Hypermiling/aero mods

[wander2039]

Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
My A/C took a dump last year. Can you say, compressor delete???

The ventilation through my little Corolla is pretty amazing. Traveling down the highway at 65, with the blower off/fresh air vent opened and a rear window cracked, it's like a wind tunnel. Keeps it comfortable actually.

Drew, in Colorado Springs, hot as the air can be, at least it's *dry*. If I try that here, I get home with my office clothes soaked in sweat. Not good.


Take a undershirt and change.. I do that with the Aspire and no ac. Or no shirt all together but I'm not sure on the laws

I hate AC actually.

 

[Virtuoso]

I'm not sure it's wise to often use a power-steering rack without the hydraulic boost behind it.

 

[glennc]

Benzadmiral is quite right. Out here no A/C is nowhere near the problem it is in the south. As long as you keep moving it's reasonably comfortable. In LA, I know from experience that you need A/C or else the entire inside of your car becomes a swamp, right down to having its own weather systems and plant growth (well, fungal growth at least.)

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
Drew, in Colorado Springs, hot as the air can be, at least it's *dry*.


Yeah, man!! ..but it's a dry heat! - Hudson as they entered the steaming reactor building

 

[daves66nova]

Ever go to http://www.mpgresearch.com ??

 

[Benzadmiral]

Bringing this topic back from the dead (Halloween will be here before long, you know) . . .

On Sunday I took an old reflector sunshade, cut it into pieces, and duct-taped them to cover about half of my radiator and to fill the air ducts under the bumper.

On Monday, I drove my usual route to work. Then I removed the pieces (it was getting a bit hot under the hood as I started home yesterday -- outside temp about 77), then drove my usual route this morning. Results:

Air temp both mornings: 57 - 60 F. Route: 9 miles, ~25 minutes. I left the coolant temp readout visible throughout the drive.

Monday (w/ radiator block): Digital coolant temp readout began at 77 degrees. At 7 miles/20 minutes, coolant temp had risen to 196 F. (the rating of my thermostat). At 9 miles/25 minutes, when I parked the car for the day, it read 201.

Tuesday (no radiator block): Digital coolant temp began at 80 degrees. At 7 miles/20 minutes, temp was only 183. At 9 miles/25 minutes, when I parked, temp was 192.

So it appears the 3800 engine reached thermostat opening temp 5 minutes sooner with the blocks in place, and in fact never did get completely to that temp without the blocks. This fits with my memory; in the rare cold weather here (lower than 50 F.), the engine barely makes 185 F. by the end of my 9-mile commute.

In contrast, during the foulness people here call summer, the morning air temp is usually 77-80 degrees, and the car is touching 196 by the 7 mile point -- probably much earlier.

I guess it's possible my thermostat isn't opening as soon as it should . . . but in the "cold" weather the heater is warming me within two miles/5 minutes or so. The weather rarely stays cold enough in this Swamp, both night and day, for me to leave any sort of grill/radiator block in place for an extended period. It would get pretty annoying having to remove them and replace them depending on the nearness of the latest cool front.

But it does make a difference. Whether it would make much of a difference in gas mileage is another matter.

 

[BrianWC]

What a difference 4-6 mos makes! I bet there's a lot less hypermiling going on with gas back under $3 a gallon.

 

[Benzadmiral]

A lot more people driving more and faster, for sure. I'm still holding my speed near the posted limits, rethinking every trip three times, looking for the best price without wasting gas to get it, etc.

Maybe I'll try the grill block thing again in December and January, and see how it goes. Meanwhile I still have a recommended dose of Marvel Mystery Oil in the (Wal-Mart ethanol-poisoned) gas, and the gauge needle was right at 1/2 after 210 miles, so maybe the MMO is helping. (Or maybe it's because I've needed less A/C use this past week!)

 

[MarginCalled]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Maybe I should do what the founder of eccomodder.com does. He was on a CNN special about fuel mileage. Has a 4 banger automatic Accord and uses "advanced technique" hypermiling tactics. Shuts the engine off and coasts whenever possible, coasts into parking lots and his driveway and then pushes the vehicle in, constantly shuts the engine off and coasts on the highway - basically gets momentum then shuts it off and coasts, then repeats.

Hope he's good at changing late model Accord starters!

But he does get 60 mpg...
No, not ecomodder, you're talking about Wayne Gerdes from CleanMPG. Different site.