How many miles do you average per tank?

[Swagon]

Somebody has got to help me figure out why the heck im only getting 130 miles on 1 tank!!! its driving me nuts

[TURTCEL]

Somebody has got to help me figure out why the heck im only getting 130 miles on 1 tank!!! its driving me nuts

You are running a lot bigger tires than stock...that is a huge effect on rolling resistance and acceleration ability. You use a lot of fuel to get the car going and it takes a lot to keep it rolling.

Also, didn't you mention that you are running a Weber carb? Maybe check that you have the correct jets for your altitude so you are not running too rich compared to what you could be. Does your choke work? It has been winter so the cold weather causes mileage to drop as well...choke stays on a lot longer than during warmer months as long the choke is working correctly.

Vacuum leaks can cause fuel efficiency issues too so check that out too.

I set my timing to 10* BTDC to also help with fuel efficiency. Stock is listed as 5* BTDC which is only set that way for emissions reasons. By advancing the timing and making sure your idle is set to 800 RPM's at idle that should also help with mileage.

I believe your tires play a pretty big part in you fuel consumption. But, check for dragging brakes too...real big fuel mileage killer if this is happening.

Does the Terc need a tune up? Filters, ignition tune up parts, correct timing, fuel mixture. Possible that you have a stuck carb float? Fuel leak?

Your Terc is also lifted so there is more wind resistance on an already box shaped vehicle.

There are so many factors that can be causing your fuel issues. Start chipping away at these suggestions and see what happens. Keep us posted on what you find.

Peace

[Swagon]

Somebody has got to help me figure out why the heck im only getting 130 miles on 1 tank!!! its driving me nuts

You are running a lot bigger tires than stock...that is a huge effect on rolling resistance and acceleration ability. You use a lot of fuel to get the car going and it takes a lot to keep it rolling.(YES I AM RUNNING LARGER TIRES BUT 300-275 MILES DOWN TO 130 SEEMS A BIT MUCH FOR JUST TIRES)

Also, didn't you mention that you are running a Weber carb? Maybe check that you have the correct jets for your altitude so you are not running too rich compared to what you could be. Does your choke work? It has been winter so the cold weather causes mileage to drop as well...choke stays on a lot longer than during warmer months as long the choke is working correctly.(I DO NEED TO CHECK THE JETS BUT I WAS GETTING THE SAME MILEAGE WITH THE STOCK CARB THAT HAD BOTH BARRELS OPENING AT THE SAME TIME. ALTITUDE IS 0-300FT, NOT SURE IF THE CHOKE IS ACTUALLY WORKING OR NOT BUT ITS HOOKED UP)

Vacuum leaks can cause fuel efficiency issues too so check that out too.( NO VACUUM LEAKS)

I set my timing to 10* BTDC to also help with fuel efficiency. Stock is listed as 5* BTDC which is only set that way for emissions reasons. By advancing the timing and making sure your idle is set to 800 RPM's at idle that should also help with mileage.( PRETTY SURE THAT MY TIMING IS SET TO 10* BUT ILL DOUBLE CHECK TOMORROW IN THE SHOP. MY IDLE IS AROUND 850-950RPMS.)

I believe your tires play a pretty big part in you fuel consumption. But, check for dragging brakes too...real big fuel mileage killer if this is happening.( ALL NEW BRAKE COMPONENTS IN FRONT, REARS ARE FREE AND CLEAR.

Does the Terc need a tune up? Filters, ignition tune up parts, correct timing, fuel mixture. Possible that you have a stuck carb float? Fuel leak?( ALL NEW IGNITION PARTS, COIL,IGNITOR, WIRES, PLUGS, CAP, ROTOR. TIMING SHOULD BE SET. FUEL MIXURE AS FAR AS A/FS OR OCTANE? CARB DOESNT SEEM TO BE STUCK BUT I CANNOT SAY NO FOR SURE. NO FUEL LEAKS)

Your Terc is also lifted so there is more wind resistance on an already box shaped vehicle. (YES BUT 150 MPT LOSS, IM SKEPTICAL ON THAT)

There are so many factors that can be causing your fuel issues. Start chipping away at these suggestions and see what happens. Keep us posted on what you find.

Peace

I DO THINK MY TIRES ARE PLAYING THE LARGEST ROLE IN MY ECONOMY BUT MY GOODNESS! WHEN I WAS ONLY RUNNING 1 BARREL ON MY STOCK CARB I GOT GREAT MILEAGE!!, BUT IT WAS SERIOUSLY DANGEROUSLY SLOW!

[TURTCEL]

It would have actually been a 2 barrel carb stock...unless you had something weird on your Terc. Dangerously slow you say, try driving a VW Westy in a head wind and then talk to me about dangerously slow. Couldn't get out of it's own way if it had to.

