I too am getting poor gas milage. Since I bought it (march 29), I've only had to fill it twice (I don't drive it much because I really don't need to...until College starts), but I'm getting approximately 10MPG. My friend said I should replace my O2 sensors, spark plugs and wires, but will replacing those really improve my MPG?

 

If they are old and worn out, then it's possible.

 

I'm pretty sure the gears are the stock 3.23's... any way to check? My tire sizes are 245/50/16 inflated to 34PSI.

 

I've got a 3.4. I use 87 octane, Mobil 1 Full Synthetic oil, and slowly ramp up acceleration on take up and get 28 mpg average. The car has 250K and has been pretty much maintenance free in it's 15 year career as a daily driver. This year it finally let go of the head gasket and I have it in for that now. I'm sure it's the tip of the iceberg with this many miles but we'll see. But yeah the trick really is slowly ramping up your acceleration. At first you feel a little funny driving this Camaro and people are blowing by you from a stop sign butyou get up to speed in a timely fashion and everything is cool. Fuel is mostly wasted in acceleration. Once you are at cruising speed the fuel usage goes down in comparison. Just make those accelerations as smooth and easy as possible and you'll see your mpg go up. You'll also get better mileage in a standard transmission Cam than you will one with automatic. I believe it's because you just have finer control over power application with the standard transmission. Anyway if it's not running rough or hot just make sure you've got a clean airfilter, reasonable spark plugs and wires. Old wires can have increased resistance and deaden the juice going to the spark. You want complete combustion and in the chamber and fully functional spark plugs will make that happen. You don't want unspent fuel going out your tail pipe. Get a whiff of your exhaust does it smell fuely? Or does it smell like..exhaust. Ha! Ha! Just kind of go through the system and make sure that it's clean. These are other things that help in fuel economy. Also keep those tires up to full inflation. For highway driving keeping the thing clean and waxed will also help albiet very little at highway speeds. All these little things add up to a lot hope you get better results soon!

Thanks,

Tom

 

Ok, i'm pretty certain that the problem is in the car, not my foot. No SES light, but i'm using more gas than an LS1. I've changed most of the common trouble spots except for coil packs, and o2 sensors. I think i'd get a SES light if my o2 sensors were bad, or if i was getting a misfire from a faulty coil pack. O2 sensors and Coil packs get pricy quickly, so i'm wondering if theres something i'm forgetting.

 

34 PSI sounds really low for 245/50... You sure that's all it asks for? Mine ask for 44 and they're 245/50... Underinflated tires are a big problem with gas mileage... Are your tires balanced and aligned? Is your air filter dirty? What about your fuel filter? Check plugs, wires, and ignition coils... What kind of gas are you using? I only get 20 MPG in my 3.8... But thats still not that bad...

 

Not quite sure why you guys think that 20 mpg for a 6er isn't that bad... Onspeed, how old are your O2 sensors?

 

Mine is probably as old as the car. 10 years. I heard Seafoam will help too.

 

Your tires ask for 44 PSI? Or is 44psi the max it can inflate to? Air filter, fuel filter, plugs are all new. Plugs were stock when i took them out, so i assume my wires are coil packs are also stock. And my o2 sensor didn't look very new, so i assume it too is stock. No SES light though, so i can't confirm if i have a bad o2 sensor or a misfire... and considering o2 sensors and coil packs are ~50$ a piece.... i'd prefer to be able to confirm something is wrong, before i go guessing.