OK I need help again

[chap1963]

I just notice the last 2 fillups I only been get 228-245 miles per fillup I use to have 300-345 sometimes up to 360 mpg

I had a tune-up done already about 8500 ago a new timming belt new wires new fuel filter ect I only run 91 unleaded gas its a manual trans with 193,000 miles on the car i am the first owner of this 92 vigor ls but i cant for the life of me find out what such a drop on fuel mileage. oh I only use shell gas in the car also so i know i have good gas and not the crap i did get on my other car on a road trip so back to shell for the two acuras for me . so if anyone have any ideas why I have such a big drop in mileage please let me know oh I also drive the car no faster than 75 sometimes 85 on the interstate but not that offten for this to be a probelm for this type of drop in mpg.
I am now getting 17city and i think 19 hwy
what am I suppose to be getting on this car?


charlie

[Bob01721]

Originally Posted by chap1963

I just notice the last 2 fillups I only been get 228-245 miles per fillup I use to have 300-345 sometimes up to 360 mpg

I had a tune-up done already about 8500 ago a new timming belt new wires new fuel filter ect I only run 91 unleaded gas its a manual trans with 193,000 miles on the car i am the first owner of this 92 vigor ls but i cant for the life of me find out what such a drop on fuel mileage. oh I only use shell gas in the car also so i know i have good gas and not the crap i did get on my other car on a road trip so back to shell for the two acuras for me . so if anyone have any ideas why I have such a big drop in mileage please let me know oh I also drive the car no faster than 75 sometimes 85 on the interstate but not that offten for this to be a probelm for this type of drop in mpg.
I am now getting 17city and i think 19 hwy
what am I suppose to be getting on this car?


charlie

What are you "supposed" to be getting? You say you're the first owner, so... what have you been getting for the last 15 years?

You mentioned a recent tune-up. That can mean different things to different people. Were the plugs changed? The wires? Etc.

If it's not a tune-up, and if your driving habits haven't changed much, then the next thing to look for is "rolling resistance" -- anything that fights the car's natural tendency to roll freely. Low tire pressure can cost a few mpg. A stuck brake caliper can lower the mileage dramatically. So can a stuck parking brake.

BTW, miles-per-tank isn't a very meaningful number. Miles per GALLON is.

[AcuraVigorOwner]

Regarding what the gas mileage is "supposed" to be for your car: The Acura Vigor was supposed to have an EPA estimated 20 MPG city and 25 or 26 MPG highway depending on the year (92'-'93 = 25 and '94 = 26). This was considered a generous estimation though because many Vigor owners and test drivers reported numbers below that.

Also, Shell does produce great gas, I'm glad your Vigor is drinking the good stuff! You said you only put in 91 octane, but Shell has almost universally 92 octane for their premium unleaded gasoline; however your Shell may be different, it's possible.

If it is ONLY your highway mileage that is hurting you, it may be due to a faulty torque converter but I sincerely doubt it, the change shouln't be that drastic. An indication would be if your car is running a bit warmer than usual. Have you checked or replaced your air filter recently? I would attempt to answer your question more fully but Bob pretty much said everything I was going to, sorry, good luck.....
(I noticed you have a manual, so I think you can forget about the torque converter issue).

Also I noticed in the other thread you posted you said your Vigor had 225,000 miles on it. In this thread, however; you say it has 193,000. Do you own two Vigors?

[chap1963]

Originally Posted by AcuraVigorOwner

Regarding what the gas mileage is "supposed" to be for your car: The Acura Vigor was supposed to have an EPA estimated 20 MPG city and 25 or 26 MPG highway depending on the year (92'-'93 = 25 and '94 = 26). This was considered a generous estimation though because many Vigor owners and test drivers reported numbers below that.

Also, Shell does produce great gas, I'm glad your Vigor is drinking the good stuff! You said you only put in 91 octane, but Shell has almost universally 92 octane for their premium unleaded gasoline; however your Shell may be different, it's possible.

