What are some modfications that will increase MPG?

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: getnpsi
Another nod to inflating 10-15% over sidewall number.



I hope you mean the door jam pressure. The pressure listed on the sidewall of a tire is the MAX tire pressure.

 

[mpvue]

tater, ZZ and duane got it right: the BIGGEST contribution you can make to improving mpg is DRIVING STYLE. yes, you can go crazy w/ aero mods (which have a greater effect than ANY engine mods)but practicality is affected.
this is the basics:
do speed limit
accelerate slowly
shift sooner (at the shift light if you have one)
anticipate stops
try not to stop fully
draft
beyond that it gets crazy. but, I was able to improve my mpg from 25-26 up to 32 just by doing this, more or less.
btw, for me, increasing tire psi and running synthetics had no appreciable effect. I have amsoil in the engine and trans, and tires are a few psi over recommended.
also, there are some forums dedicated to this sort of thing, hypermiler or eco-miler or some sort of something like that, I forget.

 

[froggy81500]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: froggy81500
Originally Posted By: getnpsi
Another nod to inflating 10-15% over sidewall number.


you shouldn't exceed the sidewall number. the door tag number is another story. that is usually a compromise between fuel economy and comfort. My door tag says 30 or 32 but I run mine at 40. Max sidewall is 44 on these comfortreds. Better mileage with the higher tire pressure. Where it becomes a chore is when it starts getting colder out like right now, where large drops in ambient temps affect tire pressures. a 10*F drop usually nets a 1psi tire pressure loss.
Holy......

yep, you're reading that right. feels might firmer when driving and the tires are wearing much better, as well as good solid fuel economy figures from it. YOu think that is high, you should check out the gassavers forum.

 

[BrianWC]

cleanmpg.com gassavers.org, ecomodder.com

 

[ARCOgraphite]

BIGGEST FACTOR: If you dont use your brakes, or rarely use them - you are probably driving economically.
- This means not applying them for cornering, stop lights lights etc. Only when you are going to shut of the ignition you probably need to brake.
- AFA accelerating to road speed, its better to get up to speed with normal acceleration - you are getting exceedingly poor fuel mileage (5-9mpg) when accelerating and the faster you can get into OD (45-50mph) and get out of the throttle, the better.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: froggy81500
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: froggy81500
Originally Posted By: getnpsi
Another nod to inflating 10-15% over sidewall number.


you shouldn't exceed the sidewall number. the door tag number is another story. that is usually a compromise between fuel economy and comfort. My door tag says 30 or 32 but I run mine at 40. Max sidewall is 44 on these comfortreds. Better mileage with the higher tire pressure. Where it becomes a chore is when it starts getting colder out like right now, where large drops in ambient temps affect tire pressures. a 10*F drop usually nets a 1psi tire pressure loss.
Holy......

yep, you're reading that right. feels might firmer when driving and the tires are wearing much better, as well as good solid fuel economy figures from it. YOu think that is high, you should check out the gassavers forum.


Yeah but what about the suspension? ball joints etc.That has to jolt things around pretty good right? I wouldnt even think of doing that here in PA.Our governor thinks the roads repair them selves.We have Christine highway`s here...

 

[oilyriser]

If you drive alone...
http://1989geometro.com/

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: BrianWC
cleanmpg.com gassavers.org, ecomodder.com


Some of the things those people do are ridiculous and down right dangerous. Constantly shutting the engine off, shutting the engine off while going down hills etc. Some hypermiler is going to shut his engine off only to get smacked by a semitruck he didn't see, cause he couldn't get the engine started in time!

 

[BrianWC]

Weren't you the one trying to try all the hypermiler tips and mod your car last summer?

But yeah, by the middle of last summer, I'd pretty much quit fretting over every little thing. The most important thing I took away from it was coasting a bit more up to stop lights, reducing interstate cruising speed, and keeping tires inflated about 5-7 lbs over car manufacturer's recommendations.

Of course, getting the Fit, it's much less of a worry about gas anyway. Once or twice a week I fill up with a whopping 9 gallons of gas and if I'm really lead footed, get about 34 mpg. Most of the time it's closer to 40, though.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Weren't you the one trying to try all the hypermiler tips and mod your car last summer?



I covered half my grill if that counts. I coast to stop lights, but I'm not dumb enough to shut the engine off costing down hills!