As far as the speed of a Terc goes it is geared with 4.10's and has a stock 62 HP, not much to write home to Mom about. I have heard that a Weber can really help with adding a little get up and go but if you really want improvement on the power end then engine swaps are the way to go.

Larry Mcgrath has the "Rocket", a 165 HP all blacked out Bad Ass machine, you wanna talk about get up and go. I talked with Larry the other day and he was telling me how the Rocket can go 115mph no prob. Not sure if I want to go that fast in a Terc myself.

The tires a really a major factor with your economy. If you want to keep the ground clearance when out playing in the mud then maybe a 2nd set of stock radials for regular evryday driving would help while you aren't in the woods. Just a thought.

You also have your spare on your roof, adding even more wind resistance. When you take a stock car that is set up for its maximum efficiency and it is a light duty rig to start with, it doesn't take many mods to start hindering the stock numbers for economy. With all the added weight you have put on the car it is also no wonder your fuel mileage sucks, a small engine working extra hard now to push all that extra weight is gonna kill the economy. It is basic knowledge in the automotive field...power to weight ratio is one of the biggest economy factors.

Cool looking Terc though Swagon.

Peace

[TURTCEL]

You wrote that your idle is around 850 to 950 RPM's, does this mean you are not sure where it is exactly or does it vary between that RPM range. If the RPM's are not steady then it would lead me to believe that you have a vacuum leak somewhere. maybe a leak at the intake/exhaust manifold gasket or loose bolts on the manifold.

If the idle is steady but is at 950 RPM's you are running a little on the high side. I run my Terc right around 830 RPM's so when I turn on electrical accessories the RPM's won't drop too low and cause runnability during stop and go driving.

I would check your idle with a tachometer other than your dash tach...these are usually pretty close to accurate but not close enough for fine tuning. If your RPM's are too high you will be eating up unecessary fuel any time you are idling.

Also check to make sure the float in the carb is ok, a stuck, improperly set, or suken float will cause the car to run rich as hell. No way for the fuel level in the float bowl to stop filling if the float is bad. Weber carbs are very easy to work on so should be easy to check. Weber's tech line is a good idea to call for help on tuning and checking that carb for issues.

All of thee factors play rolls in efficiency. I am not saying just one thing dropped your milege to about half of normal, but all of you rmods could have easily combo affected your car to bring it to the point it is at now.

Check to make sure your timing belt is also not off by a tooth. You can adjust the dizzy to compensate for one tooth off but it will also affect your fuel mileage.

Peace

[Swagon]

It would have actually been a 2 barrel carb stock...unless you had something weird on your Terc. Dangerously slow you say, try driving a VW Westy in a head wind and then talk to me about dangerously slow. Couldn't get out of it's own way if it had to.( it was a 2 barrel but the carb was broken and would only open the primary barrel)

As far as the speed of a Terc goes it is geared with 4.10's and has a stock 62 HP, not much to write home to Mom about. I have heard that a Weber can really help with adding a little get up and go but if you really want improvement on the power end then engine swaps are the way to go.( i can barely tell a difference in hp, i did notice a huge gain in cold start and idle though. ive got my supra for a power car, i need the tercel for the 4wd so an engine swap is pretty much out of the picture.)

Larry Mcgrath has the "Rocket", a 165 HP all blacked out Bad Ass machine, you wanna talk about get up and go. I talked with Larry the other day and he was telling me how the Rocket can go 115mph no prob. Not sure if I want to go that fast in a Terc myself.

The tires a really a major factor with your economy. If you want to keep the ground clearance when out playing in the mud then maybe a 2nd set of stock radials for regular evryday driving would help while you aren't in the woods. Just a thought. ( i agree lol)

You also have your spare on your roof, adding even more wind resistance. When you take a stock car that is set up for its maximum efficiency and it is a light duty rig to start with, it doesn't take many mods to start hindering the stock numbers for economy. With all the added weight you have put on the car it is also no wonder your fuel mileage sucks, a small engine working extra hard now to push all that extra weight is gonna kill the economy. It is basic knowledge in the automotive field...power to weight ratio is one of the biggest economy factors. (maybe it just wasnt meant to be haha)

Cool looking Terc though Swagon.( thank you very much!)

Peace

[Swagon]

You wrote that your idle is around 850 to 950 RPM's, does this mean you are not sure where it is exactly or does it vary between that RPM range. If the RPM's are not steady then it would lead me to believe that you have a vacuum leak somewhere. maybe a leak at the intake/exhaust manifold gasket or loose bolts on the manifold. (it does not fluctuate at all. i just cant remember if its 8 or 9. but it stays steady

If the idle is steady but is at 950 RPM's you are running a little on the high side. I run my Terc right around 830 RPM's so when I turn on electrical accessories the RPM's won't drop too low and cause runnability during stop and go driving.

I would check your idle with a tachometer other than your dash tach...these are usually pretty close to accurate but not close enough for fine tuning. If your RPM's are too high you will be eating up unecessary fuel any time you are idling.

