GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Just a question to anyone who has a supercharger or a turbo installed.Has anyone gotten their gas mileage numbers yet? You know, comparing the before/after mileage? Also, any news on the factory s/c for the manual?

Quote, originally posted by noginsk »Just a question to anyone who has a supercharger or a turbo installed.Has anyone gotten their gas mileage numbers yet? You know, comparing the before/after mileage? Also, any news on the factory s/c for the manual?I have a turbo. I have had it for over a year , but have never done a mpg check ....I will say this though, my turbo spools up around 3k rpms...The cpomputer runs the fuel the same as always, so the mileage is the same at lower rpms. as an example , we travel around 75 mph at 3krpms in 5th gear...I have made long trips doing this, staying below 3krpms getting 35 to 40 mph..but I use 91 octane for the turbo's sake...The turbo is not being utilized doing this....But when the motor goes into boost, it runs rich...and gas mileage is decreased considerably...it takes fuel to make power. How considerable I do not know. Most tanks of gas a mixture of boosting, and not boosting...but with my setup, mileage depends on how you drive...hope this helps.

So, what I'm gathering here is that a turbo (specifically yours) will get better mileage than, let's say, the factory supercharger? (assuming one is released for the 5 speed)

any one else have any numbers on the gas milage on the factory sc

I just installed the S/C last weekend and I observed only a tank... i got 179 miles with 7.2 gallons. So, it is approximately 24.86 mpg, mixed between city/highway... Of course, this was my first week with the S/C on the car and I frequently tested the power, meaning that i floored more than half the time.

sweet, keep me updated on how the sc works with the awd

so far i have no problem(s) with the SC.. I just installed a tranny Cooler to help cool down the automatic transmission fluid. I bought the kit for 39.99 plus tax at Pep boys... I will be taking the car up to Lake Tahoe tomorrow in the snow. I update you guys on the performance going up hill..I also went thru another tank of gas... 218 miles with 9.6 gallons. Again, mix of city/highway with hard acceleration.

Now you installed a tranny cooler, would you reccomend something like that on a base manual transmission with a supercharger?

Normally you dont use tranny coolers on manual tranny's. No pump to pump fluid through the cooler...

Thanks for the updates on fuel mileage. I'm also 's/c curious', so I'm following all these threads with interest. Unfortunately, 90% of my driving is in a small town at less than 35 mph, so a blower isn't really going to do anything for me, except maybe help burn rubber when I take off from a stop light.

Quote, originally posted by noginsk »So, what I'm gathering here is that a turbo (specifically yours) will get better mileage than, let's say, the factory supercharger? (assuming one is released for the 5 speed)The SC has an internal electronic bypass valve. What this valve does is allow the incoming air to bypass the supercharger. Just cruising around the mileage should be about the same. Of course most people that get FI don't buy it to drive the same. For me the "newness" has warn off and my mileage is very close to what it was before the SC was installed. I doubt there is a big difference in mileage between a turbo and the SC. I think it depends more on how much each one is used.

I agree with Larry... It all depends on how hard you accelerate Or should i say how hard you want to accelerate.Anyhow, my trip up to logged 527.2 miles of uphill/down hill and up mountain and down. I used premium only, of course. I used 21.278 gallons. That equate to 24.78 mpg. The average speed on flat land was 75 mph up any hill/mountain is 70 mph. Going down is a different story but averaged 75. I didn't not keep track of the head or tail wind. I went thru dry weather, snow storm, hail storm.Before I had the S/C, these trips I would get 25-27 mpg. The main difference with the S/C is that the car did not down shift from 4th to 3rd. There is a lot more power going up the hill/mountain. Overall, this 24.78 is not bad from stock. But keep in mind that my Vibe is AWD.With the S/C i think this AWD need another overdrive gear to lower the RPM. 3000 rpm on overdrive will be roughly around 76 mph.

those are not bad numbers for the awd i don't think. besides, i have the gt and i'm running on avg 26 mpg.... with my foot stomped on the gas!

I wonder if anyone knows of an easy reliable way to drop compression a bit in a s/c base vibe in order to use regular pump gas?

Quote, originally posted by noginsk »I wonder if anyone knows of an easy reliable way to drop compression a bit in a s/c base vibe in order to use regular pump gas? Why would you spend all that money on a SC'd system, and then tone it down? Premium fuel is about 15 cents a gallon more, so maybe a $1.50 or $2 a week. Just skip that Harbucks Coffee once a week and you'll be back on budget.

Quote, originally posted by noginsk »Just a question to anyone who has a supercharger or a turbo installed.Has anyone gotten their gas mileage numbers yet? You know, comparing the before/after mileage? Also, any news on the factory s/c for the manual?I've been tracking my mileage pretty much since I got the Vibe last May. So after I run a few tank fulls through with the supercharger, I’ll have some real solid comparison numbers. Other folks that have run the Unichip without forced induction, have actually seen improved fuel efficiency, so I’m hoping it will help offset some of the increased fuel usage with the supercharger.

Well I just drove to Vegas last Thursday I filled up my tank and didn't pump again till I got to vegas found hotel, rested, went back out I had I think 347 miles and the gas light was on close to empty. Not bad I guess.

Quote, originally posted by noginsk »I wonder if anyone knows of an easy reliable way to drop compression a bit in a s/c base vibe in order to use regular pump gas? A thicker head gasket is what they used years ago. Wouldn't recommend it with s/c, though.

Quote, originally posted by tbm34 »Why would you spend all that money on a SC'd system, and then tone it down? Premium fuel is about 15 cents a gallon more, so maybe a $1.50 or $2 a week. Just skip that Harbucks Coffee once a week and you'll be back on budget.I just did a little figuring with a calculator:I get about 32 miles per gallon combined. At the cost of $1.75 a gallon and driving about 20,000 miles per year, I would spend $1,093.75.With the s/c, I would guess about 29 mpg combined, assuming I don't have a lead foot, and would pay about $1.95per gallon. Plus still driving 20,000 miles I get to spend $1344.83.That's $251.08 more exspensive. I guess the question shouldn't be can I decrease compression, but rather is the s/c worth spending an extra 250 bucks a year on gas for the power gains? I am going to college now and am pretty broke, but in a year and a half.... sounds like a winner to me. Thankx for all the input guys.

Last spring, I grad from college and bought my vibe without a job. Luckily me, I got a job last Oct. Now, my car is paid off but I have school loans to pay. I don't have to pay back school until after I graduate from Graduate School, which will be after this fall semester.I find myself very lucky.