Why is my gas mileage so crappy?
 

I didn't buy this car because I wanted to save money on gas. I would have kept my Honda... but... i used to get 300 kms on the half way mark then get to about 500kms before the light would go on. I would be driving mostly highway doing this of course. In fact got just shy of 650kms running on fumes before i did the rebuild. Now i'm luck to get 225-250 at the halfway mark with the fuel light coming on about 400-425kms.

Some of the stuff i've done:

plugs, wires, rotors, hats, fresh distributor rebuild
coils -running msd
fuel - the 91 octane we get here in Toronto
Air Filter - EvoMS with K&N Cone
Exhaust - no cat, primary, no secondary
Emissions - passed with no problems (just thought i'd throw that in)
Ignition - all stock ECU with some 911 chip that came with the car... i've had this ten years now...

Am i running rich? doesn't smell like it and passed emissions....
Due to no Cat? Lack of back pressure from ditching the secondary? I cut the primary pipe and rewelded a tip roughly 90* directly out the back so looks more or less stock

thoughts?

Idle - purrs like a kitten though a slight hunt from 850 rpm to 900rpm every so often

Have you checked for a dragging brake? I would jack up the car and see if each wheel spins freely.

all very good tips.

I'll check the brakes though 90% sure they are spinning freely.

I replaced o2 sensor brand new about a year ago and still have my cat only nothing inside it... doh!

I'm running 10w50 castrol edge synthetic... which is better than i was running. previously burning and spilling so much oil that i would just top up every 500kms so that might not be it.

Also the temps are cold here in the late fall, i haven't been driving much in the winter... even with my snow tires.... and didn't notice any change from summer to fall...

Thanks for the few things to check first...

When you changed the spark plugs, were they all the same color? Could you have a leaky injector?

This thread makes me think my mileage is worse than it should be..

@djantlive

transmission oil - fresh less than 3,000 kms - synthetic blend
tire pressure - slightly high if anything but good point
fuel cleaner - i've removed all the fuel in the tank not too long ago.. say 4,000 kms ago. i make a 3 wire splice and plugged into the relay (that often dies) and the gas was all pumped out
i do have a fresh fuel pump also

@rocketrob - spark plugs - i had them all out and they were fresh at the time. i cleaned them lightly before installing and haven't checked em. perhaps on my valve adjustment which is coming out soon. Timing is set properly too... though i will have it checked again when doing the valve adjustment

@mikeH - i will check my brand new o2 sensor because i've heard that brand new sensors have been found to be defective... same goes with crank position reference sensor and anything that bosch makes !! haha

@rocketrob - i have brand new fiveomotorsport injectors and serviced my bosch units. no difference. i currently have the bosch units in so will swap em out for the five-0 set.

would the msd coils make a difference vs the bosch units? .. i have both and currently run the msd. there has been some debate about using these and i've found the msd work fine. avoid the silver bosch and keep the black ones if they meet the spec resistance

i want the 20 miles per gallon days back!!

we do have the winter gas here in Toronto - and i run the 91 octane but could get the 93... thoughts on possible improvement here?

meantime, power is good, smells a little rich even after fully warmed up. i will put on dyno in the next few weeks.

Is there any use to try a bosch hammer reset and adaptation? i do have ever so slight hunt at idle. between 850 rpm and 925 rpm...