Greetings from fog bound Saskatchewan!

 

We've had our '95 Legacy LS wagon for less than a month and am finding the mpg less than stellar. It's got 142,000 km on it and I want to know what I have to add/change to give us many more years and a few more miles per gallon. My big-block-motor-head brother-in-law is suggesting synth blend oil (more POWER and less wear) and a K&N air filter (better air flow). I've replaced the baldy no-namers with B.F. Goodrich 195-60 Radial T/A's for greater gription & road performance.

 

I'd like to know from the TRUE experts what I can/should do to enhance all aspects of the car's performance.

 

Thanks, in advance, to all who offer their advice. It is, as always, greatly appreciated......Gord

Without going to any crazy extremes, the first thing I do when I bring in a used car is this list:

 

New plugs

New wires

Distributor cap & rotor on cars that still have those things

Oil and filter change (I use synth, but not for miliage improvements. I've never been able to measure a difference, personally).

New air filter

Most importantly: Check tire pressure on all five wheels.

 

I use OE replacements for all of those at first since my goal is to get the car caught up on its service when its service history is unknown to me. Once it's operating as the factory intended, I'll run 10-20 tanks of gas on "normal" day-to-day driving and then start trying new products, like better burning plugs or higher-flow air filters, to see if I get an improvement. The two biggest boosts, though, will be making sure your tires are properply inflated, and the way you drive the car. I've been able to stretch a gallon of gas a couple extra miles by using the "progressive shifting" technique. Careful with that though, since finding that line where the car is lugging can take a little bit of time. (If you've got a slushbox ignore that advice because it doesn't apply. The car knows better and will shift when it's ready. )

DEFINITELY replace all those items.

 

fuel filter, air filter, PCV valve, and O2 sensor as well.

sounds like a long list, but do it all at once and it won't take that long, very simple items to replace. i'd be very surprised if you did all of this and didn't notice any difference.

 

check the timing to.

I agree with all above suggestions. But I warn you not to get your hopes up of seeing a Huge improvement. Subies are not known for being overly miserly on fuel consumption. My son and I both have '93 Legacy AWD's with 5-spd manual trannys. We keep them tuned up and run synthetic and we tend to get an all-around average of 24mpg. The best I've done on a trip is 28mpg. Although that's respectable, my wife's old 1995 Toyota Avalon with a pretty powerful V6 and automatic transmission gets better milage than my Subaru. But then her car is only 2WD, so it's a tradeoff.

 

 

Michael

Greetings from fog bound Saskatchewan!

 

We've had our '95 Legacy LS wagon for less than a month and am finding the mpg less than stellar. It's got 142,000 km on it and I want to know what I have to add/change to give us many more years and a few more miles per gallon. My big-block-motor-head brother-in-law is suggesting synth blend oil (more POWER and less wear) and a K&N air filter (better air flow). I've replaced the baldy no-namers with B.F. Goodrich 195-60 Radial T/A's for greater gription & road performance.

 

I'd like to know from the TRUE experts what I can/should do to enhance all aspects of the car's performance.

 

Thanks, in advance, to all who offer their advice. It is, as always, greatly appreciated......Gord

I get about 1-2 mpg more with Mobil 1, my 96 legacy obw gets 28-30 mpg highway. My old 91 LS wagon got 31-32 range with the same Mobil 1.

I've been able to stretch a gallon of gas a couple extra miles by using the "progressive shifting" technique.

I know that all manuals have an optimum RPM. Does anyone know what it should be for a 96 Impreza wagon? My "other" car's optimum is about 2500, while the Impreza seems to do the best around 3000. I check my mileage every tank and I'm interesting in the "progressive shifting" mentioned above. Could someone give me a lesson in the topic?

progressive shifting, is this the type of shifting that doesnt require you to use clutch pedal?

 

 

 

 

 

~Josh~

First, it would be helpful to establish a baseline. As mentioned, AWD vehicles aren't miserly. But at least then you will be able to justify cost/benefit. You may be getting mpg as good as it gets, or not.

Without going to any crazy extremes, the first thing I do when I bring in a used car is this list:

 

New plugs

New wires

Distributor cap & rotor on cars that still have those things

Oil and filter change (I use synth, but not for miliage improvements. I've never been able to measure a difference, personally).

New air filter

Most importantly: Check tire pressure on all five wheels.

 

I use OE replacements for all of those at first since my goal is to get the car caught up on its service when its service history is unknown to me. Once it's operating as the factory intended, I'll run 10-20 tanks of gas on "normal" day-to-day driving and then start trying new products, like better burning plugs or higher-flow air filters, to see if I get an improvement. The two biggest boosts, though, will be making sure your tires are properply inflated, and the way you drive the car. I've been able to stretch a gallon of gas a couple extra miles by using the "progressive shifting" technique. Careful with that though, since finding that line where the car is lugging can take a little bit of time. (If you've got a slushbox ignore that advice because it doesn't apply. The car knows better and will shift when it's ready. )

Thanks for the info Wae. I'll certainly take it under consideration. I've changed the air filter and will be doing the oil and oil filter next. And I'll be going to get as many of the other things as I can afford in the next few paydays.

 

Gord

First, it would be helpful to establish a baseline. As mentioned, AWD vehicles aren't miserly. But at least then you will be able to justify cost/benefit. You may be getting mpg as good as it gets, or not.

Thanks for the info Ranger83. It is greatly appreciated. Gord

I get about 1-2 mpg more with Mobil 1, my 96 legacy obw gets 28-30 mpg highway. My old 91 LS wagon got 31-32 range with the same Mobil 1.

Thanks for the optimism RWeddy! I have my fingers crossed! hahahah I figure I'll probably go with a Quaker State product. Love that QS. hahahh

 

Gord

DEFINITELY replace all those items.

 

fuel filter, air filter, PCV valve, and O2 sensor as well.

sounds like a long list, but do it all at once and it won't take that long, very simple items to replace. i'd be very surprised if you did all of this and didn't notice any difference.

 

check the timing to.

Thanks for the info GG.... it is greatly appreciated. Air filter is in... the others will be soon! Gord

I agree with all above suggestions. But I warn you not to get your hopes up of seeing a Huge improvement. Subies are not known for being overly miserly on fuel consumption. My son and I both have '93 Legacy AWD's with 5-spd manual trannys. We keep them tuned up and run synthetic and we tend to get an all-around average of 24mpg. The best I've done on a trip is 28mpg. Although that's respectable, my wife's old 1995 Toyota Avalon with a pretty powerful V6 and automatic transmission gets better milage than my Subaru. But then her car is only 2WD, so it's a tradeoff.

 

 

Michael

Hey Michael... thanks for the info too. I'll keep it under consideration. Gord