alright guys i need some insight cuz im getting horrible gas mileage. i literaly see my needle drop two-three lines when i drive.
i have a 2002 pontiac sunfire 2 door.

i travel about 50 miles a day. that involves about 25 miles to work and 25 miles from work. i then dont use the car anymore till the next day. on the weekends i dont really use my car except going to church on sunday. i fill the tank every friday. im using regular unleaded. i have vacuum, oil temp and voltage gauges. i have a warm air intake. i have pacesetter headers and they are not ceramic, they are the regular ones. i had a whole exhaust system custom made for my car about 3 yrs ago. i have double exhaust consisting of two mufflers at each side. the pipping used i believe is 2.5 inch from the headers. the mufflers have a three inch exhaust hole at the end. no silencers. on one of my mufflers the bracket that was welded onto the side of the muffler snapped due to rust on the braket so the muffler has a hole about the size of a quarter on the side. also my brake, trac and abs lights are constantly on and sometimes my a/c goes off until i accelerate then it turns back on.

i had an filter and oil change done to the car about two months ago. also im in florida if that helps. anything you guys could think off??? im thinking about redoing the muffler system and staying with one muffler only on the stock side. what do you guys think?




"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

i forgot to say that i fill up on friday and on thursday i have to fill up again!


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

Sooo...what you're saying is you drive your car 250 miles a week for work, and then church on Sunday, you say you don't really drive it any other times...so I'm figuring you drive it 280-300 miles tops on a tank? Is it basically all city driving? Because if it is, and you tend to drive at least a bit on the spirited side (not like a grandma away from every stop sign or light), your mileage really may not be all that bad. You mentioned running A/C, for city driving that's extremely hard on mileage. Plus your car is an auto - city driving with an auto and the A/C on is about the worst possible combination you can have for gas mileage.

Now as far as the lights that are constantly on, I believe that's some specific wiring issue common to your year (or a small range of years) with the Sunfires. I think my ex had the same issue. Should be totally unrelated to your mileage.

I also see you have 18" wheels, subs, the whole 9 yards. The added rotational weight of the wheels is going to cause a slight drop in mileage. And of course carrying more weight (the system) will also affect mileage. Neither one would cause a drastic effect but those 2 together may account for another 2-3 mpg drop when it's all averaged out.

I hate to say it, but I think your mileage may be about right. Unless you used to get 400 miles on a tank with the exact same mods (I doubt that) and then one day *BOOM* it just suddenly started to suck.

exactly...before i used to get about 400 miles a tank.....and now i dont have 18's but i still have my sub i now have 14's and 15's


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

Shoot I'd be extactic about getting more than 300 miles per tank, but then again I've also got a serious medical condition, it's called lead foot syndrome. They keep telling me it'll clear up one day, but now that I've got the car running good on 15psi, I'm stating to seriously doubt it. Just my .02.


---------------------------------------------------
4 Cams...32 Valves...5 Liters...This Could Get Fun!

Hmm, if your mileage used to be that high and then it dropped all the sudden, I don't know. Spark plugs and wires? Keep an eye on the tire pressure? Do you usually go to the same gas station? If so I'd say maybe try another place - different companies have different blends of gas and some cars like one a lot more than another.

I'd say try to get the problem with the lights (traction, brake, ABS) fixed too. Shouldn't be causing anything with your mileage but that would get on my nerves and it wouldn't hurt to have that checked out.

What you use and when U change.

Oil ?
Oil filter ?
Gas octane (regular, premium) ?
Plugs ?
Tire pressure ?
You run 2000, 3000 or more rpm below (normal drive)

15, 14 MPG your car has a litle problem

Check intervals when you change, oil, filter, plugs and the RPM you go on.

Sunfir3_El_Niño

ok today im going to work. its about 25 miles from home. i left home at 7:40 got to work at 8:15 a bit of stop and go. ac on low and my fuel went down from the last quarter tank line to E...its like two lines left on the E red line

is that normal??? what about the fuel filter?


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

I was getting about 325 miles on a tank until I replaced my FPR and I now get 400 to a tank. Maybe you have a similar problem.

Nobody mentioned O2 sensor did they? But your gas mileage is too good for it to be bad....but maybe a little slow (the sensor)?



"The Blue Bullet"

Roll down the windows.....it uses less gas than AC in my tests. Check O2 sensors, Spark Plugs, air filter, tire pressure, drive like a granny, you know.....see what helps.


You could also take it in for a tune up.....never hurts

alright ill try those...do you guys think that i should go back to factory headers and exhaust??? also what the hell would make my brake, trac and abs light come on???

also when im stopped my a/s sometimes stops working the lights come on and when i rev my engine the a/c starts up again


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

Is your engine over heating?

AC Clutch might be out of adjustment

no my engine is not overheating but i just noticed that my coolant lights is coming on a lot..

but what is up with those lights??? why do they come on? is it a sensor?


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"