Hello Folks,
I'm not a complete stranger to the world of eco-modding, just didn't know it had a name or community
I currently have an 05 Focus Hatch, but haven't 'done anything' to it yet.
My previous car (93 Plymouth Laser AWD Turbo), I rewrote some of the firmware in the ECU to give me different ignition timing, and fuel maps (in addition to some performance enhancements, like a two-step rev-limiter for drag racing). I had a palm-pilot hooked into the ECU's diagnostic output (OBD-I) to monitor the fuel, timing, and knock, so I could run it really lean and advanced without having to wonder if I was causing engine damage. If I tried I could get about 30 mpg on the Laser (if I didn't try it was more like 18 though, go turbo). I was in the process of working out a lean-burn mode in the ECU for the highway only, but then the valves and pistons got together and ruined my day.
I'm actually a little disappointed in the Focus in terms of MPG (everything else is quite good though, especially for the price). If I drive like I normally do (typical mass-hole) I get about 29.5 mpg. For a couple of tanks of gas last year I wanted to really see what driving style could do to help me out in terms of mileage, being upset that the mileage is supposed to be 30 city 36 highway. I tried really hard to lay off the pedal, drive carefully, and relatively slowly, try to coast as much as was safely possible, draft behind larger vehicles (safely) when possible on the highway, and ended up at... 30.5 mpg. That extra 1 mpg took so much effort and concentration and just doesn't seem worth it. I don't know how you guys do it, for the 2nd tank of gas I even tried bare-foot which I'd read could lead to more sensitive pedal application.
It stinks that the Focus which is nearly 1,000 lbs less, non-turbocharged, and smaller (though probably not sleeker) gets pretty much the same mpg as my last car, which was loud, fast, fun, and definitely not what you'd think of as 'an economy car' while the focus is definitely 'an economy car'. Admittedly I haven't done any tweaking, but still a little bit disappointing. Secondly, I was astonished that trying really hard to change my driving style and doing a lot of things I'd read about that seemed reasonably safe and non-interfering resulted in a net gain of 1 mpg. Any thoughts?
-Jesse