Alright, the camaro is starting to get drove 80 miles every day. Gas milage a year ago was about 22. It doesnt seem to be getting that because it takes around 3/8 tank of gas, or about 13-15 mpg. So, I'm going to install new wires, new plugs (has old used ones), inspect/replace distrib, possibly a o2 sensor (1year old). Can o2 be cleaned?? Was going to get new IAC (throws code once in while) but this car will only take GM parts (it has wells in it now), but its like 80 bux . Hoses are good, no vac leak, belts good, filters clean, oil rec. changed, rear axle fluid rec changed, tranny fluid 1 year old, antifreeze flush/fill less then 1 year, t-stat new. I know front end is slightly out of wack, but waiting to get new struts for that (has new rears). Anything else I'm missing? I know tomps tune up, but I "think" I got everything?? Also, I know you can adjust plug gap wider/smaller, one way gets mpg, one way gets power. Which is which??

i would get a cutom chip burned to run a little lean in the 1000-2500 rpm range, that should help out alot on the highway.

I PM a person that does that, they never got back with me.

I would love to learn how to do all that, but seems equipment would be tad more then what I would save on mpg.

maybe funstick could do it? i know he is doing Dowards turbo chip...

Ditto, if someone could burn a ecno chip that would be cool.

Matt

Dale....far as I know, you can't clean an O2. They're so damn sensitive that half the time, removing them actually breaks them. But they're only $20, so.....

Dale, it's those Fiero Valve Covers that are killing your milage. Listen, I have a set of high MPG valve covers that I'm willing to trade even-up. Now I know that doesn't sound right, but I don't drive my car as much and the MPG doesn't matter for me.

So I can help you out here. Let me know?

RBob.

That person I messaged was funstick.

Alright, I got a new o2 sensor. I hate buying these things

Rbob, I dont think its my valvecovers I had them on when I was getting 22mpg. They were put on before I ever started the car up and drove it.

i never heard of valve covers affecting MPG.

Engine Efficiency & Torque make the gas milage increase.
While you are at it, can you check the cylinder compression?
150-175PSI is what you are seeking.
Engines age power & milage drops, along with coolant temps increase.
How is timing chain?
When I swapped to the 3.4 my milage shot up to 28+MPG doing 85MPH for a distance of 150 miles. Around town milage is superb, too! Close to 20-ish (IF traffic allows-this is a BIG factor as traffic jams waste gas like a leaky gas tank).
Weigh the $ to possible gains & engine longevity.
At some point, the engine needs possible replacement. All this "new stuff" will swap over, in that sense it's a WIN-WIN.
Drive it until it dies as I know you have Plan B rides.
Front end wear won't affect the milage gain you are seeking. Comfort factor, SURE!
Let a shop install the front struts, works out way better & easier. Mine took about a long lunch (for me!) for that chore.

I think it was a joke....

And Dale...at least you've only got one O2 sensor and it's $20. My car has two and they're $40 each. How do you think I feel?!

I'll bet one of the two under the hood of a certain S10 would work well right now.

There is a teacher at UT that says an O2 sensor never goes bad. How they are made is so simple but impossiable for it to go bad.
It only gets dirty. He says pull your air cleaner and run it hard on the eway to heat it up and blow off the crap.

Matt

Dale, on my '92 I get 26 MPG on the highway. This is also keeping the speed up, 65-70 MPH, which is in the torque band. At 75 the MPG will go a tad higher at about 26.5 MPG. Never got better until. . .

Now, I really shouldn't let this out, but. . . Using a lean cruise patch (HiWay mode) on the stock code my MPG is over 31 on the highway.

Is your MEMCAL/ECM setup to drop another chip in? IOW has the MEMCAL been socketed? Or have an adaptor card? And is the vehicle stick or auto?

Even with the Fiero Valve Covers I think that the milage can be improved upon.

RBob.

Use a little silicone spray or clear RTV around that O2 sensor of his. It would be interesting for him to explain why the sensor is now dead.

RBob.

Hit it with a hammer will work also. But as it goes with out some form of abuse, they only get dirty. I have been looking for a nice 3 wire one in the junk yard for a while.

Pre heated O2 would be sweet. I had loop mode.

Matt

Silicone abuse is a relative term, unlike a hammer. Have you changed your plug wires to silicone jacketed? Have you used silicone grease on the front caliper retaining pins? Have you used RTV to seal any gaskets on the drivetrain? Used a little silicone spray on the door hinges? Waxed the car with a wax containing silicone? Have you used silicone grease on spark plug boots? Have you changed to silicone heater/radiator hoses?

RBob.

Plugs changed they were a little wide on gap, changed to better wires, along with the new o2 sensor.

Why do I keep melting my distributor cap????

Yes I want an economy chip made for myself but need someone to do it for me.

I need my damn 3.4 now!!! :lala:

Maybe my speed value covers are screwing with my gas mileage.

Back of that motor must be getting very hot to melt your cap...

sorry nixon, I was refuring to the brass prongs that the spark jumps across. This is the 3rd or 4th one on this car is right at 1 year. Its keeps melting the tips.


To much spark?? I'm just running an accell coil with 8mm wires.

Its actually MELTING them, not just corroding them? Wow....damn. You got an MSD box? Sounds like too much/too hot of a spark, either that or too little of a gap between the prongs and the rotor maybe....

either way, it should not go thru them like they are. Untill this week, this car would get drove MAYBE 100 miles a week. It uses caps like their nothing!!

NO MSD, Just accell coil.

You have changed cap brands, right?
It's not the coil. I have one Accel coil with over 10 years & 100,000 miles on it. It's not coil.
How is timing chain?
Hey, from the one that fried 6 ICM's within several weeks! Bad alternator was my cause. Could also be yours?

I just dont get how the cap terminals would get fried if it wasnt from the coil..because the coil is what generates the ignition spark... Unless the coil output is dependent on the alt output, and your alt output is way way high...

Well... coil's do go bad, and their not that expensive for these cars. I stuck on a MSD coil about three years ago for under 40 bux. Yet, from the sounds of the crappy milage and the sounds of the ignition. It's very possible to be the coil. Yet that would be with somewhat fouled up plugs as well from the lack of ignition, and I don't see how a really hot burning coil would cause a problem there (specially if it's the cause of the cap burning).

Hm..

-Dan

what yr car is this that you want a mileage improving chip for ? get things back to the way they should be and ill think about it.

easy fix: swap the camaro & truck engine & be done w/it

no more input as I just got back from vacation

The only thing that I could think of is the spark plug gap. A larger then normal gap (0.045") would increase the voltage requirements.

RBob.

I pulled old plugs out (acdelco rapid fire), very chaulky white. Gap checked to be .047 on them. Pulled 1 year old accell 8mm wires off.

Installed normal ac delco plugs, gapped at about .045. Installed taylor 8mm wires. Will be getting cap next payday.

Brand caps, yes, gotten from different part stores each time. All were different colors, brands, etc.

Coil, I put accell on it when I bought car. It went bad at same time egr blew the side out and melted it. Swapped with summit, new coil (same brand) in it now. Old coil, new coil, it dont care.

Project, I have thought of that many times. But what would I sell truck with?? Also, I had someone stop buy and look at it tonight. They are going to bank tommorow to see about getting money for it.

Then I should have *cough* enough money for a 3.4 engine.

Dale, those spark plugs will cause that. Rapid Fires are not a good plug despite what everyone believes. When the plug dies, it will overload the distributor & coil causing meltdowns like you are having. Try a different plug (I recommend Autolites- right now I am using double platinums for the first time and power is still great after three months). I run a 53,000 volt coil (stock is 38,000) and 10.4mm Taylor wires- I gap the plugs at .052 and have never had a problem with the cap and rotor (I run A/C Delco cap and rotor).

