hello all!

[Brian03cav]

found this great site, just thought i'd pop in and say hi.
little about myself.....
my name is brian, im 19 and live in pa. about 2 months ago i purchased a 2003 chevrolet cavalier, because my car at the time i sold to my sister (ford focus). i work in IT support, so my daily drive is anywhere from 25-120 miles a day depending (supporting sites within about a 50-70 mile radius). while i do get compensated for fuel, i've been really looking to save on gas.

i've been reading like mad various sites online for better ways to save fuel. this site has helped alot already, and i know will continue to.

where im at right now is, my vehicle gets at the very least 31mpg, and i've seen a best of 42. i updated my fuel log on here with a long trip i took yesterday that reflected 41 after reading this site, i really have changed my driving style as well as some various things on the car itself.

it seems the epa estimates are quite low for my vehicle, as i do get about 30-32 with mixed driving, with alot of traffic at times.

sorry for the long winded intro, any suggestions would be great, and i hope to learn alot here.

Brian

[Red]

Welcome to EM. Sounds like you are off to a good start already

[Daox]

Welcome to the site. Its good to see someone who gets paid for mileage looking to cash in. I see a lot of guys just brush it off saying "the company pays for it, so who cares?"

My suggestions to you would probably be to look into a grill block as you're likely on the highway quite a bit. It'll also help with warm up times. I'd also suggest pumping your tires up to the max sidewall rating as this'll reduce rolling resistance. Other than those few things, I'd also look at picking up a scangauge or mpguino. It'll really allow you to evaluate your driving and really dial it in.

[Brian03cav]

thanks guys

daox, i do do mostly highway driving, the block isnt something im familiar with, but i will have to look into it. i did raise my tire pressure as well, the recomended is 30, i keep it at about 32.

2 more questions for you though...first is there a cheap place to get the scan gauge? looking i've seen for about $160. i dont have cruise control, so this may help me.

also, how do i get the picture in the sig? i just tried but it said it was too big, must be doing something wrong

Brian

[Daox]

I'd recommend going even higher on the tire pressure if you are comfortable with it. Many of us here use higher pressure and we find it improves handling response, wet traction, mileage, and decreases tire wear. The downside is that you have worse snow traction, but adjusting seasonally isn't a big deal.

You can get a scangauge with ecomodder discount for $150. Details can be had here. You might be able to get a used one off ebay or something for a bit cheaper, but they don't go for too much less.

As for the sig, you just have to take a look at this thread:
How to set up your mileage signature


Edit: Odd... the autolinker ususally automatically links when you type scangauge or mpguino... We'll have to look into that.

Edit2: Sure, NOW it works

[Johnny Mullet]

With mostly highway miles, aerodynamics and tire pressures will net the most gains.

If it were my car, I would...................

Block off some of the grill and monitor engine temps and adjust accordingly.
Raise the tire pressures to max posted on sidewall of tire.
Construct an underbelly pan from some kind of material (free stuff works best)
Remove the passenger mirror (if legal) and relocate radio antenna.
Smooth wheel covers.

Good luck!

[cfg83]

Brian03cav -

Welcome to EM! You have an interesting situation. If you're in IT, I think you have a "set" of different destinations, yes? This means you have the challenge of optimizing "N" routes. I only have to optimize my to/from work.

The Scanguage is portable, so you'll be able to check engine error codes in your sister's Focus too.

CarloSW2

[Brian03cav]

just got my scan gauge on friday, i've been playing around with it a bit over the weekend, but havent had a chance to fully calibrate it yet, because i had to fill up before it arrived

as i've seen so far, the most useful feature would be on the trip, and the current mpg? its what i've been using mostly, i had the misfortune of dog/house sitting in a mostly city area over the entire weekend and my numbers were not great, but in certain areas it seems pretty acurate.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by Brian03cav

just got my scan gauge on friday, i've been playing around with it a bit over the weekend, but havent had a chance to fully calibrate it yet, because i had to fill up before it arrived

It's all good -- the SG can can give you some great feedback even though it's not dead-on calibrated just yet. Take some time to get comfortable with it and tackle each tank as it comes...

Best FE to ya...

RH77