n00b here - current ride is Nissan Versa - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

stimpsonjcat · 08-21-2011, 09:13 PM

Hello everyone!

n00b here, been doing as best I can with mileage for some time, but found this site and have implemented some changes already from here.

I added an air dam to my F150 made out of landscaping seperator. It was a bit more flimsy than I liked so I bent up some 1/4" round steel rod and ran it into the hollow edge the strip comes with, worked like a charm.

Bought a scan-gauge, so I will probably test the F150 with and without the dam and report back.

On the Versa I haven't done much, she gets exactly 29.5mpg for me, but I hope to improve that some. I will be removing the mirrors and adding something less massive soon and again I will report how that goes. I may add an air dam to her as well, but I want to try to make it an air-operated device as the clearance is already fairly low. I'll also be adding some grill block-outs for the fog light holes and the main grill inlet similar to several threads here.

Nice forum, I hope I can add to the fun!

Mustang Dave · 08-21-2011, 10:25 PM

Welcome to ecomodder.com!
You can get some major FE gains with that Versa just by adjusting "the nut behind the steering wheel". Just speaking from experience with my 4-liter Mustang.

SentraSE-R · 08-22-2011, 01:41 PM

Welcome. Probably 90% of your fuel economy gains will come from changing your driver behavior - keeping speeds down, and conserving momentum. Aeromods will only help with the remaining 10%.

Old Tele man · 08-22-2011, 02:34 PM

...and, the slower you're traveling, less penalty there is for poor aerodynamics (freeway is where aero really comes in to play).

stimpsonjcat · 08-22-2011, 03:01 PM

Well we will see. I already drive pretty frugal, but perhaps the SG will show me some areas to improve on. I really bought it for testing as the ODB2 meter only shows % load.

SentraSE-R · 08-22-2011, 06:44 PM

You're not even scratching the surface, until you beat the EPA combined estimated fuel economy for your Versa. You should eventually be able to beat it by ~40% with an automatic, 75% with a manual. 140% of 29.5 mpg = 41.3 mpg should be your long-term goal. Beating the EPA combined estimate of 29.5 mpg is your immediate goal. After all, my xB has a lower (28 mpg) combined estimate than your Versa.

Mustang Dave · 08-22-2011, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...and, the slower you're traveling, less penalty there is for poor aerodynamics (freeway is where aero really comes in to play).

Very true. I generally average more MPG commuting than I do on road trips, especially since I deleted 21 freeway (65-75MPH) miles from my daily commute. It reduced my daily (round trip) commute by 5.2 miles and "gave" me almost 2 MPG.

So it takes a few minutes longer to get to work. No big deal to me.

stimpsonjcat · 08-22-2011, 08:24 PM

Well that *is* very encouraging!

I have upped the tire pressure to 40psi now and am striving to keep the revs under 2k. It is hot here now and I just had the windows tinted, so running the AC for a few days more than I normally would.

So preheated air is better in the winter? I always thought cooler was better...more dense.

I also need to yank the defrost detect switch harness loose as I think this affected my winter numbers last year, from 2010 on you can't just override the defrost AC with the AC switch...bummer.

stimpsonjcat · 08-22-2011, 09:17 PM

Defrost switch disabled...that was fun!

For anyone following this later, the connector to unplug is actually on the starboard side of the main harness connection to the climate controls. It has a red and black wire, kinda tricky to get at the release nub on it too.

Kodak · 08-22-2011, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stimpsonjcat

I have upped the tire pressure to 40psi now and am striving to keep the revs under 2k. .

Acceleration under 2k is a good way to avoid unnecessary acceleration, but I think you'd be surprised how many EM members report good FE results with slightly more brisk acceleration - not to mention the added bonus of less tailgaters when taking off from red lights. I'm not saying to nail the throttle, but a little more brisk may be useful.

Nothing wrong with it - just saying that 2,000 is not a special value in any way that I know of. For all I know maybe the Versa responds well to it.