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

brucepick · 01-01-2012, 07:15 PM

Welcome to ecomodder! Hope you do real well with it, all around.

I probably should say, there are so many ways you can improve your fuel economy, it almost doesn't matter where you start. I think that's one of the reasons people have success with this, and so stay in it and keep improving.

I have to say, probably the single most important mod is adjusting the "nut behind the wheel". I eventually changed just about every driving habit and convention I had, including road speed for any given piece of road, acceleration, how I approach lights and other stopping or slowdown situations, and more.

Sorry I don't drive a Yaris so I don't have specifics for that car. I'm sure others will chime in with some specifics once they come back to life after New Year's Day. Which version do you have? 5-spd? 3-4-or 5-door?

Lowering can help the car's aero behavior. But I think in terms of gain per dollar spent, there's plenty you can do for less money that will likely give more gain. I certainly wouldn't worry much about exhaust. Exhaust does matter seriously when you're trying to get increased power from the engine, for 1/4 mile times or for um, a stop light derby. More power means more exhaust going out, so you need a better flowing system. Driving for mpg, you'll likely spend most of your time running at 25% - 35% of red line rpms, and those low rpms will mostly at something like 25% throttle. I'm guessing the existing pipes can handle what you'll give them. In fact some have experimented with restricting the stock exhaust slightly to ensure back pressure and good exhaust scavenging at lower power levels.

I think this is the list you saw here, of most common + useful mods for fuel economy. A sticky at the top of the "Ecomodding Central" subforum. http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-mpg-5170.html

Anyway, where's the nice low hanging fruit for eco-mods?? See the master list above for suggestions. Definitely put your tire pressure up as high as you dare. Quick, easy, and low/no cost. I'd suggest whatever the tire imprint shows as a starting point. When you need new tires, definitely get low rolling resistance ones (LRR). Grill block is near the top of most peoples' lists. I pay close attention to my digital coolant temp gauge when I run my grill block. I'm conservative on that, and don't like it going above 190-195 ºF. My grill block is lengths of foam pipe insulation duct-taped together to make blocks that fit my car's slots. I've seen prettier but adding/removing sections is super easy, and the cost is almost literally pocket change.

Flat wheel covers. Warm air intake can help, but the designs vary with what car you're modding. Cold air intake is nice for power increase, probably not your game here. Belly pan is nice. The Yaris bottom might be pretty smooth but most cars still have open areas under the engine bay that can benefit from getting smoothed over.

A good fuel economy gauge. An MPGuino gauge refreshes the screen 2x/second and reads out in hundredths, for both miles and gallons. ScanGauge is not as accurate - it derives mpg from air flow sensor and speedo data, but it will also show useful info such as engine temp and system voltage. For info, see the "Instrumentation" forum here, and the "MPGuino" subforum visible at the top of it's page.

Whew. Hope I didn't scare you off! As I wrote up top, there are so many ways to improve mpg, you can start pretty much anywhere.

Good luck with it!! Come back with more questions, and let us know how it goes too.

01-01-2012, 07:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
brucepick OCD Master EcoModder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Eastern CT, USA Posts: 1,936 Outasight - '00 Honda Insight Team Honda Gen-1 Insights 90 day: 54.18 mpg (US) Thanks: 431 Thanked 396 Times in 264 Posts	Welcome to ecomodder! Hope you do real well with it, all around. I probably should say, there are so many ways you can improve your fuel economy, it almost doesn't matter where you start. I think that's one of the reasons people have success with this, and so stay in it and keep improving. I have to say, probably the single most important mod is adjusting the "nut behind the wheel". I eventually changed just about every driving habit and convention I had, including road speed for any given piece of road, acceleration, how I approach lights and other stopping or slowdown situations, and more. Sorry I don't drive a Yaris so I don't have specifics for that car. I'm sure others will chime in with some specifics once they come back to life after New Year's Day. Which version do you have? 5-spd? 3-4-or 5-door? Lowering can help the car's aero behavior. But I think in terms of gain per dollar spent, there's plenty you can do for less money that will likely give more gain. I certainly wouldn't worry much about exhaust. Exhaust does matter seriously when you're trying to get increased power from the engine, for 1/4 mile times or for um, a stop light derby. More power means more exhaust going out, so you need a better flowing system. Driving for mpg, you'll likely spend most of your time running at 25% - 35% of red line rpms, and those low rpms will mostly at something like 25% throttle. I'm guessing the existing pipes can handle what you'll give them. In fact some have experimented with restricting the stock exhaust slightly to ensure back pressure and good exhaust scavenging at lower power levels. I think this is the list you saw here, of most common + useful mods for fuel economy. A sticky at the top of the "Ecomodding Central" subforum. http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-mpg-5170.html Anyway, where's the nice low hanging fruit for eco-mods?? See the master list above for suggestions. Definitely put your tire pressure up as high as you dare. Quick, easy, and low/no cost. I'd suggest whatever the tire imprint shows as a starting point. When you need new tires, definitely get low rolling resistance ones (LRR). Grill block is near the top of most peoples' lists. I pay close attention to my digital coolant temp gauge when I run my grill block. I'm conservative on that, and don't like it going above 190-195 ºF. My grill block is lengths of foam pipe insulation duct-taped together to make blocks that fit my car's slots. I've seen prettier but adding/removing sections is super easy, and the cost is almost literally pocket change. Flat wheel covers. Warm air intake can help, but the designs vary with what car you're modding. Cold air intake is nice for power increase, probably not your game here. Belly pan is nice. The Yaris bottom might be pretty smooth but most cars still have open areas under the engine bay that can benefit from getting smoothed over. A good fuel economy gauge. An MPGuino gauge refreshes the screen 2x/second and reads out in hundredths, for both miles and gallons. ScanGauge is not as accurate - it derives mpg from air flow sensor and speedo data, but it will also show useful info such as engine temp and system voltage. For info, see the "Instrumentation" forum here, and the "MPGuino" subforum visible at the top of it's page. Whew. Hope I didn't scare you off! As I wrote up top, there are so many ways to improve mpg, you can start pretty much anywhere. Good luck with it!! Come back with more questions, and let us know how it goes too. __________________ Coast long and prosper. Driving '00 Honda Insight, acquired Feb 2016.