Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post

questionful · 02-11-2011, 01:10 AM

Hello, I'm 18yrs old and I recently got my driver's license. The car I'll be driving most is a 2001 Saturn SL2 DOHC AutoTran with 136k miles. My priorities while driving are 1)Safety, 2)Car Health, 3)Fuel Efficiency or something like that. So I would like to put some effort into making the car more Fuel efficient. I've been thinking about some things recently.

I never use the air, heater, AC, and whatever. Could I remove a bunch of that stuff and increase efficiency?

I am considering changing the wheels to bigger ones. This would reduce rolling resistance and let me go faster at the same RPM, but it would also increase spinning momentum and it might risk lugging the engine. Also, going faster at the same RPM would increase drag.

I am also considering changing the highest gear to a slightly higher gear. But this would also be for the purpose of higher speed which means less efficiency.

My highest gear runs about 1500 RPM at 35mph. Is that my most efficient cruise? It runs 2200 RPM at 55mph, which is what I usually limit myself to.

I am considering designing and building a custom air intake. What would be the most efficient air intake? Considering that the car might need more power to accelerate a car with larger-than-stock wheels, might a cold-air intake help improve efficiency? I was considering making an air intake with a huge valve to switch the intake from below the hood, on top of the exhaust headers, to above the hood, in a hoodscoop. So basically by installing some sort of cable switch, I could switch (or even fade) between a cold and warm air intake depending on current needs.

Most of this is basically daydreaming. I just wanted to get some basic advice. Thanks.

02-11-2011, 01:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
questionful EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: S.F. Area Posts: 2 the saturn - '01 Saturn SL2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	2001 Saturn SL2 DOHC AT noob questions Hello, I'm 18yrs old and I recently got my driver's license. The car I'll be driving most is a 2001 Saturn SL2 DOHC AutoTran with 136k miles. My priorities while driving are 1)Safety, 2)Car Health, 3)Fuel Efficiency or something like that. So I would like to put some effort into making the car more Fuel efficient. I've been thinking about some things recently. I never use the air, heater, AC, and whatever. Could I remove a bunch of that stuff and increase efficiency? I am considering changing the wheels to bigger ones. This would reduce rolling resistance and let me go faster at the same RPM, but it would also increase spinning momentum and it might risk lugging the engine. Also, going faster at the same RPM would increase drag. I am also considering changing the highest gear to a slightly higher gear. But this would also be for the purpose of higher speed which means less efficiency. My highest gear runs about 1500 RPM at 35mph. Is that my most efficient cruise? It runs 2200 RPM at 55mph, which is what I usually limit myself to. I am considering designing and building a custom air intake. What would be the most efficient air intake? Considering that the car might need more power to accelerate a car with larger-than-stock wheels, might a cold-air intake help improve efficiency? I was considering making an air intake with a huge valve to switch the intake from below the hood, on top of the exhaust headers, to above the hood, in a hoodscoop. So basically by installing some sort of cable switch, I could switch (or even fade) between a cold and warm air intake depending on current needs. Most of this is basically daydreaming. I just wanted to get some basic advice. Thanks.