 mpg numbers were a highway drive. Thats how cars are rated for mileage,,,,city/highway,,,,so I don't understand your point about all these high numbers being highway mileage???? Thats how it's done.

You don't have to drive it like a complete pussy as you put it,,,these are the numbers you get when driving (as I would say) civilized.....And I am honest when I say I don't really have to try hard at all to get 20 mpg driving around town. It's rather easy really.
We all still like to romp on our cars when the moment presents itself, but to do it all the time day in and day out would be silly to say the least, excessive abuse and unnecessary. For those of us like my wife and I who plan to own these cars for years to come,,,,need them to last and be dependable and daily abuse usually is not found in the same sentence as dependable. There's a fine line there,,,having some fun once and a while is not out of the question, and I have more than my share.


My wife and I drive our V8 cars daily,,,we love the power and being able to pass at will on these 2 lane country roads etc..I won't own anything less...but what also makes them attractive is also being able to pull down 25+ MPG while still being able to run mid to low 13's at the track,,,,it's like having your cake and eating it too. It's nothing to be ashamed of and surely doesn't make anyone a "pussy".

here here! well said

[GNICTRY]

not to still the thread...but with the mods i have(in sig) and a lead foot...I only get 200-220 on 12.5 gallons...I do more back roads and some highways...is that bad...or average.