ok Gents and ladies, what do you think of this topic? would MPG increase if i have say, a Header and exhaust? any infos or real life experience please share. thanks

 

If and I mean IF you kept your foot out of it.
More hp means less pedal, in turn means less gas to the engine, in turn means feul saving.
However HP increase means "weee more fun" inturn means pedal into corners every chance, in turn means toast Civic and then keep doing it because you can, in turn means more fuel to the engine thus less milage.
I reprogramed my ECM on my S-10 and picked up about 3 hp and 1.5 mpg if I drive rough. If I drive normal I get about 2.5
It's all in how you drive it. Beside what could you possibly gain by another mile per gallon or even 2 (because thats the most realizstic number you can get without major changes) out of and xA. They only have 11 gallon tanks, it would mean around 11 to 20 miles more per fill up. With a fill up going over 350 miles to the tank. It's going to be very minor if you see a MPG improvement.
Now the Lightning I'm looking at getting, it runs mid 12's in the 1/4 mile pushes over 480 hp and gets about 12mpg when babied, on premium. Costs about $70 to fill up now and goes about 200 miles on that $70. A couple mpg improvement on this truck and it means the difference between eating out on friday or eating ramen noodles for a month.

 

i hear free'er flowing exhust will gain some MPG like he said^^^ just keep your foot out of it!!!

some thing that i'm not doing all too well i love that sound!!!

 

More mods = heavier foot.

Basic science, really

 

i'm really itchy to pick up a header and some exhaust just to see if i can up the miles abit. i don't drive that hard on this car but it feels like it can improve the mpg when i commute.

 

an intake would help you out in this area too

 

Not to sound like a jerk, but why would you spend the money to get performance upgrades when you aren't going to use it?

I don't understand why people spend thousands of dollars on a stage 2 turbo, and never take it to the track or anything. Its a waste, that turbo isn't meant to look pretty...well..okay..it is sexy..but, its also meant to take some punishment. I do realize we aren't talking about a turbo but still, same concept.

At any rate, the more HP you increase, your milage will decrease. Because no one has touched this subject, i will.. Header..Header increases whp in the mid-high rpm range. (i've noticed a difference from 3,000-UP) If you want low-mid a 4-2-1 header will work better than a 4-1, however there are no applications out right now consisting of 4-2-1 for the xb or xa. I've heard rumors that companies are indeed working on it, but the lack of room they are left with is making it very difficult to persue the production.

Intake will add a few whp and shouldn't hurt the mpg at all. However, it won't increase either. It's virtually impossible to up your mpg by doing performance upgrades. Unless you shift below 2Krpm, which defeats the whole perpose of performance. At any rate, i hope this helps and do think realistically. Not saying anyone is wrong or anyone is right, just giving my 2 cents and therefore im done.

Take care!
Cya

 

good point........however i do have another car to have fun with i use the xa just to commute so that's why i want to get some more MPG. I figure i couldn't get the good mpg because the car's exhaust flow was not very free flowing, thus the poor mpg.

 

actually, if you take a look at the testimonials on the K&N website, people are claiming a 1-2 mpg increase with their new intakes.

 

when you add a header, intake or exhaust, you free up hp by allowing air flow in and out of the engine easier, right? so, shouldn't this also mean that at the same pedal pressure, there's more air going in and out? im just using logic. sumone tell me why this wouldn't be.

 

the easier any internal combustion engine can breathe the more power it can make...and if you keep your foot out of it yes you will see a MPG increase...but more often than not the urge to just take advantage of the extra ponies wins out...thus dropping MPG...my current ride is a 1997 Olds Achieva with the 2.4L DOHC engine with a K&N and a homegrown catback utilizing a Flowmaster...driving normally this setup gives me roughly 2-3 MPG increase over stock...taking advantage of the extra ponies drops it about 5 MPG...it's all in how you drive be it factory or modded...unless part of the mods include bigger injectors or any kind of forced induction (turbo or blower)...then I can almost guarantee a MPG decrease...

 

Simple Math: Price of Header + exhaust + any other HP adding mod > $$ saved in extra MPG. Spending a few hundred to save pennies isnt smart. Plus the more mods the faster you get the the RPM gauge, and the higher you shift, the less gas you save

 

haha. this makes so much sense.

 

Hey XaRS0888, how's it going?

No first hand experience because I also have fallen into the, more mods, heavier foot catagory, but technically, more hp should give more mpg.

Although I don't think it would be 1:1. 10% hp increase = ~10%mpg increase. I think it would be closer to 1/2 or less % change from the hp increase. example, 8%hp = <4%mpg. Honestly, I don't know and am only speculating...

I'm also on the hunt for better mpg, but am focusing more alignment, engine efficiancy, gas company/grade differences, etc... Trying to figure out why some folks get 35+ grrr...

 

what up Lee!!!long time no see.........

 

and can always skip 4th gear and goto 3rd-5th gear like that!!!

i do that all the time