Saturn SL1 the quest begins....

[PowerHaus930]

Hi everyone my name is Jason. On May 11th, 2010 I purchased a 1995 Saturn SL1 5speed. It had 85,500 miles on it and it came with such ammenities as manual steering and a torquey little 1.9L 100 HP engine. At first I thought but now i'm like . My first tank mpg was 32.4 and i was like hmmmm thats the best mpg i have ever gotten in a car (past cars were 6 cylinders). After i found this site I have been going all out on trying to get better MPG with my car. My first mod was to put the tire pressure up higher to 36 and then eventually 39 psi. My next mod was an engine cut off switch that i installed on the shifter of my car. The only other modification i have done to the car is a HAI and right now its sitting at about 75-80 degrees above ambient temperatures. With these mods and driving style changes of course i went from 32.4mpg all the way to best mpg of 42.51. I never thought gas mileage like that was possible on a regular 4 cylinder car. I plan on continuing my modifications with the addition of a vacuum gauge, an MPGuino, maybe experiment with a grill block and a bellypan and i hope to get a set of smooth wheel covers soon (not just for MPG but for that BLING factor ya know?). I have found ALOT of useful information on this site and just wanted to thank all of you. The quest has just begun...

[Project84]

Bump your tires to 50 and never look back.

Welcome and good luck!

[theholycow]

Welcome. Sounds like you're really getting into it!

How did you wire your kill switch?

[PowerHaus930]

I spliced into the crank position sensor with a normally closed microswitch. So when i press the button on my shifter it kills spark and fuel going into the engine then bump start and i'm off again. Project 84 i was thinking about putting my tire pressure up higher then what it is now. My max sidewall is 44psi and i think i will air them up to that at most because after that tire which is rated at 44psi heats up I dont know how much pressure it will have after say and hour on the highway so i dont want to push my luck. Also i believe that cfg83? had a valve stem failure at speed so i think 44 is my limit.

[Project84]

Good to see you've researched your tires enough to know your limits. I just said heck with it and tossed 50psi in there and that's where it's been for nearly 3 years now.

Tread wear, though I only drive about 8k miles per year, has been incredible with these Kumho Solus's. With 50psi in them I thought after 10k miles they'd have worn significantly in the centers but they're fine after 20k+.

Great way to do your kill switch, afterall, the CPS is the heart of the engine.

[PowerHaus930]

Project84, what would you suggest as a good cheap mod to increase effiency? I have been improving my driving technique and i have tuned up the car a little bit (cleaned TB and EGR, replaced plugs, changed oil, seafoamed the intake and gas tank) I am having a hard time getting over 40-42 mpg. What would you suggest as the next best FE upgrade for the saturn? i was thinking smooth wheel covers? I would like to build a bellypan but that wont be happening for a while. I'm kinda strapped for cash so i'm looking for some low cost upgrades got any ideas?

[Project84]

Is that city mileage or highway? If it's city, you're doing great man! If it's highway, you've got room to improve on it.

I'd say start next with a grill block (something I never got around to doing), but you're going to want a way to read coolant temps with more accuracy than your dash gauge. Also, this should increase your IAT temps a bit.

Your HAI is working perfectly, good job on that!

How about fuel filter and thermostat? Cheap maintenance really, and probably need to be done. OEM thermostats are notorious for opening early.

My max MPG ever of 47mpg (which I then added some city mileage to and brought down the tank average) was achieved while on the interstate.

Specs from that day are in the gaslog if you want to try to replicate those conditions and see what kind of mileage you can achieve.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by PowerHaus930

I'm kinda strapped for cash so i'm looking for some low cost upgrades got any ideas?

If your ultimate goal for fuel economy is to save money, then nearly free mods are the only mods that are proven to pay for themselves.

[PowerHaus930]

Your right my ultimate goal IS to save money and as far as the HAI, engine cut off switch, and an oven thermometer with the temp probe placed in the airbox to read IATs ive got about $25-$30in it. I have already saved more than that on fuel so i think that they have paid for themselves. I was thinking about getting a roll of sheet aluminum from Home Depot so I could make smooth wheel covers. It is kind of thin but i think it will work and its only like $10-$12. Plus i would have to get hardware. What do you think about that?

[theholycow]

Home-made modifications are usually cheap enough to pay for themselves. Most people, when they start talking about modifications, are thinking of expensive wheels, fuel injection systems, and so on.