 

[BrianWC]

Lol, only in a hybrid!

 

[froggy81500]

Originally Posted By: lexus114

Yeah but what about the suspension? ball joints etc.That has to jolt things around pretty good right? I wouldnt even think of doing that here in PA.Our governor thinks the roads repair them selves.We have Christine highway`s here...

the roads in NY aren't much better. So far with just under 60K miles on the car I haven't had any suspension issues. The only issue were the control arm rearward bushings in the front arms dropped down. But that is a known issue with the factory bushings that GM initiated a TSB for. My brother's Ion needed them too and he never bothers to check his tire pressure.

I see grille block mentioned. I blocked the upper part of my grille with a sheet of plastic. What is nice about the Ion is the upper grille snaps right out very easily making it also very easy to put a piece behind it. The only other mod I am considering it heating the intake air at the air box. I can't route any tubing around to the exhaust manifold because my airbox is in thr front passenger corner and there isn't room between the timing cover and the shock tower for much of anything.

 

[mechtech2]

How much do you want to spend?
Tire pressure is a cheap and effective way to gain a bit.
Go 5 lbs over the recommendation [cold]. Don't use the sidewall pressure. Ignorant people use this and can't seem to read the rest of the sidewall statement where pressure is mentioned.
It is at a certain weight.] Going to that or especially over that is a very bad idea.

Electronic tuning to get more spark advance and finer fuel control can help power and gas mileage. you may need to go up a grade or two of fuel octane. It is almost always worth it.

Get exhaust headers or simply opening the exhaust up can help.
Use 5-20 instead of 5-30 oil, if you have a vehicle that is suitable.

Forget the K+N air filter . Fuel injection and O2 sensors preclude any benefits while cruising.

Some have success with a hot air intake. Check the gas mileage websites for details. This is a gas economy only thing, with side effects.

Air dams and undercar smoothing with sheeting can help on the highway.

Just a few off of the top of my mind.

 

[ekpolk]

Trade your pickup for a Prius? That ought to do it!

Seriously though, I'll add one comment regarding slower acceleration. That's true, but only to a point. Unlike Brian, I have not become tired of my ScanGauge. There's so much it can show you. Anyway, by comparing the car's FE/Consumption needle readings, the fuel flow from the SG, and other variables, I've concluded that the optimum acceleration is not the slowest you can do. It is toward the leisurely end of the scale, but not all the way down. In my car, it seems that if I work the gas pedal so as to keep the needle around 15 mpgs, and the rpms (from the SG) at roughly 2400-2600 rpms, that results in the best accels. Heavier on the pedal, and you burn disproportionately more gas getting to speed (but get there sooner). Lighter on the pedal and you spend too much time getting to speed and burn more gas because of the elevated consumption during the extended accel.

I can't say whether this is a Camry hybrid only thing, or if it would be the same for most other cars.

 

[cjhepburn]

Drive within a group of cars. It seems that no matter how fast the others are driving the FE is better than driving solo.

 

[sciphi]

-Watching your instant MPG meter or ScanGauge regularly.

-Grille block, preferably on the outside of the grille.
-Weather-stripping your hood/headlight/grille gaps.
-Under-body aero, such as air dams or partial belly pans in front of low-hanging suspension parts.
-Flat or moon-disc hubcaps.

In addition to: keeping your tires aired at max sidewall, car aligned, and using syn or low-viscosity fluids all around.

Finally: "Don't drive like my brother!" (Thanks, CarTalk!)

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Popinski
Forgive me if this isn't in the appropriate forums; I didn't know if it belongs to the maintenance or automotive general.


What are some modifications that would increase MPG and gain HP at the same time?

All I think of is:

-A good synthetic oil

-A good Tranny oil

-K and N Air filter(or equivalent)

-Free flowing exhaust.


The biggest gains would be in DRIVING HABITS!. The next biggest would be in good maintenance including correct tire pressure (and consider some of the lower rolling-resistance tires now on the market, but they'd probably not pay for themselves in fuel savings).

Personally I wouldn't include the K&N filter. It WILL NOT help mileage because even if you have a restrictive air filter, modern MAF or MAP fuel systems correct for that. A restrictive filter will cost you a little peak power, but its just like not opening the throttle all the way: if less air goes in, less fuel goes in also. It might actually wind up saving a little fuel to have a partially clogged filter!