Greetings,

I'm trying to get a few more MPG out of my 98 Monte this summer.

I have switched to regular fuel for one. But looking at a few posts it would seem I might be going the wrong way by doing that.
I did notice my engine dripped a little (a spot or two here and there) of oil when I ran Premium/Mid-Grade and now it does not do that.

I was going to try 100% Synthetic oil because a family member claims to get an extra 5 MPG when using it.

Lastly I was going to clean my air filter more regularly or get a K & N air filter and clean regularly.
I was told the K & N might help add another 1 MPG.
I see their webpage says nothing about improving gas mileage but I heard it did on the radio.

At any rate I have heard a few claims. And I want to try to save a little money but not at the expense of my awesome monte.
So if synthetic oil sucks please let me know. I'd rather not drastically change the oil of there is no benefit.

MPG so far 24 city 27 highway. Brand - BP

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help or gives their opinion.
SoDak Monte

 

Welcome to the forum.....

Well, I have used Mobil 1 from day one and I swear by it. I am not so sure I am seeing any MPG benifits though. Here lately I have been running around 24.5 - 27.5 depending on my driving habits.

What kind of MPG are you running right now? Vehicle maintenance is the best policy to ensure it's running the way it was intended to. If your MPG's are in line with other cars similar to yours I would not worry too much about improving your numbers, you will end up spending money on things you more than likely won't see a return on.

 

I noticed you said your car dripped a couple of drops of oil but stopped whern you switched fuel type. What do you think happened?

Also, what type of spark plug is everyone running or recommends? I have 40,000 miles on the car now and thinking a new set of plugs wouldn't hurt about now.

And how about servicing the trans? Is a full flush recommended or just the filter?

 

tvanwinklehome - to answer your question 24 city 27 highway.

And my family is a Penzoil family been using 10w 30 in my car.

 

rchurch - in response to your question about the dips of oil... well as fate would have it I happened to look at the garage floor this morning and sure enough there were 4 single drops of oil on the floor. And there had not been any of that for the longest time. I guess I jinxed myself.

As far as what I thought happened... I am no mechanic. I trust the Goodwrench guys to do what needs to be done. From what I have heard though about Premium fuel possibly making sludge - and my car being simply stock - I thought maybe some sludge had built up and was maybe causing something to drip dirty oil.

As far as tranny flushes I've only heard if you do them regularly keep doing them, if you do them rarely once again sediment buildup can wear on stuff inside and then when you finaly do flush the worn areas become exposed which can lead to bad things maybe leaks.

 

I agree with SoDak for the most part.

If you plan on flushing your system on a regular basis do so every 30K. Sediments in the trans fluid can clog/bind up the valve body and/or other critical trans components if you wait too long. After 30K it is recommended to drop the pan.

TVW

 

Sorry, I overlooked this info in your first post.

24-27 is not bad..... Manufacture average MPG for your car is 25 Hwy....

 

Any spark plug recommedations? I keep hearing plugs are good for 100,000 miles, so is it worth it to change them at 40,000? Is there any noticable difference in a stock engine with those new 2 and 4 electrode plugs?

 

Oops, did I miss the other..... Sorry.......

Cars now days are designed to run on the factory plugs for at least 80-100K. My wifes GMC just turned over 110K on the factory plugs. That being said they need to be changed out. Oh great, another honeydo item....


I am not sure you would see any difference if you replaced your plugs at this point IMO..


TVW

 

An increase in fuel economy is common when switching to a synthetic but I doubt you will see anything near 5 MPG. I had a Chev 4X4 and when I switched to Mobil 1 in the engine and used Mobil synthetic lube in my differentials and transfer case I gained about 1 MPG. Dyno tests on synthetic oil indicate an increase in power and this is due to reduced friction. When you reduce friction, you improve fuel economy!