I believe it was 99 that the 'bird got a bigger tank? if so, anyone ever swap one onto a 97' bird? I commute about 180 miles round trip and thought the bigger tank might be something to look into if it would fit...any opinions?

can't answer your question about the tank but my daily commute is about the same and here are some suggestions:

1) super unleaded
2) keep your 17T oem front sprocket
3) a power commander would allow you to lean out your cruising ranges and squeeze that extra 10-20 miles out of your tank so you don't have to stop for gas in the morning AND at night the same day.

Assumption: you don't want to have to ride slow

Personally, I've done #3 and I like my 16T front sprocket :wink:

take care,

That's a good idea, but unfortunately won't work.

The FI tanks are bigger in capacity because the throttle bodies and air-box are more compact than the carbs.........so the extra capacity is on the underside. This means that a '99-up tank won't physically fit on a '97-'98.
Even if it did, you'd still have fuel pump/petcock issues to deal with.
Sorry.

ahh that makes sense...oh well, I will just have to fill twice a day then, thanks a lot for the info

And don't use excessive octane. If anything it will decrease mileage since some of it will leave the motor unburned. The unburned fuel will also lead to carbon formation.

i have been using the 87 octane regular...i dont notice any problems or lack of power believe it or not and i got about 197 miles to the tank and didnt run empty this morning...got 189 yesterday...not sure exactly how many miles from reserve light on to pushing cycle to the gas station tho

duh, i guess i didn't read your post quite clearly, a power commander won't do you much good on a carbed bird :???:

hey, how come i get better gas mileage with super unleaded? Is that another FI thing?

I don't find that to be true with our auto emission testing here in Pa. If the fuel was being unburned, the emissions would be higher with 93 than 87 which I have not found through the years of having the test done.