Better economy out of a Lovely Little Six

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Anonymous

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I was wondering what different steps I can go through to improve gas milage on the 200's.??

I think constantly running water through the carb heating plate helps a little, but I'm not sure.

Any other ideas?

I know this forum is about making these engines go FAST!!! But hopefully some of you Six Cylinder Genius's can help me save some gas money with these damn gas prices.

Thanx guys.
 
For consistency, I would convert to electronic ignition front the stock points (I'm assuming original vehicle is a vintage vehicle).

Any capacitance discharge or computer igniton box (such as MSD or Jacob's Electronics Mileage Master) would add to the MPG. With one of these boxes and an aftermarket coil such as MSD Blaster 2 or Jacob's variable magnetic core coil along with opening the plug gaps to 0.045 (or maybe more if the spark box can fire 'em) would also benefit MPG.

If you have a distributor with vacuum advance only, I recommend getting a newer one with both vacuum and centrifugal advance. Keep an eye on the vacuum advance diapragm too, if it ruptures, your mileage would suffer.

This may be cheating but if you have a manual trans, switch to a T-5 or other type trans which has an overdrive gear.

And headers, port divider, and a K&N air filter would help too.

I hope this helps.

Dean T
 
Howdy GracieJJ:

Spending bu-coo bucks to save a gallon or two is false economy. Start by making sure all of the easy, free or cheap, and unglamorous pieces are in place.

Make sure your tires are aired up to the max, properly aligned, and no brake drag. Make sure your vehicle is as light as possible. Get rid of the extra junk you're carrying around that you don't need.

Make sure your carb is tuned as lean as possible; lowest idle, lowest float setting, no leaks, inside or out, least accelerator pump shot, highest vacuum, clean carb and air filter. Least choke possible.

Set your initial advance to 5 degrees more than what stock specs call for. Gap your plugs at .040".

Use a 190 degree thermostat and pre heat your engine to minimize cold starting. Use the lightest # oil possible. Don't set and idle to warm up the engine; start, put it in gear and drive off, but slowly for the 1st 7 - 10 miles. Duct engine heat to the air cleaner intake. If you have an automatic trans , don't let it idle in gear at a stop light. slip it into neutral.

Plan your route to avoid stop lights and stop and go traffic. Drive as if there is a raw egg under your accelerator and foot.

Depending on where you started these should be good for an increase in MPG.

Adios, David
 
There are those who will scoff, but I keep careful mileage figures, and I've seen about 1 MPG increase from using Mobil 1 10W-30 Synthetic. The Pertronix unit and platinum plugs account for another 1-1.5 MPG. Next step would be a K&N air filter. ;)
 
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