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Old 07-10-2010, 11:29 PM   #68 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,532

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 54.46 mpg (US)

Even Fancier Metro - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage top spec
90 day: 70.75 mpg (US)

Appliance car Mirage - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 62.14 mpg (US)
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Yup, soon.

Discovered another fuel economy sapping problem and did my first 2 ecomods today.

Problem was I noticed the temp gauge wasn't coming up very high, and seemed to drop on the highway. I wondered if the thermostat was stuck open, so I popped the rad cap off and did a cold start - sure enough, coolant was flowing vigorously through the rad when it shouldn't have been.

We already know that a cold engine doesn't get good fuel economy due to fuel enrichment (and boosted idle speed):



from Mini-experiment: cold start fuel consumption and warm-up time - MetroMPG.com

So ... vert ecomod #1: replaced the stuck open 88C / 190F t-stat with a 90C / 195F t-stat. Temp gauge is now sitting smack in the middle of the dial where I'd expect it to be.

And ecomod #2: changed the oil to 0w20 synth from whatever was in it (which was black, black).

Also removed a nail from a tire and inserted a plug with a $10 pair of tools and patch kit. That was super easy to do, especially after watching a guy do it on YouTube.
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Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
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