1995 Fuel Economy

I'd be interested to see if someone with a similar car who monitored their fuel economy now and then would get similar results when changing over to Mobil 1 or synthetics in general.

I swear it seems to make more of a difference the longer you use it.

yea, thats amazing! i'm sure if i slowed down a little and drove more consistantly i could do those numbers. i think the BEST ive ever gotten was 38mpg in a somewhat hilly area after alot of flat.

I also noticed a performance increase recently after a thorough throttle body cleaning using CRC throttle body cleaner and toothbrush. Followed up with a dose of SeaFoam in the tank, PCV and a new air filter.....much better.

i'm going to clean out my intake manifold when i replace a poorly performing injector sometime soon. i need to got backto a junkyard to get some tho.

My 95 DX gave similar mileage when I drove the MA to MD and back last summer, around 40-42 mpg. The conditions were very similar to yours with some traffic and some AC. No roadtrips this summer yet.

Hi,

Just back from Maryland and wanted to share my fuel economy numbers with Bikeman....thought it would be better to start a new thread.

1995 Corolla, 176,000 miles, 1.8 engine, automatic overdrive transmission, 5W-30 Mobil 1 synthetic oil, Micehlin X radials running at 32 PSI cold, 200 pounds of me, 115 pounds of little woman, 100 pounds of luggage.

Tank was topped off right to the top of the fill tube on all fillups so it should be pretty accurate.

Trip to MD from MA

- Mostly highway, 70 to 75MPH, AC on and off, non-ethanol gas

- Fillup at 452 miles, 11.3 gallons = 40MPG

Almost 2 gallons left in the tank but I was getting nervous not knowing if the gauge was as accurate with the extra weight in the trunk. As you can see, I could easily have made the 500 mile mark as was discussed earlier.

Trip to MA from MD

- First 70 or 80 miles were mixed driving, then mostly highway at 70 to 75 MPH til filled. AC on all the way, non-ethanol gas

- Fillup at 461 miles, 11.8 gallons = 39.06 MPG

That's one impressive little car. I've had it since 105K miles. I don't know when the ignition had any attention but it's never been touched by me. I've done 15K interval oil changes with the Mobil 1 since I've had it.

PS - My last fill after the above two fills was with 10% ethanol gas. I still had a bout 1.5 gallons left of non-E gas in there but it did appear that the power was a bit lacking when going up hills with AC on.....fuel mileage appears to be consistent with the earlier results. I'm presently at 180 miles on this fill at a needles width under 3/4 tank.

Jay in MA

That's incredible Jay!

 

I am doing everything I can just to get 30 MPG (mostly highway miles).

I don't have synthetic oil but maybe it is worth changing.

I don't even have working A/C and I drive at 70 MPH (+/- 5 MPH).

I am lucky if I make 330 miles before I fill 'er up.

Looks like 40MPG is not far fetched.

I only get 32 or 33 MPG in the cold months here in MA.

My 95 DX gave similar mileage when I drove the MA to MD and back last summer, around 40-42 mpg. The conditions were very similar to yours with some traffic and some AC. No roadtrips this summer yet.

 

I wonder if your O2 sensors might be part of the problem Bikeman??

My cap rotor and wires all appear to be Toyota....Denso plugs. Funny thing is, the ignition isn't really in all that great condition. They should all be changed but it still runs great.

I have to insulate the cap before I check the transmission fluid due to a little little leakage discharging across my hand. I'll do it up one of these days.

You might try synthetic and see if it improves it a little. You'll notice I stretch my oil/filter changes out quite far. The motor is immaculate inside and burns no oil. It also helps to bring the cost of oil changes back to a more reasonable level. I do 110 miles per day...about 60% highway.

Jay

That's incredible Jay!

I am doing everything I can just to get 30 MPG (mostly highway miles).

I don't have synthetic oil but maybe it is worth changing.

I don't even have working A/C and I drive at 70 MPH (+/- 5 MPH).

I am lucky if I make 330 miles before I fill 'er up.

