My route was a little bit of city (Philadelphia) with mostly rural/highway driving. The round trip was 138.6 miles. I topped off the tank before I left. This is how I drove:
-I maintained 50-55mph on flat roads and inclines with light throttle
-On long declines I put the trans in neutral and coasted beyond the speed limit whenever possible
-I stopped accelerating well before red lights and usually kept 20mph by the time they turned green
-Both windows up, vents on, A/C compressor off
-Tires overinflated to 45psi (WARNING: don't stand near the tires while overinflating in case they explode!)
I'm sure you guys know all this stuff helps, but when I came back I was surprised to see that after 138.6 miles, the same exact gas pump put only 3.257 gallons into my tank. That's 42.6 MPG! The temp gauge can be a good indicator of how efficiently you're driving. Tonight it was 65 degrees out and the temp gauge was on the cold side, barely within the normal range. In normal city driving or while parked it's at the center position. Tonight, I doubt the cooling fans turned on once. I've gotten much lower mpg numbers doing 70-80mph, staying in the 50's seemed to make all the difference. I'm pretty sure the EPA rates the 2200 4spd at 33mpg highway, should I be surprised at 42.6mpg?
PS: The car has 81k on it, crankcase is filled with 5w30 Mobil1 and it has a CAI, also, trans fluid was changed recently.
2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd
I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but my IAT sensor is in the engine bay, not the CAI. I guess this is the reverse of the 'performance' IAT mod, maybe it keeps a lean mixture since it reads warmer than it should.
2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd
