Saturn Vue XR 2009 Mileage Improvements

[dadavue]

I was able to improve my city driving by 2.5 mpg by adding a engine K&N Filter and having the dealer add Mobil 1 Synthetic oil! I'm looking forward to seeing what I get now on the highway.

[diesavagenation]

The K & N drop in or a custom intake?

[Mic__]

Originally Posted by dadavue

I was able to improve my city driving by 2.5 mpg by adding a engine K&N Filter and having the dealer add Mobil 1 Synthetic oil! I'm looking forward to seeing what I get now on the highway.

how many miles you have...


I thought synthetic should not be used in a new engine till it's broken in





.

[bigdude2468]

Mobile One might help but no way a K&N helps mileage. Before everyone on the board gets all excited and jumps up and down just chill and think about it for a moment. (BTW, Consumer Reports had an article telling people NOT to change their air filters nearly as frequently as they used to, a waste of money)

Late model cars all have mass air flow senors that adjust the fuel mixture based on the amount of oxygen (air) that is available for combustion. While a partially plugged air filter could hurt performance the mileage would still not be affected. All you get with a K&N is more air flow at a specific throttle body opening so you generate more power at that specifc opening but the fuel air mixture does not change one bit. At full throttle you could generate more power with better air flow but the MAF sensor and the computer would continue to adjust the fuel mixture based on available air. A stock filter, a K & N or no filter the MAF sensor has no idea you made a change so it will put the exact amount of fuel into each cylinder based on flowing air.

[diesavagenation]

actually from the dyno charts the k&n makes more power throughout the entire power band... so wouldn't it take less gas to get going therefore better fuel economy??? I got a k&n intake for my g6 and improved 2-3 mpg on average... but then again that is still not very accurate as there are tons of diff variables that could effect the mpg( temp, gas quality ect.)

Also on the highway i was able to obtain 70 mph at a slightly lower rpm which would improve economy as well wouldn't it?

[hand-filer]

[QUOTE=diesavagenation;1538664
Also on the highway i was able to obtain 70 mph at a slightly lower rpm which would improve economy as well wouldn't it?[/QUOTE]

That could only happen by altering the final drive ratio.

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by Mic__

I thought synthetic should not be used in a new engine till it's broken in .

That's a bunch of BS...

Every new Cadillac, Corvettes, Cobalt SS Turbo, and many Mercedes Benz are factory filled with Mobil 1...

# Acura RDX
# Aston Martin
# All Bentley Vehicles
# All Cadillac Vehicles
# Chevrolet Corvette C6 and Z06
# Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS
# Chrysler 300C SRT-8
# Cobalt SS S/C Coupe
# Dodge Caliber SRT-4, Charger SRT-8, and Magnum SRT-8
# Jeep Cherokee SRT-8
# Mercedes-Benz AMG Vehicles
# Mercedes SLR
# Mitsubishi Evolution
# Pontiac Solstice GXP
# All Porsche Vehicles
# Saturn Ion Red Line and Saturn Sky Red Line
# Viper SRT-10

One of the myths surrounding synthetic oils is that new engines require a break-in period with conventional oil. The fact is, current engine manufacturing technology does not require this break-in period. As indicated by the decisions of the engineers who design the high-performance cars listed above, Mobil 1 can be used starting the day you drive the car off the showroom floor. Watch our answer to this myth.

https://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English...ics/Myths.aspx

[bigdude2468]

Last time I checked an engine develops all of its power from burning gas not air. You can run the engine without an air filter and the MAF sensor meters the gas to match the amount of air. The air filter cannot change the air fuel mixture, strictly controled by the MAF. If the engine breathes better it could develop more power but to do that the MAF sensor would put more gasoline into the engine to once again match the fuel to the amount of the air.

[buba]

unfortunately the filters like K&N that improve air flow also let more dirt into your engine. If you use one I would recommend you follow the severe service cycle for oil changes (3K miles?).

[08OnyxXR]

Couple things here:

1. As stated above, you can put Mobil 1, or any other synthetic oil in your engine at the first oil change. Engine tolerances are for the most part already set from the factory. Problems (leaks) might arise when you have been running conventional oil in an older vehicle for 75K or more miles, then switch to synthetic. BUT, you don't have to worry about this with your VUE. My GTO came with a Mobil 1 factory fill.

2. The K&N filter will only provide MAYBE 2-3 HP at some point in your RPM band. The key point here is, "at some point". You will not notice any increase in power. Gas mileage might improve slightly, but again, maybe only 1-2MPG tops. Now, this all could change as your MAF calculates the proper air/fuel mixture. At first, it will have to "learn" based on the new amount of air coming in to the engine, and you might experience this extra couple HP and MPG. However, once it adjusts to the new amount of air, your couple of HP and MPG will most likely return to factory specs. The ONLY way to avoid this is to flash your ECM, or in other words "tune" your VUE for the specific air/fuel mixture.

Another thing you have to be careful of with K&N filters is the oil. If you clean your K&N, you must also re-oil it. If you use too much oil (which is very easy to do), you can permanently damage your MAF. I run a K&N drop-in filter in my GTO. In order to avoid a potential problem with the oil, I just replace the entire filter when it is really dirty (haven't had to do it yet). A K&N filter should last at least 50K miles before it would need cleaning or replacing. The K&N actually becomes more efficient at trapping things the dirtier it gets.

[bigdude2468]

The MAF sensor readjusts everytime you give the engine more or less throttle. It does not have a memory, it merely adjusts fuel flow to match available air, there will be no temporay improvement in MPG. I agree that there could be an improvement in power but with power comes more fuel usage.

[08OnyxXR]

Originally Posted by bigdude2468

The MAF sensor readjusts everytime you give the engine more or less throttle. It does not have a memory, it merely adjusts fuel flow to match available air, there will be no temporay improvement in MPG. I agree that there could be an improvement in power but with power comes more fuel usage.

I agree, I wasn't clear, the MAF is just a sensor, it is the ECM that adjusts the fuel trim.