Welcome to EM, Mike
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malvernmike
Currently, the van gets 26-31mpg.
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Imperial? That's still quite good for a brick on wheels!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malvernmike
The effects of cruise control on mpg I understand - is keeping a constant throttle, such that the vehicle decelerates up hills and accelerates on descents, a good measure? I'm keen to install a hand throttle that would allow a constant level to be provided.
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Most CC's keep a constant speed, not constant throttle. That's why they don't hurt much on flat highway driving, but in hilly terrain there is a much better technique, called Pulse & Glide. In short, you accelerate in such a manner that the engine's rpm and load is in the most efficient range, then throw the trans into neutral and coast, while the engine is either idling or off. To know where your engine's sweet spot is you should search for its BSFC map, but since these are hard to find a good approximation is to keep rpm around max torque and load near 70-80%.
BTW Is your engine a diesel or petrol, and is it a manual trans?
To your list of mods I would add a grille block to help warm up times, smooth hubcaps, and maybe a Kammback/boattail. The latter could be removeable, like this one:
(click for link to thread)
I've seen aftermarket cargo boxes for vans which could easily become boattails, just the angles would need to be improved:
