So I broke in the engine on my Cobalt SS S/C (900 km) and went straight to the dealer to get the Stage II kit put in.

Yes I love it - although it is not problem free. I read something about the problems with the kit on another site (press the gas and nothing happens - the engine doesn't respond). This has happened once to me so far and I am hoping it doesn't happen again. Apparently it has something to do with the ECM programing for the stage II kit.

Nevertheless, my SS tank takes about 45-50 litres - obviously, like all of yours.

So I never really paid uch attention to the fuel consumption before I put the stage II kit in but I have really taken notice now. Why? Because on that tank i I seem to get only about 370-390 Kms!!!!!!! Now, this is surprising because I am fairly easy on the engine/accelerator. Not many jack-rabbit starts and I don't rev to high. So WTF?????

I have a Z24 with a Quad 4 150Hp engine that has a fuel tank similar in size...I get 450Kms EASY on that and the engine has 210,000Kms!!! I can only imagine what a tank will get me in a year or two and if I am driving the car a bit harder.



So I suppose my questions is whether you guys are experiencing the same fuel consumption because even though the extra kick is worth the fuel consumption increase I don't buy for one second all of those claims that the stage kit doesn't really affect fuel economy.

 

I have 16000kms on mine with. With Stage 2 I get about 25mpg city and 35 hwy. I think your car is not really broken in yet. Mine has gotten better with age.

 

depends what year the cavalier z24 was...tank size could have been between 50L and 60L in size...if it was a similar size tank then yea that gas mileage isn't very good....mind you on my old 99z24 I only got 375 km's to a tank in the city.

 

wow I had a 98 z24 and the gas mielage was fantastic. I once got over 700kms out of a tank. But the tank in that car was quite a bit larger, and you also have to remember that with stage two you are producing double the horsepower of the good old quad 4

 

Since putting on my Stage 2, my gas mileage has actually got better. Averaged around 27MPG, now I'm somewhere around 29-30MPG, combined city and highway driving.

 

Your car probably isnt fully broken in yet. It take a couple thousand miles to start achieving good gas mileage.

 

I got pretty bad gas milage when my Cobalt was new.

After I hit the 3,000mi mark My cobalt started getting great fuel consumption

 

I hope you're right. Best of my knowledge though, good fuel economy will be there even at the onset of engine life - not after 20K.

As far as the Z24, I have a few. The best one I had was the 3.1 V6 - 140Hp - and yes it ate gas like there was no tomorrow!! The Z24 i have now isn't as bad considering it has 150Hp.

Its odd though because many of you have indicated your fuel consumption may have even impoved!!

 

just went out to check on mine, 26.3 mpg at the moment city/freeway jump and go driving included. Make sure you reset the economy meter after each tank fill to get an accurate reading on your gas. People don't think it works but whatever cus it does. You might be putting in **** gas and the meter can give you an idea if you are. I have tested this and it freakin works like a charm. No more costco gas for me, top tier only baby.

qwiktrip
shell
chevron

91 octane only

 

For sure the gas mileage gets better with age (not really sure why?) only after 2k-ish kms did I start to slowly go from high 300's to low 500's on a tank. I have only put about 30kms on my stage II, so we'll see how that works

 

My gas mileage actually went up 2-3 mpg with stage 2. I took a 1500 mile trip to michigan and I averaged 32.1 round trip (actually figuring it out and not the displayed mpg that is about 3 mpg off). That was running 80 mph most of the way and 1 stretch of 100 with the cruise on.

 

Here is an interesting one. I understand we live in a world where there is a finite supply of oil. I also understand that petro cos are out there to make a profit. But the last time I checked, most developed countries have laws in place that make collusion illegal.

My point. WHY is it all gas stations in Toronto went up 6 cents a litre at EXACTLY 12am tonight???? This has been going on long enough. WTF?? AND why are all stations priced to within 1/10 of a cent of each other. If that's not collusion, I don't know what is.

Maybe the Canadian government should get out of bed with the petroleum companies and start doing something about the price fixing and collusion that almost every Canadian is already aware of. Rather than have the CRTC spend our money on stupid **** like sensoring Howard Stern and forcing Canadian content on our TVs to "protect Canadian interests" divert the monies to more worthwhile causes like investigating pricing policies of the petro companies here ! That would be a much more effective way of protecting canadians - both drivers and others!!

