Highest MPG yet

clbolt · Post by **clbolt** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 8:04 pm

I've had my 86 2WD wagon for almost 6 years, and about 65k miles. 23k of those miles have come since Dec 1. In all that time, I'd never pulled better than 35 mpg, and even that went down significantly as the carb went to hell. Earlier this year I installed a rebuild carb that I got on ebay, and I've tuned the old car pretty well. That got the highway mpg back to 35, but the last 2 tanks I've pulled 41 mpg. This is the highest I've ever seen in a Tercel. I'm normally a very conservative driver, and the only reason I can find for the increase is the warmer weather. Since the car has wanted to ping even more than usual, I've had to drive even easier than normal.

Our 85 FWD Corolla with the 4AC and an automatic overdrive got 41 mpg from every tank we ever drove on the highway. It'll be interesting to see what this one does when I install the 4AC.

Juando · Post by **Juando** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:24 am

nice!! best I have ever had in my terc is 35 mpg. right after the rebuild...whats sad is it dropped way down to about 24 a couple months ago (my carb is drinking gas like water) so i need to bite the bullet and get in there and rebuild it...although recently it decided to climb back up to around 30 mpg again (like retroloc said, these things repair themselves) I am hoping that since the engine only has about 9,000 miles on the rebuild and 4,000 on the rebuilt tranny, that a rebuilt/new carb should have me getting gas mileage like it just rolled off the showroom floor.

hberdan · Post by **hberdan** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:23 pm

Where do you live? In the flatlands? at sea level? That's pretty incredible mileage. Here in Colorado (my house is at 6000' elevation), the best mileage I have ever achieved in my 4wd SR5 wagons has been about 32-33 mpg. Two had rebuilds on the carbs, which boosted the mpg tp those levels. Advanced timing helped too.These carburated engines just don't get that kind of mileage here; at least, mine don't!
I have lots of up/down driving in the mountains and on the plains; for years my commute was 17 miles and 3200 vertical feet each way (and another 1400' vert. to the "office" via chairlift). Gas mileage in the mountains is never better than 27-28 mpg, and that's in the summer. If I have to use 4wd very much in snowy driving conditions, I get about 23-24 mpg.
That 80hp (at sea level) 3A engine is underpowered for such climbs but what great reliable little cars anyway. I run them on 87 octane gas, which is the mid-grade at this altitude. If I try to run them on 85 octane the engines knock.

takza · Post by **takza** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:34 pm

I've gotten 35 mpg with a 600 lb load...mostly highway...heated fuel.

Used to get 35-36 mixed drivng with the old 175/80/13s...no heated fuel.

All at elevations under 1000 ft....4WD.

Will be testing heated fuel with acetone soon.

Check the Repair guide area for info on using acetone....some are managing 10-15% gains with various cars.

jpkeels · Post by **jpkeels** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:34 pm

Hello there, while we are on the subject of mileage I'll chime in. Well, lets see. On the last trip I took from Asheville, NC to Anderson, SC I got about 32Mpg with the 85 2wd 5 speed Wagon. I was pretty impressed with this accomplishment. Aroudn town I usually get about 27MPG. The carburetor in this one works much bettter than inthe 4wd automatic that was on loan to me for a while. That one was lucky to get 20 MPG! I know the carb in it is screwed up because as it idles realy rough and is sometimes hard to start in cold weather and will cut off a lot of the time at stop lights. In fact, while I drove that other car I did something really bad for the transmission. The engine would NOT idle while the transmission was in D so yes I would push it to N sometimes at traffic lights. I know that sounds crazy and its really really really bad for the auto trans but it seemed like the only way i could runit without stalling out and getting stuck in the midle of every intersection and then getting hit.

On the 2wd wagon I own now I don't have to do anything that crazy of course. It idles OK. OH, LOL I changed the fuel filter on Sunday which seems to help it a little bit. Noticed that it starts a little better and runs a little smoother at idle esp when it is first started. A couple weeks ago the car started and ran but then cut off for about 2 min when I left a store parking lot. I figured it might be the fuel filter so I decided to try swapping that out. It did seem to help some.

