To DarbyWalters- The 1st gen got a 1.5 engine, same as the toyota Yaris.

To BIBI - I am also surprised that the Yaris doesn't get better gas mileage.

to kamesama980 - I will have to read more about the FE improvements on exhaust. This is something I thought about on my last car. I would be interested to study this.

JanGeo - Steered clear of the auto. My mpg jumped up to 35.5 after filling the tires and changing plugs. I wasn't really driving the way I should though.
I went to remove the A/C belt tonight and found out that it has shared use with the alternator.

Erdrick - You are right , the resale value on the TDI's is insane!

Three6Eight - You are the first to tell me mini astro van- I get a lot of comments about "toaster" , Xbox, Box, and believe it or not "short bus"

Improbcat - I love that color! Wanna trade?

FormulaTwo - don't worry about the AC belt - the pump spins pretty free when it is not used just keep away from the defrost the windshield settings with the fan on and the pump will stay off. Even when using it, it does not affect mileage much. I just found out my tires were down to 36psi from the cold and slow leaks which is why my mileage dipped for the past two tanks. Pumped them back up to 40psi and put the lower grill block in today and mileage is back up even in this 30 degree weather.

Best thing you can do is get something more slippery in the tranny for lube asap which should be good for a few more MPG.

Congrats Improbcat - photo is dark but it looks like it is in great shape.

You can get a little over 50mpg if you keep it under 45mph usually around 35-40 mph is good for mileage. I have had a few tanks full at 45mpg but it takes a lot of work to do that - usually I am happy with some 20 mile runs at 45-50mpg but a red light or two drags it right down.

It is pretty good. It's a '04, I got it cheap because it has 92,000 miles on it. But it drives and feels as tight as the 31K one I test drove. It needs a few minor things (two tiny chips in windshield, small scrape on passenger side) but getting it for over $1500 off the blue book value made it worth it.

I'm running the first tank as a "control", though I did throw a bottle of fuel injector cleaner in it. Once I get a MPG reading from this tank I'm going to put new plugs in it, check the air/fuel filters, change the oil, up the tire pressure and such. Then see if that makes a difference.

Make it four xB gassavers. I picked up an '04 xB 1.5 years ago. Big difference coming from an Impala SS with 330 lb-ft torque. :D

Less power but I don't have the guilt that I used to have by wasting gas.

I'm hating the winter time and the crappier gas mileage that goes with it. Right now I'm getting about 34mpg. During the summer I get about 37mpg with a best of 38mpg.

Here are some of the mods so far
-remove intake snorkle, not ideal wai but better than stock
-lightweight pully
-Enkei RPF-1 alloy wheels
-Sumitomo HTR 200 LRR summer tires
-Redline tranny fluid (5 speed)
-Ron Paul for president vinyl graphic and door magnets (thought you would like this FormulaTwo) :D
-ScanGauge II
-TRD springs, Whiteline rear swaybar, Hotchkis front swaybar so I don't have to waste energy braking around turns. ;)

When I can break 40mpg regularly I'll be very happy.

Sounds like a nice Box. How does that lightweight pulley affect engine revving and power? Is there a noticeable improvement?

I think I've only floored it once and I'm pretty gentle with the gas pedal normally so it's hard to say. I was more interested in mpg by reducing weight but I didn't notice an improvement in gas mileage. People on the xB forums say it's one of the few mods that give appreciable power gains but that's mostly SOTP.

I got mine for about $70 becuase it was a blemished model from the manufacturer. Don't use an impact gun to try to remove it either the bolt has enough give where it aborbed each impact without budging. Use a long breaker bar instead, I used a 2' long one.

I don't know about changing the pulley because it is part of the crank balance and that small amount of weight will have very little effect on the total weight of the rotating mass. You should keep an eye on the pulley wear and belt wear as well as pulley failure which also has occured. It won't give you more HP just slightly quicker revs which compared to the enertia of the entire vehicle is nothing. A better improvement would be lighter wheels which both reduced rotational enertia and improves handling by keeping the tires on the road better when riding over bumps.

Headers are factory stock on the xB and only some really good ones will improve HP and usually only a little depending upon how they are tuned it may only move the peak around a little on the RPM curve. Cat and header changes usually gives more HP and lower MPG.

The best thing to do is to reduce friction in the engine and transmission which gets you more HP to the wheels and better MPG. I used Synlube in the engine, transmission and power steering which is a one time cost and also reduces maintenance (no oil changes for 150k miles) while others have added EAL (PIB) to the oil (at each oil and filter change). Me, a guy in Texas and another in Alaska have all achived over 500 miles on a tank of gas as proof of the mileage improvments we have made along with hypermiler driving techniques.

From the numbers I am seeing over here, the difference in the 1.3 and the 1.5 is only 3 mpg. Am I missing something? Is 3 mpg worth the $1500 to swap to an engine that may or may not have parts available here?