Aaron- you are getting WAY too little mpg. Time for a tuneup since gas is 3+ a pop. My 99 v6 got 27 [straight shot on the intersate] which is 429.3-459 depending on if it had a 15.9 or 17 gallon tank. That was on the way back from Savannah. I filled up in Savannah before i came back and didn't have to get gas until 2 days later.
Now the trip down there on the other hand. I left at 1:30am and was trying to beat the sunrise... i got about 20mpg because i did about 80-85 which is in the slump on the fuel effiency of the v6's. Below is something i posted 363 days ago:
resistance isn't the only thing involved. how the transmission is geared is also a factor. under NORMAL circumstances your right. it's kinda like a torque curve only this one after 60 is upside down until you reach 100. the two points are on the same line with each other when it comes to mileage
MPG
30
27 * *
* *
24
*
21
19
60 70 80 90 100 MPH
i know that 80 is about 3200 RPM's. me and my best friend were talking about that over the phone one night. we both looked down and were doing 80 but his was 4000 RPM's.
He drives a Mazda MX6 LS (V6 2.5L) 5spd.
it's all about how they are geared. wind has a more dramatic effect on trucks and Scion Xb's than our cars. ours are more aerodynamically friendly.
Needless to say, figuring that out, was a fun hands on expierence.
The setup i had for that Venge was:
short-full ram CAI [basically the piping was longer than a short ram but still shorter than a full ram]
FULL synthetic Mobil 1 5w-30
Purolator Pure One #PL14670
Factory Plugs @ 70k miles
Maybe 120lbs of unneccesary stuff in the car/trunk [optional. Never leave home without your 50 cal sniper rifle]
Passenger in the passenger seat. [optional. Best model comes with 2 full airbags]
Bridgestone Fuzion ZRI tires [215/50/R17]
Hope this helps you a little.
And yes, SR20's rock. Both the SR20DE and the SR20DET.
Mo'Joe- When did you last change your fuel filter or plugs? Have you run any Lucas fuel cleaner or Seafoam in it lately? If you have poured any of those 'Injector Cleaners' that cost less than $5 a bottle, congratulations, you paid $5 for a bottle of 93-97 octane. Only thing THEY will 'clean' is the small trace of the 89 octane that was left on your injector until more 89 octane flows through your system.
Matt- I can't remember if the Starion's a FWD or RWD but i know that the 200sx's are FWD and the Silvia's [anyone who pays attention to the Formula-D circuit knows this, but alas, there are those who are still in the dark] is a RWD. I would actually like to see a friendly competition between a Silvia and a Starion. I'm still betting on the Silvia though, and thats because the engine is beautifully designed and was only replaced here recently by the QR25DE [2.5L 4cyl] simply because of the people who won't buy a car that has an engine platform that's been working fine for the last 15+ years. Some people [with too much money] that want to sound like they know anything about cars have to say 'Yes,
I have the new Nissan Altima with the NEW 2.5L engine they've recently come out with [insert rich person fake laugh here].'
Plus, I'd like to see the Starion go head to head with a 4G63T Talon/Eclipse. I've yet to see a Starion in action first hand, so I should find out at one point in my life. lol
Jack- You're about spot on for city mileage at this point in ANY Avenger/Sebring 2.5L's life. 100-170K miles on it?