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Old 08-26-2013, 11:31 AM   #1 (permalink)
mikeyjd
Master EcoModder
 
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 838

Matchbox - '93 Ford Festiva L
Team Ford
Last 3: 70.16 mpg (US)

Salamander - '99 Chrysler Concorde LXI
Team Dodge
90 day: 30.3 mpg (US)

Urquhart - '97 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 V6 3.4L DLX
Pickups
90 day: 25.81 mpg (US)

Smudge - '98 Toyota Tacoma
90 day: 40.65 mpg (US)

Calebro - '15 Renault Trafic 1.25 dci
90 day: 39.39 mpg (US)
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Salamander (99 Chrysler Concorde LX)

I bought a car yesterday to replace my wife's recently ruined 1999 Dodge Intrepid. It is a similar car with a few nicer features and an overall more luxurious and sophisticated ride. While I know this car will never be very good from a FE standpoint, I am planning to do several things over time to make improvements to this. My plan is to do one modification at a time and test for improvement on each individual change.



Pros:

-Cheap ($1000/$50 a month to insure)
-Luxurious (Heated leather seats, A/C)
-Safe (It's gonna be the wife's car)
-Parts availability (I have spare allot of spare parts since I've owned vehicles on the same platform in the past)
-Reliable (A fairly dependable vehicle when properly maintained)
-Spacious (Enough room for 5 Large people, and a huge trunk)

Cons:
-Poor Mileage! (17/26 = 20mpg combined EPA)
-It has a slow power steering fluid leak
-Odor (It smells funny from previous owner, hopefully a good detail will correct this)

Initial Plan:

Establish a true baseline for fuel economy based on manufacturer recommended specs (2 tanks)

Planned mods:
-Increase Tire PSI
-Front Grille Block
-Full Synthetic Fluid Swap
-Belly Panels


Last edited by mikeyjd; 05-29-2014 at 12:55 PM..
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