I've consistently got 33-35 mpg using dino oil with my 5 speed manual 95. And that's with changing my driving style oriented towards maximum mpg. I'm a bit shocked to hear the automatic getting 40 mpg. Sounds like the synthetic can be good for gettting better mpg.

I am planning on using up the oil in my garage and then switching to Mobil 1 synthetic to see if it improves my gas mileage.

Misterken,

It would be great if you could report back to us with your results. I know the synthetic helps but not really sure how much as I've been using the stuff for a long time and don't have much of a reference point.

If I had to guess I would say 5 to 10% improvement but that has no scientific basis whatsoever.

I've consistently got 33-35 mpg using dino oil with my 5 speed manual 95. And that's with changing my driving style oriented towards maximum mpg. I'm a bit shocked to hear the automatic getting 40 mpg. Sounds like the synthetic can be good for gettting better mpg.

I think 5 - 10 % improvement would be good.

Actually, I'm not planning on switching to synthetic with my Corolla anytime soon. I've read in the past that you really should start your car with synthetic from the get-go. If you start with dino oil, and then switch to synthetic you might run into oil leaks. They say the dino oil is harder to seep through small cracks. But with synthetic, it's finer type of oil, and it can potentially slip through small cracks where conventional wouldn't. Whether how much I believe that, is another story.

I'm a huge proponent of synthetics and I didn't believe the seal leakage until recently when I converted my newly acquired 116K mile 2000 Jeep Cherokee. It started leaking from the rear seal. I drained the oil and did a 50/50 blend and it's fine now. I'll probably continue to do the 50/50 mix on this car. This is the first car I've had that exhibited this trait. Turns out it uses a 2 piece seal which could be part of the problem here. The Cherokees are prone to rear main seal leakage anyways as they get older.

For the most part this is an old wive's tale but as I stated it CAN happen but I highly doubt you'll see this on a Toyota. I converted my 95 Corolla at around 110K (now 177K) and my daughter's Camry around 130K (now 150K).

Some good reading material on the subject

http://www.boss302.com/oil.htm

http://www.getahelmet.com/jeeps/tech/syntheticoil/

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html

http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/synth_oil.txt

http://yotarepair.com/Automotive_News.html

http://www.amsoil.com/articlespr/2005/pr_extended_drain.aspx

http://www.amsoil.com/

http://www.mobil1.com/index.jsp

http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/Newsro...r_250105_02.asp

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorO...erformance.aspx

Good luck,

Jay in MA

.....If you start with dino oil, and then switch to synthetic you might run into oil leaks.

I still plan on converting to synthetic oil after I have depleted my conventional oil supply.

I would like to see the difference in the fuel economy.

It's certainly worth a try. You can always go back to the dino oil if it makes no difference to your MPGs.

One of the best traits is cold weather starts. It was much more noticeable on carbureted cars though.

Jay in MA

I still plan on converting to synthetic oil after I have depleted my conventional oil supply. I would like to see the difference in the fuel economy.

my 95 dx with 1.6 l motor automatic, goes anywhere from 24mpg(winter months) to the best ever just recently done 29.6mpg (summer months), car is in tip top shape it has 190000km, and that is the best i have got!

on another topic, my lite comes on to refill gas at 350-360km and the most I can put in is 31-33 liters, how big is the gas tank on these babies? anyone

I still plan on converting to synthetic oil after I have depleted my conventional oil supply. I would like to see the difference in the fuel economy.

on older cars such as yours to switch to synthetic, you will just screw up your engine, it will start leaking where it has never leaked before... dont do it

The fuel tank capacity is 13.2 gallons on a '95.

Do you actually have experiences with synthetics or are you just reading that problems will occur when switching back and forth? I've done it on many cars with zero problems. If you do have experiences with this could you explain what it is that causes the leakage.

.....how big is the gas tank on these babies? anyone

 

I still plan on converting to synthetic oil after I have depleted my conventional oil supply.

