Corolla XRS- ecomodding

[fanamingo]

2. Changing the oil at this point will probably mean more cost to you without improving fuel economy. I'd hold off until the 1 year mark since your last change. That's what I've read for the max amount of time to go between changes.

3. I think the amount of electricity DRLs use is small compared to what the rest of the car is using. My Civic uses about 55 Watts (about .07 horsepower) for both lights. If you want to test the impact, you may have a fuse for them that you can pull. Try monitoring the voltage with the ScanGauge. If it's up around ~14, the alternator is running. If it's down at 12.5 or below, you probably have a smart alternator that doesn't run continuously. I pulled the fuse for the DRLs in my Civic, but didn't see a difference so put it back in after a couple days. Keep in mind that you'll be less visible to other traffic in some situations without the DRLs.

5. No experience with a Corolla, but make sure you monitor coolant temps on the ScanGauge once you get something in place. My Civic can't do long highway drives (>50 miles) with my full radiator block in place. Here's the only thread I've seen for a grill block on a Corolla. I don't know how it's grill compares to your XRS.
Help with my aero mods: 1.8L 05 Auto Toyota Corolla

[taco]

on the corolla u have to snip a wire under the dash to remove drl check out toyotanation thye have a tech article with pics. as for cooling toyota overdoes it a little ao u might be able to get away with a completel block for the winter and a small opening for summer

[MetroMPG]

I'm with trik - you need to slow down more on the highway to see really good results.

Also, the gains from pulse & glide get progressively better the lower your peak pulse speed is, since your glides aren't being pulled down as quickly from aero drag.

[DieselHybrid]

Thanks for the inputs...

I'm convinced that the lowest hanging fruit (besides my driving habits) in my quest for imporved mpgs lies in swapping to a lower 6th gear or even a lower final drive for my '06 XRS Corolla to reduce my hwy rpms.

My guesstimate is lowering 200 rpm from stock (3161rpm to 2950rpm @70mph) should be good for 3-4mpg savings on the hwy.

Am I close or way off?
Any thoughts, suggestions?

Thanks!

[roflwaffle]

At 70mph I'm guessing maybe 1-2mpg, but if you go slower you could see a ~3-5mpg increase from the taller gearing.

[Formula413]

I noticed your epa numbers are nearly identical to mine - 2 liter Escort auto. My gearing is a little taller than yours; I'm running at 2300 rpm at 60 mph. As others have mentioned, the slower you can stand to go, the better. I noticed a consistent improvement when I went from driving 65 on the highway to 60.

As far as grill blocks go, I have my entire lower grill opening covered right now, with just a smaller upper opening left open. This is fine in the colder months, but in warmer weather I have to make an opening in the lower block to get adequate cooling. Use the temp sensor in the SG to monitor coolant temps when experimenting with grill blocks, as your stock temp gauge is likely not accurate enough to notice any changes.

As for SG calibration, one thing you have to account for is that winter fuel blends are less energy dense, and the calibration will need to be adjusted for this. I was using + 5% all summer, but as the weather has gotten colder I have had to increase that to + 8%.

[DieselHybrid]

O.K.- I'll drive slower, I promise!

Stock '06 XRS numbers:
6th gear 0.725
Final Drive 4.529
195-55-16 Michelin Primacy

In addition to driving slower, it appears the simplest thing to do to improve mpg is to swap to taller tires. I already have 205-55-16 Kumho Ecsta SPT's. This dropped my rpm's by 47rpm at 60mph and 55rpm at 70mph. However, I have no idea how the Kumho's compare to stock in terms of RR. Yes they are slightly wider and heavier- but they have a harder compound than stock. Anyone know?

I want the lowest possible RR tires I can fit on 16" rims.

Option 1:
Go to 195-60-16's, hwy rpms compared to stock drop by:
82rpm at 60mph
97rpm at 70mph
Con's: only a handful of manufacturers make this size.

Option 2:
Go to 205-60-16's, my hwy rpms compared to stock drop by:
131rpm at 60mph
153rpm at 70mph
Pro's: bigger drop in rpm's (numerical equivalent to changing the FD to a 4.31!) and there seem to be more tire options in this size.
Con's: the entire driving rpm range is affected- seeing the 2zz enginehas low torque to begin with...

I am leaning towards 195-60-16's, but I can't seem to find RR info on current tires.

[MetroMPG]

OT: Formula, can you explain why the SG needs additional offset for fuels with less energy density?

If it's extrapolating MPG by monitoring air consumption, air consumption would go up with E10 for example, because it would inject more of the fuel to make a given amount of power.

[Formula413]

Actually I was just going by what a couple of other people said in another post.

Post your ScanGauge setup & Adjust %

See posts 17-19