If it is ONLY your highway mileage that is hurting you, it may be due to a faulty torque converter but I sincerely doubt it, the change shouln't be that drastic. An indication would be if your car is running a bit warmer than usual. Have you checked or replaced your air filter recently? I would attempt to answer your question more fully but Bob pretty much said everything I was going to, sorry, good luck.....
(I noticed you have a manual, so I think you can forget about the torque converter issue).

Also I noticed in the other thread you posted you said your Vigor had 225,000 miles on it. In this thread, however; you say it has 193,000. Do you own two Vigors?

I had a typo era sir. its 193,000 miles not the 225,000 miles that was [osted in the other post sorry for the trouble. also my shell station has 92 not the 91 octane. boy I started out on the wrong foot on here didn't I.
charlie

[Bob01721]

Originally Posted by chap1963

"... boy I started out on the wrong foot on here didn't I..."

Nah... it's a pretty friendly crowd.

[Rower4VT]

If you check out the EPA's revised mileage estimates I think you'll find it rates the Vigor at 18/20/24 city/combined/hwy. I've found that premuim gives much better mileage than regular (not worth the cost savings).

Mine has 199k on it and I get 20-21mpg on E85, and 24-25mpg on premium driving about 40/60 city/hwy. However, this is driving very conservatively; shift at 2000rpm and never exceed 60mph. Not really doing this to save money, but it's just a challenge to see what I can wring out of it. If any of us were trying to save money we would've bought an old Civic or Accord, not a Vigor. Normally I drive a little on the agressive side and "combined" driving for me is typically below 20mpg on premium, and 17mpg on E85. I'll get 24-25 on the highway if I stay around 70mph.

Check out gassavers.org They do some REAL crazy stuff to get better mileage.

[AcuraVigorOwner]

Hey Chap don't worry about the typo.

And Rower, why are you putting in E85? That's like pouring beer into a champagne glass, you just don't do it......

I can't even begin to go into all the problems associated with E85. Their still in the beginning stages with producing that stuff. In time they'll get the proverbial recipe right, but for now stay away from it, and don't even get me started with how much it's hurting our economy and consumer markets by driving the prices of everything else up, (unless of course you're a corn farmer or trade in agricultural securities). What were people thinking when they thought up the idea of E85? Hey lets save consumers $0.75 at the pump (for now), but in turn make them pay $20 more every time they go to the grocery store, genious! And pretty soon with Emissions' Laws they'll turn into a major player in the oil business and jack their prices up as well. Then who wins?

Oh, sorry, I guess I just went off on a rant. Maybe we should rename this forum "Acuromics".

[kevinentz]

I have to rant too. My 94 GS (clone) automatic gets 25 MPG driving a mix of hwy/city daily (35 miles) to work with 87 Octane gas. Here's where I will rant. It is a huge waste of money to buy "premium" gas unless you have a high compression (10:1 or higher) engine with lots of timing (greater than 32 degrees at 2500 rpm). If your car does not "ping" with 87 octane then you will get better gas mileage with 87 octane. Here's the reason why. 87 octane is easier to burn. What causes pinging is fuel igniting before it is suppose to (premature ignitiation ). The higher the octane the harder it is to ignite. Also it takes more of the higher octane fuel to get the same air/fuel ratio (your computer will adjust for this). During my racing days depending on the octane (105 to 120) fuel the race track had we would have to increase or decrease the size of jets 3 to 4 sizes in the carburetor to get a proper burn on the spark plug. For instance one of the old tricks from the 70's when you couldn't buy high octane fuel was water mist injection. Water is very hard to ignite.

I agree that something is wrong if the fuel mileage is down that low. A lot of things could cause this. Brakes, alignment, tires/tire pressure, EGR valve stuck closed or clogged, PCV valve clogged, dirty air filter, dirty fuel filter, dirty or faulty (dripping) injectors, incorrect spark plugs (too cold heat range), catalytic converter, bad gas, etc.

And on that note, all the gas stations get their fuel from the same fuel depot. However each company has their own additives. And it is possible to get bad gas from one of the thought of "higher quality" gas stations.

[kevinentz]

BTW.....I would lean towards an EGR problem, faulty temperature sensor or wire, or an oxygen sensor or wire.