Hey all,
I've been a lurker for about 3 months now, but after my first 3 tanks, I'm getting my 2004 Honda Pilot (rated 15/21/17) to about 27mpg combined, so I decided to chime in. I average about 35% city 65% highway.
I want to be able to hit 30mpg combined sometime, so I'd like some suggestions for CHEAP mods. I have some pics for y'all so you can see what I've done to get to where I am.
My personal tip: ELECTRICAL TAPE + ZIPTIES ARE WONDERFUL. Cheap, waterproof, and won't ruin paint/plastic/metal.
Aeromods I've done:
- Tires are at 46 psi front/ 42 psi rear
- Coroplast underbelly pan, attached with only electrical tape and zipties. Covers about 75% of the bottom between the axles, works really well.
- Coroplast sheet under the spare tire - otherwise rear bumper + hitch = parachute. Could I make a diffuser here?
- Rear side fairings made from transparent plastic sheets (see pics). Holding up alright, without looking too silly.
- Deleted roof rack, rear mudflaps, and about 200 lbs. worth of interior seats
- Front air dam made by curving 2 strips of some patio siding. Held on by zipties only, extends down to lowest point on car, around the front wheels. Better than lawn edging IMO. It doesn't seem to be helping my mpg though... explanations?
Fixing the nut behind the wheel:
- Using Torque App + cheap Chinese OBD-II adapter ($10 total LOL)
- EOC before most stoplights & down hills (car is able to be flat-towed, so I'm pretty sure this won't damage the transmission, but does shifting from Neutral to Drive at speed wear down the torque converter?)
- Accelerating at ~75% load, letting off the gas to force upshifts
- Not cruising much above 60mph, unless drafting a semi (kicks me close to 40mpg)
I haven't done anything to the engine, so I need some suggestions there! Here's what I found about speed vs. mpg though:
- Engine is happiest between 33-37 mph and 51-57 mph - I can get about 33mpg on a flat road
- Tranny shifts into 5th gear at 46 mph - it's not happy before or after this shift, gets no more than 31 mpg
- I really don't want to see what the winter cold & fuel blend will do to my mpg...
Sucks that this is an auto tranny though... the torque converter is really hard to get locked up.
I get a lot of wind noise around the A-pillars - does anyone have experience with turbulator tape or similar to modify airflow around there? How about at the back (around the trunk)?
Suggestions please!
