thinking about swapping an st motor into my gt...., does better on gas Options

[95gtschick]

i'm moving soon to another town, and i'll be driving on the hwy twice every day and my gt does terrible on gas. im lucky to get 300 hwy miles to one tank.

so my fiance and i were talking yesterday and he suggested swapping an st motor into my car.

is it hard? how's the wiring and all that crap?

[Batman722]

I don't think anyone has done that before

if you are serious about it, just find another member close to you with an ST 94-95, and see if they want to trade engines/mounts/trannys.

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

Might be cheaper to just tune up the 5sfe. I get close to 400high way miles per tank. I get low 30s on the highway. I get mid 20s around town though.

[ummmx2]

im lucky to break 220 on a full tank. =(. all city miles..but still..

[CelicaZR]

I think your better giving it a tune up.
Check if the motor is running right.
To swap an st motor, you'll be looking at $$$.
But how much money are you gonna save on petrol?
Compare to how much it cost to do the swap?
It will be a long time before the money you save on petrol,
and the cost and effort of the swap is even out.

[Dr_Tweak]

Why don't you find someone with an ST and just trade cars? That would be a lot easier.

-Doc

[azian_advanced]

^^ well she's recently spent 4-grand on her paint job plus the other mods that she's done. so i don't think she'd be willing to trade.

anyway, where are you gonna find an ST engine? i've never seen a single ST here.. like everybody has said, a tune up would be best.. but if you're willing to go even further, some people have changed their 5th gear ratios in their transmission to drive at even higher speeds although i'm not sure how difficult that would be, or even if parts like that would still be available...

[95gtschick]

i don't know, was just wondering if it was a "good" idea.

and by tuning my engine, what do you mean? what would i have to do?

my engine has like... well i don't even know how many miles. right now it says 118k miles, but i did a carfax, and in January of 2003 it had 130k miles (my odometer has been rolled back) so it probably has a ton of miles on it, that's another reason i was thinking about swapping...

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

No reason to really swap....a well maintained 5SFE would get you good gas mileage. I drive back and forth to college about 35-40 minutes each way and I probably get about 30 mpg, or about 370-400 miles per tank. I now have at least 180,000 miles on mine and its given me no problems at all.

About 2 years ago I did a tune up and that would consist of things like a new timing belt and accessory belts and misc. hoses, distributer, plugs and wires, all new fluids, new water pump, gaskets that are worn, fuel filter, air filter.....etc. etc.

Its a really good idea to do all those sorts of things to keep the engine running how it should. When my car was finished it ran like new, and still at least 2-3 years later with alot of miles its still fine with only regular oil changes and topping off coolant when needed. Your money is much better spent not downgrading and just maintaining what you have.

[Rjb23]

^^ well she's recently spent 4-grand on her paint job plus the other mods that she's done. so i don't think she'd be willing to trade.

anyway, where are you gonna find an ST engine? i've never seen a single ST here.. like everybody has said, a tune up would be best.. but if you're willing to go even further, some people have changed their 5th gear ratios in their transmission to drive at even higher speeds although i'm not sure how difficult that would be, or even if parts like that would still be available...

Yea no one has an st on this site!

[zachattack15]

I believe she was talking about where they live, not on this site.

[lagos]

let me get this right... you want to spend a few thousand dollars just to save a few bucks on gas?

[presure2]

really, you should in reality just be thinking about a good tune up.
i can get almost 400miles to a tank on the highway, with 460cc injectors, and turboed.

[lagos]

or just check your tires to make sure they are inflated correctly and take out any extra stuff you may have in your trunk.

[jess_i_74]

Drive conservatively. A good 5SFE is able to average very high 20's around town and just break into the 30's on the highway.

[95gtschick]

this is something that has bothered me about my car since i got it.

i drive SO nice, and i've changed my plugs, wires, fuel filter, fuel pump, check my tires consistently (every week), etc....

but yet i can't even break like 250 miles to a tank in town driving (driving only 5 days a week to work and back, no extra trips).

^^ well she's recently spent 4-grand on her paint job plus the other mods that she's done. so i don't think she'd be willing to trade.

anyway, where are you gonna find an ST engine? i've never seen a single ST here.. like everybody has said, a tune up would be best.. but if you're willing to go even further, some people have changed their 5th gear ratios in their transmission to drive at even higher speeds although i'm not sure how difficult that would be, or even if parts like that would still be available...

Yea no one has an st on this site!

Yes, he was talking about where we live. They didn't make the ST in Canada. Only the GT and GT-S', so the ST's are very hard to come by, especially in Manitoba where there's only like 10-15 6th gen celica's in total.

[celicaST]

i wouldnt swap, i would think the difference in mpg would be marginal at best, hardly worth the hassle and cost of swapping. my solution... buy a moped and a big heavy coat, problem solved

[pokemeintheeye]

I don't get how you people get 400 miles to a tank. Best I've done is only 350 with all hwy miles. Driving like a grandma too. Other than that I've never had trouble reaching 300 city and hwy.

