gas mileage
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From: Noblesville Indiana
gas mileage 1.Would i get better gas mileage if i let my firebird warmup then drive it. or drive it right away? (when i leave the outside temp is usually 10 degrees, I hate winter...)
2.My car has a small leak in the exaust manifold gasket. could this affect mileage?
3.Do these cars have a low gas warning light?(I see no warning light turn on when I am below quater tank and farther)
4.What type of gas do you use (the owners manual reccomends premium...but do i have to?)
If anybody could answer these question that would be great. thanks
2.My car has a small leak in the exaust manifold gasket. could this affect mileage?
3.Do these cars have a low gas warning light?(I see no warning light turn on when I am below quater tank and farther)
4.What type of gas do you use (the owners manual reccomends premium...but do i have to?)
If anybody could answer these question that would be great. thanks
1. You always want to let your car warm up when the temp is that low... to atleast allow the oil to warm up. 5-10 min's is a good amount of time for this to happen
2.yes that can affect gas mileage along with the computer detecting false knock from the leak and the car being down or power.
3.No our cars don't have a low warning light. In the winter i don't recommend letting the tank get below 1/4 full.
4. With the LT1's the compression is 10.5:1 with it being that high thats why the recommend 93 octane to pervent detionation.. some people get away with using "regular" gas but i've never tried it.
Hope this helps.
2.yes that can affect gas mileage along with the computer detecting false knock from the leak and the car being down or power.
3.No our cars don't have a low warning light. In the winter i don't recommend letting the tank get below 1/4 full.
4. With the LT1's the compression is 10.5:1 with it being that high thats why the recommend 93 octane to pervent detionation.. some people get away with using "regular" gas but i've never tried it.
Hope this helps.
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From: Noblesville Indiana
Yeah those answers really help, I made the mistake of thinking that there was a low fuel warning light, I was going to just wait for it to turn on but the car ran out of fuel...probably the smartest I've done in a while 
another question: would middle grade gas be okay, I'm not looking for preformance now, but i dont want to hurt the engine
oh yeah, unless you really trust a mechanic always double check the problem with another mechanic...I took my car to a dealer to find out why my car died, they said it was a bad fuel pump 900$ fix, took it to another smaller shop..300$, before they worked on it they found out i was out of gas 5$ fix.
This is my first car, i'm used to driving my dads LeSabre. Big Difference.
another question: would middle grade gas be okay, I'm not looking for preformance now, but i dont want to hurt the engine
oh yeah, unless you really trust a mechanic always double check the problem with another mechanic...I took my car to a dealer to find out why my car died, they said it was a bad fuel pump 900$ fix, took it to another smaller shop..300$, before they worked on it they found out i was out of gas 5$ fix.
This is my first car, i'm used to driving my dads LeSabre. Big Difference.
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Originally Posted by SmokedOutZ28
Mid grade would work. I don't know what your octane ratings are at your local gas station but anything 91-94 would be good for the stock motor.
When gas was over $3.00 a gallon I tried running mid-grade on a long trip. I found that the reduced gas mileage I got was more than what I saved buying cheaper gas. My mileage was at least 10 per cent lower but I was only saving about 3 percent on the price of gas (10 cents per gallon).
It's nice to know you can use other grades in an emergency but you should stick to premium when it's available.
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From: Philly
you NEED at least 91 octane in an LS1. the stock compression is too high to run anything less. the high compression causes little explosions in the motor that breaks stuff. octane retards how fast fuel ignites. therefore, higher octane ratings won't explode inside your engine.
the LS1 has a knock sensor that can supress this detonation. therefore, running less than 91 octane in an LS1 will not necessarily harm the motor. the motor will retard timing in order to supress this detonation. what does this mean for you? a HUGE decrease in fuel economy and horsepower. for best engine life, best fuel economy and the most horsepower possible, run 91 octane or more. i want to add that running 93 octane will NOT give you better mileage than 91 octane. octane is not a power adder. you only need 91 octane, but a little more will not harm it. FWIW, my local sunocos carry 91 and 93 octane. i buy 91. there's no gain out of the additional 2 octane so why spend the extra 5 cents a gallon? it adds up when you drive 400 miles a week like i do. FWIW, my last fillup was 22 mpg on a mostly stop-and-go route.
