Its Slow and Uses alot of gas

[Six_Legal]

So my cutlass is slow as a bad of snails and it also uses a lot of gas Ifeel like Ihae toi put gas in it everyday. Any ideas on how to make it faster for cheap right now . I got my tail beat by a super old honda ......smh. Any advice on howto get better accelration and gas mileage would be appreciated ! Thanks in advance .

 

[Bonnewagon]

Give it a good tune-up. Air filter, plugs, everything. But even in tip-top shape a 3.8 can't push very hard. Forcing it to just wastes gas.

 

[olds307 and 403]

A Buick 350 is a direct swap. You will gain a lot of torque and might actually gain mileage. An Olds 350 or 403 is also a good swap. An LS swap might be the way the go but requires modifications. Many have gained mileage due to their modern head design. Plus the 5.3 comes factory with 300+hp/tq and are very easy to find.

 

[DRIVEN]

But even in tip-top shape a 3.8 can't push very hard. Forcing it to just wastes gas.

So true.

Even old Hondas have more hp and weigh less. Don't pick fights you can't win. The 3.8 was made to get you from A-B reliably with mediocre economy. If you don't expect too much out of it and you won't be too disappointed. Some have reported low 20s but my real world experience is that high teens is the norm with mixed city/highway driving. If you need to go faster -- you'll need more displacement.

 

[pontiacgp]

if you want to feel better I had a Pathfinder that was slower and took more gas than your 3.8 and was more uncomfortable to drive

 

[Six_Legal]

Give it a good tune-up. Air filter, plugs, everything. But even in tip-top shape a 3.8 can't push very hard. Forcing it to just wastes gas.

Thanks for the info

 

[pontiacgp]

you probably also have a highway gear in the rear end which causes you to use more gas in the city and you have a 350 transmission which takes about 20 - 25 hp to run

 

[Bonnewagon]

I remember back when these cars were new, co-workers who opted for the small V-8's got better mileage than those that went with the sixes.

 

[Gbody]

now i for sure have to have that 3.8 out, i thought i was saving gas with my 6 banger..

 

[Peter]

now i for sure have to have that 3.8 out, i thought i was saving gas with my 6 banger..

you do save money with the v6 if you drive it like its a v6. with most of these 3.8 cars having dead gears, if you put the pedal down you are going to rip through gas like any v8