xsaint53 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Hopefully you guys can help me out.....My '95 SC400 is getting pretty low gas mileage... I'm getting around 325-350 miles from a tank of gas.... I don't do much city driving. Pretty much all highway type. Recently I had new wires and platinum plugs installed-- along with a new timing belt, water pump,and serpentine belt. Oil is changed every 3K. I use the Synthetic Oil. The car has just over 189K on it. I have a fairly new K&N air filter in good shape. I always put premium in the tank. I use a fuel injector cleaner --Lucas Oil or Chevron about every 3 or 4 tanks. I got the car with the "low profile" tires--I keep them around 35-36 psi. I don't "race" the car from a stop-- I don't drive like a "90 year old Grandma from Pasadena", but then again I don't try to qualify for NASCAR... With gas headed back up, and my new job around 38 miles round-trip everyday Mon-Fri.. I'm getting a little concerned about getting so few miles from a 20 gallon tank of gas. Also the only thing that I was told I need is new distributor caps and rotors. Not sure how much that would help the MPG..... If anyone has any idea why I might be getting such low MPG please let me know. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65electra401 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 That sounds about like normal range on a tank of gas to me. I get about 13mpg in the winter, and about 19 in the summer. If i drive straight highway i can manage 24... sometimes. I would possibly check your thermostat. It may be reading that the engine is cool and dumping more fuel in to compensate. Does your car smell like gas at all when you stand behind it while its running? Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsaint53 Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 That sounds about like normal range on a tank of gas to me. I get about 13mpg in the winter, and about 19 in the summer. If i drive straight highway i can manage 24... sometimes. I would possibly check your thermostat. It may be reading that the engine is cool and dumping more fuel in to compensate. Does your car smell like gas at all when you stand behind it while its running? Jason Thanks Jason. Now that you mention it, there is a slight smell of gas sometimes. The car has never run "hot " in the 7 mos. I've had it. You say it's the thermostat.... I have not replace or checked that. I thought I read that guys were getting around 400 miles a tank.. I saw when I checked out the original '95 SC400 specs that it was rated 18/22 MPG... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCdriver Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Your mileage doesn't seem too far off normal. However, You mentioned you had low profile tires. If the replacement tires have a different circumference than the OE tires you might be throwing off your speedometer and odometer readings. I expect tirerack.com might have the information as to whether your low profile tires might be lowering your readings. Just a thought............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomj8 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I agree your mileage is in the ballpark with my '95 SC400. Summer mileage is a bit better; city driving in winter averages 20-22 mpg and maybe 21-23 in summer. Tire pressures typically run lower in winter due to ambient air temps, and that can make a slight difference in fuel economy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy&Bonnie Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesnake SC400 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 If you stand behind my car at engine start-up , you may smell gasoline. Should i treat this problem or its' ok??? I am passing emmision tests without any problems though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde 1 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 At 350 miles per tank thats an AVERAGE of 17.5 MPG bout on par with my 93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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