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1992 3.1 lumina gas mileage - why so good (relatively)?


Chris2012

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Mine is old and haven't taken it on anything approaching a long trip in years. But the sticker iirc said 29 highway mpg. I took it on a 900 mile round trip when I first got it, 88k, and I measured around 27.5mpg.

Now some of these smaller cars get 40 or so max, and that's 4 cylinders. Why is the Lumina so relatively efficient? Are later models as good? Is it about aerodynamics, given the large benefit on the highway? I don't remember operating any other car that got so much better mieage on the highway. Best around town w/ this car was about 22.

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well you got a sniffer telling the computer how much fuel is being wasted, a vacuum canister that is computer controlled to scavenge every drop of gas, it knows the exact engine load and when to start adding fuel depending on your altitude. I am sure I could go on for a while..

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that's nothing, a lot of cars with the 3800, are rated at 30 hwy, higher than a 3.1.

 

the 3400 W-bodies on the other hand, for example, 00-05 monte carlos... thanks to the stupid-slow gearing on them, they're rated 21/32. the same cars, with the S2 3800s are 19/29 in 00-03, 20/30 in 04-05. throw on the supercharger and you have 19/28.

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And it should be noted that w-bodies regularly exceed their rated MPGs on the highway.

 

My GTP gets 32mpg on a long highway run driving sensibly. And that is with the "less efficient" gearing. Of course, it has other mods and a custom tune, though...

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well, the EPA is a standardized test, therefore, is a good comparison between different vehicles, even if not for exact numbers as to what you'll see in real-world driving.

 

i've seen in the 36-37 range with both the MC and 90GP on long highway trips before.

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