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

AaronMartinSole · 10-28-2012, 01:39 AM

Teach me... (sad face, hands clawed upwards)

I've read the 100+ hypermiling tips a couple times but I've still got a few questions and a few things I haven't gotten down. I drive an automatic.

What is going too slow? What's the optimal speed? What's the optimal way to accelerate?

In the morning, should we warm up the car or immediately drive off?

How many RPM's should we be at when going from full stop? In a 40mph zone, how fast should we be going for the best fuel economy How fast should we be going on the freeway?

Because I've seen charts on ecomodder showing better fuel economy at lower speeds, like 30mph. So, should we try to stay at those low speeds, or try to increase to get to higher, more efficient gears?

How do you pulse and glide? Should you increase RPMs and rev up to say, 70, then coast down to 50? Or should you very slowly go up to 70mpg, and then coast down to 50? Or should you coast up to a different speed and coast down to a different speed?

I've wanted to turn my engine off at red lights, but I hear that can be bad for the car. And car longevity and damage is more important to me than fuel economy, if it is true that it's bad for the car.

I also really want to partially block my grill, but again I'm afraid of damaging the car. So much can go wrong when the cooling system fails, leading to a snowball of death and hell. So how do you know which part to block and not to block?

How does driving with the front driver and passenger windows all the way down affect fuel economy? What if it were just cracked? My car doesn't have air conditioning, and you know people say they believe in fresh air, but I like --really- believe in fresh air. Summer or winter, rain or shine, my bedroom windows are usually open, or at least cracked to have fresh air. There's a lot that can be said on that but that's a different topic.

Could we make a thread where we can pool together the combined total wealth of knowledge, methods, information, skills, tips and tricks involved in making rear wheel skirts and kammbacks? Materials, methods, trials and errors, lessons learned, etc. For instance, I want a kammback that is clear so I can see through my rear window, and also be able to open my trunk, and also be able to have the option of removing the kammback without holes, bolts, nuts, damage to the car. Perhaps that's a bit to ask, but challenges are what makes engineering fun, right? Eh, but if there is no other way, just having the kammback being clear (plastic?) and being able to open the truck would be enough.

So what's the idea about optimal gears? I know fourth gear/overdrive is the most efficient, but I don't know what speed it kicks in, or what the thinking is on that. Like, should we want to maybe increase RPMs to get to a higher speed/gear faster, or turtle slow RPMs either maintained at a slower speed, say 30-40mpg, or going up to top gear/overdrive?

What the idea on neutral coasting? Does it really make a difference on an automatic car?

Does turning on the car's heat affect gas mileage that much? Isn't the air just warmed up by the engine and the coolant?

Has anyone replaced say, their metal hood with a lighter weight carbon fiber hood? I hear that's quite popular with racing enthusiasts but I've never seen one here on ecomodder.

How does octane affect fuel economy? There seems to be mixed opinions about this.

Out of everything though, I most of all want to add mods that non-permanent, and don't leave any marks on the car. I think I've seen some that can be removed. Kammbacks and airdams and wheel skirts and so on. I'm also curious about a mod on the hood which seems to want to block off the windshield wipers if I'm not mistaken.

This is insane, but out of curiosity, is there any way to convert a four cylinder car into a three cylinder car, reasonably?

Also I wanted to share this beautiful Metro I saw on Craigslist.

1995 GEO METRO 3CYL 1.0L A/C 50MPG CITY!!!

Also, is there a reason for all the holes on the rear bumper? I suppose without those holes, the bumper would act as a parachute to slow the car down?

Also, my car has automatic daylight running lamps and has the lights on all the time, day or night. How do I turn them off and disable them during the day while still be able to turn them on at night?

Are aero rims better (http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/t...odynamics.html) or pizza pan rims? And how does the air curtain on that bmw work?