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 1:45 am

Well, I am compelled to add my two bits.
I owned one of the first SR5s in St. Louis in late 1982, so recall the new performance.
It had no A/C or roof rack to detract from performance (can't recall if it had P/S to sap the output). It was a stick.
In suburbia driving the MPG was usually in the mid-to-upper twenties. On the highway at legal plus a bit speeds the MPG was 32-35. It never came close to 40, even at 55 steady and a tail wind.
AND - this was with the lower ratio earlier car, so this should have been better than the later models

As far as top speed, some of the figures I've seen listed give me cause to wonder at the accuracy of speedos approaching (and passing) 20+ years and mileages of 200K +/-.
The best top I recall was something in the upper 80s, on the level in IL or IN with no winds, two people and negligible luggage aboard. I do remember that we kept waiting for the needle to pass 90, but it never did. The windows were closed, as it was Autumn. Mind, this was a then new car.
It was a sweetie, and I miss it - whence the '86 recently purchased. The best was the HOT water heat after 13 years of servitude in a frigid '69 VW Bus.
Tom M.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 1:43 pm

Our 90HP VW diesel pushes 50 mpg at 5500 ft in Colorado (and hits 140 on I-25 <shifts eyes back and forth>). My 86 pushed 30 in warm (50-60) degrees, running with a non-existant idle (tried to idle at 1000 but just croaked) and moderate driving, though with my style only allowed for 24-26mpg (get to the limit as fast as you can). But now, with the same engine as was in the 86 (literally), the 84 is running around 16 mpg, though I did see 23mpg once. I can't figure that out, as the 84's ratio should should allow for better mileage. Maybe the crash screwed the carb over, which is what I'm convinced of, and I plan to get a Weber as soon as I get a cashflow moving.

I'm hoping that a TDI retrofit will not be too out of the picture to work out. A 1Z shouldn't be hard as long as the tranny will mate up. The PCM is almost completely seperate from anything but the engine and the "idiot lights". I don't think its OBDII either. If that works out, who knows, might see 50 mpg?

clbolt · Post by **clbolt** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:29 pm

I live in Southwest Arkansas. It's low altitude and fairly flat ground. I drive using a style outlined several years ago in one of the car magazines where they told the secrets to beating the EPA average in any car. Basically, in addition to slowly accelerating away from stops, you allow the car to scrub off speed on hills and only get back to full speed on the downhill runs. I'm not the slowest driver on the interstate, but I'm never trying to beat any speed records.

I was also able to get 44mpg on every highway tank I ran through my 95 Dodge Neon base sedan (SOHC, 132hp, 5 speed), and beat the EPA by a full 5 MPG on the highway in my 94 Grand Cherokee. Strangely enough, the only car I wasn't able to hit the EPA estimate with was my wife's Geo Metro convertible. The Neon got better mileage than that one.

Carguylen · Post by **Carguylen** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:19 am

I got 27 the other day. Not bad, it's an automatic!

Toyota's_Abortion · Post by **Toyota's_Abortion** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 9:40 pm

Im lucky to 15mpg! Northern California sucks for gas milage.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:58 pm

15 is happening a lot for me..

WTF is going on with my car? I got mileages in this order roughly.
15, 16, 15, 18, 28, 17, 32, 18, 15.
Trip odometer readout divided by number of gallons used. What is going on? I know I filled properly, I triple check my calculations, and my driving style has remained the same.

clbolt · Post by **clbolt** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 11:33 pm

My guess would be a carb float that's intermittently sticking in the down position. Another possibility would be a loose core in the catalytic converter.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 11:49 pm

I can't afford either of those right now, though its nice to know what to look for.
I have a year or two, depending on local laws which I'll need to check on, but I may just cut out the cat and leave an exit wound. Problem is that the pipe is in bad enough shape that I know it won't weld back on, but I know I CAN'T afford a new exhaust system.
This business is just silly. I'm going to spend more money on this thing than both the 86 and 84 are worth, and thats keeping the 84 alive, not on mods which will obviously cost more than 10x the value of the 84.
I'm at the point where that Golf for sale is looking more and more succulent by the minute..
BLAST YOU KIND SOOPERS, GIVE ME A JOB!.

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 2:22 am

Typrus wrote: I'm at the point where that Golf for sale is looking more and more succulent by the minute..

You can't afford to keep a Toyota going and you're considering a Volkswagen?

ghettomobile · Post by **ghettomobile** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 2:42 am

When I was 16, I worked construction and made $10 an hour tax free. I also mowed the neighbors lawn for $20 per mowing. During the summer, I did landscaping with my dads friend for $12.50 an hour and that was also tax free. The only time I had trouble finding work was when I had to look for a real job. I was 17 at the time, and none of the places I applied at would hire me because i was in highschool and the insurance for a minor to work somewhere is much higher than for an adult to work somewhere, so I had to wait until I was 18 to get a job. While I was 17, and before that, I helped my dad on the construction sites and stuff. I know how to run heavy equiupment such as loaders, Bulldozers, and excavators, and I have known how to run them since I was 12 years old. But I do see the Dilemma that Typrus faces, where nobody will hire you anywhere.