[creis]

eh i can pull in a good 370 on a tank, but its pushing it, I alway fill up at half a tank becaues i worry i'm gana get stuck in traffic for 8 hours and run out of gas, or just because i think the gas station is a good place to meet single girls my age where my car can start the converstion for me. (yeah I'm that desparate.)

and I hope your kidding, the little money your gana save on gas is not gana cover the cost of having a motor swap, just get a variety of fuel cleaners and injecter cleaners and a maybe a nice tone up.

[95gtschick]

just so you get an idea of how bad my car does on gas....

i have just over 1/4 tank left, and i have 155 miles on this tank, mostly city, some hwy...

[celicaST]

just so you get an idea of how bad my car does on gas....

i have just over 1/4 tank left, and i have 155 miles on this tank, mostly city, some hwy...

it shouldnt be going through gas that quick. theres a whole list of possible causes for that so im not even going to guess. i would suggest an all around maintenance check.

[95gtschick]

yeah i'm getting that done tomorrow.

[hata]

man if you we're local..i'd say we can swap motors

[yungazzdriver]

well if u want i can trade motor mounts wif ya????

[TTE]

I think you will be better with 1.6L 4afe from Paseo.

[blu94gt]

this is something that has bothered me about my car since i got it.

i drive SO nice, and i've changed my plugs, wires, fuel filter, fuel pump, check my tires consistently (every week), etc....

but yet i can't even break like 250 miles to a tank in town driving (driving only 5 days a week to work and back, no extra trips).

What tire pressure are you keeping in them? Hauling anything around in the car with you? Any maintenance that could hinder gas mileage by casuing friction on the wheels (idk like wheel bearings, e-brake, etc)

any mods to the car?

[soulshadow]

I should smack you if you were to swap an ST into a GT. Who the heck would want to install something less in power for something that is already faster and stronger ?

[95gtschick]

this is something that has bothered me about my car since i got it.

i drive SO nice, and i've changed my plugs, wires, fuel filter, fuel pump, check my tires consistently (every week), etc....

but yet i can't even break like 250 miles to a tank in town driving (driving only 5 days a week to work and back, no extra trips).

What tire pressure are you keeping in them? Hauling anything around in the car with you? Any maintenance that could hinder gas mileage by casuing friction on the wheels (idk like wheel bearings, e-brake, etc)

any mods to the car?

tire pressure? i dunno, 32? whatever it says in the doorjamb. and no, i don't carry anything with me in the car, i never use my e-brake unless i'm parking, and wheel bearings, i have no idea.

i'm getting my car serviced today by the best dealership in town to find out what's wrong with my gas mileage.

but before they do anything they're calling me to tell me what it is, cause a lot of the time i can do it by myself or with my fiance's help. and it helps that i have a friend who works at the dealership i'm getting it serviced at, cause he can do it at my house then ^_^...

I should smack you if you were to swap an ST into a GT. Who the heck would want to install something less in power for something that is already faster and stronger ?

lol, i know i know, everyone thinks i'm an idiot already, i was just considering my options.

[pokemeintheeye]

eh i can pull in a good 370 on a tank, but its pushing it, I alway fill up at half a tank becaues i worry i'm gana get stuck in traffic for 8 hours and run out of gas, or just because i think the gas station is a good place to meet single girls my age where my car can start the converstion for me. (yeah I'm that desparate.)

and I hope your kidding, the little money your gana save on gas is not gana cover the cost of having a motor swap, just get a variety of fuel cleaners and injecter cleaners and a maybe a nice tone up.

Whether you're worried about getting stuck in traffic or not. It is best not to run it down to the last gallon or two anyways.

[yungazzdriver]

hahah man i think u shuld do it flintstones style and cut out the bottom, i think u can get 2 mp on that (man power) yeha way better than horse power ,

[Cutrara]

I skimmed through this topic but didn't read it the whole way. Did anyone mention your O2 sensor might be bad? I was working in the engine bay and had mine disconnected and I forgot to reconnect it. I got like 200 miles on a tank, but it was weird, no CEL.

[creis]

eh i have run with a bad O2 cencor, did not get bad milage by anymeans, maybe a little below normal, more things then that have to be wrong to get that bad of milage, maybe your fuel guage is off (although you would probably notice if your only putting in like 5-6 gallions. at the pump) try re-setting the ecu, and when you start it up in the morning let it idel a bit but look for excess gas out the exhaust. could hook an air/fuel guage up and see if its running really rich.

hopefully the doc found out the problem with it today.

[95gtschick]

well everything is fine...

our car's are supposed to get approx. 25mpg and i'm getting 22 and they say that's okay.

[Valo666]

Krysten, i had the same problem, i was gettin horrible milage. I was drivin 40 min to and from school every day and i was fillin up every 3 days. What i did was, change wires, plugs, cleaned air filter, oil, wheel bearings, got nitrogen in my tires so they wont deflate as easily, checked my cylinder head, timing belt, P/S belt, greased up every thing in the front and rear end and been takin it easy. Now, this week alone, i went out 2 my friends place on the other side of the city, to and from work daily, picking up and droppin off my gf at work daily, gone shopping, and just been crusing. This now im fillin up every 2 weeks.

[95gtschick]

what about injector cleaner?

