I remember hearing something about frozen vacuum advance & another about a thermo switch...can anyone shine some light on this for me? My ea81t is only getting 200 miles to a tank, I've tried about 5 different types of fuel injection cleaner to no avail. Someone PLEASE HELP....with gas prices skyrocketing, it's burning a hole in my pocket.

cmon guys....nobody has ever had bad fuel economy?

First off, please wait more than 1.5 hours before complaining about the lack of response....especially on a topic that is really only able to be accurately answered by a limited number of EA81T owners.

 

Id like to know a few things that might help us:

 

How long has it been this way?

Is that all city driving or is there a lot of highway driving in there too?

Are you getting into the gas/turbo a lot?

What kind of gas are you using? Try 87, try premium, see if theres an improvement on either one.

Is the timing set properly?

Do you have any exhaust leaks?

Towing or lugging around a lot of stuff in the car?

 

200 miles to a tank isn't really an indication of mileage either. You have to average out mileage by taking the number of miles travelled and dividing it by the number of gallons filled into the tank over several tankfulls. On a coupe gas tank vs a brat/wagon gas tank that would be a difference.

1. How long has it been this way?

As long as I have owned the car...1 1/2 years. Resently got engine running right, thought cracked head/burnt exaust valve had something to do with mileage. Now I know that wasn't the fuel issue.

 

2. Is that all city driving or is there a lot of highway driving in there too?

An equal amount

 

3. Are you getting into the gas/turbo a lot?

Does a bear **** in the woods?

 

4. What kind of gas are you using? Try 87, try premium, see if theres an improvement on either one.

Always 91...OK I'll try 89 on next fill-up.

 

5. Is the timing set properly?

It is slightly advanced.

 

6. Do you have any exhaust leaks?

No..not that I'm aware of.

 

7. Towing or lugging around a lot of stuff in the car?

No...never.

 

8. 223 / 13.6 = 16.397058823529411764705882352941 You do the math. Ea81t wagons out of factory were 24 city & 30 highway w/ a 14.5 gallon tank. I have always hovered around 200.

 

Thanks fellas

I usually only get about 230 to a tank with my EA81T. This will vary a little depending on where I'm driving, and how. I've managed to get about 250 from a tank, but that was babying it on the freeway. I do a lot of in town driving in mine, and I usually fill the tank right at 200 miles.

13.6? I think my owners manual says that my tank is 11.5, could be wrong in this, can someone confirm how much an EA81 Tubro tnak hodls. If it's 11.5 like I'm thinking, then that between 17 and 21 mpg that I'm getting, which isn't that bad.

Is your vehicle running right?

 

A tune up always helped my mileage.

 

I get between 225 and 245 per tank on my Hatch. Less in the winter.

 

Glenn,

82 Hatch, transforming:temper:

01 Forester, jealous....:madder:

a hole in your gas tank? jk I think if you were getting mileage that low during normal driving you'd be pouring out black smoke, and not running very nicely.

My '86, although a slightly different beast, never ran worse than 18MPG... Just to make this VERY clear... It was running like crap and the turbo was ALWAYS running just to keep it up to 65 on the freeway. 16MPG sounds way to low for it to run decently at all. I used to get about 260-360 miles out of a ~12gal fill (260 being pretty much all Seattle in town driving and very rare). The mileage was down to about 23MPG at 260K/mi when i was running enough boost for a bit of fuel cutout(12psi?).

 

Rich

I have an 84 brochure...all ea81t's have 14.5 gallon tanks...and 24 city - 30 highway. Yeah...car is tuned-up and running smooth w/ the exception of some surging & rough idle. As odd as it may seem...car is running good...it the mileage that sucks...thats why I'm asking if anyone remember that post about the vacuum advance freezing...and I think I remember skip saying something about a thermo switch that affects mileage.

just remember... the gas pedal realy is a gas pedal. especially on a turbo, once you hit boost, the power goes up and the gas being delivered almost doubles! and the motor prolly isnt a spring chicken, might be the way it goes.

this fill-up i got 19.3 mpg....after a member suggested Chevron Techron....sorry about the sarcasm guys. Next tank I'm going to try the 3 bottles of Prestone Fuel Treatment trick...to see if it will eliminate the surging & rough idle:brow:

i'm too lazy to re-read the entire post, but have you replaced the fuel filter(s)? Mine has two.

They only have one filter. Second, the right hand pedal does indeed have a direct relationship with fuel economy, especially in a turbo. If you look closer at the fuel estimates in the brochure you will notice that a statement along the lines of estimated fuel milage. If your Turbo is stock then you have a couple things going against you. First, the auto is going to rob power and fuel mileage. Second, it's 4WD, another fuel robber. You may get better than you 19+ and you may get worse. These were never sold a gas misers.

thought I would chime in here for some thoughts as well...

 

ea81T Brat. varies from 14.2 to 17 (with a good tailwind) estimated. about 165 between fills.....

 

thing seems to run great. no power problems, although it's my first automatic soobie so I'm not expecting a whole lot....

 

the exhaust reeks though.... I'm thinking I may have some cat issues as well.....

 

any thoughts.....

 

might be time for that custom downpipe....

Geeze, where was I when this was posted? My 84 Turbo Coupe has about the same mileage as other EA81T's. Qman is also correct with the statement of the pedal on the right connected to fuel consumption. I had better MPG when I was on the freeway, around 24mpg.

Rob

Try a bottle of Chevron w/ Techron next fill-up ($4.00 at any parts store). While running through I got 19.3...up from 16 mpg. Next fillup I got real close to 22mpg. Since then I haven't had worse than high 19's. But now I'm having hesitation issues (see "Rough running when accelerating" thread) http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9323 . My exaust has a weird smell to it too...Mick.

I get around 22 mpg in my carbed Brat. I certainly wouldn't moan too much at 16+ in a turbo. (Especially with a heavy foot).

well, the last 2 tanks on the way home from my trip got me about 17 mpg.... much better than the first tank (14mpg)

 

it's definitely running rich...

* notice. all non-related bantering threads have been removed to keep this on topic....

 

remember folks... no personal attacks....

another note. the last 3 tanks covered a 400 mile round trip at highway speeds. mostly 70-75 mph

For me it doesn't matter...highway or city...it always is about the same. These little engines eat gas like a big block...I hear the ej22t is the same way, at least you get the xtra horses w/ the tlegacy.

FERTHER averages about 23-29 mpg, depending on how I drive.

Carbed EA81 with Accel SuperStock coil.

I almost got 300 from a tank once, and the wagons tanks are smaller.

My best, though, was 32 following my folks motorhome at a steady 65 mph.

I would like to protest the censorship. I like to know what kind of person I'm talking with.

beau you've been placed on double secret probation & just remember... the quote of the year..."the gas pedal realy is a gas pedal"

well, I found why my mileage is so bad. while checking fluids today, noticed that the right front injector is dripping fuel....

 

I didn't have a chance to check it out any further though....

My EA81T in my 84 Brat gets a combined average of 18-21mpg. I always run 91 through her and have never thought to much about this as a problem since the 84 EA81 Wagon I had never got over 20.Put a manual in it and you should see some improvements. These slushboxes suck!