gas mileage not good

[rice]

when i first bought my car, it had about 150,000 miles on it already, but it still gave me about 30 miles per gallon, i've kept an eye on it from time to time and it still gives about 30 mpg, but now the car is about 157,000 miles and after installing a new shifter, my mpg on my 1994 corolla 7afe has gone down by at least 30 miles or so, in other words, usually i can put about 300 miles per tank full, and now only about 270

what is the problem here? i dont think the new shifter did any harm to the mpg, did it? other than that, the car is bone stock, one of the reasons i bought the corolla was because of it's good mpg, i drive the car pretty average

also, this is bothering me, back when my car had 300 to a tank, when my gas meter is down to half, my mile(not the total miles, the one below that when you reset it) meter shows 200, so shouldn't i get about 400 mpg to a tank instead of just 300?? but at the end, i ended up with 300, know what i mean?

i know that adding bolt ons such as headers, exhaust, intake, etc, will decrease mpg, right? but my car's engine is stock....there is no extra weight or anything in my car, and the car seems to be running great! not sure what the problem here is, its almost winter, so i dont turn on the AC, any advice would be great! thanks in advance...

[freakinbox]

is it a short shifter? it may not be the shifter itself but maybe you are driving the car harder because of it, and you may not notice that you are. Or maybe your air or fuel filter has bit the dust. Air filters can affect gas milage dramatically! Or maybe you have a leak? just a small one maybe barely noticable. Could also be because the engine is getting older and more worn...

[Peter]

well the shifter should have nothing to do with it....do u use a/c or the heater that kills ur MPG, and also how u drive the car....second maybe a unclean air filted, spark plugs, ? maybe ur cat is stuffed......any of those is a good place to start

[dpiersma]

Heater hurting gas mileage? I disagree...the cold air outside may cause your mileage to go down a bit but using the heater in and of itself should not cause a mileage drop. You are just allowing the water in the block to circulate thru the heater core when using the heater. In ther US, fuel mixture changes from summer blend to winter also may have a negative effect on mileage or so I was told.

[RadRacer3]

check your tire pressure, if your tires are low you will burn lots of fuel overcomming the xtra resistance.

when my gas meter is down to half, my mile(not the total miles, the one below that when you reset it) meter shows 200, so shouldn't i get about 400 mpg to a tank instead of just 300

when my 95' prizm was newer, in the summer I could get up to 380 a tank with about a half gallon or so left in the tank. Have you ever tried running your tank dry, if your car is mechanically sound then you will get close to 400 miles a tank

[Flashmn]

I dont get why people bother with 5mpg difference, heck when your corolla does about 15mpg then I'd be worried

[Stan_06Corolla]

Originally Posted by Flashmn

I dont get why people bother with 5mpg difference, heck when your corolla does about 15mpg then I'd be worried

Because when you drive as much as I do, 5mpg is noticable. My 06 corolla more than pays for itself in fuel savings, just because I try to drive it more than my pickup truck.

[Flashmn]

How do you know I dont drive more than you?
I commute everyday, because I live in the sticks. I dont bother counting mileage, because guess what, its not gonna do you any good, except cause extra stress.

[Peter]

depands, i know in the truck (01 sierra) when i put the the air flow on the windows and turn the heat on the a/c system turns on.....causeing less fuel....it only dose it when i put it oon the windows.....iam not use why this is , but i go 4 mpg less when i used it...

[jjsagain]

The only time a heating situation would put extra load on the engine is when you have it in the defrost mode which causes the air contioner to dry the heated air in order to quickly defrost the windows. Normal heat settings will not cause the air conditioner to turn.

[REN69]

rice.. time for a tune up!

[freakinbox]

myth busters did a think on a/c vs open windows for mpg and the suv with the windows open went a shit load longer than the one with a/c.
And yea I drive alot too. I count millage but I don't care how many times I have to fill up. When you floor it off every light and stop sign, floor it most of the time. You stop caring for fuel lol. Worrying just ruins the fun of driving :p

[rice]

Originally Posted by REN69

rice.. time for a tune up!

hey REN, define tune up?? like plugs, wires? or......something else?