75-80mph gas mileage

[Kuripot]

Originally Posted by *************

These suggestions are dumb.. OP: either get a Civic VX, Geo Metro, Chevrolet Sprint, Civic/Prius Hybrid or just change out the final drive in your accent's transmission. Void warranty? Sure.. but it'd void the warranty JUST on the transmission. You can either do the least risky and buy another car or you can just go out and change the final drive which won't be too hard on a M/T. You'll have to get someone to fabricate a final drive for you and you'll have to know how to remove the transmission and replace said part, but I think overall that's cheaper than getting another car. Maybe the simplest solution would be to just get the transmission from the Accent Blue and put it in, keep your original transmission just in case there is a problem. But a taller final drive is really all you need and if you do bother to do what I suggested, you may find that you want an [i]even taller[i/] final drive and therefore will probably require some fabrication.

BTW guys, he is already averaging 30-32mpg, so going to one of these "boats" wouldn't exactly bump up his mileage.

Actually I don't think the suggestions were dumb. Like I said in my original post I'll be keeping the Accent.

I'd love to change my final drive ratio if I thought it could be done for under $2K and be reliable but I don't have any interest in trying to do it myself. I've never heard of anyone putting a taller gear in an Accent. I know the engine could handle a much taller gear than it has. I take off in 2nd most of the time unless I'm at a dead stop.

If you know of any evidence on the net of someone installing a taller final drive, post a link.

[Bubba Bob]

Had a Ford Taurus that could easily get low 30's at 80mph. Had the same 3.0L Vulcan V6 that my Ranger has, but the car was VERY areodynamic. Could let off the gas and it felt like it'd coast forever. Plus, it was a heavy car that road very nice. No where close to these cute little 2klb imports

[NotYourDay]

This might sound a little strange, but the 95 and up corvette's with the LT-1 and a manual 6 speed trans can get over 35 and sometimes close to 40 MPG's if you are crusin at 80ish for long drives. The secret is you are at 1500-1800 RPMs. Evn a V8 can get good gas mileage with the right trans.

Other than that, the cadillac STS, older body styles get AWESOME gas milage and are really roomy if are the northstar V8. Or a Lincoln Towncar. Any year of the newer body style. I think it was 97 and up.

If you want to go import, get a newer Civic SI with the 6 speed man. Trans.

Really, anything with a 6 speed gets good gas mileage.

Also, if it does not have an overdrive in the 4 speed auto's you see, do NOT get it. My Grand prix was too old to have it and I get 21ish on average even with no overdrive and a 3100 V6. Mostly city driving, but I average 60 in a 45 anyways, so its like im all highway.

[VetteOwner]

lol id love to see a metro go 80 and not burn up...

btw why are you going 10-15mph over the limit? hahhaha

[imzjustplayin]

OP, you say you need a highway cruiser, how long are your highway drives? Why exactly do you need a "highway cruiser" anyhow? Also it can't hurt to learn how to work on your car and $2K to change out the final drive on the transmission seems a bit much. Most of the cost is in labor, so if you could remove it yourself, the only cost could be just the replacement final drive if you're able to take apart the transmission to replace just that one part. I dunno, but I do know that the accent blue gets better mileage because it has a taller transmission, though I don't know by how much.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by NotYourDay

This might sound a little strange, but the 95 and up corvette's with the LT-1 and a manual 6 speed trans can get over 35 and sometimes close to 40 MPG's if you are crusin at 80ish for long drives. The secret is you are at 1500-1800 RPMs. Evn a V8 can get good gas mileage with the right trans.

Those Corvettes also have really good aerodynamic qualities.

Other than that, the cadillac STS, older body styles get AWESOME gas milage and are really roomy if are the northstar V8.

I would not recommend spending a lot on a Northstar-equipped car. Those Northstars are smooth, quiet, comfortable, powerful, efficient, quiet, and powerful (yes I repeated a couple things there), but they pay in life span. They have bad failures quite early, I think usually it's the head gasket.

They did eventually improve on it:
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...c-improve.html
So, maybe a newer one would be ok.

Also, if it does not have an overdrive in the 4 speed auto's you see, do NOT get it. My Grand prix was too old to have it and I get 21ish on average even with no overdrive and a 3100 V6. Mostly city driving, but I average 60 in a 45 anyways, so its like im all highway.

What year Grand Prix (or any model, for that matter) came with a 4 speed automatic that didn't have overdrive? I can't imagine a 4 speed auto without OD.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by theholycow

What year Grand Prix (or any model, for that matter) came with a 4 speed automatic that didn't have overdrive? I can't imagine a 4 speed auto without OD.

As someone who loves GM vehicles, and owns several of them, I cannot think of any 4 speed automatic put out by GM that didn't have OD.


Even their earliest 4 speed automatics, the T-700 and the M-400 both had OD.

[Kuripot]

Originally Posted by *************

OP, you say you need a highway cruiser, how long are your highway drives? Why exactly do you need a "highway cruiser" anyhow? Also it can't hurt to learn how to work on your car and $2K to change out the final drive on the transmission seems a bit much. Most of the cost is in labor, so if you could remove it yourself, the only cost could be just the replacement final drive if you're able to take apart the transmission to replace just that one part. I dunno, but I do know that the accent blue gets better mileage because it has a taller transmission, though I don't know by how much.

*************,

I want something designed to travel at 75-80 mph because that is the speed at which I spend most of my time driving. "how long are your highway drives?"
I drive about 100 miles per day, 5 days per week. When I say cruiser, that doesn't mean BIG. It just means designed for traveling at highway speeds (75mph +) while getting decent mileage.

As far as "Also it can't hurt to learn how to work on your car"
I've worked on my own cars for 30 years. Changing the final drive ratio on an Accent is much more than I want to tackle.

[trollbait]

What is insurance like in your area?
Depending on it's cost, it might be more worthwhile to have someone swap in a taller gear on the Accent, or just replace the entire car for something you like better.

[R.I.D.E.]

Although you will probably never find a nice one, my 94 VX got 46 MPG at the speeds you are talking about, maybe a little lower than a 75 MPH average but very close.

2500 in 5th is right at 74MPH, about as high as you can maintain lean burn.

Worst tank mileage average I ever had.

regards
Gary