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Improving gas mileage?

VolvoRock

New member
Joined
May 19, 2004
Location
Orlando, FL
What are some things you can do to improve gas mileage for a 240?

I heard to stay away from K&N's with 240s, that the oils destroy the MAF sensor.

I replaced the fuel filter. that's about it. I'm thinking about getting Volvo plugs and a new O2/Lambda sensor soon.

I'm getting a little better than the EPA test which is 23 hwy (auto)...I think Im doing like 25 right now. But I'd like to experiment and see what the car's potential is.

any thoughts?
 
complete stage 0...

cap, rotor, crankcase vent, grounds, seafoam, injector clean/balance, IAC clean, throttle body clean....
replace vacuum lines if you havent, cause even if they LOOK like they are OK, if they havent been replaced any time that you can remember, they could be bad.
 
drive slow

i went from 18.5mpg avg to 23.9mpg by slowing down from 65-75 mph to never going over 61mph and staying @ 55-61 the entire drive to and from work everyday
 
my dad says "i drive like theres a raw egg under the gas pedal..."

oh, and another tip...
if you're in stop and go traffic, or even just slow traffic, if you leave a good enough gap, so that you dont really have to come to a complete stop, or can even avoid the brakes, you save a lot too. starting up from a stop uses a lot of energy.
 
heard on the news that if you are overweight, ur mpg goes down. so if ur overweight, try to lose some weight. if you're not, then get a different performance air filter. you could also try that tornado fuel saver.

for that electric fan thing, where can i get one? i got a 93 850 glt and im not sure if i have one. and how hard is it to install?
 
thermostat of the air filter box is often stuck in the hot air only position. mod the airbox so that it goives cold air only and fit bigger pipes before the airbox. was worth a lil gain in my 240....
 
my dad says "i drive like theres a raw egg under the gas pedal..."

oh, and another tip...
if you're in stop and go traffic, or even just slow traffic, if you leave a good enough gap, so that you dont really have to come to a complete stop, or can even avoid the brakes, you save a lot too. starting up from a stop uses a lot of energy.


Only if other drivers were this smart!

I still get 35mpg in my wagon, while driving like a madman.
 
Clean the AC condenser of bugs and road garbage. This will give you better cooling efficiency less cycling of AC compressor. Fill transmission and differential with synthetic oils. Synthetic in the engine gains very little in mpg's due to the improved quality of the modern additive package. Weight reduction of any kind helps. Increase tire pressure 2 to 3 psi over the recommended tire pressure. Make sure your wheel alignment is up to spec.
As said above Stage 0 is very important to fuel efficiency. New plugs, air filter, cap, rotor and wires if needed along with the timing being properly set makes big difference in fuel economy. Also make sure your splash pan under the engine is intact and in place. This gives you a little better aero dynamics with the airflow under the car.
 
Someone mentioned that removing the front fairing gave them an extra 2-3 mpg. Other aerodynamic mods to consider ... blocking off part of the grill airflow, streamlining the rear undercarriage and the grapefruit can middle muffler ... fairing for roofrack, which is something I'm still researching.
 
heard on the news that if you are overweight, ur mpg goes down. so if ur overweight, try to lose some weight. if you're not, then get a different performance air filter. you could also try that tornado fuel saver.

for that electric fan thing, where can i get one? i got a 93 850 glt and im not sure if i have one. and how hard is it to install?

Losing 10 kg wouldn't net you a notable gain. Losing 50kg might reduce your fuel consumption by a percent or two. How many kilos do you have to lose? :-P

I heard to stay away from K&N's with 240s, that the oils destroy the MAF sensor.

Air filters CANNOT POSSIBLY make any difference to fuel efficiency. (any flow benefits you get from a 'good' filter are killed when you close the throttle to compensate, when cruising at a given speed)

I noticed no difference in fuel usage after I converted to an e-fan, having kept many records prior to the swap. I do prefer the e-fan by far though.
 
'89 245, auto trans, no roof rack, has e-fan, synthetic oil.
Was getting 29-31 highway till I half-built an air dam extension. Gotta finish that.
Now getting 28-29 mpg hiway, not bad.

Less rpms is better.
Slacken the kickdown cable a bit so it doesn't drop down all the time.

Baby that gas pedal. (but get out of low gears quickly)
Stay off the brake too. Better to brake early for a light and see it turn green when you're at 15 mph. Better than continuing at full speed, stop for lite and then start the car from zero. By rolling to the light you've saved that precious momentum.

Drive like your granny is in the passenger seat and you don't want her to know you have no brakes.

Pump tires to max sidewall labeling. Not whatever Volvo put on the door - those #s are for butt-comfort.
When you get new tires they have to be at least 44 psi tires so you can go up there.

Coast downhill in neutral. I put a tach in, so from that I learned that it's best to not try to rev match very much. With a tach you can pull it up to ~1500 rpm then into gear and the tranny will pull it up to 2000-2400 as needed. If you pre-match to 2x00 rpm it will over-rev when you go into gear, then go back down. Without a tach, I'd just put back in gear and then use foot as needed afterwards.

www.gassavers.org
www.cleanmpg.com
 
i get about 32-35 mpg in my DL.
-a perfect engine tune and everything balanced is a plus.
-drive with the windows up
-cover the underside of the car so its flat. and install mud flaps infront of the tires (like saabs)
-use the highest temp. thermostat.
-torque ..the more the better
-use as little brake and gas as possible.
 
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