[spunky393]

tell you what, this is just a whim, but look around the gas tank. make sure where it is welded from two pieces to one, it isn't leaking just a tiny bit around it. it took me a long as time to figure out that's why i wasn't getting good gas miles on my 91 mercury capri with a 1.6L engine in it. the gas tank was leaking at the front of the weld, just a tiny bit, so it wasn't leaving any type of puddle.

also, what weight of oil are you using?
check hoses that come and go from your under-hood fuel pump, etc. etc.

make sure they're not crack and stuff. after you got some heavy pressure going through those lines, it could be leaking out.

[elvasoshexai]

wow... i wish i could see the #s some of you people get... i get 20mpg highway driving and 19mpg mixed... when i was trying my best to conserve gas... the best i was able to get for all city(well.. suburban) driving was 21mpg...

[blu94gt]

wow... i wish i could see the #s some of you people get... i get 20mpg highway driving and 19mpg mixed... when i was trying my best to conserve gas... the best i was able to get for all city(well.. suburban) driving was 21mpg...

I think you could use a tune up lol. My Mustang GT didn't even get that bad of mileage

[Sev408]

yeah 20mpg is pretty bad. I think i pulled 460 out of my tank last week.

I would look at your sparkplugs, wires, injectors and if you havent replaced your timing belt yet I would. It wont really affect gas but it needs to be done at around 110k.

[95gtschick]

i filled up today and calculated my mileage.... 17.83mpg. yeah, stupid dealership. totally calculated it wrong. they said our cars are only supposed to do 25mpg, and mine was doing approximately 22... i think not!

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

i filled up today and calculated my mileage.... 17.83mpg. yeah, stupid dealership. totally calculated it wrong. they said our cars are only supposed to do 25mpg, and mine was doing approximately 22... i think not!

I get way better milage out of my 5sfe. And I'm slitely modded. Seriously, 25 at the least here. And I don't baby the car either, it's driven fairly hard sometimes.

[Negative]

i filled up today and calculated my mileage.... 17.83mpg. yeah, stupid dealership. totally calculated it wrong. they said our cars are only supposed to do 25mpg, and mine was doing approximately 22... i think not!

Something is def wrong then. I get 300m to a tank (22mpg) in Houston traffick. Houston has one of the worst traffick ratings in the country. Fully 50% or more of my driving time is sitting in traffick not moving. I'd get a second opinion about your fuel system.
Maybe hook up a good analog A/F meter and see if you are constantly running rich. Also what RPM do you idle at? That can have a huge effect on gas mileage.

[GeEkBoY]

Again, I will add to what has been said, something is wrong with your car. Without seeing the car, best guess would be the O2 sensor as many have mentioned. others are sparkplugs, wires, distributor, coil, that anchor dragging behind your car.

I get up to 675 km (420 miles) highway, 550 km (342 miles) Toronto traffic per tank and I have over 265,000 km on the car. The lowest I have remembered is 500 km (311 miles) and that was city traffic in the winter when the thermostat was gone and the car would not fully warm up.

and by the way, they did sell STs in Canada but they sold poorly and were only offered for the first couple years.

[Clyde]

If i were you, id just buy a ****ty small car. its better for ST's to stay ST's or move up to GT's than for GT's to move down to ST level. You'll wish you had a GT later on in the track.

Better get ur engine tuned, cos mines ok.

[blu94gt]

how exactly are you calculating your gas mileage? How many miles do you put on a tank of gas? Maybe there's an error there

[95gtschick]

okay well here, someone else calculate it for me.

191.8 miles, to 48.89 litres (you'll have to calculate it into gallons)

[elvasoshexai]

did you try resetting ur ECU? i heard that helps...

wow.. with those #s i got 14.8mpg... or am i calculating it wrong now? hah

my 5sfe camry gets about... 375km city + minor (5-10min) highway driving in the suburbs of toronto.. and i thought that was bad

This post has been edited by elvasoshexai: Feb 9, 2006 - 11:10 AM

[Alchemist_57]

I've kindof been having the same problem. My mileage was okay at first, but after i did a tune up, it got worse. I replaced both O2 sensors, plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, air filter, oil & filter.

I usually run premium, and sometimes mid-grade, fuel in it. I don't understand how my mileage got worse.

How would you go about resetting the ECU? And what exactly does that do/affect? Any help is appreciated.

[elvasoshexai]

I've kindof been having the same problem. My mileage was okay at first, but after i did a tune up, it got worse. I replaced both O2 sensors, plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, air filter, oil & filter.

I usually run premium, and sometimes mid-grade, fuel in it. I don't understand how my mileage got worse.

How would you go about resetting the ECU? And what exactly does that do/affect? Any help is appreciated.

resetting the ECU is supposed to allow the computer to "re-learn" the way you drive and so it can i guess "conform" to the way you drive possibly increasing your gas mileage. So if you (or the previous owner) used to drive like an ass which caused crap gas mileage... resetting the ECU then driving conservatively for about a week may allow you to see better gas mileage

http://www.6gc.net/index.php?action=howto&itu=33

hm.. maybe i should take my own advice and try this too

This post has been edited by elvasoshexai: Feb 9, 2006 - 7:47 PM