Gas mileage - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Spiffy_Vision · 07-11-2004, 09:26 PM

Hello everyone, I've been researching on camrys and I have ended up at this place. I just started looking at reviews on the car and became more and more interested in modification and add-ons to the car to improve it's performance and looks.

Tonight I am excited because at 10:00 PM, mountain standard time, my 1997 camry XLE (champagne colored) with a new engine arrives here. Apparently it has a new engine because the previous owners (close relatives of mine) put in a synthetic blend of oil which completely ruined it.

I will post pictures tommorow. The only problem I've heard about it, is that there's a tear on the passenger seat (it has a leather interior) so they put sheep skin over it (the entire seat, not just the tear)... If anyone has ever sat in a car with sheep skin, tell me what you think about it in terms of comfort.

I know that alot of you guys like speed and such. Regardless of the insane price on gasoline these days. So... instead of ruining my miles per gallon, how about I improve it? Is there anything which I can add onto this camry to improve mileage AND performance?

userlain · 07-11-2004, 09:33 PM

Yes. Cold air intake will improve gas milage. And so Will a short-ram intake. Also, you can get a pure burn ignition system to make the engine burn cleaner, improving gas milage. Also, you can improve your exhaust, like... cat-back exhaust. You can add platinum plugs which help the ignition burn cleaner.

Spiffy_Vision · 07-11-2004, 09:46 PM

Wow, thanks for the extremely quick reply! Now my questions are:

1. Where should I get them? Checking ebay has proven quite useless for some of those things.

2. Would these things also improve performance?

3. Platinum plugs... hmm... is that refering to the brand or type? On eBay, it looks like the type.

Thanks again for the reply

warlock · 07-11-2004, 10:03 PM

go NGK plugs

ripley's99 · 07-11-2004, 10:25 PM

imho i would not get a short ram intake it will rob your engine of horsepower as it only sucks HOT air from the engine bay...instead of a cold air intake which will increase hp slightly...

ebay does have items for the camry from time to time, but your best bet is a thorough search here as well as a google search for parts online

good luck with the car,
Keri

bowlofturtle · 07-11-2004, 10:25 PM

a CAI does give you better gas milage ? i never knew that. but yea a lot of things will improve your car and performance at the same time. But you gotta be careful of the types you get. A lot of people here around the board will tell you a short-ram intake will hurt ur car more.

Spiffy_Vision · 07-12-2004, 01:39 PM

There she is. I guess whoever this belonged to before did some serious driving because it's got 114,000 miles on it.

Spiffy_Vision · 07-13-2004, 10:59 AM

Sorry to double post. But there is much uncertainty as to what year this vehicle is. Apparently it's a 1996 instead of a 97. Can any of you guys tell just by looking at it? Any general comments on the vehicle itself?

EDIT: There is no user's manual so don't tell me to look there. Also... the engine year, anyone know what that is?

a94autoCamry · 07-13-2004, 11:20 AM

yep, that is a 1996, the last year of the gen3's, starting in 1997, the design went different, hence calling it the gen4...

chronoti · 07-13-2004, 11:28 AM

engine code 1mz-fe, k&n filter is your best bet for getting any kind of performace part. most stuff you find on ebay is for the 5s-fe (i4) but the stock intake is a CAI .... hard to belive but it picks up air right under your driver side head light ... also it could be an 95 that model gen 3.5 was made for 2 years. you can check the door frame for a little plate for when the car was made late 95 could of been sold as an 96, also you can try serching the VIN for the car there some vlaue in it that lets you know what year car it is.

SmokingTires · 07-13-2004, 01:15 PM

Intakes will only kill your gasmileage and cause power loss.

Good choice of cars. I have a 92' V6 and I get 27MPG.

The best ways to keep your gas mileage high is to always have good spark plugs and wires. Make sure to run the correct fuel octane. Using different then factory specs will only cause problems. Avoid "Octane Boosters" or any other checmicals that claim to give better performance.

And overall, accelerating slowly and keeping the car at low RPM will give you the best mileage you could ask for.

That's how I am getting 27MPG on a 12 year old car with 195k Miles

white90dx · 07-13-2004, 01:29 PM

For good gas mileage: have a light right foot, cruise at slower speeds (<70mph), drive on the highway and take longer trips to allow the engine to warm up (combine trips I mean, not drive extra miles). Drive a manual transmission 4-cylinder car.

I still get 27mpg in my turbocharged Camry with 310k miles on it... Heh...

-Charlie

Spiffy_Vision · 07-20-2004, 01:12 PM

Alright... this seems a little wierd. Sorry for asking to be spoonfed. But does a 1996 camry have an aluminum exhaust system? If it does... than I won't be able to convert it into a hydrogen powered car...

Spiffy_Vision · 07-20-2004, 04:31 PM

I know you guys know this... sorry to be impatient but I could use some help.

***cam2Xrunner*** · 07-20-2004, 04:52 PM

Hydrogen powered? Don't even go there. Some things you can do maintance wise to improve your fuel economy would be to do a fuel injection and throttle body cleaning service. Replace your fuel filter if it hasn't been done recently, Change the plugs, be sure to use ngk laser plats or denso platinums. Change your air filter if dirty, etc.