the LS1 has a knock sensor that can supress this detonation. therefore, running less than 91 octane in an LS1 will not necessarily harm the motor. the motor will retard timing in order to supress this detonation. what does this mean for you? a HUGE decrease in fuel economy and horsepower. for best engine life, best fuel economy and the most horsepower possible, run 91 octane or more. i want to add that running 93 octane will NOT give you better mileage than 91 octane. octane is not a power adder. you only need 91 octane, but a little more will not harm it. FWIW, my local sunocos carry 91 and 93 octane. i buy 91. there's no gain out of the additional 2 octane so why spend the extra 5 cents a gallon? it adds up when you drive 400 miles a week like i do. FWIW, my last fillup was 22 mpg on a mostly stop-and-go route.
Originally Posted by nikeair042
yes. 99's aheva CHECK gauges light that comes on when you get close to the E
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
The specifications say 16.8 gallons. The light probably doesn't go on until you have only about a gallon left (but don't quote me on that).
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From: Philly
i would never run my car past 1/4 tank (12 gallons). when you run the tank low, you suck water and sediment into your fuel lines, clog your injectors and also clog the fuel filter. when gas prices started climbing, i remember all the news reports on repair shops seeing increased business. the reason why was people were going longer on a tank of gas because they didn't want to fill up (just prolonging the pain i guess?). the mechanic found himself doing 25% more tune-ups due to cars running like **** and/or stalling out. the guy had used fuel filters on a table and would wring them out. water and dirt everywhere, it was disgusting. i never go past 220 miles on a tank...and i get 21-22mpg so that's an easy 350 miles per tank! i regularly fill up at ~180 miles. i never want my fuel pump sucking air, water or dirt. i know how hard fuel pumps are to change on these cars. that's one part i try to preserve!
What about the other way,,say turbo blue? I've never done it, i know my racing buddies use it on their stock cars,,you know,,turn left,,turn left,,turn left,,,wow, look at him turn left!...and i have other buds that use it in hteir dirt bikes...what would this stuff do to my LS1?
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From: Philly
how much octane is it?
it won't do ****. octane is NOT a power adder. all you NEED is 91. any more will NOT give you a single horsepower or mpg. all octane does is retard the fuel igniting. running, say 100 octane ain't good for a stock motor. run 91 or 93, whatever is available in your area. anything else is like pissing on your feet. it's just unnecessary and it's a bad idea.
it won't do ****. octane is NOT a power adder. all you NEED is 91. any more will NOT give you a single horsepower or mpg. all octane does is retard the fuel igniting. running, say 100 octane ain't good for a stock motor. run 91 or 93, whatever is available in your area. anything else is like pissing on your feet. it's just unnecessary and it's a bad idea.
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From: Philly
on my LS1 i get 21-22 mpg as a daily driver on my shitty, hour long work commute with much of it stop-and-go style. i hit many lights on my 30 mile commute 
i've never taken an all highway run on my car, but i have high hopes. i'd imagine LT1 cars would get slightly less mileage than an LS1 because our newer aluminum motors just seem to get excellent mileage compared to most V8's out there. i'd always see an alumium motor getting better mileage than an iron motor just because it's lighter. that and the LS1 has 4 less cubes and gets into the powerband less daily driving it normally (you gotta rev the LS1 to 3500-4000 rpms before you hit the powerband whereas an LT1 gets deeper into the powerband at lower rpms making it work harder per rpm than an LS1 = less gas mileage for an LT1).
i've never taken an all highway run on my car, but i have high hopes. i'd imagine LT1 cars would get slightly less mileage than an LS1 because our newer aluminum motors just seem to get excellent mileage compared to most V8's out there. i'd always see an alumium motor getting better mileage than an iron motor just because it's lighter. that and the LS1 has 4 less cubes and gets into the powerband less daily driving it normally (you gotta rev the LS1 to 3500-4000 rpms before you hit the powerband whereas an LT1 gets deeper into the powerband at lower rpms making it work harder per rpm than an LS1 = less gas mileage for an LT1).