Just picked up a 97 Corolla CE - striving to max out mpg's!

[gt4-play]

Hi all,

I just picked up a 97 Corolla (4A-FE, 3sp auto), mainly for a commuter car and its decent gas mileage. I've only had it since Saturday, so I don't yet have a handle on how well it's performing. But I suspect I'll be doing an overhaul with all the usuals:

• plugs & wires
• cap & rotor
• fuel filter
• air filter
• oil change (keeping up with them frequently)
• verifying proper tire pressure

I've also heard other, slightly more costly ways to improve mpg's:

• cold air intake (eliminate the clunky intake box altogether)
• headers (I read somewhere that somebody ~supposedly~ had decent gains from this)

Has anybody gone the route of the latter two for the purposes of improving mileage? Opinions?

Thanks!

-Chris

[speedy25]

If you want the BEST mileage, keep it stock.

You get the best mileage from an efficient running engine and the least rolling resistance.

Start with a leakdown test on the engine to make sure its good, then do all the maintenance.

Then do your magic on brakes and bearings.

-SP

[rocket_rob]

ooh, me too! I'm looking to get the most out of the '96 3-speed I got a few months ago. So far I've taken care of
- plugs & wires
- cap & rotor
- PCV valve
- oil change (and maintaining oil level. engine burns a bit)
- tire pressures

Next on my to-do is to clean the intake manifold and throttle body, per the DIY guides on this forum.

So far I'm averaging 28-30 mpg. Not bad, but can I do better with a 3-speed?

[gt4-play]

It seems the 3-sp auto isn't the best choice for best mpg - I would have preferred a 5-sp man (which seems to be the best option). But we couldn't really refuse the deal on this one.

I may have to troll the local junkyard and see what shows up. :-)

In the meantime, I'll just keep it bone-stock and get all the usual components up to speed. If an intake is cheap enough, I'm not opposed to picking one up and testing it out for comparison's sake (and report back to this thread with some precise numbers).

Once I get a feel for the numbers, I'll post what I'm making now (and what I'll be making after the maintenance items are complete).

[Bitter]

If you don't have a cat under the manifold then an ebay header is an option, it scavenges exhaust better and is a little more efficient than the stock cast manifold. Better part throttle torque.

[gt4-play]

Originally Posted by Bitter

Better part throttle torque.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean here...

[Bitter]

Originally Posted by gt4-play

I'm not sure I understand what you mean here...

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/freq...kpressure.html

more or less, having runners of the right length in the right order helps the engine to generate power more efficiently. At part throttle (where most driving happens) this is good since more torque with less throttle angle means more efficient.

[gt4-play]

Originally Posted by Bitter

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/freq...kpressure.html

more or less, having runners of the right length in the right order helps the engine to generate power more efficiently. At part throttle (where most driving happens) this is good since more torque with less throttle angle means more efficient.

Ooohohooho, I gotcha. It was all in the way I read that previous response (incorrectly). That link, btw, is a great writeup. I don't think I've seen it described so nicely.

At any rate, any adjustments to the exhaust system will come last. For now, I'll just stick to the K.I.S.S. principle and see how things improve.

Thanks!

[Piloter]

If you're serious about mileage, a hot air intake is actually better. Less oxygen = less fuel added. Anything that keeps combustion heat in the engine bay...exhaust wrap, fabricate some sort of 'spats' for the wheelwells, ditch the mudflaps if you have them, remove or shrink the external mirrors, block up the front bumper opening, add some underbody plastics to smooth over the area underneath the engine, smaller wheels with minimum exposed spokes (think moon hubcaps) and low-rolling-resistance tires...hell, building a kammback tail (Prius/CRX ass) is good for some impressive improvements.

That said, less fuel = less power, and these cars are already pretty down on that.

But no, the three-speed is not a good place to start.

[Bitter]

hotter thermostat can help too, so can an air/fuel tuner but only at higher throttle.