peake-corolla wrote:

"I have a '09 'rolla Sport, 257 miles and I am driving 50/50 city/highway and I am getting 32.1 avg mpg, based on my in dash gauge and my scan gauge II. City I am avg about 27.3. I will do my first oil change @ 1000K and use 0W 20, Mobil 1 synthetic and once broken in I suspect I will be getting at least a 10% increase. I did forget to mention I put a K&N performance air filter in as well, and it feels a bit peppier...I think. I know my '07 Chevy Colorado 4 banger benefited from the K&N air filter, MPG and a bit more horses( not many tho')"



Peake,

You may want to reconsider using a K&N (or any other) gauze type air filter in any car you care about. The increase in airflow is generally not needed and these filters tend to allow A LOT of dirt through. There are some very professionally done air filter test results available on the web that show this to be true. In addition to my '09 XRS I also own a '95 Mustang Cobra R-model with an aluminum 4-bolt 351 stroker which is over 7 litres and just under 600HP normally aspirated (sick fast). I have over $30K just in the engine and I run a Baldwin paper filter. About a thousand miles after I bolted on the new Holley 4150HP Race carburetor and new K&N air filter (factory pre-oiled) I discovered a water leak and was forced to remove the intake manifold. When I removed the air cleaner I was shocked and disgusted at how dirty the INSIDE of my carb was (the air horn, venturies, and boosters). As a result I literally threw the K&N away and went back to a paper filter (and cleaned my carb). At a recent dyno day pull I tried runs both with and without the paper filter on and saw a grand total of 1 horsepower difference. Through the intake is absolutely THE WORST place for dirt to enter your engine, this is a well known fact. K&N has great marketing people.... and they actually do make very good oil filters. That little boost you're noticing is likely just intake air noise increase. Please excuse me if I sound like I'm preaching because that's not my intent. I've been doing this stuff for a very long time and have amassed a great deal of knowledge and experience that can sometimes be valuable to others so I pass it along where I think it might help. Do some searching for air filter tests and see for yourself. I'm actually seeing an average of 33-34 miles/gallon combined city/hwy on my in-dash meter and have checked it with a calculator and it is pretty darn close. I drive around 60-65 on the open highway and get up over 40MPG average. This is amazing because the XRS is rated 25 city 30 highway. I'm happy, I just wish that Toyota had thought through some things like VSC settings being higher for the XRS. I can throw this thing into corners where I know I'm nowhere near the limit of adhesion of the tires and the darn VSC kicks in, it's annoying and not necessary. This is SUPPOSED to be a sporty car (that's why I bought it, because my Mustang gets around 6-10MPG).

BTW, 1000K is a million miles... 8^)

Best of luck,

Perry

Hi All,
New to the forum and thought I would add my 2 cents worth. I have a 2009 Corolla XLE with the 4 speed automatic and the aluminum wheel package and I have been getting between 33.5 and 37.1 depending on which tank of gas and driving conditions ... A/C use, speed, etc and all of my driving is a combination of highway and city. I just had the 5K service done and like MY09XRS posted earlier in this thread, was going to change out the factory organic oil with Mobil 1, but the dealership said that they didn't recommend using the Mobil 1 until the engine was fully broken in around 15K - 20K. Like others who have posted in here ... I find that the in-dash computer readout is fairly close but normally indicates around 1 to 2 miles better per gallon than using a calculator and pen. I finally found the right K&N Part Number, #33-2326, for the oddly shaped air filter (it is like a square with a corner cut off) and will be buying it tomorrow so hopefully I should see a slight bump in mileage there. I am of the opinion that if I am careful and use the cruise control I could probably get close to 40 mpg without to much effort. Take care and drive careful.

Bob

Bob,

You may want to read my previous post just before yours.

Cheers

i WOULD SAY DEPENDING ON HOW YOU DRIVE, BUT MY LE MODEL MAKES 36.2 MILES A GALLON AND I AM LOVING IT. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/banana.gif)

950 MILES

37 mpg avg half city/half hwy

I have an 09 XRS. I am getting a average of 25-27 mpg while delivering pizza on the weekends, which is WAY better than I thought that motor would get so soon!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/s12.gif) I am only at 1100 miles for the car, and I have not taken the car on any long trips yet. My weekday commute is only 16 miles, and only 9 miles on the highway. I notice that I get a TON better gas mileage in the 2.4L when Im on the highway. I cant wait to take the silver bullet (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) on a road trip!