Hey guys, hadnt seen this before, I drive a 87 240 wagon 5 speed, great car, love it and am happy with the way it drives. I dont have any fuel or idle problems and again the car is just great.

So the question is Are there any tips or tricks to get better fuel economy? I get between 20 and 26 now but every drop of gas saved is a good thing these days, so what do you guys think? No suggestion is too far fetched, just wondering. Thanks, Carolina joe

well I just worked out I get up to 20 MPG so only say 16 of your gallons and that's driving very carefully from my old 264 [with big heavy bumpers, auto etc] and pay $1.45 /l so $5.30 / gallon USA or about $4 USA per USA gallon

I'd be really happy with your figures which are getting toward half of mine

Sorry to hear that my friend, keep up with this post and we may both benifit

I commend your trying to get better gas mileage. other than not accelerating or coasting as long as possible, I think that you have hit the wall on saving fuel. all those bumpers add weight. now on my part, with the amount of money that I have sunk into all my cars and bikes, a little thing like gas mileage means nothing to me. but, in case you were wondering, my 850 R, modified traveling at a rate of 70-75 w/cruise control on, I average 25.8 accoding to my tried and true method of measuring the gas amount in and refilling and having an accurate count of mileage driven. now, the other "toys"- harley #1 30mpg (but tank is only 3 gallons) harley#2 29 mpg (tank is 3.5 gallons) 1968/9 camaro 8 mpg 1997 impala 14 mpg 1932 dodge coupe/bucket/hiboy conversion 4 mpg. hey, I try.

What I'm wondering, headers or hi flow exhaust, turbo, vacuum, adjusting fuel injection flow rates. Can or will any of these get 2 or 3 mpg the more the better. You look like a hot rodder, and that is who I'm looking for someone who has tinkered and found a way that has improved the mpg's. Any thing helps, gotta love those old rods man, growing up my dad had a 23 tbucket, and a 64 stingray, given me a love of unusual cars, and modifications!

any and all modifications will either give or take away miles/per. a heavy right foot will always lower, obvious. if you change rear gearing, also obvious. if you are not going to change rear gearing, then anything done is going to be judged by how fast you are driving. a high-flow exhaust, an exhaust manifold, injectors, and the rest, will up the power, which will probably cause you to drive faster. now I know the arguements about when I get to cruising speed, I will just click on the cruise control. you saw my posted mpg by my mph at 70/75 with cruise on. what i don't show is how i get to that speed and when i pass that speed. i think i achieved a low of 10.2 mpg while accelerating to 125 in the 850 R.(according to the computer in the car) even the camaro i can get about 18 with a .60 454 with twin dominators. the impala if i keep it off full boost with the paxton, i get 21. the dodge has a 14-71 blower, the best is 13, and that's with the wife pushing. downhill. with a tailwind pushing me along :grin: just ease off the accelerator and keep it on the cruise control. keep it in tune, change to a K&N, good plugs, correct tire pressure, etc. you will be surprised what good quality plugs and wires will do to mpg. good luck and safe driving.

I get 20 mpg tops city cycle from an auto 2.3 na. I'm going manual ASAP, cos I tow a bit, and carry ppl. Saturday I did 150km for 25L city cycle, @ 2.55T GCM. Horrifying!!!!! I am a conservative driver, not a leadfoot, and I couldn't drive fast enough to stop my torque converter slipping too much, even in 3rd. I had to stop and take off again, often uphill, far too often.

The fuel consumption figures you give are pretty good for a 240. Apart from all the mechanical issues, the 2 things that really consume fuel are steep hills and stop-go traffic. In congested traffic, it helps to keep the wheels turning. Moving off from a complete stop really drinks the fuel.
If you advance the cam timing, it will drop the power-band down the rev range so in theory you could change gears at lower r.p.m. I don't know whether this would actually improve fuel economy if it does it might be worth investing in a variable cam gear. Anybody tried this?
On towing - I thought that automatics were a better option, but I could be wrong.

Thanks guys, I will switch to the K and N and see if that helps, the wires and plugs are pretty new. Question are bosch plugs the best way to go or would you recommend something with a higher spark like and accel?

bosch platinum on my R