I would like to see the difference in the fuel economy.

on older cars such as yours to switch to synthetic, you will just screw up your engine, it will start leaking where it has never leaked before... dont do it

13.2 US gallons = 49.9674358 litres

The temperature in CA stays warm most of the time, so I don't have too many cold starts.

The gas tank is 13.2 gallons.

I will switch to synthetic and if it starts leaking then I can switch back or else replace the seal that leaks.

if my gas tank fits 49 liters, why does the light come on when it has 16-18 liters (4.5gal) left?!

i think that is crazy

Do you actually have experiences with synthetics or are you just reading that problems will occur when switching back and forth? I've done it on many cars with zero problems. If you do have experiences with this could you explain what it is that causes the leakage.

 

yes I actually do!

1. problem no 1 with all synth oils=engines burn them, and on average I had to add 700ml on every 1000km

(this happened with mobil 1 5w30 synth), my car uses/burns 0 zilch of penzoil 10w30 regular cheap oil.

2. problem is oil starts seeping through engine block, viscosity of synthetic oil vs regular is obvious and on an older engine you will just have fun cleaning it and smelling warmed up oil ON your engine.

now the good thing is

when I went back to cheapy oil all of these problems diasappeared

if my gas tank fits 49 liters, why does the light come on when it has 16-18 liters (4.5gal) left?!i think that is crazy

 

 

Do you actually have experiences with synthetics or are you just reading that problems will occur when switching back and forth? I've done it on many cars with zero problems. If you do have experiences with this could you explain what it is that causes the leakage.

 

yes I actually do!

1. problem no 1 with all synth oils=engines burn them, and on average I had to add 700ml on every 1000km

(this happened with mobil 1 5w30 synth), my car uses/burns 0 zilch of penzoil 10w30 regular cheap oil.

2. problem is oil starts seeping through engine block, viscosity of synthetic oil vs regular is obvious and on an older engine you will just have fun cleaning it and smelling warmed up oil ON your engine.

now the good thing is

when I went back to cheapy oil all of these problems diasappeared

The light comes on to give you a reserve. It allows you time to get to a gas station before you run out. The station may be a ways away.

 

 

With what type of car and engine did you experience this problem?

#1 is a very generic statement. Would you be surprised to hear that I converted a high mileage 1986 S-10 4 cyclinder to Mobil 1 5W-30 and it used LESS oil? This was a high revving 4 speed truck driven mostly at 70MPH and above. I know people who won't run Pennzoil because of the quality....maybe that's why your engine doesn't like Mobil1. There's a lot of opinions on this but here's some reading material.

http://www.pennzoilplatinum.com/

http://www.boss302.com/oil.htm

http://www.getahelmet.com/jeeps/tech/syntheticoil/

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html

http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/synth_oil.txt

http://yotarepair.com/Automotive_News.html

http://www.amsoil.com/articlespr/2005/pr_extended_drain.aspx

http://www.amsoil.com/

http://www.mobil1.com/index.jsp

http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/Newsro...r_250105_02.asp

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorO...erformance.aspx

#2 see reading material above.

And as I've previously stated and you've agreed, if it does leak you can just go back to the dino oil.

Jay in MA

 

yes I actually do!

1. problem no 1 with all synth oils=engines burn them, and on average I had to add 700ml on every 1000km

(this happened with mobil 1 5w30 synth), my car uses/burns 0 zilch of penzoil 10w30 regular cheap oil.

2. problem is oil starts seeping through engine block, viscosity of synthetic oil vs regular is obvious and on an older engine you will just have fun cleaning it and smelling warmed up oil ON your engine.

now the good thing is

when I went back to cheapy oil all of these problems diasappeared

if my gas tank fits 49 liters, why does the light come on when it has 16-18 liters (4.5gal) left?!i think that is crazy

same here I usually fill between 9 and 10 gallons. that's 3.2 to 4.2 gallons of fuel still in the tank. That's a pretty good reserve. If my average mpg is 33, then I can go about 100 more miles after the light comes on.