M1 0w-20 + K&N + 96 Saturn SL2 w/156K= 40+ MPG!!

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I was running M1 15w-50 for the hot summer months. Then I recently decided to try a K&N air filter and "go thin" with M1 0w-20 SL. The car now is very free-revving. And the gas gauge noticeably doesn't move as much! 40.1MPG, 75MPH on the interstate with some A/C and city traffic! As always, FP and LC are part of my regimen. Using the cheapest 87 octane gas: almost always from the Home Depot on the ride to work. Maybe I will keep this car after all and dump a couple $K into it for the long haul. New seats will be required as Saturn seats are not comfortable whatsoever. And, of course, thanks to people like Terry, BITOG, etc. More data to follow in the coming weeks to provide a more balanced and accurate picture of MPG...

 

[thunderchild]

Congrats! I always liked Saturns. They have a great crash rating if I am correct. I liked the way they looked also. Seems like they are good on longevity also.

 

[eljefino]

You're a freak. Can't wait to hear you try a xw30 weight like they're spec'd for. Home depot sells gas?

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

quote:

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Originally posted by eljefino: You're a freak. Can't wait to hear you try a xw30 weight like they're spec'd for.

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I was surprised when they opened up a gas station in front of their store! But they drove the price down! North side of town is at least 8-10cents cheaper. The south side is, for some reason always more expensive. That single Home Depot singlehandedly helped many save on fuel costs by charging less per gallon than anyone else on the south side of town. The Mapco suddenly dropped to match H.D.'s pricing. And H.D. has been consistent in their pricing since they've opened. [ September 08, 2006, 01:04 PM: Message edited by: ToyotaNSaturn ]

 

[GT Mike]

156K on a SL2? How many MPQ (miles per quart) are you getting on your oil? The pistons and rings are such a common failure that the Saturn dealer near me actually stocks the parts! I haven't seen too many of these cars that go much over 100K without needing surgery for chronic oil consumption.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

MPQ! LOL! My 91 base SL had 185K when I traded it. No consumption. No consumption issues on this one either. Note: all 4 S-Series that I've owned would consome some oil when the A/C was often used, this current one is no exception. Conversely, no A/C, no consumption.

 

[The Critic]

quote:

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Note: all 4 S-Series that I've owned would consume some oil when the A/C was often used, this current one is no exception. Conversely, no A/C, no consumption.

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A/C used about 50% of the time, qt every 2-2.5k here. But my plug tube seal leaks too, so who knows. But mine burned oil after only 1700 miles on the odo, so I think mine just burned oil from day 1. Still getting 25MPG over her with mostly 1-3mi trips and running on barely 4 cyls.

 

[Nickdfresh]

quote:

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Originally posted by GT Mike: 156K on a SL2? How many MPQ (miles per quart) are you getting on your oil? The pistons and rings are such a common failure that the Saturn dealer near me actually stocks the parts! I haven't seen too many of these cars that go much over 100K without needing surgery for chronic oil consumption.

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I went through a quart for about every 2K, but it's decreasing with a piston soak, a "mild" flush, and GC. It's seems to be about 1qt for 3K now, but I'm not quite sure yet. In any case, I've heard it's not the rings, but the timing chain that runs internally in the head and that is lubricated by the engine oil, which puts more strain on the oil and leads to significant deposits on an engine that has not seen proper attention.

 

[GT Mike]

It's the rings...We rebuild at least one Saturn 1.9L (usually the DOHC) engine a month. The cylinders are usually in decent shape, so a simple honing to break the glaze, and a new set of rings (we use Hastings brand with great results) is usually all they need. The oil control rings are almost always stuck in the pistons due to carbon holding them in. Not quite sure why, but I do know they run a very thin ring, and they're located very close to the piston top. That may have something to do with it. As for the timing chain causing oil breakdown...Not too likely. The timing chain setup is similar to that of the Quad 4 series of GM engines which worked pretty good. A gear to gear setup like Toyota uses in their DOHC engines with one cam being driven by the timing chain, and the other counter-rotating on a cast-in gearset is murder on oil by comparison. I've never seen a Saturn engine fail because of what could be determined as oil degradation. 99 times out of 100, it's just rings that have either lost their tension, or have stuck in the grooves that cause the chronic consumption they have. The compression rings are usually decent yet. Very rarely, if ever, do these engines show signs of blow-by such as oil in the breather tube/air intake. In fact, the compression pressures are quite impressive (150+ PSI on average) for an engine this size even when they have a bazillion miles on them.

 

[mechtech2]

We don't rebuild many Saturn engines in the shop, but have noticed that for a modern car, their engines wear out the quickest.

 

[Jim 5]

Sounds like saturns would be excellent candidates for ARX treatment to free up those rings.

 

[Cutehumor]

how is that home depot gas? the one of I-65 near cool springs mall?

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

CuteHumor, Yes, that's the one! The gas seems just as good as any other. I don't patronize the Mapco in front of it as their prices were high until H.D. came along. Mapco price matched ever since then. I'll give H.D. my business.

 

[BrianWC]

I'd go thin but I'm scared of oil pressure. If I get a new oil pump, I MAY start running a 30 weight in my saab.

 

[GT Mike]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim 5: Sounds like saturns would be excellent candidates for ARX treatment to free up those rings.

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I don't think even ARX could free up a lot of these. The carbon literally fuses the rings right into the groove. Usually it's quite a fight to get the old rings out of the pistons. I'll see if I can remember to take a pic of one that's torn down before the rings are taken off. You'll see what I'm talking about then.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

GT Mike, Thanks for offering those photos! It will be interesting to see what all the hub-bub is about. I guess keeping those rings clean from the factory is key.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Yep, the K&N & M1 0w-20 combo has pushed MPG to it's highest ever since I've owned this vehicle. 39.67MPG average for 3 tanks. The 37.0 MPG tank was with A/C in traffic. No A/C = 40+MPG.

code:

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Miles   Gals    $/Gal   Total   MPG
327	8.15	2.619	$21.35	40.12
262	7.08	2.549	$18.05	37.01
352	8.40	2.329	$19.58	41.90
 

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In life, this is One Little Victory. [ September 19, 2006, 07:54 PM: Message edited by: ToyotaNSaturn ]

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Won't the K&N air filter drive up the silicone counts? In an engine that eats rings, less filtration isn't what I'd want, even with the "benefit" derived... Am I F.O.S. on this?

 

[mechtech2]

too crazy - It depends on where you drive, and how you have you inlet routed. My driving is not in a dusty area, and there is never any dust on the intake pipe downstream of my K+N. Some areas of our country are quite dusty, and I wouldn't recommend a K+N there.

 

[surfstar]

I have a K&N clone filter on my intake. My two UOAs I've done with two different brands of clone K&Ns, with different mileage on them, both had 5ppm of Si with a 5k mile OCI. YMMV