Also check to make sure the float in the carb is ok, a stuck, improperly set, or suken float will cause the car to run rich as hell. No way for the fuel level in the float bowl to stop filling if the float is bad. Weber carbs are very easy to work on so should be easy to check. Weber's tech line is a good idea to call for help on tuning and checking that carb for issues. (i will be looking into this, i also think that larger jets are in the carb aswell.)

All of thee factors play rolls in efficiency. I am not saying just one thing dropped your milege to about half of normal, but all of you rmods could have easily combo affected your car to bring it to the point it is at now. ( i suppose it could

Check to make sure your timing belt is also not off by a tooth. You can adjust the dizzy to compensate for one tooth off but it will also affect your fuel mileage. ( ill check it out, pretty sure the timings set though

Peace

[ARCHINSTL]

Swagon - when you use someone's posts in a quote to make answers yourself, it would help if you would use bold print to distinguish your words from his words.
I nearly deleted your last two posts because everything ran together and it looked like you quoted him without making any comments (usually below the box containing the quote); your comments just blended in with all.
It is not hard at all to do this; just hilight your words and click the "B" in the line two to the left of "Quote."
Tom M.

[Petros]

you should be able to make a weber carb get similar fuel economy, as long as you are not stomping on the throttle every time you drive off. It may take some rejetting of it to get the mixture correct. If the tires have aggressive off-road tread that may indeed be your problem, higher rolling resistance. When I ran studded snow tires for a week during icy weather my economy dropped from about 29 mpg to 20, so rolling resistance is not insignificant. Also, if you are on un-paved roads for most of each tank that that will not help either. You should investigate if your tires size is affecting your odometer reading very much, larger dia. tires will show less miles driven on the clock than actual miles. Measure the rolling circumference. of your tires and compare it with the stock tire circumference.

check to make sure none of your brakes are hanging up, and that your timing belt did not jump a tooth or two on the cam sprocket. Set your spark timing at 10 deg BTDC, rather than the stock 5 deg. Verify your mechanical advance in the distributor is working properly, and the vac advance too (but that one is not as critical).

Good luck.

[dlb]

swagon, remember to account for the larger tire size and speedo/odo error when calculating mileage. if your tires are waaayyyy bigger, your mileage will appear waaayyyy out. use an online tire size calculator like this one, under the 'compare tire sizes' heading.

http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator

so if your tires are 7% bigger than stock, add 7% to your mileage, ie 100 miles will actually be 107 miles.

[Swagon]

did the tire calculator, 25% larger.

my speedo has been about 10mph off since the new tires

[TURTCEL]

So I just took my first long road trip in TURTCEL since I have got her pretty much all dialed in. Headed up North yesterday to Sun Valley, ID from Twin Falls, ID...85 miles one way to my destination. The highway is 55 mph to 65 mph the whole way. Elevation goes from 4100 ft to 5800 ft.

I topped off the tank with 91 non-ethanol and me and my 2 buddies hit the road. Now, mind you I am also still running snow tires. With my mixed mileage being 90% highway and 10% in town driving I feel I did pretty well.

I topped off again this morn with 91 non-ethanol fuel and did the math. 175 miles and 5 gallons to top back off...that is 35 mpg. So 3 adults, snow tires, 91 non-ethanol fuel, 10* BTDC advance, no EGR system, and a ton of work to get TURTCEL where she is I can say that I am pleased with the mileage.

I am guessing that as soon as I change back to my all-season radials and now that the temp is finally getting warmer I may be able to even pull off a little better numbers.

So from my recent ventures and fuel tracking this is what I have come up with (at the beginning of owning TURTCEL I was only getting 18 mpg).

In town driving with no highway: 31.25 mpg
Highway with minimal in town: 35 mpg

***these mpg stats are with snow tires still on***

I will do another mpg check was I change over my tires.

Peace

[JesseN]

When I was stretching it from a trip from the coast I made it to 365 Mi. Usually It's about 320 and the fuel light starts to fade in and out at about 280. The most I have been able to fill it was 10.13 gallons and Gas Cubby reports that the MPG on that one came out to 32.4 (Off I'm sure.) Usually I fill it with anywhere from 8 to 9 Gallons. My fill yesterday was 9.07 gallons so I should (In theory) have 4.13 already there. Have not ran out yet but I think pretty darn close.

Jesse

[irowiki]

I'm just a lowly beat up abused 1st gen, but I average anywhere from 27-37 miles per gallon depending on city driving, work driving, not flogging the car, etc.

[Petros]

Jesse, you are way too conservative on when you fill up, I typically put about 11 gallons in mine. my low fuel light does not work so I do not have that annoying reminder, I just watch the position of the fill up needle. I am well into the red "reserve" area on the fuel gauge when I fill up.