Quote:
Originally Posted by sarguy01
If you want to spend your money, then spend it, after all, it is your money! You already have it spent in your head anyway.
But, if you want to get better mileage, then don't buy anything. You don't need to. You only need to mod the driver as a first step.
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I already hypermile as I drive, got that under control.
If I wanted to save a few bucks, I could just keep lugging myself to work in the 36 mpg Accord. I would save about $5 in fuel per day. It's kind of rediculous to drive the Vitara since there are obvious savings on a day-to-day basis if I don't. I have invested too much into the Vitara to just not use it, though, so I'm willing to invest a bit more into it if I can squeeze 33-35 mpg out of it. Basically what does it cost to make a Vitara as efficient as an Accord. It's not far off.
Right now the goal is to spend an extra grand or two on the Vitara so that it will be as good as it can be. Not to save an extra grand or two or somehow come out at a net gain, but just so that I can have one vehicle for both summertime and wintertime daily driving. If I drive the Vitara every day instead of the Accord, it would cost me as much as $1300 a year more.
Now, you say if I want to get better mileage, then don't buy anything. I'm already, "perfect"? Not true. It has a mechanical engine fan. For $100-200 I can get everything I need to convert it to an electric fan, guaranteed to gain in MPG. So right there is a situation where I DO need to buy things to get better mileage. The question now is what else is there, in a budget of $2000, to gain me 5-8 MPG? If $200 is allocated towards the engine fan stuff, $300-500 in ECU tuning stuff, $50 on a spare ECU for modding, I would still have $1200 - $1400 left. Trying to get the most MPG per dollar, without making the truck look or feel rediculous. Fuel efficient tires would be nice, but I need winter tires already and my summer tires are good for 2 or 3 seasons still. Not looking in that area, but in terms of aerodynamics, there is a lot I can do. Under belly pans are common, they seem to help a lot and they look great because you don't see them!
I would even like to believe that changing my mirrors from this shape:
To this shape:
Will be technically more aerodynamic. They are both OEM mirror choices for this year, not even an aftermarket part.
There are things out there to make it more efficient. I'm just trying to figure out all my options.