 

strummin on an old banjo man happens here as well. as long as there is profit to be made it will always happen

 

Is 76 gas top tier? Thanks. I like Chevron but there is so few of them around now.

 

You might be right. BUT the big difference is that even though you are paying a lot for gas in the US, most gas stations are not the EXACT same price. I've been all over the East coast and some places down south like Texas and New Mexico. If they are colluding it is a lot less obvious because even though they might all raise prices, they don't have the same price.

Here not only do the prices go up and down in unison BUT they also irror one another.....sometimes as far as the WHOLE city. So I'd take pricing in the US any day over here. At least then I'd feel like I could chose one station over another to save a bit of money.

 

yes 76 is on the list, the list is ranked so the top is the best. If you remember chevron was first on the scene with top tier gas but according to a study last year the best gas was quik trip

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

 

I dunno who told you, but 900 clicks (maybe 2 tanks of gas) is definately not a broken in engine.

I have 3k on mine. and im waiting till my first oilchange at 5k before i install stage 2 and mod.

and btw....at 3k ive noticed improvements every day with the mileage, power, boost and overall performance of the car. and i have no doubt it will probably continue yet.


900kms is still pretty new. one would think the techs at GM would have been able to give you this information.
Mine explained how the car was going to react and change over the first 5k.

 

Yeah I read that post on .com though I did not respond to it cuz I refuse to be a member over there when many (not all) member of .com slam .net for being juvenile.

I did want to call B.S. on that thread though. If anyone here read it basically it was some guy claiming to be a G.M. tech that said he refused to sell the Stage kits to his customers because it made his personal car run like crap. Instead he advised them to get an Intense kit. Now, I have nothing against Intense but I cannot imagine a GM tech reccomending that you void your warranty.

 

I just got home from a trip and I got 653kms on 1 tank at 120kph average with stage 2. I had less than 1/16 tank left. That is combined very light city and 99% hwy.

Medicine Hat to Canmore 400kms
Canmore to Banff return 1.5x35kms = 50kms
Banff back to Strathmore to refill 180kms
Cruising Canmore and Banff 23kms

17k kms on it. Who says you cant have a fast car with fantastic mileage!

 

I could be wrong but I thought I recall seeing the owners manual say 900Km was the breakin period. Nevertheless, it really made no difference to me. I still drive the car like I just got it and have yet to crack 5K rpm. So, stage II or not, I am careful.

As far as waiting until you hit 5K for your first oil change, I would certainly advise you otherwise. You'd think that the knowledgable GM tech who explained that stuff to you would have told you to spring the $60-80 on an oil change earlier to make sure you get all the **** out of your new engine. I waited until 2200Km but I know people who do it a 1K!!! Besides, what do you have to lose by doing it earlier????

 

Drove to the cottage this past long-weekend. Port Carling from Toronto and back. Left Toronto with a full tank.. Got back with about 1/8th. Total kms = 450 Hwy. Total Kms on the Cobalt 3,300. Never broke 4K on the way up there. Kept it under 130Km/hr.

So wtf?????? I wish I had your Cobalt!!!!!!!

 

Ok heres the rest (not to make you upset, cause your car WILL get better mileage)

Me and 1 passenger, 2 travel bags, 2 sets of golf clubs, 48 beers.

No AC as all you need to do is set it to cold and turn it to 2 or more. Just as cold LOL super!! (there is a thread about this somewhere and it works) Windows up all the time other than cruising which sucked bad due to unreal traffic in Banff and Canmroe.

And the kicker, the DiC quoted me 746 at the onset, and was consistent as I put more kms on and the difference was very close. I blame the loss of kms on some spirited onramps and some nasty stop and go traffic.

Don't worry dude, it will get better!!!

 

Funny thing is that I have just over 3,000 Kms now...
You'd think it'd improve by now. I guess I'll know in the next few tanks.

Thanks again for the response.


EDIT - One other thing. I was alone in the car with next to nothing in the trunk!

 

kind of off topic but this could also be described as a perfectly competitive market, where prices automatically adjust to market conditions.

I don't know the market but world events have a huge impact on the price of a barrel of oil, whenever that goes up, prices go up. So the real bastards are further up the supply chain and not the retailers who are usually almost like franchise owners who make like a regular type wage. the pigs making all the money are the guys the consumer never sees....

 

The Cobalt fuel tank is 13.5 gallons.