10-28-2012, 01:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
AaronMartinSole Your car looks ridiculous Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Northern California Posts: 96 The Fantastic Festiva - '90 Ford Festiva L 90 day: 43.16 mpg (US) A Civic Duty - '96 Honda Civic LX 90 day: 34.9 mpg (US) Ranger Danger - '96 Ford Ranger XL 90 day: 17.42 mpg (US) Thanks: 23 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	Questions on Everything Teach me... (sad face, hands clawed upwards) I've read the 100+ hypermiling tips a couple times but I've still got a few questions and a few things I haven't gotten down. I drive an automatic. What is going too slow? What's the optimal speed? What's the optimal way to accelerate? In the morning, should we warm up the car or immediately drive off? How many RPM's should we be at when going from full stop? In a 40mph zone, how fast should we be going for the best fuel economy How fast should we be going on the freeway? Because I've seen charts on ecomodder showing better fuel economy at lower speeds, like 30mph. So, should we try to stay at those low speeds, or try to increase to get to higher, more efficient gears? How do you pulse and glide? Should you increase RPMs and rev up to say, 70, then coast down to 50? Or should you very slowly go up to 70mpg, and then coast down to 50? Or should you coast up to a different speed and coast down to a different speed? I've wanted to turn my engine off at red lights, but I hear that can be bad for the car. And car longevity and damage is more important to me than fuel economy, if it is true that it's bad for the car. I also really want to partially block my grill, but again I'm afraid of damaging the car. So much can go wrong when the cooling system fails, leading to a snowball of death and hell. So how do you know which part to block and not to block? How does driving with the front driver and passenger windows all the way down affect fuel economy? What if it were just cracked? My car doesn't have air conditioning, and you know people say they believe in fresh air, but I like --really- believe in fresh air. Summer or winter, rain or shine, my bedroom windows are usually open, or at least cracked to have fresh air. There's a lot that can be said on that but that's a different topic. Could we make a thread where we can pool together the combined total wealth of knowledge, methods, information, skills, tips and tricks involved in making rear wheel skirts and kammbacks? Materials, methods, trials and errors, lessons learned, etc. For instance, I want a kammback that is clear so I can see through my rear window, and also be able to open my trunk, and also be able to have the option of removing the kammback without holes, bolts, nuts, damage to the car. Perhaps that's a bit to ask, but challenges are what makes engineering fun, right? Eh, but if there is no other way, just having the kammback being clear (plastic?) and being able to open the truck would be enough. So what's the idea about optimal gears? I know fourth gear/overdrive is the most efficient, but I don't know what speed it kicks in, or what the thinking is on that. Like, should we want to maybe increase RPMs to get to a higher speed/gear faster, or turtle slow RPMs either maintained at a slower speed, say 30-40mpg, or going up to top gear/overdrive? What the idea on neutral coasting? Does it really make a difference on an automatic car? Does turning on the car's heat affect gas mileage that much? Isn't the air just warmed up by the engine and the coolant? Has anyone replaced say, their metal hood with a lighter weight carbon fiber hood? I hear that's quite popular with racing enthusiasts but I've never seen one here on ecomodder. How does octane affect fuel economy? There seems to be mixed opinions about this. Out of everything though, I most of all want to add mods that non-permanent, and don't leave any marks on the car. I think I've seen some that can be removed. Kammbacks and airdams and wheel skirts and so on. I'm also curious about a mod on the hood which seems to want to block off the windshield wipers if I'm not mistaken. This is insane, but out of curiosity, is there any way to convert a four cylinder car into a three cylinder car, reasonably? Also I wanted to share this beautiful Metro I saw on Craigslist. 1995 GEO METRO 3CYL 1.0L A/C 50MPG CITY!!! Also, is there a reason for all the holes on the rear bumper? I suppose without those holes, the bumper would act as a parachute to slow the car down? Also, my car has automatic daylight running lamps and has the lights on all the time, day or night. How do I turn them off and disable them during the day while still be able to turn them on at night? Are aero rims better (http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/t...odynamics.html) or pizza pan rims? And how does the air curtain on that bmw work? Last edited by AaronMartinSole; 10-28-2012 at 02:51 AM..