[DieselDrewski]

Hey everyone! I've always been interested in economy from a cost-savings and engineering challenge standpoint. Saving resources and reducing pollution is good, but not so motivating for me. I drive a modified 93 Ford Festiva with a 570cc Yanmar-made diesel engine around town, when it's working properly, and a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Scangauge when it isn't. My wife drives a 2008 Nissan Rouge that we take on longer trips.

I get around mid 60's MPG in the Festiva driving around town at < 50 Mph, and I have never taken a trip long enough to get the hwy MPG, though it does go up to 65 mph with in the right conditions. The engine is a two cylinder Yanmar industrial diesel engine, rated at 13.4 HP, has 570cc displacement, and I have added a turbo, though it gets only a little less than 5 PSI boost max, because of the small engine displacement. A 3 cylinder diesel is in the works

You can visit my web page (YouTube channel) to see some videos of the Festiva.

The Wrangler is a fuel hog with the aerodynamic profile of a billboard, so I got a Scangauge II. I regularly approach or exceed the EPA Max mpg rating of 21 MPG. My best run ever was 34 MPG. One of my secrets is to turn off overdrive initially, then moderately accelerate to 30 mph. At that point, the transmission is programmed to engage the locking torque converter at 30 and above. I then back off on the throttle a bit until I get over 40 mph, at which point I engage the overdrive. The transmission shifts to fourth gear, and then re-locks the torque converter, at which point I accelerate to the desired speed. Without this procedure, the converter will not lock until I exceed 45 mph. It will stay engaged at up to about 75% throttle, as long as the speed remains above 40 MPH (even if it locked at 45 without the procedure). I have noticed that I can't accelerate too slowly, or economy will really suffer. I think it's because of torque converter losses. I would like to get a tool to reprogram the ECU to run the trans in this manner all the time. I have also been experimenting lately with adding small amounts of acetone to the fuel (bad idea? seems to get better MPG)

I'm about to get a slightly larger engine for the Festy, a 3 cylinder Kubota. It's exciting!

See you around!
DieselDrewski