Quote:
Originally Posted by Regenerit
If i seriously had the will to, I would commute to school at 6:30 and pretty much miss most traffic on my route to school but that would require me to wake up really early and at this point, I dont see myself commuting that early. That could change though soon.  I could always bring a pillow with me to school and nap in my car when i get there.  |
Financially leaving early is your best bet.
Something I strongly recommend is a block and transmission pad heater or even an irritating magnet one if you don't mind sticking it and unsticking it every day. You can easily raise city fuel economy 4 or 5 mpg using one of these if its a relatively short trip on cold days. I would use it year round but get a timer to set it off 1-4 hours ahead of your trip depending on how cold it is out.
I would also recommend that if you encounter a long stop light that you estimate to be longer than 10 seconds that you consider shutting your car off until the light is ready to turn. Just take care to monitor your battery level.
Something else I would recommend (unless you have tons of unavoidable massive potholes) is to up your PSI to 50 or 60. Tires are rated by the MAXIMUM speed they are rated at, you driving 35mph or less in City is different and less stressfull than 105mph on the tires. Sure its bumpy but if you speed up swiftly then coast your FE will jump the most from this single modification. If you plan on a highway trip, just air it down or suffer the ride, only takes a few minutes to change air pressure.
Anyway I owned a car of similar stature and transmission to yours (just a bigger motor), in town was difficult to say the least to get good fuel economy, I was able to get up to almost 30mpg pure city on occasion but not always, 22-25mpg was also common in the winter, I had plenty of rural city that could bring the average up into the mid 30's. On the highway I could top out near 40mpg.
Something I was able to do that you likely cannot safely do is EOC, most every FWD GM product can safely coast up to 45mph for 100 miles. But you need to be very skilled and used to driving a car with no power steering or brakes, not something to be testing in mid day traffic and not something I recommend to a youth either.
Unfortunately EOC isn't an option in bumper to bumper much of the time, its also murder on your battery.
Good Luck
Ryan