You know, I don’t get this post. The gas mileage you claim to be getting is normal for this vehicle. You state the newer ones get much better mileage. Not according to the EPA estimates they don’t. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/20136.shtml
You’re blaming this alleged fuel mileage problem on the tendency of the car to take off like a bat out of xxxx. You “repaired the sticking throttle” so is it possible during this repair a throttle return spring was left loose or installed incorrectly, leading to a throttle plate that is “too easy” to open?
This problem sounds like a missing spring fault or possibly a throttle cable slightly binding. When depressed the slight snag in the cable lets go and so does the vehicle.
Listen to what Tester and Jeremy have told you…THEY DO KNOW A LOT ABOUT CARS. There have been cars in the past that shut down two or more cylinders. Cadilac did it in the 80’s and it was a disastor. And now YOU want to try some half baked plan WITHOUT the engineering knowledge or even basic car knowledge…and Cadilac had HUNDREDS of engineers behind them designing this engine.
It’s a LOT more complicated then just stopping spark to a engine. Try removing a couple of sparkplugs and see how the engine runs. It will NOT run well because it isn’t designed to. There are a LOT of things you’re missing.
Can it be done??..YES…With the proper engineering team and designed engine it can be done.
Try anything else and you’ll destroy your engine.
Instead of destroying your engine say thank you to Tester and Jeremy for trying to talk some sense in you for a terrible terrible idea.
Personally, I never did like this concept. It’s backwards from my perspective. You end up with all the penalties of a large displacement engine that may only be used to its full capacity a fraction of the time. Of course, this depends on the application but by and large, that is how most people use it IMO. I’d rather approach from the other side- small, robust engine w/boost for those times you need the extra oomph.
Eliminating two cylinders will not do you any good. You are still carrying the same weight, trying to go the same speed, etc. There is nothing changing except for the fact that the engine is going to run like an old jalopy that someone bought for $25, ran like crap, and couldn’t afford anything more. The 4 cylinders that will be working will be sucking up more fuel to keep the car moving at the speeds you want it to go, IF you can get it to go those speeds. Please, do yourself the favor and don’t mess with anything unless it is the air freshener hanging from your rear-view mirror. Let a mechanic do any modifications if he thinks the car needs it, and nothing else.
One thing you may want to check, however, is if the car needs a good tune-up, maybe it has a plugged catalytic converter, wrong tire pressure, etc. causing your car to get poor fuel mileage. How many miles on the vehicle? Over time these things need to be checked out and replaced if you want the best performance out of your vehicle.