unverviking Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I know I've seen, read, and contributed to this same question, but... I got to drive the OBW this week, as my company van died (darn DODGE). I drove 270 miles using 12 gallons, which average out to be 22.5 MPG. Most of it was highway. Right now i've got just over 100 miles, and at 1/2 a tank. My wife normally drives it, she's been saying for that last month or so, that it's been bad. She doesn't drive highway, so I dismissed it, till I had to buy the gas for a change... I just changed the Air Filter today, I plan on changing the plugs and wires soon. Need to replace the driver's side valve cover gasket, as it's leaking now... I've not gotten any CEL light, etc. It passed NYS Inspection in January, no issues, they now scan the car for thrown codes, etc... Anybody got any advice, other than what I've done, or plan to do... Car is an 01 OBW, 2.5l with almost 85k. I run good 5W30 with a WIX filter... Change the oil every 3 months irregardless of mileage. Most of the time it's about 2-2.5k at changes... Thanks in advance for all those who respond... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 spark plugs and wires are a good start. use OEM wires, i personally use magnecor wires as they are excellent and never need replaced which means they yield like new performance after 100,000 miles. and they do, as i've had multiple sets for that much and more. otherwise, don't get anything other than OEM Subaru wires for this motor. use NGK plugs only. be sure they are gapped properly. check your tire pressure. next time you buy tires get the skinniest size tire you can get. typically you can step down at least one width in tire size (or one up). if you do high speed cornering or drive aggressive then don't get thinner tires as they won't perform as well (but you wo'nt notice a difference for daily driver typical driving). 02 sensor, but i've never had any mpg increase from changing these, but everyone else says it can help as do the advertisers (but i certainly don't trust them!). what kind of driving you do makes a difference as well. more time on the brake and go pedal equals less gas mileage. make sure you don't have any unnecessary weight in the car that you're carrying around. i don't claim it's accurate but i read before that on average (whatever that is?) every 100 pounds of extra weight can reduce gas mileage by 1 mpg. for all highway miles extra weight doesn't make any difference though. i would see zero difference driving with a loaded car entirely on the highway then unloading and driving home empty. but for more stop and go circumstances possibly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daehttub2000 Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 If your Subie is an automatic transmission, they will get terrible (for a 4-cylinder) mileage in the city if you leadfoot it in stop and go traffic. You need to mash the pedal to get them going though. If you have any roof rack or add-ons will kill your mileage as well. Anything I carry on top shaves miles off my mpg. A fairing in front of the rack helps reduce wind noise and helps marginally with mileage. My mpg diminishes depending upon how much over the speed limit I go. Naturally, when I go 55-65 mph, I can get 28-29 miles to the gallon. When I go 70+, I get in the mid to low twenties. If you idle the car during stops and deliveries, that will also kill the mileage. It's shocking how much gas your car uses when it idles (true hybrids really capitalize on this). Replacing old plugs and wires and regapping the plugs worked for me. Synthetic oil also helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 I second the plugs first then o2... o2 sensors are very important to the operation of the EFI system... I'm more familiar with the EA series that you can run with out one... which I did on my SPFI wagon for a while... it got about 22 MPG and smoked going down hill due to being too rich... with it gets about 32 or so... o2s just get old sometimes as well and need replacing... check the owners manual for service intervals, since I dont have any clue about how often it should be done on newer cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxrflyboy Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Don't overlook the brakes. The brake pads are notorious for seizing up in the caliper brackets, creating drag and causing premature, uneven pad wear. You can be sure this hurts gas mileage as well. When I do a brake job I remove the pad clips, clean any rust scale off the brackets underneath them, coat the area with antiseize compound, and coat the ends of the pad plates with antiseize. I also put plenty of grease on the slide pins to make sure they don't dry out, rust, and seize. One slide pin on each caliper has a rubber sleeve on the end of it. Be careful not to get too much grease in the bore or the pin won't go in all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Don't overlook the brakes. Amen to that. Clean the guide pin (top of the caliper) and the bushing (at the bottom) thoroughly, the small rubber boots too (there are 4 of them). Then coat with high temperature brake grease. I was shocked that the bottom bushings were bone dry! Brakes worked fine, but I think they had been dragging very slightly for a long time. Could actually feel the difference after changing the pads and doing the maintenance. Am hoping this shows up in better mpg too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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