Some of you may already know that I've become a fuel economy fiend.

I really want to encourage brickboarders to get active at the fuel economy sites below. There's new ground being broken in fuel economy on a grass-roots basis and we can do better with these cars than we have been.

For excellent tips on getting more mpg you can visit
gassavers.org
cleanmpg.com
At cleanmpg, pay a visit to "Articles" and see "Beating the EPA" by Wayne Gerdes.

I'm registered at both sites as brucepick.
You can see all member's gas mileage logs at cleanmpg's "Milelage Logs" page.

I can tell you that it's possible for an '89 auto tranny 245 to get 30-32 mpg in highway driving, summer weather, day in and day out. But that would require modified driving habits (not a steady 65 or 70) and probably some modifications to the car. I was getting 23-25 mpg this past winter with snow tires. Previous winters were more like 20-22 mpg. Again, it required some effort on my part.

My fuel economy modifications: E-fan, air dam extension and forward belly pan added, open-front airbox for cold air intake via AC condenser "grate", and 15 inch 35 psi tires running at 37-38 psi. They're actually more stable and heat up less at the higher pressure due to less flexing.

--
Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, open-front airbox, E-fan, 205/65-15's, IPD sways, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors, quad horns, tach, small clock. Wifemobile '89 245 NA stock. 90 244 NA spare, runs.

I recall the sign in the old Hot Rod shop: "Speed Costs Money - How Fast Do You Want To Go?"

Same with fuel consumption. Both the 83-240 and the 940 will do about 30 highway mi per US Gal. at speeds of 65-70MPH. Back in the 55MPH days the 83 would get about 33MPG.

Arguably, the sedans are a bit better streamlined (if you can use that word in reference to a 240!) than the wagons, so for your speeds, the fuel economy is in the ballpark. Loaded weight should make little difference on fairly level roads at steady speeds.

Spark plugs and change interval - I use NGK's which are considered a top quality plug. But I find the gaps open up due to metal erosion. This probably applies to all copper electrode plugs. Twice now I have pulled a set at 30k mi and found the original gap of .028 is now .040. Hard starts were becoming routine. So I'd suggest pulling them every 10-15k mi and checking/regapping or replacing. At $8 for a set, it's a very cheap tune-up.
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Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F/M46, dtr's 83-244DL B23F/M46, my 94-944 B230FD and 89 745 (LT-1 V8); hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)

Sounds good to me, unless you are running tires that are of smaller circumference than the stock size. What size are you running on the rear wheels?

Regards,

Bob

:>)

Given the speeds and a pretty full load, you did just fine. "The giant sucking sound you hear" is all those 6000-pound pickups and SUVs fuel tanks being sucked dry as they keep up with you.
--
Thank goodness we don't get all the government we pay for. -- Will Rogers

yep, still better than many cars after 20 years. you can probably replace the plugs every 100k miles. your problem would be rust and vac leaks.

that's about right for my 86 245 goin 75-85 mph.

regards,
byron golden
86 245
92 245

Close enough :)

With a full load like that, just make sure your tire pressures are at the high end.
My V70 loaded got 23.5 with the cruise set at 84 across Nebraska to Denver, and I got 26.9 on the return trip. At 75-80 I will get around 27mpg with a light load.

Klaus

Auto, is quite good.