3.8 V6 Fuel Economy Improvements Bang for Buck

[pwarren3030]

I have a 2002 VY V6 and I am interested in how to improve the fuel economy. I don't want to do a Gas Conversion since I may not keep the car long enough to make back the investment. What about chips, exhausts etc ???

[Jonesy484]

get out and push it or don't put your boot in when you take off

[edals]

A High Flow Exhaust helps out. On The VX i was only getting about 600 kms to a tank, Put a High flow red back cat back exhaust on can manage about 700 kms to a tank now.
Just be easy on the Foot, Use 95 fuel, check tyre pressures. Use GM or NGK spark Plugs, Bosch Plugs dont seem to burn as well. Keep Fuel Filters Changed Every 20-40,000kms
Good Oil can Also Help, 10-40 can help alot over 20-50.
Really there is not a whole lot more you can do. Polish your car to reduce drag ? lol

[Brett_jjj]

Id have to agree about a better exhaust system improving the fuel economy on the ecotec, a single 2 1/4 inch system with pacemaker extractors will give noticable improvement in economy.The two most noticeable things that I noticed after fitting the pacemakers and exhaust system was that the engine ran cooler,one mark cooler on the temp gauge,and the fuel economy was noticably better than it was before,it slightly killed the bottom end power a bit though,but definitely increased the top end power delivery..I got a single 2 1/2 inch system at the time,it is slightly too big for the V6 and kills some of its low end torque,so Id go for a 2 1/4 instead of the 2 1/2 system.I know a guy who has the 2 1/4 system with pacies and it doesnt seem to kill the bottom end power quite as much,that size exhaust really seems to suit the V6 actually.Id actually be interested to see how much top end power would be lost, and how much more bottom end would be gained by running a single 2 inch system with pacies and a good free flowing muffler..

[Drawnnite]

Really there is not a whole lot more you can do. Polish your car to reduce drag ? lol

na do what they did on mythbusters with the golf ball dimples, it actually improved fuel economy.

be easy when taking off, change at lower revs if possible, remove all unneeded weight in the car, eg toolboxes, and so forth.

[Cracka]

How many killometers on the car? it may just need a good and thorough checkup / service.

Oxygen sensors can fail causing poor fuel economy, what about the throttle body, have you cleaned it recently?

What kind of distance are you getting to a tank anyway?

[pwarren3030]

How many killometers on the car? it may just need a good and thorough checkup / service.

Oxygen sensors can fail causing poor fuel economy, what about the throttle body, have you cleaned it recently?

What kind of distance are you getting to a tank anyway?

I get 11.5 l/100km during city driving with some tollway , no A/C. A/C adds about 1 l/100km. If I put the boot in that can add 2l/100km. On the highway about 9.5 l/100km at 110kmh.

Thanks for the tips guys. I will look into an exhaust.

[edals]

I Get 9.3 avg on the freeway, still got to get my highflow exhaust, the VX gets around 8.6 same trips

[a1k3m1]

yeah man, check the oxy sensors as bung oxy sensors usually make the economy go bad.. and really just drive it easy not all that much you can do, coz holden usually build them to be as economic as possible.... Maybe fitting larger size tyres on might get you further? .. lol just an idea

[Dr HaxZaw]

yeah i used to get around 9.5 in mine... got pacemakers, highflow cats and a single 2.5in sports system from sureflo exhuast for $1700, new leads, spark plugs and cleaned the throttle body and ran some upper engine cleaner through it and im getting 8.0-8.4L/100km depending on how much i put the boot in... this is driving from sydney to wollongong and back everyday so a bit of highway driving involved... i could get it lower but that would mean changing at around 2,000rpm and i hate being the slow car taking off from the lights lol

[turbo_vp_v6]

In my vz I put a twin 2 1/2 inch in with bigger cats and pacemaker and I went down to 7.8 l/100

[Cheap6]

In terms of $ saving per $ spent LPG will be the best value; fuel costs will probably be close to half, depending on local fuel costs. With the rebate, break even time will typically be around 6 months.

The O2 sensors are cheap enough if the current ones are not working properly.

'Plugs and leads likewise.

Apart from tyre pressures, oil etc. ^^...^ wheel alignment maybe?

You can pull back some of the penalty of using the A/C by only switching it on when decelerating - kinetic energy recovery. If you want to spend a few dollars (<$30) you can route the A/C switch wiring through a switch on the brake pedal to automate the process. You need a timer circuit to hold the A/C on and prevent cycling the A/C clutch rapidly with a very brief brake application. About 10 secs works for me. I have an RC timer connected to a transistor in series with the A/C and brake switches. You need an overide/bypass switch for highway driving where there is little brake application.

Type "ecomodder" into a search engine for more tips.