White chalky deposits are a sign of running too rich or just a weak ignition- I put my money on it was caused from the RapidFires.

I thought white was lean? Or maybe that's just the electrode.
This would explain my white deposits on only the backsides of the plug arm.. I suspect my distributor is at fault, considering usually the car runs ok but it gets rough at part throttle and decelerations and backfires at sudden throttle changes.

Man, I want your plugwires. You got those Taylor racewires huh? How do they hold up? I love my MSD 8.5's, but the insulation is too thin and frail. I put on wire separators and it ripped them. Now they're separated by a complicated series of about 150 tie raps.

doh

i run bosch platinums in everything. good plus stabe wear and damn near bullet proof either that or the ngk t6 plugs. cheap and effetive.

From my understanding, white is lean... but I could be wrong.

-Dan

If the insulator is white (clean) and the electrode is melted- then its a lean condition. Chalky deposits are a form of carbon buildup from non burning of fuel (running rich). And of course black soot is burming oil. Plugs should be a brown color for good combustion and heat range.

What about a light tan color?

Yah, what 2.8 said is what I figured and have read before. Mine are usually a light tan color as well and I'm not pinging so I figure it's a good area to be in.

-Dan

I just ask because thats what color mine are and I'm worried about leaning out because it's got a stock fuel system and stock pressure reg., but it's got heads, a cam, roller rockers, intake, etc... Only traps at 100 right now... If I had a better fuel system, my combo should be trapping me at about 105mph.

I assume at sea level, right?
Ford Hop Up Parts for your ride are a dime a dozen.
I'm surprised that wasn't installed yet.
How heavy is the ride?
Still stock axle set up (original gears & carrier)?

I'm guessing the car weighs about 3400 lbs or so....but I ran it overweight by about 125 lbs. Didnt have time to remove the back seats, spare tire, and my two tool kits in the trunk.

Carrier is stock but gears are 4.10.

heres a picture of the old plugs, random order.

i'm lost................ i wish i knew what the heck you all were talking about b/c for the past 8 or so months i've only been running 120 or so mpg on a full tank i've done the tomp tune up and the new o2 sensor but nothing no codes or anything all i know for sure is that i'm running rich............ i've been trying to find a shop or someone in and or around NYC to have a chip made but so far i've had no luck...

Dang Dale....those plugs look like crap.

confucius, if your getting that kinda milage, something is way wrong. Even mine was doing better then that. It was getting about 200 per tank (2 days of driving).

So far after doing this, it got 280 per tank, with a tad spare of gas left, but filled up for safty sakes.

Nixon, thanks

So anyone tell me whats up with these plugs?? Feel as if anything else might be wrong, or is sole reponsability some crappy plugs??

Short of a patch cord and a laptop. You could run a wire and patch it into the O sensor wire. Have it run up near your drivers seat and just use a volt meter to see whats going on.



Matt

if it makes you feel any better, I get like 24 mpg. Probably doesn't, but I thought I'd share anyway.

confucius, if your getting that kinda milage, something is way wrong. Even mine was doing better then that. It was getting about 200 per tank (2 days of driving).

I've just about given up on it
i've run out of ideas within my skill level
thats why i figued i'd tag along on this post

gumby, from what I understand the patchcord/laptop trick wont work on the 3.1 systems.

I do have a volt meter and o2 meter.

Dale, just change the color on those plugs to black & you got mine. If you want a 3.4 quick, c'mon up & help me yankit & put the 3800 in

edit: confucius101, take it to a dealer 7 have them check it out. I'll probably do the same thing.

Id toss in new 98 cents plugs and hook up the volt meter. watch how much it changes and then check the plugs. If the volt meter says you runin in the safe zone and the plugs still look white, i would then call it an ok thing.

If your really conserned about the plug color.

Matt